Book Description
This violent and introspective memoir reveals not only 50 Cent's story but also the story of a generation of youth faced with hard choices and very few options. It is a tale of sacrifice, transformation, and redemption, but also one of hope, determination, and the power of self. Told in 50's unique voice, the narrative drips with the raw insight, street wisdom, and his struggle to survive at all costs -- and behold the riches of the American Dream.
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"GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' That's what this book is about--the good times and the bad times. I wrote this book to explain the world I come from. To a lot of people, I may be too young to reflect on life. And they may be right. But I'd be wasting my blessings if I didn't use the attention I'm getting to shed light on the experiences that have caused me to say the things I say and make the kind of music I make. I want to explain my environment to those who don't come any closer to it than the records they buy or the images they see on television. People want the truth. Even if they can't handle it, they want it. I let you know that I survived nine bullets not to sell records, but because it's the truth. Every time I sit down for an interview, I'm asked, ""Well, 50, how did it feel to get shot nine times?"" But those stories don't hold the weight, the pain, or the hope of my experience. It just can't. This is my mindset and these are the things that go on. This is why I say the rhymes that I say. This is what happened when I was trying to get rich before I died in Southside Queens. So begins From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens, a violent and introspective memoir that reveals not only 50's story but the story of a generation of youth faced with hard choices and very little options. A tale of sacrifice, transformation and redemption, but it is also one of hope, determination and the power of self. Told in 50's own unique voice, the narrative drips with the raw insight, street wisdom, and his struggle to survive at all costs...and behold the riches of the American Dream. 50 Cent has sold over 20 million records worldwide. His record-breaking debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' has sold over 12 million units worldwide, with the largest debut in SoundScan history. While his sophomore effort, The Massacre, sold over 1.14 million copies in its fi rst four days of release, he has since become the fi rst artist to have four songs in the top ten of Billboard's Hot 100 since The Beatles in 1964. His business empire includes: a record label (G-Unit Records, a division of Interscope Records), apparel/footwear ventures (G-Unit Clothing and footwear, joint ventures through the Ecko Clothing Company and Reebok, respectively), vitamin water (Formula 50, through Glacéau's Vitamin Water), watch line (G-Unit Watches, through Jacob & Co), and a video game (50 Cent: Bulletproof, through Vivendi Games). His future plans are to dominate the film and television worlds through two new G-Unit ventures in film and television...and his most prized project: the nonprofit organization The G-Unity Foundation, which aims to better the life of urban youth. "
Customer Reviews:
Harsh, thrilling, and scary. This book its great!.......2007-04-17
From Pieces To Weight was a great book and I gave it five stars because of the writer's vivid descriptions of the harsh things that he experienced in his life. 50 Cent had to go through a really rough life. His mom died when he was a kid and he never new who his father was. 50 Cent knew he was going to be a drug dealer because everyone in his family sold drugs. I'm not going to give away the rest of the book but I suggest you read this book, it is really good.
Decent book for 50 Cent fans.......2007-03-22
I recently purchased this book for my fiance, who, obviously, loves 50 Cent. He read the first 50 pages the day it arrived, and I must tell you, he is NOT the type of person to sit down and read a book. It's about 50's life in Southside Queens and his experiences as a child up until his fame. While my fiance finds this book inspirational and exciting, I find the writing style to be fairly simple with 50 reiterating well-known facts (ex. You can't have life without death) and also presenting himself as an arrogant, almost martyr-type of character. Why do I say that? He talks about himself and his experiences in life (which may or may not be exaggerated) and repeatedly states that what he has gone through should be used as an example to others. He blames the media for his portrayal as a "bullet riddled rapper" but obviously, 50 uses it to his advantage without much complaint. He tries to come off as a mentor and inspiration, but I really did find him irritating at times. I think their are better role models for others to look up to. I'd rather read Sidney Poitier's memoirs than idolize 50 Cent. But that's just my view. For 50 Cent lovers, they'll be inspired and amazed.
From Pieces to Weights .......2007-01-13
I read the book From Pieces to Weights, by 50 cent. This book showed me how the streets are a hard place. There are a lot of people that think the streets are a horrible place and that there dangerous. Well they are dangerous, but there not horrible and many people think that there are horrible people that live in the area. This book showed me that many people on the streets hustling are really trying to find themselves. This book also showed me not to judge the people that are selling the drugs.
This book really touched me with what 50 cent was going though. His mom was killed for selling drugs and then he went and started to sell drugs. I really think he didn't have a choice because it's what he saw everyday. He watched his aunts and uncles and everyone else on the streets, and he probably thought that it was the right thing to do. This book was very well writing and I got hooked to it. I think 50 cent did a great job at telling his story.
I would recommend this book to anyone, I think mostly people who don't really know about the streets because it tells you a lot. I wouldn't recommend this book to people that do not like bad language used a lot. This book was very entertaining. I suggest you read it.
his book is the best.......2007-01-10
when I read his book he had some facts that I didn't know about. his book should reach the #1 spot on the book list.
Much better than I thought it would be.......2006-12-31
Pieces to Weight is really good. It is a straightforward and interesting read and gives you a glimpse into the forces that created 50 Cent and sustain his own continuing evolution of his image. It answers a lot of the street questions you may have about him, puts you in on street drug deals with him, and pulls you through a lot of his painful, sometimes scary and frustrated life. You rehabilitate with him though his excruciatingly painful injuries while the people around him go in and out of his life, sometimes supporting him and sometimes betraying him.
If you are curious about the forces that forged the man, and you enjoyed works like Pimp, the Story of my Life by Iceberg Slim or the Donald Goines series of books, this one will be a great read for you. Careful, your friends will "borrow" it and you won't ever see it again.
50 defers to Eminem, but he is the world-wide poster child for hard core, gangsta rap. One of the attributes (besides the "glamour" of being shot five times and surviving) that separates him from the rest is his attention to the details of his work, his professionalism, and the quality of his product. 50's music (from Dr. Dre and the other elite of the industry), plus his own growth as a musician, producer and hook writer has the unmistakable stamp of realism, talent and hard work. Some people, like me, think this equals genius. No wonder everything he touched turned to gold (platinum).
Love him or hate him, 50 is a mirror image of our society which is prudish about sex but glorifies violence, that sometimes treats our fellow citizens in the inner city like foreigners to either ignore or oppress. He literally is our creation. Facinating read.
Product Description
During World War II, Port Chicago was a segregated naval munitions base on the outer shores of San Francisco Bay. Black seamen were required to load ammunition onto ships bound for the South Pacific under the watch of their white officers—an incredibly dangerous and physically challenging task. On July 17, 1944, an explosion rocked the base, killing 320 men—202 of whom were black ammunition loaders. In the ensuing weeks, white officers were given leave time and commended for heroic efforts, whereas 328 of the surviving black enlistees were sent to load ammunition on another ship. When they refused, fifty men were singled out and charged—and convicted—of mutiny. It was the largest mutiny trial in U.S. naval history. First published in 1989, The Port Chicago Mutiny is a thorough and riveting work of civil rights literature, and with a new preface and epilogue by the author emphasize the event’s relevance today. More than a mutiny trial, the incident raises questions about the powers of the military, about the prosecution of civil disobedience, and about the rights of the individual.
Customer Reviews:
Traitors looking for redemption!.......2005-02-08
Although this event itself was quite tragic, these men were traitors and they were by definition mutinous. Pardoning them befouls the good names of the men that died there and the other 200+ men who went back to work. This whole movement is simply an NAACP backed propaganda story to later recover some monitary value from the Navy and the government. It's ridiculous! Don't waste your money on this book.
Discrimination in the U.S. Navy........2004-07-23
I give Allen credit for writing about a little known event in our nation's and WWII history. This was the explosion caused by the mishandling of ammunition at the Port Chicago Naval Station in California. Over 300 people died as a result of this explosion, the majority of them black ammunition handlers. When the Navy tried to redirect the remaining black ammunition handlers to another yard, they refused to handle any more ammunition. If I were them, I would too. The Navy then selected a representative 50 of the 250 soldiers who refused to handle any more ammunition, and court martialed them with long prison sentences. That was injustice.
This is an interesting story. However, Allen's leftist rantings tended to alienate the reader from the story. Bob, most people agree that what the U.S. Navy did to these 50 sailors was wrong, but why slant the story so radically. Allen's writings was not as smooth as most writers, so I tended to slog through this very interesting story. The story could have been better written and the slant should have been left out. More detail about the explosion could also have been included in this short book, without slighting the main theme of discrimination of the U.S. Navy.
The Port Chicago Mutiny.......2001-10-18
This excellent book details the aftermath of the Port Chicago ammunition ship explosions during WW2, with particular emphasis on the "mutiny" of Black sailors detailed to handle the loading of ammunition ships. Those familiar with Port Chicago will find the book brings back details of the operations there, which had changed substantially in the years leading up to the Vietnam Era, and will provide interesting insights to the way Black sailors were treated. Their tragic end and the sacrifices of those who organized and participated in their work-stoppage made ammunition handling
safer for those who came after them, and as an ammunition ship sailor once assigned to Port Chicago, I'm included. A movie was made which closely follows this book's story.
Dry paper catches fire easy.......2000-06-16
No don't burn this book-buy it and read it and become aware ofone of yet another sickening US military action. This time the framingof black sailors who wouldn't work the day after hundred of their buddies were blown to smitherines because of unsafe loading of a munitions ship.
The US Navy behavior was despicable.
It's a little dry, to remain aloof. But dry paper catches fire easy.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from New York Times Upfront, published by Scholastic, Inc. on January 3, 2000. The length of the article is 657 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: The Port Chicago mutiny: after a deadly blast, 50 black sailors refused to return to work--and went to jail instead. (times past).(Brief Article)
Author: Sean Price
Publication:
New York Times Upfront (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 3, 2000
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 132
Issue: 9
Page: 24(2)
Article Type: Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
First there was downtown. Then there were suburbs. Then there were malls. Then Americans launched the most sweeping change in 100 years in how they live, work, and play. The Edge City.
Customer Reviews:
I actually shook my fist at this book while reading it. More than once........2005-10-20
Edge City is obnoxious partially because it is full of lies, distortions, and contradictions, and partially because it espouses an irresponsible model of growth and settlement. I say "irresponsble" because while Garreau claims to be merely descriptive, he's actually prescriptive: he not only argues that ECs are inevitable, but insists that they're vital and wonderful and soup for the human soul. I admit, however, that what what initially raised and finally sustained my rancor is that it's another case of someone simply ignoring the research that has come before them, research of which they are clearly aware, and not bothering to show how their new theory sits with respect to that previous knowledge, or why their new explanations are superior to previous ones.
Garreau makes at least 4 references to Jane Jacobs and her seminal Life and Death of Great American Cities early on in his book - mostly throwaway references, one slightly critical. There's absolutely no engagement, though her work is highly relevant. In LDGAM, Jacobs argues that the basic tenents of urban zoning and planning, which she labels "City Beautiful", are flawed, and destined to create dead grey areas in cities. She advocates mixed zoning, so that the same neighborhood contains at least retail, offices, and residential units, and so that there's significant cross-use and foot traffic throughout the day and night. She also advocates measures in general that are calculated to make movement easier and more appealing for pedestrians, such as shorter blocks, and irregular streets mixed in with the main arterial thoroughfares. Her book is much richer than all of this; this is just a summary of the most relevant parts.
Garreau's Edge City opens up by lamenting the deadness of downtowns and their lack of cross-use, their tendency for single-zoning, etc. He goes on to suggest that his "Edge Cities" (suburbs that have rapidly sprung up over the past 30 years, and which contain a mix of commercial, retail, and residential areas) are not only a good solution to the "problems of cities", but in fact, the inevitable one as well. This would be fine if he talked explicity about why mixed-use zoning in cities doesn't work; why being able to walk across the street to buy milk, take a 20 minute bus to work, walk 10 minutes to a park, and be in the midst of thousands of easily accessible city amenities is so much worse than living in a suburb where you need a car to get anywhere, where you have a 20-minute drive to shopping of any kind, and a 45-minute drive to work. But he doesn't. He makes hand-wavey remarks that humans seek out open spaces and freedom, that a man over 30 who takes the bus every day is a failure, that man seeks to be close to nature, and that urban planners are effete intellectuals who have no idea how real people live. Etc. Again, any one of those propositions would be fine, but there's no data to back it up. The book as a whole is little more than a complicated mess of contradictory claims.
For example, in one chapter, Garreau describes Edge Cities as affordable, but in another he admits that as Edge Cities age, they become increasingly expensive, and "middle-income" people are reduced to paying through the nose to live in what Garreau himself describes as the suburban equivalent of tenement houses. When praising the loveliness and freedom of Edge Cities, Garreau more or less only concentrates on the richest citizens - his interviewees were business owners, vice-presidents, and lawyers, all pulling down upper-middle class salaries at the very least. One upscale couple remarks, "It's really our money that makes us free." (How droll!) Indeed, Edge Cities are great if you're a CEO or can afford a giant house on a 3-acre lot, and at least one car per driver to meet basic transit needs. (And social services are a lot better when you're in a neighborhood where everyone makes several hundred thousand a year: at last, you don't have to subsidize local poor people!) At least, Edge Cities are great while they're new. Garreau describes in several places old suburbs that crumbled and died after they got a little less shiny and new, and their corporate sponsors decided to pick up and build a different plot of virgin land.
In sum, the Edge City phenomenon Garreau describes and joyfully embraces as inevitable is no more and no less than a greedy, unsustainable land grab that will force us to build a lot of unecessary infrastructure (roads, sewers) to places that will just be abandoned in another 50 years.
Automotively Optimistic.......2005-03-31
Explores the new environments arising at the junctions of interstate highways on the edges of major American metropolises. These developments supplemented suburbia first with retail and then with office buildings to become during the 1980s new centers of intensity rivaling or surpassing the old downtowns.
Through a succession of chapters, each nominally dedicated to a single metropolitan area, Mr. Garreau examines the edge city in its relation to some key issues in American society (transportation, race, quasi-governmental institutions, etc.) and then proceeds to investigate the edge city's compatibility with the traditional concepts of civilization, community, soul, and finally "hallowed ground."
An engaging and informative discussion of the forces shaping the new communities under construction throughout America. I recommend Edge City strongly to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of why we build the way we do.
My recent re-reading of Edge City was prompted by my first reading of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, by Jane Jacobs. First published in 1961, Ms. Jacobs' work is now a classic that I wish I had read years earlier.
In a chapter entitled "Erosion of cities or attrition of automobiles," Ms. Jacobs expresses extreme pessimism regarding the place of the automobile in a livable urban environment. She counsels deliberate "attrition" of automobiles as the only protection against "erosion" of the city by continual further accommodations to them. Her well reasoned analysis of the conflict between car and city left me convinced of the wisdom of her recommendations.
But I remembered vaguely that Mr. Garreau had by contrast seemed entirely optimistic about the quality of life in edge cities built from the ground up to accommodate automotive traffic. So I read Edge City again.
My memory was not mistaken. Mr. Garreau seems optimistic about nearly every aspect of the edge city, cars included, about which he declares: "The system of individual transportation we Americans have devised, of course, is the finest method of moving the most people and freight in the most directions at the most times ever devised by the mind of man. At its center is the automobile and the hard-surfaced, all-weather road (p. 108)."
Ms. Jacobs, on the other hand, emphasizes the inefficiencies of automobiles. They are generally under-occupied when in use. They require vast areas of land for roads and parking lots that go unused for much of the time. Negative feedback is a chief characteristic of systems built to accommodate them: they always use up all of the roads and parking, requiring enlargement of both, spreading the buildings even farther apart, with the result of inducing even more travel by car.
Oddly enough, Mr. Garreau admits all of these drawbacks in his book (Death and Life of Great American Cities is in his bibliography.). Nevertheless, he remains optimistic.
One explanation for this difference in attitude before the same facts rests on a difference between the two authors regarding the definition of the term "density." Both praise what Mr. Garreau calls "urbanity"-the variety and uniqueness of life in our most attractive urban environments. Both also agree that "density" is necessary to urbanity.
The problem is that Ms. Jacobs is a walker while Mr. Garreau is a driver. She wants to experience continuous urbanity (hence also density) over the paths she walks, starting from her own front door. Mr. Garreau is content to experience urbanity at a locus of density to which he drives over asphalt parking lots. Ms. Jacobs wants her urbanity along a city sidewalk, whereas Mr. Garreau will take his in a suburban mall. The automobile is destroyer of the former and enabler of the latter.
For Mr. Garreau, density may be discontinuous, presenting loci of dense human activity separated by lots full of the cars that bring the humans together. For Ms. Jacobs, density is continuous, uninterrupted by the freeways and parking lots that are indeed forbidding to pedestrians.
Another explanation for the difference in attitude is that Ms. Jacobs sees the car as one of many influences destroying the urbanity of the established older "center" city. Inversely, Mr. Garreau sees the automobile as the prerequisite for the construction of a new "edge" city that will in his view gradually develop the same urbanity-with the HELP of the automobile: "But the best bet is probably the one we are engaged in right now: building Edge City. It is a world that does not deny the automobile, but at the same time increases density, putting everything a person desires as close as possible to his house while reducing the number of different places he has to park in order to go about his affairs (p. 129)."
Personally, I am a walker, but I see his point, and I liked the book.
I should mention before closing that there are some interesting appendixes: (1) list of edge cities to be found in each major metropolitan area in the United States; (2) dictionary of important jargon used by developers of edge cities; and (3) list of the "laws" (primarily quantitative) determining the layout of edge city development ("Americans won't walk more than 600 feet," for example). There is also an extensive bibliography, partially annotated.
What It Is............2005-02-01
It is interesting to read this book again with the benefit of some history since it was first written. The Edge City has evolved and continues to evolve, but there is little doubt at this point that Garreau's basic premise was correct. We are on the edge because this is where it makes sense for so many of us to live. Just as the traditional city worked in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, Edge City works today, and not just in the United States, but globally. I've seen Edge City in Toronto, Malmo Sweden and other places the author references and what strikes me is how similiar it is to Edge City in my own backyard, that is, The Woodlands, Texas.
Garreau is correct that Edge City is in transition. The Houston Galleria has gone from Edge City to traditional city in any sense of the definition. As housing is added and density increased, the area adapts. Always a destination, it is now home for increasing numbers of Houstonians. Mass transit is not far off. The Edge City is going mainstream, at least in the Galleria, and the end product is very attractive. The same can be said for The Woodlands. Yes, it is Disney-esque, but it is also funky in it's own way, and the end product will continue to evolve. The new pedestrian friendly village is already a hit, and water taxis and pathways make carless movement between major attractions a viable alternative to traditional suburban transit.
This is an excellent read, in no small part because Garreau resists the urge to lecture and condescend. He seems fascinated by the product and willing to admit that Edge City is what it is, and it might be a viable alternative even for those among us who view sprawl as wasteful and immoral. If you're interested in understanding the evolution of modern society, both good and bad, in terms of the places more and more of us are calling home....then this is a worthwhile read.
Exceptionally well done.......2004-09-13
This book explores what has become of the suburbs. Garreau's argues that certain suburbs have developed into a new kind of city, a city without a traditional downtown. He believes that such "edge cities", are the cities of the future. Garreau's criteria for an "edge city" are:
--5 million square feet or more of office space
--600,000 square feet or more of retail space
--more jobs than bedrooms
--perceived as one place by the population
--developed within the last 30 years
With these criteria in mind, Garreau sets off across the US to study our major edge cities. He explores edge cities in New Jersey, Texas, Southern California, and the areas around Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. In each area that he visits, Garreau takes up an edge city theme. For instance, in Detroit he discusses cars and the role they play in edge cities, and in Atlanta he discusses questions of race and class in edge cities.
At the end of the book is a list of US cities that qualified for edge city status in 1992. This is followed by a glossary of words used by edge city developers and a set of "laws" about how edge cities work. These "laws" are statistical observations about human behavior relevant for city planning, such as "the furthest distance an American will willing walk before getting into a car is 600 feet." Finally, there is an annotated list of suggested readings, endnotes, and an index.
Garreau is neither for nor against edge cities. He tries instead to understand how they work, and why they have popped up so rapidly across the country. He strives to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, coming across more like Jane Jacobs than Lewis Mumford, who argued so stridently for regional planning. Garreau points out that edge cities are being built by developers who are in the business to make money. In other words, they build what they believe will sell, and given the fact that the developments sell so well, a lot of Americans are making the conscious decision that they want to live in edge city developments. Through interviews with developers, employers, and residents, Garreau explores the factors that make edge cities so popular.
He writes "Maybe it worked like this. The force that drove the creation of Edge City was our search deep inside ourselves for a new balance of individualism and freedom. We wanted to build a world in which we could live in one place, work in another, and play in a third, in unlimited combination, as a way to nurture our human potential. This demanded transportation that would allow us to go where we wanted, when we wanted. That enshrined the individual transportation system, the automobile, in our lives. And that led us to build our market meeting places in the fashion of today's malls." Cars are key elements in this phenomenon. They make it possible for people to separate their workplaces from the residences, and they define the distances which are considered commutable. They make it possible for people to live spread out enough from each other that everyone can have a front yard, yet at the same time, for the development to be dense enough to support large employers and sophisticated shopping options.
Garreau doesn't devote much space to the problems created by such heavy dependence on personal autos. Would Americans ever be willing to trade in their cars for more sustainable transit options, such as bicycles? Unless the price of gas rises drastically, we probably won't find out. But it seems that it wouldn't be that hard to develop edge cities where people could get around by bicycle or foot. In Scandinavia, for instance, new developments are connected by bicycle/pedestrian walkways that are completely separate from motorways and have their own underpass system so that interactions with motorized traffic are kept to a minimum. Everyone from the youngest tot to the oldest senior citizen uses these paths. If bike travel were made easy and safe here, perhaps it might become more popular, easing the congestion on the roads. It might also help with our obesity epidemic.
One topic that Garreau seems to overlook is the question of the support workers for edge cities. In Garreau's edge city descriptions, the edge city residential properties are attractive and upscale, suitable for well-paid white color employees. The money these people have supports the edge city malls, shopping centers, and restaurants. But such highly skilled people aren't likely to actually work at the malls, where the jobs are minimum wage. All those shops and restaurants require ranks of minimum wage workers, and people earning the minimum wage can't afford to live in Edge City where the housing costs are so high. Instead, they live in run-down inner cities or outlying towns and commute long distances to their jobs at the malls. They may not reside in edge cities, but they still comprise a major component of the overall operations and their needs and habits should also be considered.
I lived in an edge city west of Boston for four years. I lived in a box, I worked in a box, and when I got home at night I was dead tired from the commute. The distances between shops and homes were so large that a car was absolutely required to get around. It was virtually impossible to meet others, and cultural activities were extremely limited. For the most part, the only public space in town was at the malls. The town spirit seemed to be missing along with the town center. The first chance we had to leave town, we bolted and have never looked back. If Garreau is right, and edge cities are the wave of the future because that's where Americans are choosing to live, I'm afraid for the future of America. Hopefully, as edge cities begin to mature, they will become more livable places.
On the Edge.......2004-04-19
This was the first book on cities and planning I ever read, and I was captivated through most of it. Filled with fascinating views on how real estate and commerce work together, this book ties together views of different metropoles as they develop their "Edge Cities," grown-up suburbs that are more than bedroom communities. These Edge Cities have overwhelmed the central city that gave birth to them, as suburbanites find them easier to commute to (at first), and certainly cleaner than the "real city." Gridlock and sprawl are the result as the Edge Cities go up everywhere.
And I still remember my eagerness in reading this terrific book, city after city, looking forward to the San Francisco chapter... and my crushing disappointment when Garreau discussed not Silicon Valley, the quintessential Edge City, but... Concord. Concord? How did he miss Silicon Valley, at the intersection of 85 and 280, or 101 and 880, or... (Garreau feels freeway junctions lead to Edge Cities)
Okay, other than my personal disappointment that he missed the real story, that the suburban metroplex is none other than San Jose/Santa Clara/Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Mountain View/Palo Alto/Redwood City this is still a great book. The endpapers show the contrast between Tyson's Corners postwar and in the nineties, and what a contrast it is.
This book goes well with "Suburban Nation," which shows how to avoid the downside of Edge Cities.
Book Description
The dazzling insect- and nectar-eating sunbirds in Asia and Africa are among the most glamorous of all bird families. This comprehensive book is the first guide to all sunbirds and to three other closely related families: the spiderhunters and flowerpeckers of Asia and the sugarbirds of southern Africa.
This guide provides a full account of each species, including a summary of identification criteria, differences between similar species, descriptions of calls and songs, habitat, status, movements, food, habits, and breeding biology. There are also detailed distribution maps and forty-eight beautiful color plates. The illustrations accurately portray both sexes of each species and all major plumage variations, and in many cases depict the 176 species on their typical food plants. Readers will be able to use this volume to identify any of these beautiful, often iridescent plumed birds and to gain insight into their ecology, behavior, and habits.
Customer Reviews:
Sunbirds, spiderhunters, flowerpeckers, and sugarbirds........2001-12-29
I bought and read this book with enthusiasm because of my 35 years living and travelling in Africa, where sunbirds predominate. The illustrations are excellent and the text is as well. This is probably the most colorful of all the family books being issued by Yale, Princeton, and Oxford. Following Sibley and Monroe's DNA analysis, they have finally but the two African sugarbirds in the Sunbird family, with only generic status. They have previously been put as far away as Honeyeaters and Starlings. It would be lovely if the range maps could be put on the pages facing the illustrations, to help differentiate birds of similar appearance, but I guess this was not possible. The maps themselves are very good. Altogether, one of the best family books and a must for collectors.
Books:
- Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism (Pioneers of Conservation)
- Girl, Interrupted
- Golden Boy: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood
- Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War
- Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story (WWE)
- Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
- His Excellency: George Washington
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- Hudson Taylors Spiritual Secret
- I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
- Winter of the Wolf Moon: A Mystery
- The Philosophy of Andy Warhol :
- The Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectiv
- Tiffany at auction
- Water Treatment: Principles and Design
- When All the World Was Young: A Memoir
- Jardin De La Malmaison: Empress Josephine's Garden with an essay by Marina Heilmeyer
- The Fertility Handbook: A Guide to Getting Pregnant
- Dandelion Adventures
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
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| Books
Queens Reigns Supreme: Fat Cat, 50 Cent, and the Rise of the Hip Hop Hustler
The Ski Mask Way
Death Before Dishonor
Angry Blonde
Confessions of a Video Vixen
