East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir through the Seasons

Book Description

Writing in luminous prose, Liza Dalby, acclaimed author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki, brings us this elegant and unique year's journal-- a brilliant mosaic that is at once a candid memoir, a gardener's diary, and an enlightening excursion through cultures east and west. Structured according to the seasonal units of an ancient Chinese almanac, East Wind Melts the Ice is made up of 72 short chapters that can be read straight through or dipped into at random. In the essays, Dalby transports us from her Berkeley garden to the streets of Kyoto, to Imperial China, to the sea cliffs of Northern California, and to points beyond. Throughout these journeys, Dalby weaves her memories of living in Japan and becoming the first and only non-Japanese geisha, her observations on the recurring phenomena of the natural world, and meditations on the cultural aesthetics of Japan, China, and California. She illuminates everyday life as well, in stories of keeping a pet butterfly, roasting rice cakes with her children, watching whales, and pampering worms to make compost. In the manner of the Japanese personal poetic essay, this vibrant work comprises 72 windows on a life lived between cultures, and the result is a wonderfully engaging read.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!
Great gift!
Excellent collection!
James Herriot Collection
A GREAT STORYTELLER

The James Herriot Collection
James Herriot
Manufacturer: Audio Renaissance
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Lord God Made Them All
Every Living Thing
James Herriot's Cat Stories
James Herriot's Dog Stories: Warm And Wonderful Stories About The Animals Herriot Loves Best
The Lord God Made Them All (All Creatures Great & Small)

ASIN: 1427200262
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

James Herriot illuminated the rich and rewarding day-to-day life of a small-town veterinarian, taking hundreds of thousands of listeners on a journey with him across the dales. He introduces a cast of truly unforgettable characters: humans, dogs, horses, lambs-even parakeets-all of them revealed with the same infinite fascination, affection and insight that made James Herriot one of the most beloved authors of our time. The stories are made all the more special by the world-renowned "voice" of Dr. Herriot- Christopher Timothy, whose performance warmly and evocatively brings the stories to life. Now his first three classic works, digitally remastered on CD, are brought together in a beautiful gift set sharing with even more listeners the joy of James Herriot.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2007-08-30

This is a very well-done production. Having read all the books and watched the TV series, hearing them read by Christopher Timothy brings back all the vivid imagery. These are great for the family to enjoy on a road trip.

Great gift! .......2007-07-29

Got the entire collection for my husband to listen to on his commute to work. I'm almost sorry because I keep hearing the stories when he gets home every evening, but he's really enjoying them.

Excellent collection!.......2007-05-13

Great to hear the voice of the actor who played JH so well in the television series, also read his books so passionately: wonderful atmosphere.

James Herriot Collection.......2007-02-07

Years ago, after reading the books, I never missed an episode of the NPR sponsered TV program on Channel 6 in Sacramento, CA. In the early '90's, my son (USAF) and family were sent to England and my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit there and actually toured the Yorkshire dales and countryside. We were able to visit the real home of this wonderful veterinarian and the one used in the making of the television series.

Listening to the audio version of the books has brought back vivid memories so real it sometimes brings tears of happiness to my eyes.

This is one of my all time favorites and Christopher Timothy is ABSOLUTELY one of the best readers of all times. I have not yet started watching the DVD's but I know I will feel the same. Truly I cannot say enough good things about this collection.

A GREAT STORYTELLER.......2007-01-10

JAMES HERRIOT IS ONE OF THE GREAT STORYTELLERS OF OUR TIME. HE HAS SHOWN US THE BEAUTY OF SIMPLICITY AND THE COURAGE OF THE AVERAGE PERSON. THIS COLLECTION, READ BY CHRISTOPHER TIMOTHY, THE TV JAMES HERRIOT, IS RICH WITH THE FEEL AND WARMTH OF YORKSHIRE AND IT'S PEOPLE. A WONDERFUL TIME TO BE HAD BY ALL.

Average customer rating:

Another book of lovely excursions to the island of Corfu
Good product
Menagerie
Another fix of Durrell family fun
My family and other animals

Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
Gerald Durrell
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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My Family and Other Animals
A Zoo in My Luggage
Menagerie Manor
Marrying Off Mother: And Other Stories
The Whispering Land

ASIN: 0142004405
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Book Description

Part coming-of-age autobiography and part nature guide, Gerald DurrellÂ's dazzling sequel to My Family and Other Animals is based on his boyhood on Corfu, from 1933 to 1939. Originally published in 1969 but long out of print, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives is filled with charming observations, amusing anecdotes, boyhood memories, and childlike wonder.

Customer Reviews:

Another book of lovely excursions to the island of Corfu.......2007-09-24

This is another wonderful books of Gerald Durrell's memories of his time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War. He takes us back to another time and place before the world changed for good.

Each chapter is a separate story and rememberence of those days when as a young man he marvels at not only the natural world around him, but also the various people he encounters and learns to appreciate. It is easy to get lost in one of these stories and feel like you are there with him on a hot summer day with his faithful dogs tagging along beside him.

I recommend this book to anyone who not only loves nature, but also can appreciate a time gone by when people were different and even strangers were looked as guests. This book is one that I intend to read again and again in the coming years and will appreciate the stories just much each time as the first time.

Good product.......2007-08-16

The books arrived in perfect condition and in very good time. I am completely satisfied.

Menagerie.......2003-10-07

Gerald Durrell is the younger brother of Lawrence Durrell. The island of Corfu lies off of the Albanian and Greek coastlines. The family settled there to escape the deary English weather.

Gerald's mother fought a losing battle with the Greek language. The family members became familiar with all of the peasants in the region. Gerald had a tutor named George who was an adept of fencing and an adult scientist friend named Theodore.

Gerald visited the rock pools while his sister swam. Margo's sun bathing bothered a church functionary, a monk. Gerald sought permission to follow a fisherman, to accompany him in his boat when he fished at night. The fisherman used a trident to catch scorpios.

There was a myrtle forest near the family's house. Gerald received a rich dark brown donkey for his birthday. The donkey was used by Gerald to transport things. Larry brought home friends, artists and writers, and brought home an artist who could play the accordian, Sven.

Theordore had told a countess that Gerald, who was a fairly young boy at the time, was a naturalist and had a number of pets. The countess offered to give him a white owl who had an injured wing. Gerald went to fetch it and to meet her on his donkey.

He wanted to add baby hedgehogs to his menagerie. When he went away for a weekend his sister overfed them and they died. The book is joyous and colorful. The snippets above are used to give the reader a sense of what to expect.

Another fix of Durrell family fun.......2001-02-06

I eagerly read this after "My Family and Other Animals" (which I had enjoyed immensely). It contains stories which were omitted from "My Family" and while the offerings were still magical and wonderfully well-written and sometimes hilarious (especially the story about the turtle), it lacked the memorability of its predecessor. There was also no real structure in the order of the stories, this is more of a miscellaneous collection.

My family and other animals.......2000-02-29

I read Gerald Durrell's books 10 years ago, while I was still living in Romania. I loved his books from the first page to the last and literally I couldn't put them down until I finished them. The best humour I ever met in books! His stile is unique. I am planning on reading all of them again in English. I would recommend them to anyone!

Average customer rating:

Fantastic
Wilson's Paradox
One of the most interesting autobiographies ever
Excellent
more for the specialist.

Naturalist
Edward O. Wilson
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth
Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
On Human Nature
The Diversity of Life
Biophilia

ASIN: 1597260886

Amazon.com

Edward O. Wilson--Harvard University professor, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, champion of biodiversity--is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the Twentieth century. In this autobiography, Wilson describes for the first time both his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science he has helped define. "One of the greatest scientific autobiographies ever written." -- Alan Lightman, author of Einstein's Dreams

Book Description

In Naturalist, Wilson describes for the first time both

his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science

he has helped define. He traces the trajectory of

his lifeÂ—from a childhood spent exploring the Gulf

Coast of Alabama and Florida to life as a tenured

professor at HarvardÂ—detailing how his youthful

fascination with nature blossomed into a lifelong

calling. He recounts with drama and wit the adventures

of his days as a student at the University of

Alabama and his four decades at Harvard University,

where he has achieved renown as both teacher and researcher.

As the narrative of WilsonÂ's life unfolds, the reader is treated to an

inside look at the origin and development of ideas that guide todayÂ's

biological research. Theories that are now widely accepted in the scientific

world were once untested hypotheses emerging from one manÂ's

broad-gauged studies. Throughout Naturalist, we see WilsonÂ's mind

and energies constantly striving to help establish many of the central

principles of the field of evolutionary biology.

The story of WilsonÂ's life provides fascinating insights into the making

of a scientist, and a valuable look at some of the most thought-provoking

ideas of our time.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic.......2007-10-17

Wilson delivers a compelling and inspirational account of his scientific career from age 5 onward, and some touching personal details explaining what drew him to nature. But read critically! Sometimes the sentimental tone can cast doubt on the credibility of his recollections.

Wilson's Paradox.......2005-11-05

Edward Wilson's works unravel of their own accord.

He tells us that human beings do not have free will.

Ergo, Edward Wilson did not choose to write this book, or any book. He did not choose what to believe, nor has anyone, and therefore he can make no objective claim to correct knowledge.

If what he says is true then nothing he says can be trusted since it is merely the product of an infinite myriad of uncontrollable externalities working in concert to produce whatever it is that happens to come out of his physical manifestation.

It is even debatable whether or not evolution had true belief or correct knowledge as one of its requirements for survival. Indeed it can be shown that false belief as much as true belief (and in fact no belief at all) can infer an increased level of fitness on the host organism.

If evolutionary psychology has any truth at all its truth is that we cannot trust our mental faculties to obtain the truth at all. Nihilism in the truest sense.

One of the most interesting autobiographies ever.......2003-07-02

To me, it looks as if Wilson turned to be a great scientist against all odds. He did not come from the academic royalty, but from a broken family in Alabama. With strong intuition, lot of hard work and endless enthusiasm, he became one of the great scientists of the 20th century. A well written book, that would probably change the course of my life have I read it at the right age...

Excellent.......2002-09-02

An engaging and well-written account of the famous biologist's intellectual development from his early to his mature years and most important achievements. Nice discussions of some of his most interesting and important ideas punctuate this history. For example, there's a good section on the origin and development of his ecological ideas and the theory of island biogeography. Wilson is always a cautious but careful writer and thinker, but in a couple of the sections, he gets at least a little bit speculative and is all the more entertaining for it. For example, his discussion of the innateness of our fear of spiders and snakes is entertaining (Wilson himself is very phobic about spiders). Equally entertaining is the section where he discusses people's preference for a particular type of environment or ecology (subalpine or montane foothills parkland or partially wooded savannah with some lakes). Wilson attributes this to it being the environment where we originally evolved. Overall it counts as one of the best scientific biographies I've ever read.

more for the specialist........2002-08-27

This autobiography is more for the professional biological scientist, who should really enjoy the detailed description of the many field works of the author. Although his reflections on aggression, behaviourism (for him grossly overstated), and sociobiology are a worth-while reading.
He confesses that he became far too late an environmental activist.
I can only subscribe his fundamental truths: first, humanity is the product of biological evolution; second, the diversity of life is the craddle and greatest natural heritage of the human species; and third, philosophy and religion make little sense without taking into account these two first conceptions.
Another silver lining in his professional life: his struggle with colleagues, jealousy, slander, undermining of his position, covert attacks (Harvard is not a monastery).

Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra

Average customer rating:

Good book for the plane
Mother Nature & Politics--Man is Always the Bad Guy
Slow, Ponderous
Poor writing with some good stories
Wildness and beauty at the heart of Mother Lode country

Nature Noir: A Park Ranger's Patrol in the Sierra
Jordan Fisher Smith
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Last Season (P.S.)
Shattered Air: A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage on Yosemite's Half Dome
Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America's National Parks
Park Ranger True Stories from a Ranger's Career in America's National Parks
Seaworthy: Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting

ASIN: 0618224165

Book Description

Nature Noir is the intensely original story -- part Edward Abbey, part James Ellroy -- of Jordan Fisher Smith's fourteen years as a park ranger on forty-eight miles of Sierra Nevada river canyons. The gorgeous government-owned land along the American River that Fisher Smith and his band of fellow rangers have pledged to protect is (think Catch-22) condemned to be inundated by a huge dam. As Smith learns from his first day on patrol, the provisional quality of life here attracts the marginal and the pure crazy. Ranger work, in this place where wildness tends toward the human kind, includes encounters with armed miners who scour canyons for gold, drug-addled squatters, and extreme recreators who enjoy combining motorcycles, parachutes, and high bridges. Nature Noir reveals some startling truths about park rangering on America's public lands. In one heart-stopping scene, Smith comes across the corpse of a woman runner, killed and partly eaten by a mountain lion -- the first Californian to die in that way since the nineteenth century. Elsewhere, the predator on the loose may be human, and Smith goes looking for the bones of a long-missing woman in the surreal landscape around a half-constructed dam slowly reverting to wild.

Customer Reviews:

Good book for the plane.......2007-06-20

I don't really have much to say about Nature Noir. I read it on the plane out to Denver. It was recommended to me by a non-fiction writer and I heard part of an interview with the author on the radio. I confess that I have not read a great deal of non-fiction aside from personal essays. "Nature Noir" read much like a long personal essay, interspersed with the customary commentary on landscape necessary in all nature writing. Smith's narrative seeks to dispel the idyllic image of wilderness and the life of the Forest Ranger. And I imagine for many people, particularly people who do not spend much time in the Western backcountry, Smith's reports of meth-labs, poachers, suicides, and predator attacks contrast their image of wilderness. But it's something most people who spend time in the backcournty have know about for some time. Ultimately I found his tales and observations somewhat pedestrian. The reviewer on the inside cover compared the work to Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder, and Aldo Leopold. Such comparisons are far too generous for this particular work.

Mother Nature & Politics--Man is Always the Bad Guy.......2007-03-26

Alas.......A good friend recommended this book for me. He really enjoyed the heck out of it, but I guess I didn't get the same thrill out of reading it. In fact, it was like a big sleeping pill for me to try and finish this book. Sorry 'bout that Steve......but like any book I've ever read, there are always some tidbits of information that makes a person smarter, so I'm not unhappy that I read it. If a person is really into environmental issues, then this just might be the kind of book some other reader is looking for.

Basically the author tells of his 20+ years as a park forest ranger on the north-western coast of California, Sierra Nevada of California, Wyoming's Grand Tetons, and a couple of other locations. His primary focus was the government-owned land of the American River that is condemned to be covered by a dam some day. In his mind it is doomed land that will eventually be flooded over and never to be enjoyed by human kind again. It will be a home that will be taken from the existing animals that now preside there. The flora and fauna will eventually be covered by water too. Of course, whatever good might come from the dam such as a new water supply for the ever-expanding human population, new wildlife in the form of fish, water fowl, underwater plant life, etc. aren't considered as a positive tradeoff. Instead, a new dam is just more human exploitation of mother nature.

Smith spends some time talking about the human element of being a park ranger and the kinds of people that spend time in the public park system, but mostly his focus was on the negative side of the human experience (the armed miners, wild druggies, alcohol-crazed losers, squatters, motorcyclists, gangs, bridge jumpers, etc.). Not much was mentioned about the vast majority of the public (families, campers, and nature lovers) who visit the national forests and treat it with respect.

Smith gives his reader lots of history and geography lessons throughout the book. What it was like to be a park ranger really took the back seat to the author pressing his environmental and political agendas. Instead, we are given a big dose of environmental politics and conservationist history which I found to be mostly dry and uninteresting. In my mind, Smith made 'Man' the bad guy. I also felt that he was a rather bitter person as he looked back on his years as a ranger.

Sooooooo........the bottom line is that this book didn't quite do it for me.

Slow, Ponderous.......2007-01-19

The book started with a bang and ended with a whimper. It was tedious reading by and large, as the Park System is viewed by kind of the Willie Loman of Rangers. He also, as is common in this day, blames all the world's ills on America's and particularly George Bush's failure to get with the program and turn America into a socialist paradise.
He also spent twenty years with his co-workers, but has about as much insight, overt compassion, and intimacy with them as I have with the people with whom I wait for the bus. I'd really have to suggest skipping this depressing and needlessly politicized book; the ramblings of an embittered man. It reminded me of a poor-man's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

Poor writing with some good stories.......2007-01-05

Jordan Fisher Smith's writing is extremely poor. However, some of the stories he writes on are interesting despite his lack of proper grammer. I am pretty sure he uses the word "I" 20 times in one page multiple times in this book. But if you can get through the poor writing the book is fairly interesting.

Wildness and beauty at the heart of Mother Lode country.......2007-01-02

Far from safeguarding the big-time, high-profile, and first-rate landscape and wilderness of the national parks and national monuments as a ranger, Jordan Fisher Smith instead worked to safeguard a second-rate, or even third-rate, semi-wilderness that was slated for damming and was open country for prospective miners, developers, and social misfits. For those who have sped through I-80 east through Auburn and Colfax, admittedly more interested in the snowcapped peaks of Emigrant Gap and Donner Pass than in the canyons of the Western Sierra foothills that cradle the forks of the American River, a reappreciation of this part of the Mother Lode country is inevitable, thanks to the powerful sense of place and environmental sensibility of Smith, not to mention a writing style infused with humility and devoid of preachiness. Hence the title "Nature Noir", where, unless you are a local who knew the land (such as Smith himself) or an avid river-runner of the North, Middle, and South Forks of the American River, you would have never thought twice of the wilderness quality of a place with a dam and reservoir that never existed but was already permanently emplaced on maps and mindset of people who had power over the use of the land for flood control, irrigation, and hydroelectricity. In this land, laws are broken, boundaries are pushed, and the moral resilience of rangers are tested, but there is salvation in the knowledge that nature still rules--pockets of wildness where human--and boat--tracks are erased, an aerial flood of beetles swarm from seemingly nowhere, people's lives are claimed by the power of water, a runner is ambushed by a mountain lion, wildflowers burgeon, and a clearer understanding of the complex geology merely underscores the power of nature over human folly where short-term gains tend to overlook long-term large-scale disasters.

An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, And the Fight for Seadrift, Texas

Average customer rating:

One person shining a light in the darkness makes a difference
Pure Dynamite!
Outstanding Story Excitingly Written
Bravo This Heroine and Great Story Teller
One person CAN make a difference . . .

An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, And the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
Diane Wilson
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Democracy's Edge: Choosing to Save Our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life
Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town
Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash
Nobody Particular: One Woman's Fight to Save the Bays
A Man Without a Country

ASIN: 1933392274

Book Description

When Diane Wilson, fourth-generation shrimp-boat captain and mother of five, learns that she lives in the most polluted county in the United States, she decides to fight back. She launches a campaign against a multibillion-dollar corporation that has been covering up spills, silencing workers, flouting the EPA, and dumping lethal ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride into the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast. In an epic tale of bravery, Wilson takes her fight to the courts, to the gates of the chemical plant, and to the halls of power in Austin. Along the way she meets with scorn, bribery, character assassination, and death threats. Finally Wilson realizes that she must break the law to win justice: She resorts to nonviolent disobedience, direct action, and hunger strikes. WilsonÂ's vivid South Texas dialogue resides somewhere between Alice Walker and William Faulkner, and her dazzling prose brings to mind the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, replete with dreams and prophecies.

Customer Reviews:

One person shining a light in the darkness makes a difference.......2007-01-29

With the discovery that her "piddlin' little county on the Gulf Coast" led the nation in toxic emissions, Diane Wilson fought friends, family, local politicians, corrupt state regulators, legislators, senators, and the multi-billion dollar company Formosa Plastic. This leader of Taiwan's petrochemical industry had environmental practices so appalling that twenty thousand Taiwanese came out under threat of police violence to protest its proposed new $8 billion dollar complex. That's how Formosa decided to shift its operations to Texas. Texas was willing to give Formosa $200 million in subsides and to look the other way on environmental violations for it's proposed $1.3 billion expansion of its PVC manufacturing facility in Calhoun County, Texas.

Diane wanted to know why in her small community "a man could make the arrest column in the local newspaper any day of the week for running his truck with expired license plates or no insurance, but let a chemical company, half a mile wide and with a thousand unknown chemicals zipping through their pipes, release eighty tons of a baby-aborting chemical into his neighbor's backyard, and it would be lucky if it made a note in a report. The plant manager sounded startled over the phone. "Good God!" he said. "Of course we can't put that type of information in the paper. Do you want old Mister Weaver across the street to have a heart attack?" " (p. 250)

Vinyl chloride monomer is one of the worst cancer-causing chemicals in the world.
"It's so hazardous the government says you're in violation if a single pound is released. But here seventy-four tons of vinyl chloride was released within one mile of an elementary school right across the road from Point Comfort. And if that wasn't enough, Formosa, in the same breath they were polluting with, asked the state to permit a tenth reactor while the ninth was violating production permits. You tell me the state is getting it? You exceed permits and you're rewarded with more?" (p.186)

Maybe all this had something to do with Formosa giving campaign funds to U.S. Senator Gramm, who appointed his former campaign advisor to the head of EPA Region 6, and who was now the final authority on Formosa's penalty and all their permits.

"The commission decided that even though Formosa's fine warranted something in the seven-figure bracket, they would calculate it thirty times lower, and although Formosa continued to violate their wastewater permit on a daily basis into a body of water they had already degraded, the state would allow the waste water permit and violations to continue.
It wasn't the Water Commissions fault, Chairman Bucko said. The blame lay squarely with the federal agencies who prevented the Water Commission from dealing appropriately with the environmental issues at Formosa. Maybe now the agencies would back off their demand for a comprehensive environmental impact statement and let the state regulatory process work." (p. 208)

Pure Dynamite!.......2006-06-22

I found Diane's use of local dialect when "she" is talking, and standard prose elsewhere, a delightful aspect of this book. The local dialect is what one hears in the Texas Coast fishing communities, and it evokes an incredible feeling of time and place. The reader feels the salt spray right along with her.

Outstanding Story Excitingly Written .......2006-02-26

Diane Wilson is not only an unreasonable woman she is an outstanding human being. She is a reluctant hero, the most authentic kind. She eventually stands up for her native waters, mother earth and the very survival of the human race.

Doing something doesn't necessarily mean you can write well about it. In this case, Diane writes in her own authentic and electrifying voice. Her story rings true and reads like the most exciting fiction. I recommend this book to anyone who loves nature, adventure or just plain good reading.

Bravo This Heroine and Great Story Teller.......2005-12-22

What a pleasure to read this story of an amazing and heroic woman, giving it all to take down giants. Ms Wilson's Marquez-like writing style and choice of words leaves me breathless and imagining I'm there with her as her mission lays itself at her feet and she picks it up and takes it on. Bravo! An absolutely wonderful read.

One person CAN make a difference . . . .......2005-12-05

It took me about 2 weeks to read this book. Not because it was that bad . . .but because it was that good.

I wanted to experience every moment as Diane Wilson took on the mighty Formosa plastics giant, fought corruption all the way to Washington, went on hunger strikes, traveled 1/2 way around the world and finally made a significant dent in the pollution that was killing her beloved shrimping waters along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Diane Wilson made a difference. With this book, the world can now read about it . . . from her own pen, not ghost written and packaged for a "target market." Her voice is fresh, raw almost and it grabbed me from page 1 until the epilogue.

Kudos to Wilson. Wish there were more like her.

Enjoy!

3 Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild

Average customer rating:

A Fantastic Read
Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book.
Remarkable----Page Turner
A Fascinating Read

3 Among the Wolves: A Couple and Their Dog Live a Year with Wolves in the Wild
Helen Thayer
Manufacturer: Sasquatch Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Polar Dream: The First Solo Expedition by a Woman and Her Dog to the Magnetic North Pole
Shadow Mountain: A Memoir of Wolves, a Woman, and the Wild
Arctic Wild: The Remarkable True Story of One Couple's Adventures Living Among Wolves
In the Shadow of a Rainbow: The True Story of a Friendship Between Man and Wolf
Walking the Gobi: 1,600 Mile-trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair

ASIN: 1570614792

Book Description

Helen and Bill Thayer, accompanied by their part-wolf, mostly Husky dog, Charlie, set out on foot to live among wild wolf packs — first in the Canadian Yukon and then in the Arctic. They eventually set up camp within 100 feet of a wolf den, and are greeted with apprehension at first. They establish trust over time, because the wolves accept Charlie as the alpha male of the newly arrived "pack."

The Thayers discover the complexities of wolf family structure, including how pups are reared and how the injured are tenderly cared for. They view the intricacies of the hunt firsthand — how ravens direct wolves to prey in exchange for carrion — as well as the wolves’ finely honed survival skills and engaging playfulness. Readers observe the ways Helen and Bill model pack behavior and how they address an unforeseen event: the Arctic wolves attempt to lure Charlie to join them.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Read.......2007-07-16

This book was incredible, and is definantly my favorite non-fiction book. This book is great for anyone who has a slight intrest in nature. It helps if you think wolves are awesome as I do.

Wolves are beautiful creatures; this is a beautiful book........2006-02-28

This book is my second literary experience with Helen Thayer and her dog Charlie following her 2002 book "Polar Dream," in which the pair join together as Ms. Thayer became the first woman (and oldest person at 50) to walk and ski solo (not counting Charlie) to the Magnetic North Pole. In this adventure her husband Bill joins the pair as they spend a year living with wolves in the wild above the Arctic Circle. It's easy to see why the National Geographic Society/National Public Radio has named Ms. Thayer one of the great explorers of the 20th Century. Her stamina and perseverance are phenomenal. The trio infiltrates the Richardson Mountains in Canada's Yukon Territory in search of the greatest villains in all of children's literature. After struggling through most difficult terrains, they come upon a family of wolves and spend months living in a tent within the animals' sight studying the social interplay of these beasts. Completing this phase of their adventure, they sadly leave this family and trek further north into the shifting and dangerous ice of Beaufort Sea to discover the wintertime interplay between wolves and polar bears, considered by many to be the most dangerous of all wild animals. After this near-death adventure, they ski back to the Mackenzie Delta and set up housekeeping next to another group of wolves. The hardships and danger the three faces on a daily basis are amazing to contemplate. The payoff from this book is two-fold. First, the scientific data discovered for the first time. But maybe more importantly is the realization that these creatures are truly magnificent and caring individuals, and anyone who reads this book with an open mind will forever despise hunters who slaughter entire packs by shooting them from low flying airplanes. Ms. Thayer makes it crystal clear that wolves deserve to be part of the world community. There is a bit of repetition in the book. I only need to be told once that the northern lights are called aurora borealis or that animals burrow under the snow were it is a few degrees warmer than above. But that's nit picking. There is also repetition in the telling of their studies, but that captures the flavor of their scientific existence, so is acceptable. To enhance this telling, dozens of pictures taken during this adventure are sprinkled throughout. All outdoorsmen, naturalists, and animal lovers will treasure this book.

Remarkable----Page Turner.......2004-06-03

A true story of two people, their wolf-dog and their amazing adventures with wild wolves in Canada's far north tundra and frozen ocean.
Helen Thayer, a recipient of many awards and honored by the White House, is a veteran world wide explorer over many years. She and her husband explore the world's remote places seeking material to add to their highly successful educational programs which I and fellow educators nationwide use in classrooms.
Her writing and lectures have inspired people of all ages in many countries. I had the pleasure of meeting this dynamic 66 year old, five feet two inch woman after she spoke at a national corporate convention in Florida.
This is a true life experience of living among wild wolf packs in which Charlie, her Inuit dog who once saved her life from a polar bear attack, is the story's star. Just as POLAR DREAM was, this new book is well written with vivid description that takes you on this remarkable journey. This very different approach to wolf study is a welcome addition to our knowledge of these animals. We see the close relationship of many species of animals sharing wild wolf habitat, and at times depending on each other.
Her first book, POLAR DREAM, tells of her adventure with Charlie when she became the first woman to walk alone pulling her own sled without dog teams or snowmobiles to the Magnetic North Pole.
This exciting story and THREE AMONG THE WOLVES are on the same informative, page turning level. The observation of wild wolf family life, their ability to adjust their survival skills, the raising of the pups and even the concern over an injured family member show close observation and remarkable intuitive understanding of wolf behavior. Of course beloved part-wolf Charlie is the reason for the success of the year long project as the author readily acknowledges.
The story is fast moving and flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. Also beautifully descriptive, compassionate and in places humerous. The numerous photos add to the account. A valuable addition to the story are the descriptions of the various animals the Thayers' encountered who share wolf habitat. An excellent addition to anyones book shelf.

A Fascinating Read.......2004-05-12

I collect books about wolves. This book is different with a new perspective both fascinating and informative.The author, explorer Helen Thayer,her explorer husband, and their Inuit dog Charlie of the best selling book, "Polar Dream" fame,(the author's book about her first ever by a woman to walk alone to the magnetic North Pole)lived a year with wild wolves above the Arctic Circle summer and winter. The author tells us "it would have been impossible without Charlie.He was the bridge we needed to cross the gap that allowed us to live alongside wolves and share their lives."
Charlie, part wolf, was quickly accepted. His human pack was accepted shortly afterward. The affectionate nature of wolves, their interaction with other animal species, even polar bears, that's not well documented elsewhere, is truly enlightening. The escapades of the mishievious pups are adorable as is their care and teaching by the adults.
The amusing episodes, the highly emotional times and the valuable information makes this book a winner. Beautifully written, vivid description, allows the reader to share this amazing and unique experience.
The reader soon knows each wolf, its personality, and its role in family life as if the reader were right there with the author.
A true winner in wolf literature.

The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace

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A. R. Wallace as he really was.
Should it be called the Darwin-Wallace Theory?
Wallace's breakthrough...followed by Darwin
More Wallace
The "Indiana Jones" of Evolution

The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace
Ross A. Slotten
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Anthology
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ASIN: 0231130104

Book Description

During their lifetimes, Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin shared credit and fame for the independent and near-simultaneous discovery of natural selection. Together, the two men spearheaded one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in modern history, and their rivalry, usually amicable but occasionally acrimonious, forged modern evolutionary theory. Yet today, few people today know much about Wallace.

The Heretic in Darwin's Court explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace -- Victorian traveler, scientist, spiritualist, and co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of natural selection. After examining his early years, the biography turns to Wallace's twelve years of often harrowing travels in the western and eastern tropics, which place him in the pantheon of the greatest explorer-naturalists of the nineteenth century. Tracing step-by-step his discovery of natural selection -- a piece of scientific detective work as revolutionary in its implications as the discovery of the structure of DNA -- the book then follows the remaining fifty years of Wallace's eccentric and entertaining life. In addition to his divergence from Darwin on two fundamental issues -- sexual selection and the origin of the human mind -- he pursued topics that most scientific figures of his day conspicuously avoided, including spiritualism, phrenology, mesmerism, environmentalism, and life on Mars.

Although there may be disagreement about his conclusions, Wallace's intellectual investigations into the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe itself remain some of the most inspired scientific accomplishments in history. This authoritative biography casts new light on the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace and the importance of his twenty-five-year relationship with Charles Darwin.

Customer Reviews:

A. R. Wallace as he really was........2007-01-09

This is by far the best of several recent biographies of Wallace. As a biographer myself, it is hard for me to grasp how Dr. Totten, as a physician, ever found the time to do the meticulous research for this book. While it contains a wealth of end notes, the narrative does not make difficult reading. The author does not insert his own biases in his treatment of the portion of the book that deals in Wallace's spiritualiam.

Should it be called the Darwin-Wallace Theory?.......2006-04-19

The story of Darwin's voyage around the world in the Beagle is well known. He used his observations and the time (you have a lot of time on a sailing ship) to develop the basics of the theory of evolution. After his return to England, he wrote up his findings but did not publish them.

Wallace spent a long time making similar observations, but was haunted by ill fortune. For instance his collection of specimens laboriously collected was being shipped to England when the ship they were on caught fire, and the specimens were lost.

Wallace's thoughts though were running along similar lines with that of Darwin. When he was getting ready to publish people told Darwin that his theories were about to be published by Wallace. Darwin then rushed his theory into print and now the theory is Darwin's theory rather than Wallace's theory.

What isn't very well known is that Darwin and Wallace were able to then work together for many years to further develop the theory. Perhaps a better name would be the Darwin-Wallace theory.

This is a very well written addition to the literature and Dr. Slotten's obvious dedication comes through.

Wallace's breakthrough...followed by Darwin.......2004-09-09

The place of Wallace in the rise of modern evolutionary theory and its confusions is always a contentious one, and the record shows the persistent, but let us hope, not permament distortion of the facts of the case. The record should show that Wallace produced the first version of what Darwin later got credit for. It's that simple, and any honest profession would move to correct the injustice. But not here, the stakes are too high, and the agenda too ambitious to allow that to happen.

The facts speak for themselves and all biographers tend to 'fumble' the ball here. No fumble at all, it is a fixed necessity of compromise with the Darwin propaganda machine. Let us grant the excesses of some claims that Darwin plagiarized Wallace. Even so the sleight of hand pulled off by Darwin and his gang as to the Ternate paper should be a minimum charge against the paradigm dogmatists here.
This useful and always interesting new biography of Wallace, in a recent slew of such, manages reasonably well to navigate the fudge that occurs here in all cases except those in the wake of Brackman's A Delicate Arrangement which attempted an expose of the great cover story here.
In many ways, this issue of Darwin's rigged priority apart, this is one of the best of the genre and fills in a lot of gaps, especially as to the later Wallace with his ventures into spiritualism. Current scientism finds spiritualism silly superstition. No doubt this is the case, but the false reductionism of Darwinism in action is no less silly and totally fails to grapple with the far greater complexity of man known for millennia. It dawned on Wallace that the methodology emerging couldn't possibly constitute a theory of man's evolution and the way it has totally amputated its subject matter in the regime of brainwashing that has taken over the subject. In a context where to even mention a Buddhist sutra is to be called an irrationalist the true 'evolutionary psychology' of man has become almost a taboo subject. These tactics will come to a bad end sooner or later, and at that point the dissent of Wallace on the evolutionary emergence of man will come into its own again against the false reputation of that iconic imposter, Charles Darwin frantic for his priority at the receipt of the Ternate letter.

More Wallace.......2004-08-05

Ross Slotten's new biography of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) continues where others have left off. There has now been at least one full-length biographical study of Wallace published each year since 2000, plus several anthologies and other works. Clearly, Wallace is starting to "get his due." But there is yet much to do, and this latest biography demonstrates this point well.

Slotten is an amateur investigator, and this work was obviously a labor of love. But he's put a good deal of effort into his study, along the way uncovering new archival sources that shed further light on Wallace's many contacts over his long life. So, the reader will find further new things here, even if he or she has already digested the recent excellent studies by Peter Raby, Michael Shermer, and Martin Fichman. Slotten writes well, provides enough historical context to keep things interesting, and only occasionally is factually inaccurate (for example, in some of the chronology he offers for the period of Wallace's adoption of spiritualism, circa 1865-1866).

On the other hand, his efforts sometimes cross over into ill-advised opinion and elaboration. One thing he plays a bit too much on is Wallace's status as an outsider to the intellectual community of his time: the "poor Wallace" line (in relation to his dealings with Darwin, and everyone else). Actually, though Wallace was in fact an outsider, the real story of his life is how little such matters seemed to affect his thought process: when it came to the world of ideas, he was just about as fearless a thinker as we have had. Slotten does a rather poor job of exposing this side--the really important one--of Wallace, and to this extent does just about nothing to expand our knowledge of his world view past the status quo.

But for someone as unusual as Wallace, one cannot ask for everything at once. We should be happy for a well-written, well-researched, and admirably detailed accounting of a very interesting man's life, and continue to hope that future treatments will reach more and more into just what made Wallace tic, and how we in our time can make use of that information.

The "Indiana Jones" of Evolution.......2004-07-03

This book was recommended by a friend. It's a great read, and would make a great action movie. I dimly remembered someone simultaneously developing a theory of evolution with Darwin. After reading this book, I don't know why Wallace isn't more famous than Darwin. He was certainly more interesting. He was self-made, from London's lower classes; trecked around the jungles of South America and the Pacific islands; was involved in a shipwreck; was recognized by England's most prestigious scientific societies; got involved in unpopular social causes and ended up going to seances and visiting mediums. This cost him him his hard-won scientific standing in Victorian London, but that didn't seem to phase him; he had moved on intellectually. He is a fascinating and colorful character. The author doesn't try to explain away the contradictions, but lets Wallace emerge as what he is -- a complexs and enigmatic, and ultimately very sympathetic figure. The book is also a fascinating study of Victorian England. It also contains a very lucid discussion of the thought process that led to the theory of evolution, which becomes almost a sub-plot, with its own heros and villains. This author writes in a clear, lucid prose, and lets his opinion occasionally show through, but generally plays it straight. The scholarship is impressive, but you aren't overwhelmed by it. The author keeps a critical distance from the character, so the portrayal feels ultimately balanced. If you are looking for a good biography, this is a book you should relish.

Shell Game: One Family's Long Battle Against Big Oil

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AMAZING STORY!!! A MUST READ!

Shell Game: One Family's Long Battle Against Big Oil
Michael Veron
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Simple Genius

ASIN: 1599210339

Book Description

Shell Oil was accustomed to getting its way in Louisiana. With deep pockets, teams of attorneys, and influential lobbyists in the state legislature, the second-largest oil company in the world could demand--and get--essentially anything it wanted. Until it met Michael Veron and his family.

Shell Game is the dramatic, fast-paced true account of a nine-year battle pitting a Louisiana family of modest means against Shell in an effort to clean up decades of pollution on the family’s property. Bullied, intimidated, and dubbed “the Beverly Hillbillies” by Shell’s highly paid attorneys, author Michael Veron’s relatives refused to buckle—and continued their fight against tremendous odds.

A small-town lawyer, Veron led the fight against Shell. His first-person account of the struggle is gripping, tense, and ultimately uplifting. It is a story of greed and great passion and of one family’s refusal to back down in the face of unrelenting pressure. Shell Game is the story of how one family not only righted a wrong, but also changed the way oil companies operate.

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AMAZING STORY!!! A MUST READ!.......2007-08-02

This was a fascinating book! I read it in one day because I could not put it down! This book, based on a true story, would make a great movie because you could not make up a story this good. This is a great glimpse into the power of big corporations, unethical lawyers at their disposal and perhaps even then judge! There are probably many more stories like this because families don't have the means to fight a 9 year legal battle against a major oil corporation. Thank goodness for this book because this needs to be made public! If you only read one book this year, you should read this one.

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Gift for a friend
Backyard jewels
message in a bottle
Disappointing
It's Not About the Stream

Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey
Bill Roorbach
Manufacturer: Dial Press Trade Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Soldier's Son
The Maine Woods (Penguin Nature Library)
Writing Life Stories
Big Bend: Stories
Into Woods: Essays by Bill Roorbach

ASIN: 0385336551
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Book Description

I call the stream ours because our house is in its valley and a corner of our land touches the stream at a dramatic bend, and because my wife and our daughter (always in the company of our dogs) walk down to that bend every morning, every season. The stream is our point of contact with all the waters of the world.

Great blue herons, yellow birches, damselflies, and beavers are among the many runes by which Bill Roorbach discovers a universe of nature along the stream that runs by his home in Farmington, Maine. Populated by an oddball cast of characters to whom the generous-spirited Roorbach (aka “The Professor”) and his family might always be outsiders, these pages chronicle one man’s determination – sometimes with hilarious results – to follow his stream directly to its elusive source. Acclaimed essayist as well as award-winning author of fiction, Bill Roorbach brings his singular literary gifts to a book that is inspirational, funny, loving, and filled with the wonder of living side by side with the natural world.

Praise for Bill Roorbach “Roorbach falls, for me, into that small category of writers whose every book I must read, then reread.” —Jay Parini, author of The Apprentice Lover “Here is a narrator who makes you glad to be alive, giddy to be in his presence, grateful to love friends and family and dogs with generosity and abandon, to show tenderness and thus be saved by strangers.” —Melanie Rae Thon, author of First, Body

“Roorbach is a master at capturing and expressing joy.” —Hartford Courant

“Roorbach has a knack for tapping into deep undercurrents and bringing them to the surface with the least amount of fanfare or fuss.” —L.A. Weekly

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Gift for a friend.......2007-03-17

After reading this book by my neighbor and living on Temple Stream I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Temple Stream has been apart of my life for 60+ yrs.

Backyard jewels.......2005-11-16

Like looking back at our beautiful blue planet from space, reading this book offered me a generous and moving view of a place called Temple Stream, a place I had never heard of, even after more than a half-century of living in Maine. I especially appreciate the fact that the author chose to explore his own backyard.

Traveling back through time and up and down the river and the hilly terrain around it, the author reveals a host of treasures: ephemeral plants, unusual geological formations, eccentric local characters, well-known literary figures, and his own beloveds-wife, child, and dogs. The reader feels the author's wide-ranging love and appreciation of all that he writes about, and that is perhaps the book's greatest gift. And like love, the book doesn't progress in a linear, logical fashion but rather in spirals that glow with the author's own fascination for his subjects.

This book isn't only about a stream: it's about all of us, the places we have known (but maybe not as widely and deeply as we might have!), and the ever-present web of interconnection. For the curious, for those who love history, geology, sociology, story-telling, and art--all rendered with a local spin and chock-full of everyday detail--I heartily recommend this book. After reading it, your own backyard may never look the same again.

message in a bottle.......2005-11-14

The drama of life and death along the stream, the river as the perfect excuse for adventure - "Temple Stream" flooded me with Bill Roorbach's good-hearted sense of well being. This mini retreat from the dry surface pulled me right into the whorls and eddies of some forever-wild routes of Maine. I was as engrossed by the near disasters as well as the near miracles. The neighborly characters -- the disputes and accomadations will seem entertainingly familiar to any long-term Mainer. Once again, Bill Roorbach captures an enthralling non-fiction narrative voice.

Beyond that satisfyingly mucky feeling of wading right into the water, right in with the beavers and the gnats and the fish, I enjoyed being with Bill and his lovably eccentric friends and neighbors. I was swept away with the happiness of a baby born, and the sadness of a mentor's loss, and the simple drama of messages in bottles that (like the river) seem to transport time itself. This story from modern day Maine flows with heartfelt appreciation of a very beautiful world. I especially recommend it to herbalists, who will find the sections on rare Maine flora informative and entertaining.

Disappointing.......2005-10-10

I found the book disappointing. The story line was just not there. The style seemed to be a rewrite of a Rick Bass story years ago but didn't come up to Bass's quality. And the story perpetuated the stereo type of pepole from Maine.

It's Not About the Stream.......2005-08-31

I read this on a mini-vacation on a lake in Maine, and it was like taking two vacations at once. Though I wondered for how many pages a stream could monopolize my attention, I found myself reading late into the night, and waking ready to jump right back between the pages.

And no, I wouldn't say it was a stream that trickled under my skin. It was clean, honest writing about love - love of family, of flora and fauna, of a physical life on planet earth - that was so compelling. Well, and I did wonder when the earthwrecking neighbor Earl Pomeroy was going to beat the snot out of Bill, whom I'd really come to love a little bit myself.

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