Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape

Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape
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Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape

Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813027187

Book Description

The authors in this collection show how the creation of a collective memory of highly visible objects and landscapes is an ongoing struggle, their meanings always being constructed, changed, and challenged. The sites and symbols the authors address are nationally recognized and include a balance of places that illuminate class, ethnic, racial, and historical experiences. Focusing on material culture, they explore the tensions that exist among various groups--elite landowners, the National Park Service, preservationists, minority groups--who compete for control over the interpretation of American public history.

Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape.(Book Review): An article from: American Antiquity

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Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape.(Book Review): An article from: American Antiquity
Daniel W., Jr. Ingersoll
Manufacturer: Society for American Archaeology
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Antiquity, published by Society for American Archaeology on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1028 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: Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape.(Book Review)
Author: Daniel W., Jr. Ingersoll
Publication: American Antiquity (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Society for American Archaeology
Volume: 68 Issue: 1 Page: 189(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

In this unique volume, respected screenwriter Thomas Pope offers an innovative and practical approach to teaching the craft of screenplay writing, in the process providing an engaging, behind-the-scenes look at the way the film industry really works. Each chapter deals with a different component of the art of screenwriting, from character development, to the nurturing of subplots, to the fundamentals of good dialogue, illustrating everything through the virtues or mistakes of a particular film. The book encompasses the best and worst of films throughout the years, including Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction, Chinatown, Singing in the Rain, Bonfire of the Vanities, and many others. With its trenchant analysis and keen insight into the reasons films succeed or fail, Good Scripts, Bad Scripts is not only an invaluable guide for potential screenwriters, but a rich resource for any student interested in film and film history.

Customer Reviews:

If you've read Hauge, McKee, etc... this is the next step..........2007-07-13

There are a limited number of screenwriting books for near-professionals, and this is one of them. I've read all the best, and this one rates among them. Don't read it front to back, just read the sections of the movies you know. It also has an incredible analysis of "Pulp Fiction."

Enjoyable Read, Lots to Think About.......2006-04-21

Mr. Pope has done in book form what I and countless other aspiring screenwriters do in our heads: analyze movies to figure out what did and didn't work. For the most part, I thoroughly agree with the author's analyses, but let's face it, opinions are like, well, you know, and his conclusions may be different than your own. The important thing is his logic is undeniable and thought-provoking. I wish he'd come out with an updated version with 25 new movies and analyses.

Populist Fare.......2005-02-22

If you're an aspiring screenwriter looking to inspire some form of logic to your budding script, pick up a copy of Thomas Pope's "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts". Mr. Pope's critiques and breaking down of popular films in various genres are so meticulous and well studied that you will never look at films such as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction the same way again.

I'm curious, though. How would Mr. Pope have judged more complex fare like David Lynch's "Eraserhead," or formalist exercises such as Gus Van Sant's "Elephant," or surreal genres such as Luis Buñuel's "Un Chien Andalou," or films within a film such as Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes," or structureless essays like practically anything by Jean-Luc Godard?

Looking through Pope's 25 selections, there is not one avant-garde representation. The films may have been avant-garde in the way they were conceived ("Singing' in the Rain" being a fine example) but the end products are, by and large, mainstream entertainment.

It's ironic that Thomas Pope's best point in his book was in the preface: "There are no rules. In fact, that may be the single most important idea to come from this entire book." I agree 100%.

That said, I would still recommend "Good Scripts, Bad Scripts" even to those who are stubbornly resistant to traditional narrative structure, because you can choose to adopt, challenge or disregard most of the formulas and conventions that are laid out in his thoughtful book. Either way, you can't go wrong.

By the way, I disagree with Mr. Pope that "Singing' in the Rain" is the finest musical ever made. I believe that honour belongs to "West Side Story."

Brilliant Script Analysis.......2004-07-03

The authors really know their stuff in this well-written and very informative book. (Those reviewers who didn't find what they were looking for -- or felt the book didn't live up to its promise -- are clearly oblivious to what works and what doesn't work in film.)I learned something new on practically every page. I wish they had analyzed twice as many films, and I'd buy a sequel the minute it came out.

My only quibble is that there was no comparison of the script as written with the actual film. Scripts change between the time they're bought and when the final production edit is made. It would be interesting to know which bits were from the original script and which bits were added or changed on the fly: practical considerations during filming might have meant a damaging change to the script during filming.

Or maybe that's another book, entirely.

like having/overhearing a conversation about films..........2003-04-15

This is not a 'how-to' book, more an interesting (IMHO) setof facts and opinions about a couple of dozen films in particular.

In some ways, to me it's like eavesdropping on a couple of friends having a film-related conversation one evening. Sure, it's a little one-sided, but for the most part I agreed with the basic points for each script.

The neat thing (too) I think is that any one of us would have seen several (if not all) of these films, so talking about structure and character-development won't be an academic exercise... you'll know exactly what they're talking about (and can agree, disagree...)

This is an easy read, manageable chapters and not hard-work by any stretch. In fact, it was an enjoyable pick-it-up when you have spare time, rather than have to slog through a lecture (syd field, please note)

The Bad Popes
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One of the Most Outstanding Books of All Time

The Bad Popes
E.R. Chamberlain
Manufacturer: Dorset Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000E1EP5G

Customer Reviews:

One of the Most Outstanding Books of All Time.......2007-01-17

ALL Christians should be required to read this book so they will know the true roots and reigns of their belief system. It will rock their foundation.

The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of the Good, the Bad and the Unforgettable

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A good book but it misses a lot
History of Pro Wrestling Would be More Accurate Title
If you are a wrestling fan this book is for you!!!

The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of the Good, the Bad and the Unforgettable
Kristian Pope , Ray, Jr Whebbe , and Ray Whebbe
Manufacturer: Krause Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0873492331

Book Description

One-hundred years of professional wrestling: From "shoots" to "works," carneys to cage matches, heroes to villains, it is all here in a bold and colorful manner.

Featuring nearly 500 incredible photos, this color book takes a look at the most notable events in the fascinating history of professional wrestling and highlight its greatest stars, from legends like Frank Gotch, William Muldoon, Lou Thesz and the Fabulous Moolah, to today's superstars like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chyna, Triple H, and Lita.

In these pages, you'll find tough guys and heroes, the managers fans love to hate, ring beauties, oddballs, freaks and monsters, tag teams, famous feuds, finishing holds and moves, and everything in between. A "slamography" of more than 500 wrestlers, including their career highlights, is also featured, as well as some of the hottest wrestling collectibles on the market today.

Professional wrestling remains one of the hottest forms of entertainment in the world and fans agree that there is no greater show on earth.

Customer Reviews:

A good book but it misses a lot.......2003-10-24

I was looking for a book that would be a complete history of wrestling, but there doesn't seem to be one out there. This book has lots of good photos, including memorabilia such as ads & publicity photos, but there's a lot missing here. Only the briefest of bios are provided (I wish it included at least year of birth, height, weight), some major wrestlers are omitted entirely, & there's no index. Unlike a "real" encyclopedia, most of the book is not arranged alphabetically (only the "Slamographies" section is alphabetized), so an index would be useful. I'm mostly a fan of 1950s - 1960s wrestlers, so I wanted to find information on the old stars, but this book misses some of the biggest attractions of that era (like Haystacks Calhoun). A worthy addition to your wrestling reference library, but will somebody please write a definitive encyclopedia on this subject?

History of Pro Wrestling Would be More Accurate Title.......2001-12-13

This book is pretty good. It has a lot of really neat picture and tons of good facts and stories. Any wrestling fan should own it. There are several spelling mistakes, however, which make the bok seem like an amateur effort. Overall, still worth reading and owning

If you are a wrestling fan this book is for you!!!.......2001-08-27

The authors of "Professional Wrestling", Kristian Pope and Ray Whebbe have outdone themselves with this one. If you are a wrestling fan, young or old, long time or new, there is something in this book (actually a whole lot of things), to keep you interested for a long time to come. My favorite chapters were the "Ring Beauties" and "Slamographies", the former because there is not a lot of press about the ladies around and over the years they have had a profound influence on the "sport" both in the ring and behind the scenes. The last chapter "Slamographies" tells you every thing you ever wanted to know about every wrestler that has made some sort of impact on the sport. I am going to test my wrestling fan friends with the info presented here and maybe pick up a few bucks in the process. Great Stuff - Thank you Kris & Ray

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Nothing spiritual about the papacy
Enjoyable, Engrossing and Informative
The "dark side" of the Papacy
"We cannot serve God & Mammon at the same time"---de' Mussi
Lively history

The Bad Popes
E. R. Chamberlin
Manufacturer: Dorset
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0880291168

Book Description

Let yourself be swept up by this colorful, panoramic story of seven men who ruled the Church of Rome at seven critical periods in the 600 years leading up to the Reformation. During this age of grandeur and corruption, popes led armies, made love and war, conspired for power, and armed themselves with the techniques of assassination and seduction while clothed with the authority of the Church. Dramatic accounts of these papal bad boys include: Urban VI, the wild man from Naples, whose grotesque savageries widened and maintained the scandalous gap of the Great Schism; Alexander VI, who brought to the See of Peter the intrigues of the Borgia; and Clement VII, the unskillful fox, whose fall brought down Rome itself. Profusely illustrated with architectural photographs and contemporary art from both Catholic and Protestant sources, this absorbing work vividly depicts the ecclesiastical corruptions which changed the course of history.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing spiritual about the papacy.......2007-01-12

The popes covered in this book showed virtually no interest in spiritual matters but a great deal of interest in power, wealth, and carnal pleasures. A term that appears over and over again is simony: the act of buying or selling ecclesiastical preferment, ecclesiastical pardons, or other things regarded as sacred or spiritual. The popes routinely sold membership in the cardinalate as a means of raising cash. In order to maintain a family's position in the College of Cardinals, the pope would sometimes appoint teenage boys from his extended family. During this period, the pope could marry and have children which he then attempted to ensure would succeed him to the pontificate. Some popes had numerous illegitimate children who under normal circumstances would be outcasts, but the pope could issue a decree legitimizing their birth.

Did you know that due to the utter ineptness of Pope Clement VII, Rome was sacked by the Catholic emperor Charles in 1527? The pillaging and rape ended only when the numerous dead bodies brought on the plague, which affected inhabitant and invader alike. In addition, the utter destruction of the country resulted in famine, and looters, laden with gold, were starving. They eventually left Rome to find food.

It's not hard to understand the appeal of Lutheranism after reading about the wild debauchery that was going on in Rome at that time.

Although the modern-day Catholic Church, still one of the richest institutions around, has cleaned up its act in comparison to what it was doing for centuries, this well-written book reminds us that there is nothing spiritual about that institution.

Enjoyable, Engrossing and Informative.......2005-11-15

I enjoy historical biographies etc. but would consider myself a reader of 'lighter' material (fantasy etc.). I picked up this book as a curiosity expecting little, but found myself taken in by it.

This book moves quickly and firmly through the history of six 'Bad Popes' but, more interestingly to me, illustrates the evolution of the Catholic Church from roughly AD 900 - AD 1530, especially in the context of european power politics of this era.

The author's style is very readable. His vocabulary is advanced although not pendantic and his descriptions colorful without being obscene.

Rather than being a catalogue of shocking infobits or factoids as other 'bad pope' books have been, Chamberlin does a good job telling the narrative of each pope's life in the context of their situation and times. He steers and even keel between anti-catholic propaganda and pro-papal fanaticism and overall left me feeling like I had a pretty good image of 'how it really was'.

This was NOT a book of which I flipped to the back half way through to check how many pages were left. I enjoyed picking it up and avoided putting it down. It is the first title I have read from this author, but hopefully will not be the last.

The "dark side" of the Papacy.......2005-05-17

This book retells the lives of 7 "bad" Popes, in the estimation of the author. There are one or two on this list who don't necessarily qualify as "bad", but perhaps "misguided", or just plain "incompetent". The nomenclature, however, belongs to the author, and I will not quibble with his choices. That having been said, I will admit that this book reveals a side of the papacy that is somewhat unknown to the average person today. It's general knowledge that there were sone Popes unworthy of their high position, but that's about all most people really know. This book goes into extensive detail about the Popes on the author's list, and it does an excellent job of pointing out exactly what, in his estimation, were their failings. When viewed in the light of the recent papal conclave which elected Benedict XVI, those early elections, influenced by the Roman mob, political considerations, family connections and outright bribery, it's amazing that the Church survived at all! This is a cautionary tale for everyone interested in the history of the Church and its rulers, and will certainly remove the "rose colored glasses" from the faces of a lot of people.

"We cannot serve God & Mammon at the same time"---de' Mussi.......2005-05-06

I picked up The Bad Popes because of its intriguing title. Its cover artwork (my copy has a different, more appealing cover than the one advertised here) and style reminded me of another book with an equally intriguing title also reprinted by Barnes & Noble Books: The Medieval Underworld by Andrew McCall. McCall's work, although interesting and well researched, was very difficult to read. I anticipated Chamberlin's work, first published in 1969, to pose a similar challenge. I was pleasantly surprised. The Bad Popes is sophisticated and scholarly as is Medieval Underworld, but it is much more accessible. I have almost no background knowledge of the topic, but was able to follow along relatively well. It is clearly written, not burdened with details, and even on occasion offers some humor and wit.

Chamberlin briefly goes back to the pagan traditions of Ancient Rome and then to Christophorous' forgery of The Donation of Constantine to establish the point where temporal powers transferred from the emperor to the pope. For example, in 755 A.D. the King of Franks believed in the veracity of the Donation and gave Pope Stephen the keys to 20 cities foreshadowing the Papal states and the pope in the role of feudal lord (p. 17). Such power magnified the attraction of the office and sparked the interest in some of the more greedy and power-hungry candidates to the Papacy. The most interesting story of this period is when Pope Stephen VII had the corpse of Pope Formosus dragged from its tomb to be put on trial (p. 19)

The book divides into six sections and features seven "bad popes" with some information on their predecessors who do not seem that much better. The first section entitled The House of Theophylact covers two popes as well as the senatrix of Rome Marozia and the legend of "Pope Joan." The first pope covered is John XII (955-63) whose biggest crime in Roman eyes was that he gave land to his mistress, but he was also involved with other crimes and would end up being killed by a man who caught John in bed with his wife. Pope Benedict IX (1032-1046) flat out sold the Papacy. I found that the political intrigue surrounding the selection of the popes to be as, if not more, interesting than the events during each pope's reign.

The next five sections each feature one "bad pope." First, Benedict VIII (1294-1303) who was so horrible that Dante had him dragged through all three chapters of the Divine Comedy only to be viciously condemned at the end. Urban VI (1378-89) earned several conspiracy plots against him by the cardinals. When several of his conspirators were tortured, Urban complained that he did not hear enough screaming (p. 153). Nepotism was one of Alexander VI's greatest faults. He reduced the Papacy to his own family and earned such hatred that, upon his death, his corpse lay unattended and swelled to the point where it could barley fit in the coffin (p. 204). Pope Leo X (1513-21) ushered in a "Golden Age" but it was only seen as that by the Papacy because of his free spending. One ceremony cost 1/7 of the reserves left by the previous pope (p. 218). Clement VII is the last pope covered. He, like Leo X, was a member of the legendary Medici family. Centuries of messy politics caught up with him and Rome was caught between France, Spain, and a rising group of German mercenaries known as the landsknecht. Rome fell and the Romans suffered five months of agony at the hands of their conquerors (277). It is amazing how much happened during the seemingly short reigns of these popes. The book ends abruptly. A chapter putting the centuries of "bad popes" into context with information on the behavior of Popes since the Reformation would have been useful, as would a map. The book includes four sections of illustrations and family trees. I recommend this book to anyone intrigued by the title even if one is only slightly interested in the subject due to its accessible, well-written style and its reasonable price.

Lively history.......2004-05-28

Whether or not you believe in the pope as the vicar of Christ, it is clear from history that his seat on Earth has been one of the world's most powerful thrones for many centuries. This is a collection of stories about that subject, and it absolutely rocks.

Chamberlin's writing style is clearly not your typical dry, professorial approach. The subject of this book lends well to an almost popular novel approach and, while Chamberlin manages to refrain from lasciviousness in spite of the often prurient subject matter, his vivid and well-researched commentary makes the characters (pardon the cliche) "come to life."

Catholicism has cleaned its act up in many ways, in spite of recent and ongoing scandals. Believe it or not, the more current headlines regarding priests etc. pale in comparison to the acts of many past popes. The desire to wield the power of the papacy has often caused the office to be a purely political goal of many, especially in the dark ages. The story of the ongoing struggles to gain that power, including such decidedly un-Christian types as the Borgias, helps explain (even for us Protestants) why, even today, many people use the past sins of so-called churches and believers as an excuse to avoid dealing with the reality of Christ. Some cannot see past the abuses of those who claim His Name (whether they really are His or not) to see His love, and these men are among those who bear most of the blame for that sad state of affairs. They were instruments of Satan, and these are their stories.

The Bad Popes
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The Bad Popes

Manufacturer: The Dial Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BN79PA

Product Description

Details seven men who ruled the Catholic Church at critical periods in the 600 years leading into the Reformation, during an age of grandeur and corruption. Includes Borgias and Medici. Illustrated with architectural photos and contemporary art.

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Please watch yourself
A Bad Day On Planet Earth

A Bad Day on Planet Earth
Jerrold Pope
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1425906958

Book Description

A Bad Day on Planet Earth, is a science fiction novel about a group of college students who make a trip to Mammoth Cave during their spring break. Their decision to travel there instead of to Florida or some other exotic location actually results in saving their lives. While they are below ground within the cave system, the world is attacked by aliens, later called Onibs by the survivors. They are from the planet Patheon which orbits a companion star of the massive star, Sirius. The survivors discover that there is a secret laboratory located in an unused section of the cave. The scientists working there have developed a ray gun. This enables the people there to be able to survive the terrible dilemma facing the rest of the Earth. Later the survivors manage to capture Onib spaceships which they use to destroy domed cities that were built in North America. Fearing total annihilation by the Onibs, David Sears the hero along with many others take captured spaceships across the void of space in an attempt to destroy their home planet. Following the delivery of cobalt bombs on Patheon, the crew of the Earth ship become hopelessly lost in space for 18-years. They don't age because of traveling over 100-times the speed of light. At a later date they join forces with a group of survivors called Anterians. The two forces travel some 140 light-years across the galaxy to attack the last remaining Patheon planet. The plot offers a tantalizing climax to the story. It allows the readers to live vicariously within the scenes with the different characters within the novel. As in his novel, "Until the End of Time," the writer offers a different concept of travel across the sea of stars.

Customer Reviews:

Please watch yourself.......2007-01-03

While reading the book, A Bad Day on Planet Earth, I found myself drawn into the plot, but put off by the language used. While it is easy to come up with an idea, putting to paper so that others can follow along is not so easy. For example, there are many spots in the text where David - the main character - is speaking to someone else and uses language such as this: I know you are my friend because you are truly a good person. or the many many uses of the word "for" to start a sentence. "For she is a virtuous woman who is both beautiful and riteous."

This could be a good book if the author had not tried to use Elizebetheian english for the characters. I just did not feel tht it flowed as well as it could have if the author would have used language appropriate for the characteres age, and intelligence.

A Bad Day On Planet Earth.......2006-07-23

Excellent science fiction book about alien invasion on earth. Takes place at the mammoth cave in Kentucky one of the seven wonders of the world. The author has quite a imagination that keeps you reading this story. K.Planck/Erlanger,Ky

Average customer rating:

Uhhhhh

Bad Latitudes
Al Pope
Manufacturer: Turnstone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0888012934

Customer Reviews:

Uhhhhh.......2005-07-17

If you wanna read about folks with bad attitudes and bad mouths, Pope's book could be for you. He didn't seem like a guy with a bad attitude, so I bought it. We fellow writers camped so close together in Ont., we seemed like buddies. Knows his dog stuff and northern lore well enough. This reader tried hard, read first 60 pages and last 50, more than enough to get the picture. Lightly used copy priced to sell!

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The Bad Popes
E.R. Chamberlin
Manufacturer: Dorset Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N3CJ80

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Bad Popes
E R Chamberlin
Manufacturer: BARNES & NOBLE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SGE3CC

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Bad Popes
E.R. Chamberlin
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000O3S1IQ

When Computers Were Human
Average customer rating:

When a browser was a person

A Wonderful Book

It is a shame that these people are being forgotten

A Confused Story

When Computers Were Human
David Alan Grier
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0691091579

Book Description

Before Palm Pilots and iPods, PCs and laptops, the term "computer" referred to the people who did scientific calculations by hand. These workers were neither calculating geniuses nor idiot savants but knowledgeable people who, in other circumstances, might have become scientists in their own right. When Computers Were Human represents the first in-depth account of this little-known, 200-year epoch in the history of science and technology.

Beginning with the story of his own grandmother, who was trained as a human computer, David Alan Grier provides a poignant introduction to the wider world of women and men who did the hard computational labor of science. His grandmother's casual remark, "I wish I'd used my calculus," hinted at a career deferred and an education forgotten, a secret life unappreciated; like many highly educated women of her generation, she studied to become a human computer because nothing else would offer her a place in the scientific world.

The book begins with the return of Halley's comet in 1758 and the effort of three French astronomers to compute its orbit. It ends four cycles later, with a UNIVAC electronic computer projecting the 1986 orbit. In between, Grier tells us about the surveyors of the French Revolution, describes the calculating machines of Charles Babbage, and guides the reader through the Great Depression to marvel at the giant computing room of the Works Progress Administration.

When Computers Were Human is the sad but lyrical story of workers who gladly did the hard labor of research calculation in the hope that they might be part of the scientific community. In the end, they were rewarded by a new electronic machine that took the place and the name of those who were, once, the computers.

Customer Reviews:

When a browser was a person.......2006-03-04

Once, before 1992, a browser was a person who browsed a set of books. But now it more commonly refers to a computer program used to browse the Web. No doubt, since you are reading this in the software program, to you the latter meaning is more common. Well, Grier takes us back to days when a computer was a person who did many math calculations. Often by hand.

He starts with Isaac Newton and the laws of gravitation. This led to Edmund Halley and others trying to predict the orbit of "his" comet. The problem is that this involve many tedious hand calculations. People did this! One's writing hand must ache, just thinking about all the manual effort.

Then later in the 19th century, the book describes more such mindnumbing ventures. Yet there was precious little alternative. Until late in that century, when mechanical calculators started becoming useful, due to people like Herman Hollerith, who founded IBM.

The narrative reaches its peak in the Second World War. Due to the vast computational needs. Richard Feynman makes a cameo appearance. At Los Alamos in the Manhattan Project, he was in charge of a group of female computers. Basically, he grouped them into a set of cellular automata, with each doing simple calculations.

Grier's book will be very revealing to some. You get an appreciation of what it was like to get numerical results, before machines appeared.

A Wonderful Book.......2005-08-25

A wonderful book, filled with fascinating facts about important people and activities that most of
us have never heard about. I hope it makes more people aware that the original point of electronic computers was to do computing, to speed up the essential work that had been done by human computers for centuries. We often say that electronic computers can do in seconds what used to take months. This book describes what it was like for human computers to actually spend months doing it. Like all good history, this book teaches us that the legacy of human achievement that we enjoy did not grow on trees.

It is a shame that these people are being forgotten.......2005-07-06

Once upon a time, equations that could not be solved analytically were solved numerically by teams of people who were, in many cases, capable of only rudimentary mathematics. More gifted mathematicians broke complex problems into algorithmic steps small enough to be worked by hand, and they would then be tackled by teams of "computers". This was normal for over 250 years, until they were replaced by digital computers in the mid-20th century.

Grier does excellent research, meeting with surviving computers and finding letters and other material. In one amusing source, he extracts details of the lives of the women who computed for Harvard Observatory in the late 19th century from a satire of a Gilbert & Sullivan opera written by a junior astronomer there.

As many of these computers through the history of the industry were women, this book may be of particular interest to those who follow the history of women in science. Grier is particularly taken by the story of Gertrude Blanch at the Mathematical Tables Project run by the National Bureau of Standards in the U.S., and devoted many pages to her life and work.

If the book has any weakness, it is only that these teams of computers were typically employed by governments, and descriptions of their work sometimes amounts to descriptions of bureaucratic politics, not a very interesting topic. This is offset, however, by amusing observations and excellent photographs illuminating the lives of these mostly forgotten precursors to modern computers.

A Confused Story.......2005-06-17

This book was written by the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of the History of Computing. It is no mystery why the history of computing is so distorted and wrong. This man actually thinks that Atanasoff had a big effect on the computer world. Apparently, he read the rantings and ravings of the Burks duo in their books which carry on a vendetta against John Mauchly and raise Atanasoff to dizzy heights of glory. He never even built one computer and its remains at Ames, Iowa were consigned to the scrap heap. True, Judge Larson anointed him the title of electronic computer inventor at the trial that Honeywell got moved to Minnesota where they were the largest employer and could be sure of an oh so friendly judge. Of course, Honeywell didn't want to pay royalties on the ENIAC Patent. For the 20 years after the ENIAC was introduced, Atanasoff had never indicated he invented the electronic computer until Honywell told him he did and offered him a handsome bonus if the patent got overturned. He never even applied for a patent on his "first computer." Oh yes, the Judge also knew more than the patent office after its intense study that preceded the awarding of the patent. He decided it had been a year after public use before the patent was applied for. Really, a quite unknowledgeable judge in Minnesota knew more than the patent office. It is well known that Burks made a night-time visit to John Mauchly in Washington telling him bad things would happen to him if Burks was not included on the patent. Burks was truly a man of his word and has spent years proving it.

Grier calls the ENIAC an electronic differential analyzer. At one time, Atanasoff and Mauchly discussed such a thing, but it was just a discussion. Mauchly did not get into computing with his WPA students. He did use these students when he was at Ursinus but he had been involved in computing from the time he was a young man. Mauchly saw the ENIAC as a general purpose computer made up of 20 calculators with a master control. Its size was determined because Aberdeen bought it to do the firing table trajectories. It did over 100 millennium type problems in ita 10-year life at Aberdeen. It is interesting that Grier barely mentions Pres Eckert who has been designated the greatest electrical engineer of the 20th century. He spent plenty of time on Aiken and Stibitz, who were indeed pioneers, but their accomplishments are hardly as far reaching as those of Eckert and Mauchly. They went on to propose the EDVAC with a stored program, which was described by von Neumann in his famous EDVAC Report, drawn mainly from his sitting in on meetings with the Moore School engineers. Mauchly and Eckert went on to develop the Binac, the first stored program computer, the Univac, the first commercial computer, and Larc, the first computer with terminals. At one time, people used UNIVAC as a generic name for computer. Atanasoff couldn't even build an EDVAC type computer when given $400,000 to do at the Navy Ordnance Laboratory.

Eckert and Mauchly organized the Moore School Lectures, which spurred the development of computers around the world. Aiken, Stibitz and von Neumann gave none of the lectures. Von Neumann was scheduled to give one but became too busy to give it. The Moore School Lectures were given by Pres Eckert, John Mauchly, Brad Sheppard, Kite Sharpless, Bob Shaw, and Arthur Burks. Of course, they weren't given to the "human computers." They were given to those who would go back to their home bases and build computers, and indeed they did..

The group of "human computers" at Penn numbered more than a hundred. Lila Todd was one of those who set up the group. She is still alive as are many others, but Grier never managed to talk to any of them. He apparently believes recruiting is the important thing and not the work they did. When I came to the Frat House on Walnut Street in March of 1945 as a "computer," it was not a "girls only" group. There were a few men there.

I found the book almost impossible to read. Grier jumps around for little purpose. The one thing I did find interesting was the history of Oswald Veblen who was a long time ordnance man. I had always heard that he was the one who said "Give them the money" when Eckert and Mauchly gave their pitch on the ENIAC to the Science Committee at Aberdeen. With Veblen's long and distinguished background, it is no wonder that the committee did give them the money.

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When Computers Were Human
David Alan Grier
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU57YM

Book Description

The loss of biodiversity has put increasing pressure on the stability and continuity of ecosystems, and their ability to provide goods and services to people. This valuable new book addresses this issue and presents an integrated ecological-economic perspective on the analysis of biodiversity loss and conservation. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach and attempts both to provide a definition of biodiversity benefits as well as investigate alternative perspectives on biodiversity. The book also presents a classification of biodiversity values and effectively illustrates which economic valuation methods can best measure which type of biodiversity value.

The distinguished authors move on to discuss the utility of the application of the economics-ecology interface and integrated modeling for the assessment of biodiversity values. In doing so, they consider the use of multi-criteria evaluation and meta-analytical methods to deal with the aggregation of information from multiple disciplines and past valuation studies, respectively. The book concludes by addressing the role of biodiversity indicators and monetary information for policy design and biodiversity management, devoting special attention to the certification and the ecolabeling of biodiversity benefits.

The ecological economics of biodiversity methods and policy applications [A book review from: Ecological Economics]
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The ecological economics of biodiversity methods and policy applications [A book review from: Ecological Economics]
S. Baumgartner
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000P6O97E

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Economics, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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