Amazon.com
Covering 508 bird species found east of the Rocky Mountains, the revised second edition takes into account changes in taxonomy and uses improved photography. At the heart of the guide is a set of 646 well-made color photographs whose subjects are organized by easily discerned characteristics (e.g., "chicken-like marsh birds," such as the clapper rail; "gull-like birds," such as the kittiwake; and "upright-perching water birds," such as the common murre). The photographs are then keyed to textual descriptions of the birds' appearance, range and habitat, nesting characteristics, and behavior. Easy to use and handsomely produced, this belongs in every eastern birdwatcher's collection. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Introduced in 1977 and completely revised in 1994, these bestselling photographic field guides have become the birding bibles of more than four million enthusiasts. Virtually every bird found in North America is brought to life in a full-color photograph and with textual information on the bird's voice, nesting habits, habitat, range, and interesting behaviors. Accompanying range maps; overhead flight silhouettes; sections on bird-watching, accidental species, and endangered birds make these the most comprehensive field guides to birds available.
Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.
Customer Reviews:
The BEST Field Guide.......2007-10-17
This has to be the best field guide I've ever used. It's well organized and simple enough for a beginning birder. It's also crammed full of information for the more serious ornithologist. The photos are spectacular!
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Easter Region.......2007-09-17
The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region is the most comprehensive guide that I have enjoyed in many years. It has clear, concise pictures of the birds of my region with a written synopsis of each bird's habitat. I recommend this book to any avid bird lover! It is an awesome book!
Excellent tool for birders!.......2007-09-16
This book provides excellent descriptions of the birds' physical appearances, lots of photographs, and maps of their winter and summer range. It is small enough that you could take it out birding, and has a durable cover. You will not be disappointed!
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region - Revised Edition.......2007-09-09
My favorite bird watching book because all the photos are organized by color of bird and variety of birds. The plentiful information is carefully correlated but is not on the page with the photos. I prefer this when I am searching for the bird in my view. Handy is size and shape for quick browsing.
I also have the rocks and minerals guide and the guide for N.American trees.
north american birds.......2007-07-14
the best, most informative,with clear photos instead of drawings as in other bird reference books.
Amazon.com
In American Prometheus, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin delve deep into J. Robert Oppenheimer's life and deliver a thorough and devastatingly sad biography of the man whose very name has come to represent the culmination of 20th century physics and the irrevocable soiling of science by governments eager to exploit its products. Rich in historical detail and personal narratives, the book paints a picture of Oppenheimer as both a controlling force and victim of the mechanisms of power.
By the time the story reaches Oppenheimer's fateful Manhattan Project work, readers have been swept along much as the project's young physicists were by fate and enormous pressure. The authors allow the scientists to speak for themselves about their reactions to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, avoiding any sort of preacherly tone while revealing the utter, horrible ambiguity of the situation. For instance, Oppenheimer wrote in a letter to a friend, "The thing had to be done," then, "Circumstances are heavy with misgiving."
Many biographies of Oppenheimer end here, with the seeds of his later pacifism sown and the dangers of mixing science with politics clearly outlined. But Bird and Sherwin devote the second half of this hefty book to what happened to Oppenheimer after the bomb. For a short time, he was lionized as the ultimate patriot by a victorious nation, but things soured as the Cold War crept forward and anti-communist witchhunts focused paranoia and anti-Semitism onto Oppenheimer, destroying his career and disillusioning him about his life's work. Devastated by the atom bomb's legacy of fear, he became a vocal and passionate opponent of the Strangelovian madness that gripped the world because of the weapons he helped develop.
Twenty-five years of research went into creating American Prometheus, and there has never been a more honest and complete biography of this tragic scientific giant. The many great ironies of Oppenheimer's life are revealed through the careful reconstruction of a wealth of records, conversations, and ideas, leaving the clearest picture yet of his life. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, a brilliant physicist who led the effort to build the atomic bomb for his country in a time of war, and who later found himself confronting the moral consequences of scientific progress. In this magisterial, acclaimed biography twenty-five years in the making, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin capture Oppenheimer’s life and times, from his early career to his central role in the Cold War. This is biography and history at its finest, riveting and deeply informative.
Customer Reviews:
A Superb Biography.......2007-09-30
This book merited its Pulitzer Prize: the subject, Oppenheimer and the bomb, is fascinating; the scholarship is thorough; and the writing is so clear that one forgets one is reading--one sees the events of history.
I will never forget the authors' analysis of why we dropped the bombs on those two unlucky Japanese cities. Was it to save the lives of our troops and of those who would defend Japan? No, the Japanese wanted to surrender in July of 1945, and the invasion of Japan was scheduled to occur after 1 November 1945. Truman wanted to end the war before 15 August, the date Stalin had promised to declare war on Japan. Decoded diplomatic cables revealed that the Japanese were willing to surrender in July if the US relaxed its condition of "unconditional surrender." But Secretary of State James F. Byrnes of South Carolina advised Truman that the Democrats would do better in the elections of 1946 and 1948 if Truman insisted on unconditional surrender. So he dropped the two atomic bombs on Japan to win those elections.
The authors' description of Lewis Strauss's hearings was excellent.
Even the biographers are leftist.......2007-09-05
This book was engaging and well written and full of insights about the life of J Robert Oppenheimer. However, it was clear to this reader that the sympathies of the authors are far to the left. Although one could easily agree that the 1954 Oppenheimer security hearing was something of a kangaroo court, the authors treated the issue of Oppenheimer's security status as if it were a primary right (such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) rather than a status granted by the government at its discretion. After all, why would the US Government appoint someone to be intimately associated with the development of the H-bomb who publicly and forcefully disdained the effort--whether or not the man was at the time or had been in the past a fellow-traveler? Also, all of the "nasty" characters who happened to be Republican were repeated and clearly identified as Republican but the "nasty" Democrats were simply identified by their names.
This leftist tendency by the authors is a blemish on what otherwise would have been one of the most enjoyable books I have read in years and certainly one of the best I have read on this remarkable period in American history. But, then, I guess it is difficult for authors not to identify and sympathize with their subject, especially since most who came in contact with Oppenheimer during his life seemed also to have succumbed to his spell.
The Incredible Life of a Nearly Forgotten Hero.......2007-08-31
Before my grandfather handed me this book I had no idea Oppenheimer ever existed. Nothing from school, other books, or TV. Now, I feel as though I've met him. As I read this book I felt his anger, sadness, pain, and joy.
I had no knowledge of this man, and I don't think any is needed before reading this book. It's also about much more than Oppenheimer. Knowing about his life gave me a VERY different view of the American Communists of the thirties, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, McCarthism, the Cold War, and the US government as a whole.
Within this book America isn't that sparkly clean America I thought it was. America makes mistakes just like all of us and I believe it's incredibly important the citizens are told more than just the nice version of history. When Oppenheimer challenged this nice version, the backlash nearly destroyed him.
Buy this book, borrow it, just read it. This book contains forgotten history every American needs to know.
A Splendid Enigma.......2007-08-09
There was a time when scientists where revered in the same way that athletes, entertainers, and celebrities are today. The first half of the 20th century was a time of great scientific and technological development and achievement. Despite global struggles with depression, war and ideological strife, the promise of a bright future delivered by brilliant men in universities and laboratories, offered a vision of a brave new world. The dark side of this lay in man's own capacity for self-destruction if ethics and morals failed to keep pace with scientific advancement. Would the new frontiers of science create a new Eden, or would it destroy the fruits of civilization? Specifically, would the unleashed power of the atom bring peace and abundance, or would it foster terror among the nations of the world?
AMERICAN PROMOTHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER chronicles the life and times of the splendid enigma - Oppie - the brilliant physicist who became a shepherd of geniuses. These were the members of the team at Los Alamos who created the atomic bomb - the weapon that ended World War II and brought "peace" to the world in a blinding flash of radioactivity.
The authors, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin have collaborated in this Pulitzer Prize winning exploration of "Oppie" in a level of detail not previously seen in previous biographies. From Oppenheimer's early life to his years as a student and prodigy, internationally renowned academic to the Los Alamos Atomic Bomb Project and its cold war aftermath, the authors provide a telling multi-textural portrait of a man both loved and hated by fellow scientists, politicians, and ethicists. The consequences of his intellectual curiosity and affinity of communistic ideals in the early years of the Cold War amidst the shameful paranoia of McCarthyism provide an insight into the man's human frailties as well as his intellectual strengths. The revocation of Oppenheimer's security clearance amidst such political turmoil sheds light on a controversial period in American history.
The book is well researched and documented. The narrative flows well, despite some repetition in chapters devoted to Oppenheimer's 1930s political activities. It is a compelling and comprehensive biography of one of the most elusive personalities in American and World History.
Complex, but very approachable.......2007-06-30
This is an extremely well-written, engaging, and engrossing tale of an equally complex and brilliant man. The degree of his humanness -- unapologetically raw; the degree of his metal abilities -- virtually unmatched. A great read for any fan of science, mathematics, or the history of science. You won't be able to put it down once you start it.
Average customer rating:
- Absolutely Wonderful
- Life With an Indian Prince
|
Life With an Indian Prince: By Archives of American Falconry
John J. Craighead , and
Frank C., Jr. Craighead
Manufacturer: Hancock House Pub Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0961983922 |
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely Wonderful.......2005-06-18
The fact that this book is so richly illustrated is amazing. The images were printed, using slides of photos that the Craighead brothers took over 60 years ago, yet they are absolutely beautiful. (a testament to the legitimacy of their involvement with National Geographic)
The experience of reading this book is truly like tagging along on the adventure vacation of a lifetime. You will yearn for time in India, and for time with enthusiastic naturalists.
If you're in need of a cheap vacation... buy this book.
Life With an Indian Prince.......2003-11-01
This is the best book I've ever read! It's the next best thing to time travel. The Craigheads were invited to visit India as the special guest of a Maharaja's brother, with National Geographic footing the bill. They kept daily logs of their, thoughts, experiences, observations and political debates as they traveled to and from India by ship, just before the US entered World War II. The Craigheads were young collage students who were defining the state of the art in wildlife photography. They experience falconry in India a level that is no longer possible, hunt with Cheetah and attend a lavish royal wedding.
Average customer rating:
- this is not a field guide
- Birds in Brazil
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Birds in Brazil
Helmut Sick
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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Brazil: Amazon And Pantanal (Travellers' Wildlife Guides)
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Pantanal: South America's Wetland Jewel
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Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica.
ASIN: 0691085692 |
Book Description
Here is a substantially revised and updated English-language version of the only comprehensive, scientific treatment of Brazil's 1635 bird species. Written by the then dean of Brazilian ornithologists and published in Brazil in 1985, it not only lists every individual Brazilian species and provides detailed accounts for most of them but also gives an extensive treatment of the characteristics of each bird family found in the country. In addition, it analyzes the composition of Brazil's avifauna and relates it to the country's geography.
Customer Reviews:
this is not a field guide.......2004-12-06
I read the other review and was deceived. The other reviewer made it sound like a field guide comparing it to Peterson. NO!!!! There are a total of 45 color plates covering less than 500 of the about 1500 Brazilian birds and some of these plates are black and white.
Birds in Brazil.......2000-10-16
Birds in Brazil is a big book, beautifully produced on quality paper. It is exhaustive but never exhausting on the topic of Brazilian birds . The color illustrations are beautiful, but unfortunately they are separate from the text about the birds. That is the book's only fault. The text is in smooth and enticing English, and where the same birds are to be found migrating to the United States, the information is quite comparable in completion and interest to the American field guides of Roger T. Peterson. That leads me to believe that the information about birds that we don't experience will be equally accurate. This book is captivating and well worth the price. It is a coffee-table style book that we will be proud to use and to display.
Average customer rating:
- I know why the Caged Bird Sings
- Unforgettable
- A canonical work in American literature
- Poor Print
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
|
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Similar Items:
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The Heart of a Woman (Oprah's Book Club)
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Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
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The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Cliffs Notes)
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Gather Together in My Name
ASIN: 0553279378
Release Date: 1983-04-01 |
Amazon.com
In this first of five volumes of autobiography, poet Maya Angelou recounts a youth filled with disappointment, frustration, tragedy, and finally hard-won independence. Sent at a young age to live with her grandmother in Arkansas, Angelou learned a great deal from this exceptional woman and the tightly knit black community there. These very lessons carried her throughout the hardships she endured later in life, including a tragic occurrence while visiting her mother in St. Louis and her formative years spent in California--where an unwanted pregnancy changed her life forever. Marvelously told, with Angelou's "gift for language and observation," this "remarkable autobiography by an equally remarkable black woman from Arkansas captures, indelibly, a world of which most Americans are shamefully ignorant."
Book Description
A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women,
Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people--and the times--that touched her life.
Customer Reviews:
I know why the Caged Bird Sings.......2007-09-07
Wonderful overview of who Mya Angelou actually is and what makes her the person she is. Very poignant, sometimes extremly funny and sometimes brings you to tears. A lovely, proud woman; someone you would be thrilled to call your friend, because if she was your friend, she would be true blue. She is sassy, proud, scared, fearless. I laughed when she laughted and felt some of the pain she must have felt when she realized things were not always as they seem to be.
Unforgettable.......2007-07-30
Maya Angelou brings to life an era that cannot and must not be forgotten. It was not that long ago in America that blacks were seen as another, inferior nation that was taught, explicitly and implicitly, to know its place. Anyone who wishes to understand the underpinnings of the civil rights movement of the 20th century, as well as African Americans' continued struggle for equality today, should read this book.
I found it particularly noteworthy that Angelou and her family in the rural South of the 1930s employed a very strong defense mechanism: They concluded that white people were the ones who were awkward, strange, inferior, possibly not even human. This was the only way for them to survive day to day.
This is a must read for adults and teenagers alike.
A canonical work in American literature.......2007-07-24
Maya Angelou's memoir of growing up in the 1930's and 40's offers a cold, hard assessment of the petty indignities, fear and racism (both subtle and overt) African-Americans endured (and continue to live with.) But what makes this wonderful book shine is the way in which Maya (and her family and those around her) face, challenge and overcome these indignities. Added to this is Angelou's writing, which has a rythm, ebb and flow to it - in reading it is clear that she is a poet.
Added to the weight of racism, Angelou wrestles with sexism (making her doubly powerless: a woman and an African-American) and repeated and continuous displacement as she is shuttled from household to household. The transformation she makes from girl to womanhood is as powerful as it is moving. That she learns how to become the "formidible character" that many women of color are is a testament to her (and their) courage and strength. It is clear to me why this is considered such a seminal work in American literature. Easy to read yet powerful and uplifting, I highly recommend it.
Poor Print.......2007-05-28
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is one of the best books of all time. Unfortunately, Heinemann Publishers did not do this novel justice. The typeset (by CentraCet Limited) is squeezed on a slim page less than five inches. The right margin is less than 3/8 inch and affords only distracting aesthetics. I wanted a hardcopy but only received a binding - I'm sure Maya could not have approved. I was truly disappointed with the printing because I wanted a copy of this novel that I could pass on to my daughters. Disappointed and Let Down!
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.......2007-05-16
The book taught a lot on the time before aparthied. It was a moving story on how fathers connect to their sons and the country being under racial segragation
Book Description
A unique autobiography unparalleled in American Indian literature, and a deeply moving account of a woman's triumphant struggle to survive in a hostile world.
Customer Reviews:
Lakota Woman.......2007-10-02
I learnt so much from this book, and felt myself getting angry because of her experiences. good on her for telling her story. L'Ohanna
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
An autobiographical account of Mary Crow Dog's life, this includes experiencing the events that happened at Wounded Knee, and her relationship with her husband, as well as the politics and experiences associated with the AIM political movement.
A look at the disturbing state and problems these people were facing at the time, very interesting.
Lakota Woman.......2007-08-23
An interesting look at the American Indian's struggles in the latter half of the 20th century. The perspective of Mary Crow Dog is helpful for those who have no similar life experiences to compare to it. Very good insight.
Excellent.......2006-11-10
The book came in perfect time and is in excellent condition. I have added it to my collection of Native American History
Powerful and compelling account of a woman on the reservation.......2006-07-28
This is a very powerful book about Mary Crow Dog's experiences growing up as a Lakota (Sioux) woman on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. It should be required reading for anyone who feigns ignorance of the ways that Native Americans continue to be treated in the US today. Local whites, the state of South Dakota, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the rest of the power establishment have their inhumanity exposed.
Crow Dog writes in a very sparse style, and writes of brutal incidents in a matter-of-fact way. While this style makes the book compelling, it is also responsible for a major weakness of the book. Throughout the book, Crow Dog is never introspective. Things happen (she uses drugs, starts shoplifting, chooses men poorly) or happen to her (she is raped, among other things), but she doesn't think about why these things happen. She conveys neither a sense of her own agency in these events, or a sense of her own lack of agency.
Oddly for an autobiography, Mary Crow Dog is the object, not the subject, of this story. Even at Wounded Knee, she doesn't really understand why she is there, other than the fact that she has followed the male authority figures of the movement into the siege. She made her choice and put her body on the line but can't really explain why. How life on the reservation produces people like this is certainly worth reflection.
This siege at Wounded Knee provides the centerpiece of the book, and its natural climax. Crow Dog has a very different view of these events than the accounts provided by the leadership, who knew their history and knew what they were trying to do. Crow Dog also talks about the aftermath of the siege, and the period when her husband was in jail. At this time, she also followed him into the practice of Native American religion, and - - more implicitly than explicitly - - explains why this religion is attractive to many.
Finally, this book also provides a valuable insiders' perspective of the dysfunctional communities on Pine Ridge. It's interesting that the politically correct crowd condemns Ian Frazier's "On the Rez" while praising "Lakota Woman"- - both paint similar pictures of the same reservation. It's true than a Lakota insider brings perspectives not available to outsiders, but a white outsider also bring perspectives not available to insiders. Read them both and make up your own mind.
Amazon.com
A favorite of birdwatchers (especially those who prefer photographs to illustrations), this field guide, revised for 2000, accounts for the 544 bird species that live in the region west of the Great Plains. The clearly printed color photographs capture birds at rest and in flight; preceded by black-and-white silhouettes, the plates are organized by visually based, intuitive categories--"hawk-like birds," "pigeon-like birds," and "perching birds," for example--that make on-the-fly identification a fairly simple matter. The images are matched by clearly written text that describes a given bird, gives an approximation of its voice, and details its habitat, range, nests, and behavior. Sized to fit in a jacket or backpack pocket, this is a valuable companion for any birding outing in the region. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Introduced in 1977 and completely revised in 1994, these bestselling photographic field guides have become the birding bibles of more than four million enthusiasts. Virtually every bird found in North America is brought to life in a full-color photograph and with textual information on the bird's voice, nesting habits, habitat, range, and interesting behaviors. Accompanying range maps; overhead flight silhouettes; sections on bird-watching, accidental species, and endangered birds make these the most comprehensive field guides to birds available.
Note: the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it, while the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains.
Customer Reviews:
an overall decent field guide.......2007-05-30
As a general all round guide, this book is helpful and has a place in any naturalists library. The color plates are the best of all the bird guides.
The index cross-references the color plates with the descriptions making it pretty staightforward. The cover is a durable leatherette, the binding pretty good (although the color plates will loosen up with use). The Audubon guides are definitely a step up from the Peterson and Stokes guides.
Now for the criticisms. The descriptions are far too brief and vague. An example: for the Cooper's Hawk, the voice description is:
"A rapid series:kek kek kek kek kek". Mmmm . . . Doesn't help much . . .
The summary is also 3 sentences long . . . c'mon, did the editors get tired here or what?
The descriptions throughout are not much more detailed than this, especially the voice descriptions. And trying to print out the phonetics/sound of a birdsong has always seemed pretty futile to me anyway; the most effective way of learning the signature of a bird's song is to listen to a recording.
Except for overhead photos of most of the raptors, there are almost no flying photos of all the other birds. I think this could be a much needed additon to any future editions. Feather identification is a big part of birding.
All in all though, this is the first guide I turn to when I need to know.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
Best Bird book on the market.......2007-01-13
My wife and I have been using the Easten Region Field Guide for years and found it to be the best. We recently moved to the western area and quickly realized that we needed the Western Edition. A great book for birders.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region - Revised Edition (National Audubon Society Field G.......2007-01-11
Very good graphics and copy. Durable too.
Western Audubon Guide.......2006-11-10
A good book to take with you because of it's size but, to me, the photos of the birds are lacking. Although they do accurately display the bird they are lacking in detail and often, to us, don't show alternate views for better comparison and easier indentification.
species misidentified.......2006-01-04
I regret that I cannot recommend this book because it contains easily caught errors.
I suppose that misinformation in the text is not so important. Still, on p. 21 the book claims that "Every bird has a scientific name consisting of two Greek or Latin words." The author of this book, Prof. M. Udvardy, was a respected ornithologist who would never make such a mistake, so either it happened in the revision by J. Farrand or is due to an ignorant copy editor.
Much, much worse is the misidentification of photos, which of course is the heart of this field guide. For example, photo #172 purports to be a Pacific Loon in winter plumage, but as any birder worth his/her salt can see, this is clearly a Common Loon. Likewise, photo #175 is labeled Common Loon, and the bird shown is clearly not of this species.
A field guide should be 100% accurate in species identifications and also not promulgate misinformation about scientific nomenclature. With many alternatives on the market, this is a book not to buy.
--Jack P. Hailman (Fellow, American Ornithologists' Union and President, Florida Ornithological Society).
Book Description
From the author of Snow Mountain Passage, a saga of the Donner Party, comes a deeply engaging new novel, set in both our time and the late nineteenth century. It centers on a California woman, half Indian, half Hawaiian, who became consort and confidante to the last king of Hawaii.
The story is told by her great-grandson, Sheridan Brody, a Bay Area talk show host, whose life has reached an unexpected standstill. He can’t quite commit—he doesn’t know why—to his Japanese-American girlfriend and her five-year-old son. A corporate merger may soon threaten his job. But when he receives an on-air call from a woman claiming to be his grandmother, Sheridan feels compelled to uncover all he can about this previously unknown branch of his family, embarking on a quest that will change how he sees his future and his past.
What he finds, through the journals of his great-grandmother, Nani Keala (aka Nancy Callahan), and through his own investigations, is an almost mythic tale: how Nani, a shy girl from a remote Indian village, learns English at a local white rancher’s school and meets the Hawaiian king, David Kalakaua, on his grand progress by train across the United States in 1881, and returns with him to Honolulu. There, as his young ally and protégée, ever more assured and charming, she plays an integral role in his attempt to revive the monarchy and spirit of his people and, eventually, witnesses the mysterious circumstances surrounding his downfall.
Bird of Another Heaven is rich in historical scene and character, based in part on actual events. Nani’s life unfolds against the backdrop of the opening of northern California and America’s rising ambitions in Asia and the Pacific during the 1800s. It is also a story of emotional intensity and compassion, equally compelling for Sheridan’s contemporary journey of self-discovery and the beautifully imagined journey of Nani, a woman of extraordinary power and appeal.
Customer Reviews:
Historical fiction with plenty of soul.......2007-07-13
It's a captivating story, but even more rewarding to the reader is the exploration of values of the major characters.
A young man seeks his roots; discovers the small is ever swallowed by the big.......2007-05-05
Moving between his narrator's view in 1980s San Francisco and the narrator's great-grandmother's story a century earlier, Houston reels out a soulful tale of ruthless conquest and dying cultures in the context of a young man's search for roots and meaning.
Alternative-radio talk show host Sheridan Brody never knew his biological father. Sheridan Wadell died in the Korean War and his son was brought up by as good a stepfather as a boy could ask for. But when a woman claiming to be Sheridan's grandmother, Rosa Wadell, calls in to his radio show, he can't help but be intrigued.
In addition to pictures and stories of his dead father, Rosa has stacks of notebooks belonging to her mother, Nani Keala, a half Indian, half Hawaiian woman who was a friend and lover to the last king of Hawaii, David Kalakaua. She was a witness to the last days of her mother's tribal culture and her father's Hawaiian nation. She was with Kalakaua when he died in San Francisco and was always suspicious of the circumstances.
Nani was born in one of California's last Indian villages. The place slowly disappeared as elders died and young people moved off to find work and when Nani's parents died she was sent to a rancheria where Indian ways were preserved on a white man's estate.
There Nani lives a dutiful life, helping out in the Mistress' school, agreeing to marry a man she doesn't love. But then a Hawaiian kinsman comes to fetch her to see their king when he visits Sacramento. Her notebook entries are brief, stilted, even shy, but Sheridan fleshes them out with his own research and eager imaginings.
He recreates Nani's father's life, from his days exploring and establishing an outpost in the wilderness with Capt. John Sutter, through the gold rush, and his adoption into his wife's tribe. His exile from Hawaii remains to be explained and becomes part of the fabric of American conquest as the story goes on.
Sheridan imagines how Nani captivates the king with her mixed heritage, her quick mind, her languages. And her beauty, of course. She accompanies him to Hawaii where his extravagant coronation sparks the wrath of the white merchant community who see him as a wastrel. But Kalakaua's aim is to appear as a king among kings, to make his people proud of their island nation, now so encroached upon by the whites.
Houston weaves the history seamlessly into his narrative, illustrating to the reader how European and American greed and self-righteousness informed the times. The U.S. wants a Pacific port, Pearl Harbor, and pressures the king, exasperated by his resistance.
"Peabody's smile was almost derisive. He held degrees from Columbia and Yale. He had practiced in New York and in San Francisco. He saw himself as the voice of right reason and common sense."
"'What am I to do with such a man,'" the king says when Peabody is gone. "'He was born here and his father too. Yet their loyalty is not to me. It is to a roomful of senators six thousand miles away.'"
Nani becomes witness to the demise of her Indian and Hawaiian culture; her great grandson does not even know he has Indian or Hawaiian blood until he's told as an adult and he regards it as something exotic and romantic. This idealization never quite goes away, even when he becomes immersed in the history.
Inspired by the notebooks, the great-grandmother Sheridan envisions is a young man's creation. She is myth embodied, almost a saint. She owns an abundance of love, and is alive to everything, with a rich sexuality and a deeper modesty. Truly a young man's ideal.
His girlfriend, smart beautiful - but with a young son - is not quite so simple an icon.
Houston's writing is beautiful; his word-pictures are mesmerizing. The narrative has a hypnotic effect, fed by the mythical frame of it, the slow inevitable decline for the two halves of Nani's heritage.
In addition, in Sheridan's present, he too fights for cultural survival as his small radio station is swallowed by a conglomerate that will no longer be happy with niche markets. Not on the same scale as swallowing a culture perhaps, but emphasizing, nonetheless, that might and self-righteousness always wins in the end.
A lovely, moving word picture, though maybe a tad too long.
powerful character study .......2007-03-24
In 1980s Northern California radio host Sheridan "Dan" Brody has always wondered about his roots, but did nothing to learn more about the identity of his father. However, when he sees his birth certificate, it includes the name of his sire. He wants to know more about his paternal side.
Not long afterward, Rosa Waddell calls Dan while he is on the air to inform him she is his grandmother. He goes to meet her and she shares family stories and her mother's diaries that tell quite a heritage. His great-grandmother was Nani Keala who was the wife of Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua. Now Dan seeks an audio of his ancestor's regal trip to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.
BIRD OF ANOTHER HEAVEN is a delightful tale of a San Franciscan seeking his roots. Once Rosa contacts Dan, the story line becomes one sitting throughout as readers will want to more about his Hawaiian ancestry and that missing tape. This it behooves fans of remarkable family dramas to give this fine novel a chance; once Dan gets started there is no turning back for him or the audience. James D. Houston provides a powerful character study of a soul searching person looking for his unknown heritage.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
Describing all of Colombia's birds, Steven Hilty and William Brown bring together information on one of the world's largest avifaunas-nearly 1,700 species. Over half of all the species of birds in South America are included, thus making the book useful in regions adjacent to Colombia, as well as in the country itself. The primary purpose of the work is to enable observers to identify the birds of the region, but it also provides detailed species accounts and will serve as an important handbook and reference volume. Fifty-six lavish color plates, thirteen halftone plates, and ninety-nine line drawings in the text illustrate over 85% of the species, including most of the resident birds. Notes on the facing-page of each place, and range maps of 1,475 species, facilitate identification.
Written with the field observer in mind, the text gives special attention to comparisons of similar species, transcriptions of voices, and comments on behavior, status, and habitat. It also provides ranges, breeding data, and references. Notes outline taxonomic problems and briefly describe species that eventually may be found in Colombia. Introductory chapters and photographs highlight Colombia's geography, climate, and vegetation, and discuss migration and conservation questions, and the history of Colombian ornithology. Appendices contain a large bibliography, a section on birding locations, and coverage of two of Colombia's far-flung island territories, Isla San Andrés and Providencia. Maps depicting vegetation zones, political boundaries, national parks, and the most text localities are included.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2007-03-09
I live in Medellín, Colombia, South America, I was looking for this book in the spanish edition, but it's hard to find it, so I bouhgt the enlgish version.
This book is an excellent knowledge tool and it will open the eyes of the readers to one of the many wonders we have. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia is just AMAZING. For those who love animals, in special birds, consider buying it, you won't regret it.
The finest guide to birds in Colombia.......2004-09-10
"A Guide to the Birds of Colombia," by Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown is mandatory reading for serious field observers. This book treats all of the 1,695 species of resident and migrant birds known to have been reliably recorded in Colombia and on its island posessions of Gorgona and Malpelo prior to 1984.
Moreover, this massive Princeton University Press text (836 pages) includes sixty-nine color and black and white plates by Guy Tudor (one of the most talented living bird illustrators in the world) & others. And before I forget this book includes superb line drawings by Michel Kleinbaum.
I found the sections on Topography, Climate, Vegetation, Habitat Descriptions, and Conservation & National Parks excellent. In addition, the review of Colombian Ornithology and the Range Maps are valuable field observer tools. In conclusion, this is a meticulous text with an expert index that will absolutely fill all the needs of serious field obsevers. Recommended.
Bert Ruiz
¡Qué belleza!.......2003-01-18
Es un libro que no debe faltar en la biblioteca de ningún ornitólogo. Describe casi la totalidad de especies de aves del país con más especies de aves en el mundo. Excelente.
An example for every Field Guide.......2002-04-08
This work is all a bird watcher could wish for. The splendid paintings by Tudor add to the very helpful in-depth descriptions. Completed by nearly 1500 distribution maps there's nothing left to wish, except go out there and see them. I used it when birding in Peru and I could still determine nearly all the birds I saw.
It's an example for every bird field guide.
Made birding in Amazonia easy.......2000-09-27
Since no definitive bird guide is available for the Amazon region and Brazil in general, I was forced to choose between this guide and the Birds of Venezuela. I ended up with Hilty and Brown's book by sheer coincidence, and I was not at all disappointed. The text and information is superb throughout, and I was able to identify several species on habitat description alone. For example, the authors clearly describe the preference of many taxa for varzea (seasonally flooded) or terra firme forests, which made a fleeting glimpse more of a certainty, and the range descriptions were invaluable. If I have only one very minor criticism, it is that I have never found plates in black and white particularly helpful, and since several artists were employed, there were differences in visual interpretation in several groups (e.g. the Picidae). However, these are minor detractions from an outstanding volume.
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