Spectacular Galapagos (Spectacular)

Book Description

Over millions of years the story of the Galapagos has been one of birth, death, and rebirth, as volcanoes rise above the "hot spot" only to crumble back into the sea and be replaced by new ones. This cycle has given way to a "magic web" where antediluvian dragons sleep alongside gull chicks and, in the sun-baked interiors, gigantic cacti become the only source of moisture for birds and animals. These islands inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution when he explored them aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835.

A pairing of spectacular photographs and insightful text by the award-winning author explores this unique island setting, a collection of animals and an environment unparalleled anywhere on earth.

Customer Reviews:

Galápagos on your coffee table.......2000-08-31

I treasure the time I spent in Ecuadór's Galápagos Islands, "Las Islas Encantadas". Tui De Roy has managed to capture the essence of these wondrous islands as much as can be done photographically and make them accessible to everyone. A wonderful gift for those who love nature, or those who have been there.

For those who are going there, add Michael Jackson's book on the natural history, Paul Humann's book on the underwater and Barry Boyce's guide book. Tui De Roy's book will whet their appetite and serve as a vivid reminder after the trip is over.

Visually stunning, comprehensively informative........2000-02-03

The author moved to the Galapagos Islands at the age of two and spent over thirty years exploring their natural wonders: Spectacular Galapagos is an oversized presentation pairing a natural history text with spectacular full-page color photos of the Galapagos creatures, blending a coffee table presentation with scientific facts. Highly recommended: Spectacular Galapagos is an astonishing visual wonder in and of itself.

Average customer rating:

Great Book!
A Nice Conceit
Challenge Achieved with Grace
I normally hesitate to use this word, but...profound.
Old fashioned and wonderful

Chased By The Light

Manufacturer: Northword Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1559716711

Book Description

Renowned nature photographer Jim Brandenburg gave himself a challenge: for ninety days between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, he would make only one photograph a day. As his shutter opened and closed on that first day, his 90-day journey began. This exquisite book is the result of that bold and immensely personal project.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-08-31

If you haven't seen the DVD (Public TV?) program of this project, you should-great insights into what Brandenburg was after as a photographer-the great and the struggles. WOnderful book and photos!

A Nice Conceit.......2004-11-29

It's a nice conceit. A great outdoor photographer sets for himself the task to taking one, but only one, photograph each and every day for an entire season.

One can see all kinds of implications. Once the photographer finds a subject he must get it right the first time because he isn't allowed a second chance. Exposure, focus, composition - everything must be right and as good as he can get it. Moreover he is continually in peril. Should he pass by a good shot in the morning in expectation of a better shot in the afternoon? And what happens when no better shot is in the camera as sunset approaches? We can easily believe Jim Brandenburg when he says that the exercise was a transforming experience.

But the question for viewers of this book is whether the pictures are a transforming experience for us. Unfortunately, they were not for me.

I understand that some of the pictures were bound to be underexposed or out of focus. Plants blow in the wind; animals move. But while I examined the photographs in this book, I also looked at other work by Brandenburg. These other collections were always quite impressive, providing new ways of looking at the world. Many of the pictures in "Chased by the Light" showed a keen sensibility for the light. The silhouettes of loons and a small island with trees against the backlight of a clouded dawn were breathtaking. The photograph of a raven's feather against a lichen background with a few beaded drops of water on the feather caught my eye.

But for every great photograph, there was one that was pedestrian and one that was discardable. I certainly didn't need to see an out-of-focus mink or trees in the forest with no true subject.

To be fair to Brandenburg, this project was apparently not undertaken for publication but rather as an exercise for his own development. It was his editor who wanted to publish after seeing the photographs. To the editor's eye, at least, the pictures were enlightening and well worth the effort.

The greatest value of this book was not in the photographs but in the speculation in which I engaged about why this book was not outstanding. Is photography a stochastic process with each photograph taken possibly leading to an even greater photograph? Did forcing himself to elect when to take his daily picture cause Brandenburg to sacrifice opportunities, or even limit his willingness to take risks. Does the order of presentation of photographs have synergistic effects, which were lost, because this book almost demanded only chronological order? Does forcing the viewer to look at pictures that would otherwise be discards detract from the impact of good pictures?

For me this book was conceptual art. I found the idea of the task transformed my view of photography. The pictures themselves did not.

Challenge Achieved with Grace.......2004-05-17

I gave this book to my parents several years ago and still leaf slowly through its pages whenever visiting their home in northern Minnesota. For amateurs and professionals alike, his is a fascinating photographic concept: your own property? a favorite park? your family? or pet? a holiday?

I normally hesitate to use this word, but...profound........2002-07-09

I'm a verbal type; I'd rather read a beautifully written description of a frozen lake than stare at a picture of it anytime. Even knowing that, my mother gave me this book several years ago, and I fell in love. I sat with it for hours, seeing, dreaming, and I still take it down often to do the same again. The photographer, Jim Brandenburg, set himself the challenge of taking only one photograph each day for three months, in the boreal forest where he makes his home. The result is a portrait of life as many of us can never experience it: not just "calendar shots," but pictures that show the cruelty of man, the certainty of death, the very simple beauty of a single bright leaf burning on the dark, still waters of an evening pond. Some photos are amazing in themselves and some seem ordinary in the extreme, but it is important to take them as a whole, and see what you learn from the journey.

Old fashioned and wonderful.......2002-05-30

It's so more agreable to have this engagement calendar on your desk than a modern and dull looking electronic device. Use an old fountain pen to take your notes, and wait till the ink is dry before turning the page! Wonderful pictures under your eyes every day of the year! You can escape and image yourself so far from the busy and noisy modern world. I'm waiting for the 2003 edition.

North american wildlife (revised and updated)

Average customer rating:

Really Great Book!!
Beautiful reference for Nature Lovers of all ages. . .
great seller
Book
Excellent coverage

North american wildlife (revised and updated)
Reader's Digest Editors
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0762100206

Book Description

A valuable at-home reference and an extraordinarily usable guide to more than 2000 of the most common and conspicuous wild plants and animals. Specially designed for quick and easy identification. Vibrant, specially drawn full-color illustrations of each of the 2000-plus species.

Customer Reviews:

Really Great Book!!.......2007-08-24

I have had the older (1982) printing of this book. That book has been worn out. We use it all the time. My kids used it all the time. I took it to work to look up a plant we had been talking about. Soon everyone was coming to look up something. Anyway I decided to get the newer version, and some others at work wanted me to order them copies also. All really love this book. The pictures are good and precise, and the info all easy to understand.

Beautiful reference for Nature Lovers of all ages. . ........2007-01-26

I've always loved field guides, especially older books with beautifully painted illustrations. North American Wildlife is a terrific resource for young and old alike. The different sections are broken down into Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, Mollusks, Insects, Other Invertebrates, Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers, Ferns, Non-Flowering Plants, and Mushrooms. While Each section lists only the most common of each species, the Illustrations are wonderfully done, and the information presented makes identification of animals and plants easy and exciting. For those of us who love nothing more than a good stroll through a nature preserve, this book will serve you well and make your adventures that much more enjoyable. While rather bulky, this is a book best left at home to study after a hike and help identify creatures you may not have been able to in the field. There are many smaller, more portable field guides available which may be better to take along during an adventure, (something with real photographs will help you much more when trying to identify a specific plant or bird) but this book is wonderful to have in your collection all the same. It's a shame that beautifully painted nature illustrations are becoming harder and harder to find in recent publications. The art of capturing a natural subject's beauty with pen and brush is one that I hope will make a resurgence. If you are an experienced naturalist, or a parent with children interested in the wild world, there are few books better to loaf around and thumb through than this one. I personally have spent too many hours to remember thumbing through the pages of this book, admiring the artwork. It is money well spent, and one of the few books I own which I will never get bored of reading.

great seller.......2007-01-10

The book was like new. I am very pleased with the service I received. Fast delivery and excellent packaging. Thanks for being a great seller.

Book.......2007-01-09

Book was reasonably priced and delivered in good time and condition. Have yet to have a bad experience with Amazon

Excellent coverage.......2006-05-16

I have the 1982 version. I am amazed at how much of the wildlife, I come across and want to know about, is in this book. Considering they are covering North America's plants, animals, fish, insects, etc, you know they had to pick and chose what they put in this field guide. They did an wonderful job!

Average customer rating:

Nature through the eyes and soul of an Artist.
Great teaching Aid.
With nature facts organized by animal type

Reading the Wild
Elise MacLay
Manufacturer: Greenwich Workshop Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 086713061X

Book Description

Native Americans knew how to "read" the wild and felt privileged to learn from their wilderness relatives. Plants, trees, animals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, all have secrets to tell; it takes only paying attention and a little knowledge and you, too, can begin to create the story that explains the disappearing snowshoe hare tracks, or how the fawn got its spots, or why Native Americans always associated the bear with healing and medicine. Notice how coyotes are clever clowns with many characteristics we think of as "human," and learn how the badger builds mansions underground with rooms for sleeping, eating, and raising their young.

Bev Doolittle's famously intricate drybrush watercolors show young viewers detailed and accurate wildlife in their habitats, including the frog's world at the edge of a pond and the sweeping vista of the mountain goat's home. Reading the Wild helps children begin a lifelong journey of wonder and respect for the wild around us.

Customer Reviews:

Nature through the eyes and soul of an Artist........2007-10-16

It could be said that an Artist sees where others only look..That certainly applies to Bev Doolittle and her work.I have deep interests in Nature,Art,Puzzles,Native Peoples,and all aspects of the Outdoors and the combination of all these things. I was "stopped in my tracks" the first time I saw the inspiring work of this magnificient Artist.While I have many books on these subjects in my personal library of over 7000 books;there are none that can compare with the Art of Doolittle in combining all these things in her Paintings.Many times ,all at the same time.
This short book, of only 32 pages, does an excellent job of showing the greatness of her Art and explaining what she and her Art is all about. It would be easy to pass this book off as something just for young readers;which it certainly is.However;that would be to sell it short. This book ,just as well introduces her Art to adults,both those who are new to appreciating the wonders of nature and the inspiration conveyed thtough art;as it is to those who have already acquired a love and appreciation for it all.
What you will find in this book is a brief sampling of her art which can be found in her other books;particularly "The Art of Bev Doolittle" and "Bev Doolittle New Magic" .The latter ,I wrote a Review of on November 5,2003.
Just like in the real world of nature ,there is always much more to see and experience when one knows what to look for and how to look for it .Bev's paintings are likewise ,much more than what immediately comes to the viewer. Take the Painting on the cover of this book for instance..It is titled "Wolf".It is much more than just a paw print in the snow."Seeing" rather than a simple "look" or "glnce",results in the head of a wolf appearing...and a little more study,exposes the complete body of this wonderful creature of nature. Bev's Art has a lot of "hidden" images within it,just as does nature in real life,if one only takes the time to see.
Elsie Maclay adds a lot to Bev's Art by explaining how to go about "seeing" that which is often missed and not experienced.If you have ever sat quietly in the woods,and finally noticed that animal,a deer,a snake,an owl,a raccoon,or even an insect, that has been deathly still watching you,come into view;you'll appreciate what I mean and begin to understand what Bev's Art is all about.
If Bev's Art is new to you;a search of the net under her name will produce excellent examples of her Art.

Great teaching Aid........2001-09-26

This book is a great tool to use to assist in having a different perspective. We tend to only see what we prceive as being there and looking at nature and how she hides our brothers and sisters is amazing. This type of books are needed in schools, in any teaching environment to assist children who are visual to let others know thier strengths and to assist those who depend on auditory and kinestetic to become more visual.

With nature facts organized by animal type.......2001-08-17

This slim book is only 31 pages long; but don't let its appearance fool you: Reading The Wild packs in details on reading the signs of animal life and will require good reading skills from grades 4-6. Doolittle's beautiful full-page illustrations lend to nature facts organized by animal type and revealing the animal's habits and habitat.

Peru: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (A Volume in the Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guides Series) (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guides)

Average customer rating:

Peru (The Travellers Wildlife Guide )
Peru (The Traveller's Wildlife Guide)
A gift to our Peru guide
Review of "Peru (The Traveller's Wildlife Guides)"
Perfect for the Average Ecotourist

Peru: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (A Volume in the Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guides Series) (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guides)
David L. Pearson
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0125480652

Book Description

From the world-famous Machu Picchu Incan ruins high in the Andes Mountains to Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and to the Iquitos area of Amazonian northeastern u, ecotravellers want to experience tropical forests and other stunning habitats and catch glimpses of exotic wildlife: toucans and parrots, monkeys and anteaters, frogs and toads, crocodiles and snakes. This book is all the information you need to find, identify, and learn about Peru's magnificent animal and plant life. The authors, professional biologists, selected color illustrations of more than 500 of Peru's most common insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals - the species you are most likely to see. In one easy-to-carry, entertainingly written, beautifully illustrated book, you will have a constant companion on your journey.

Peru's biodiversity is considered to be among the greatest on Earth. In southeastern Peru, on the east slope of the Andes and descending into the Amazonian lowlands, biodiversity has been studied extensively during the past 20 years. More than 300,000 people visit Peru each year, and the number of ecotourists who visit specifically for bird watching, etc., is steadily rising due to the abundant offering of wildlife that Peru has to offer.

Key Features:
* Identifying and location information on the most frequently seen animals
* Up-to-date information on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of the animals
* Information on Peru's habitats and on the most common plants you will encounter
* Brief descriptions of Peru's most frequently visited parks and reserves

Customer Reviews:

Peru (The Travellers Wildlife Guide ).......2007-01-11

Excellent book,well presented, beautifully illustrated, full of good factual information enabling the traveller to pick and choose areas of interest in this totally amazing country.

Peru (The Traveller's Wildlife Guide).......2006-11-10

Used this on our trip to Peru and it was the envy of our very knowledgeable tour guide. We ended up buying him a copy as a gift.

A gift to our Peru guide.......2006-11-06

Our Peruvian guide (who had been in the business for about 20 years) saw this book and salivated so much that we gave it to him at the end of our trip. Very complete, very well organized, pictures were wonderful. Great help in identifying species. Another guide said it was the bible of Peru Wildlife.

Review of "Peru (The Traveller's Wildlife Guides)".......2006-03-15

This book is an excellent intro primer for the ecotraveler. Its wildlife focus is mainly amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammalsts. Insects, fish, and plants get some mention. The book's country overview and its major habitat type descriptions, illustrations, and explanations are clear and useful as are the species photos and info. Thoughtful comments and info on conservation issues and ecotourism are included.

Perfect for the Average Ecotourist.......2005-10-29

The "Traveller's [sic.] Wildlife Guides" are designed for travelers who desire more background on a country's flora and fauna than one can typically glean from a national park brochure or even a good guide. The main strength of these guides is their relatively low price. Illustrated field guides for exotic destinations can easily cost over $60. These guides, by comparison, are a steal at just under $20. The main weakness is that they are not comprehensive. They provide information and illustrations for common birds, reptiles, mammals, and insects, but not for exotic species. Hence, serious birdwatchers will also need to purchase James F. Clements and Noam Shany's "A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru."

In every other sense, however, the Pearson guide is marvelous. The introductory chapters on Peru's ecotourism business, its geography and habitats, parks and reserves, and ecology and natural history are extremely well-written and highly informative. The second half of book is a field guide with pictures on one page and descriptions on the adjacent page. The descriptions are brief and to the point. They also contain symbols for the habitat types each species prefers. For common bird identification, I found this guide to be much easier to use in the field than the Clements and Shany guide, which provides pictures in one part of the book and descriptions in another. This book worked well as a companion to Clements and Shany because it enabled me to focus on common birds first and if I could not find my bird in the Pearson list, I then cracked open the Clements and Shany guide.

In addition to the Peru guide, Interlink Books also publishes "Traveller's Wildlife Guides" for Australia, Costa Rica, Belize and Northern Guatemala, Brazil, and Ecuador and the Galapagos.

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 17501920 (Studies in Environment and History)

Average customer rating:

Serving the Interests of the Dominant Culture; A critical perspective
A new view on the bison's demise
Important contribution to the field of environmental history
The Big Picture
a pleasure to read

The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 17501920 (Studies in Environment and History)
Andrew C. Isenberg
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521003482

Book Description

The Destruction of the Bison explains the decline of the North American bison population from an estimated 30 million in 1800 to fewer than 1000 a century later. In this wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study, Andrew C. Isenberg argues that the cultural and ecological encounter between Native Americans and Euroamericans in the Great Plains was the central cause of the near extinction of the bison. Drought and the incursion of domestic livestock and exotic species such as horses into the Great Plains all threatened the Western ecosystem, which was further destabilized as interactions between Native Americans and Euroamericans created new types of hunters in both cultures: mounted Indian nomads and white commercial hide hunters. In the early twentieth century, nostalgia about the very cultural strife that first threatened the bison became, ironically, an important impetus to its preservation.

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Customer Reviews:

Serving the Interests of the Dominant Culture; A critical perspective.......2006-07-22

As all the other reviews are positive, I will add a much needed critical perspective.

The central argument of this book is that:

"The combination of Indian predation and environmental change decimated the bison" (Isenberg, p.3).

As such, this book contradicts massive amounts of primary historical sources that show, un-arguably, that the destruction and near extinction of the Bison herds was a direct result of Anglo predation in a direct attempt to destroy the resource base of the Plains Tribes in order to force them onto reservations.

As the other reviewers have pointed out, it is true that the Plains Tribes were not nomadic hunters for all of their history. It is true that the Tribes adopted nomadic hunting as a primary subsistence strategy only after being forced to do so by Anglo aggression and encroachment.

But from that truth, Isenberg moves on to a series of unproven theories based on questionable ecological assumptions that are rooted in the "new ecology" - an ecological theory that describes nature as a disordered, chaotic and individualistic struggle for survival (For info on the "new ecology" see my review of "Discordant Harmonies: A new ecology for the 21st century).

For example, Isenberg bases one of his arguments on the un-proven theory that early Tribal Peoples, thousands of years ago, hunted to extinction many species of large land mammals.

But the story of the Bison is not a pre-historic story. It is a story of modern history and Isenberg presents no historical proof that the Tribes were responsible for the near extinction of the Bison.

Rather, he makes subjective philosophical arguments against "romanticizing" wilderness and Native American cultures.

From there Iverson uses these arguments as a backdrop to a series of environmental statistical analyses.

Basically, Iverson lays out an exponential statistical model where by he argues that, given the estimated number of Bison deaths necessary to sustain the Plains Tribes, eventually the Bison would have been rendered extinct by the Tribes at some point in the future.

The problem is that this can never be proven because it never happened!

What happened, and it is documented in massive amounts of printed primary historical sources, was that the Bison were deliberately slaughtered by greedy Anglo hunters for their skins and tongues.

The United States Army was in on it as well, as is documented by many sources showing that the Bison herds were decimated in a deliberate attempt to make it impossible for the Tribes to remain living free on the Plains.

Isenberg's book is one that must be extremely comforting to those forces that continue to destroy what wild animals and lands we have left here in North America.

A new view on the bison's demise.......2003-10-17

Andrew Isenberg, professor of History at Princeton University, has produced a brilliant monograph documenting the relationship between the Plains Indians, whites and the bison that once thrived on the Great Plains.
Isenberg carefully presents the ecology of the Great Plaines, demonstrating how tenuous the environment is to begin with: drought and fires can easily destroy the short grass that the bison depend on, causing sudden fluctuations in the herds. Given the already sensitive nature of the bison population, Isenberg then discusses the effect of human hunting.
Many readers, accostomed to thinking of the Plains Indians as ancient cultures, practicing a lifestyle as old as time, will be surprised to learn that the tribes of the great plains were largly recent developments. The introduction of the horse in the late 17th century dramatically altered the lifesyles of the plains tribes. Now that horses could be used to follow the bison herds year round, many groups abandoned agriculture and became full time bison hunters.
Isenberg documents the rise of trade networks, and the material wealth that Indians were able to accumulate in the beaver and bison pelt trade. Isenberg argues that Indians increasingly exploited the bison in a non-substainable fashion, thus dramatically weakening the bison population by the mid 19th century. Thus white hunting, which escalated in the 1870s to fill the demand for bison leather machine belts, was merely a coup de grace for the already decimated herds.
Isenberg's thesis rather explodes the old myth that Indians were always ecologically sensitive people who cared meticulously for their rescources. Yet in the end, his message is one of environmental responsibility, as he narrates a tragic case study of unsubstainable environmental exploitation. The book is well crafted and highly readable, and recommended for all interested in the American West.

Important contribution to the field of environmental history.......2002-03-16

Andrew Isenberg's "The Destruction of the Bison" shows that the interaction between ecology, culture and economy contributes the the destruction of bison. Unlike most historians who contributes the environmental degradation to Euro-Americans, Isenberg shows that Native Americans also play a role in modifying the ecology. He is able to show how introduction of horses, made Native Americans became more mobile and therefore were able to hunt the bison while riding their horses.

Initially, the Natives hunted for subsistence but later were drawn into the market-oriented economic system and were trading the bison's skin for other European products. Gradually, bison became nearly decimated.

This is an incredible book in this survey of the history of the North American bison population and is very well-written. He organizes this book well and is very readable. Even if readers who do not have prior knowledge of bison or is unfamiliar with the field of environmental history, this book will not pose any difficulty for understanding the complex relationship between human and the environment around them.

The Big Picture.......2001-08-19

So often, we tend to think of the near-extinction of the Bison as having been solely caused by overhunting by the fur trade. This book shows the intensely interwoven cause and effect relationships that led to massive changes, not only for the Bison, but for the Native Americans as well. The scope of this book is so much larger than just the destruction of the Bison - it addresses the full range of effects that Westward Expansion had on the plains. To gain a better understanding of the ecological dynamics at play between the Bison, the indigenous tribes, the settlers and the environment - this book is a must.

a pleasure to read.......2001-03-21

You don't have to be a Princeton professor to enjoy this book. Isenberg, who is in fact a professor of history at Princeton, is erudite without being arcane. I am looking forward to his next book, on the social and environmental consequencs of the California Gold Rush. Meanwhile, do read Destruction of the Bison. Here is a book in which everything is interconnected, just as it is in real life. Everything the Indians do affects the settlers, and the Indians lives are shaped by economic developments far from the great plains. If you enjoy, Isenberg's style, you might also want to read, Diana Muir's Bullough's Pond, a book that interweaves complex and disparate events in a satisfying narrative.

American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species: Strangers on the Land

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American Perceptions of Immigrant and Invasive Species: Strangers on the Land
Peter Coates
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0520249305

Book Description

Sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose, humans have transported plants and animals to new habitats around the world. Arriving in ever-increasing numbers to American soil, recent invaders have competed with, preyed on, hybridized with, and carried diseases to native species, transforming our ecosystems and creating anxiety among environmentalists and the general public. But is American anxiety over this crisis of ecological identity a recent phenomenon? Charting shifting attitudes to alien species since the 1850s, Peter Coates brings to light the rich cultural and historical aspects of this story by situating the history of immigrant flora and fauna within the wider context of human immigration. Through an illuminating series of particular invasions, including the English sparrow and the eucalyptus tree, what he finds is that we have always perceived plants and animals in relation to ourselves and the polities to which we belong. Setting the saga of human relations with the environment in the broad context of scientific, social, and cultural history, this thought-provoking book demonstrates how profoundly notions of nationality and debates over race and immigration have shaped American understandings of the natural world.

Insight Guide Amazon Wildlife (Insight Guides Amazon Wildlife)

Average customer rating:

Beautiful pictures but uneven writing
Good, but incomplete
Better Amazon Books out there
Wonderful photographs and interesting facts about the Amazon

Insight Guide Amazon Wildlife (Insight Guides Amazon Wildlife)

Manufacturer: Apa Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Insight Guide | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0395664268

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful pictures but uneven writing.......2006-12-15

I was disappointed in this book. It has absolutely beautiful pictures, and is worth thumbing through just for that. The writing is very uneven, even amateurish in places, and much in need of editing. Insight Guide Amazon Wildlife seems to have been written by a committee that never agreed on who the target audience would be. It oversimplifies in places, and provides useless detail in others (e.g. paragraph-long lists of scientific names of species). To be sure, there is much useful information in the book, but no real story line. I learned things, but got no perspective.

Good, but incomplete.......2006-11-06

I have relied on Insight Guides many times in the past on foreign travel, including recently to Peru and the Amazon. I found these guides to be complete, reliable and generally very informative. I was disappointed in the Amazon Wildlife Insight Guide in that it is not organized in any useful way and definitely not complete, especially as far as the Amazon flora is concerned.

Better Amazon Books out there.......2002-01-27

After living on the Rio Negro for a month near Manaus, constructing a jungle garden with the local Caboclos, I figured I wanted a book with more information on the Amazon than the "Insight Guide to Brazil". Finally the book arrived and I was displeased greatly. For one thing, the first 160 pages are about Birds, reptiles and mamals, which is only covered with 5 pages each. It lists the animals scientific and vague little descriptions, totally useless info. only you're an Entomologist or Herpologist,etc. However if you really are a scientist, you wouldn't be looking at this book, but something more in depth than what this book covers. AND, I don't even understand why they bothered to include the animals they did, you're NEVER going to see them!! And if you do see those animals, you pudgy old tourists will most likely be with a Guide who will explain it better than this book. The only cool little reviews worth reading are Endangered Animals, Life in a Jungle Village, and Amazonian Indians.

And as far as places, that was the big disapointment. I thought it would list more museums or sites in Manaus which I could see, HOWEVER, The Insight Guide to Brasil lists MORE than this Amazon book, why they did that is beyond me. So in sum, if you want in-depth info on birds and mamals, there are far better books, or even old National Geographics(which you can buy here at Amazon.com). And if you want a bigger list of museums, aquariums, sanctuaries in whatever country you're at(Colombia, Peru, Brasil), buy the Insight Guide FOR that country.

I ONLY would recomend flipping through this at the book store to read the sections I listed above or seeing some photos, definitly not worth paying $... Hope you found this useful, although cynical, it's the truth.

Wonderful photographs and interesting facts about the Amazon.......1999-07-01

I borrowed a copy of this book while I took an Amazon tour. This book explained so many interesting things about the region - the history, geography, climate, animals. I enjoyed reading the book while I was riding along on the river. The pictures are postcard quality, making the book a great souvenier to show your friends after a trip to the Amazon. I am anxiously waiting for the publisher to print the book again so I can buy my own copy.

Reel Nature : America's Romance With Wildlife on Film

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Reel Nature : America's Romance With Wildlife on Film
Gregg Mitman
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674715713

Book Description

Americans have had a long-standing love affair with the wilderness. As cities grew and frontiers disappeared, film emerged to feed an insatiable curiosity about wildlife. The camera promised to bring us into contact with the animal world, undetected and unarmed. Yet the camera's penetration of this world has inevitably brought human artifice and technology into the picture as well. In the first major analysis of American nature films in the twentieth century, Gregg Mitman shows how our cultural values, scientific needs, and new technologies produced the images that have shaped our contemporary view of wildlife.

Like the museum and the zoo, the nature film sought to recreate the experience of unspoiled nature while appealing to a popular audience, through a blend of scientific research and commercial promotion, education and entertainment, authenticity and artifice. Travelogue-expedition films, like Teddy Roosevelt's African safari, catered to upper- and middle-class patrons who were intrigued by the exotic and entertained by the thrill of big-game hunting and collecting. The proliferation of nature movies and television shows in the 1950s, such as Disney's True-Life Adventures and Marlin Perkins's Wild Kingdom, made nature familiar and accessible to America's baby-boom generation, fostering the environmental activism of the latter part of the twentieth century. Reel Nature reveals the shifting conventions of nature films and their enormous impact on our perceptions of, and politics about, the environment.

Whether crafted to elicit thrills or to educate audiences about the real-life drama of threatened wildlife, nature films then and now reveal much about the yearnings of Americans to be both close to nature and yet distinctly apart.

Birds of North America: Life Histories of More Than 930 Species

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A Pretty Good Bird Reference Book
Tremendous Value and Information
Birds of North America by Fred J. Alsop lll
Birds of North America
If you love birds -- don't hesitate! Get this book!

Birds of North America: Life Histories of More Than 930 Species
Fred J. Alsop
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0789480018

Book Description

Published in association with America's preeminent authority, the Smithsonian Institution. This comprehensive reference to the birds of North America includes full-page profiles of more than 930 species -- all the birds known to breed in the United States or Canada, as well as regular visitors and vagrants to the continent. Smithsonian Birds of North America provides essential identification tips for each species together with fascinating information on feeding and behavior, breeding, and nesting habits. Identification. Full-page species profiles combine a precise description and annotated photographs to highlight the key field marks of the adult male. Other plumages are portrayed with photographs or artworks if they differ significantly. Species similar to the one profiled are shown with a brief summary of the key differences. An explanation of the typical flight pattern of each species includes both schematic artworks and a verbal description. Life histories. Knowledge of behavior can be critical to differentiate between similar species, and an understanding of life histories enhances the total birding experience. Each profile includes a description of the typical vocalizations, feeding behavior, breeding, nesting, population, and conservation concerns. A range map shows each bird's occurrence in North America during summer, winder, and on migration.

Customer Reviews:

A Pretty Good Bird Reference Book.......2003-02-27

If you love birds, you may want to add this book to your collection. Clearly it is not a field guide: too heavy and bulky. It does, however, contain a great deal of information that will help in the never ending quest to find and identify another bird. Each bird listed has a section on song, behavior, breeding habits, nesting, population, and conservation. Flight patterns, nest identification, and habitat are also described iconically. Good range maps are included. The "photos" will not help much in identifying birds, but a complementary guide such as Sibley's can fill in the gap nicely. Place this book on your coffee table, open it often to learn another tidbit about one of those birds you haven't yet seen, and I don't think it will be disappointing.

Tremendous Value and Information.......2003-02-03

This book has more information than any other book I own. You will find birds listed here that you won't find elsewhere and the information offered is second to none. Considering the cost of this book, the value is tremendous. You will find common names, scientific names, very specific identification notes and interesting facts on all the birds listed. In the upper right hand corner of each page is a diagram showing the relative size of the bird to the size of this book and this is very helpful. You'll also find information on breeding, nesting and basic behavioral aspects of each listing. I personally recommend this book to any casual or enthusiastic birder.

Birds of North America by Fred J. Alsop lll.......2002-12-19

This is a great addition to any home or collection. This book has the family, species(latin name),length, wingspan, plumage habitat, weight, nesting, and more for over 930 species of North American birds on over 1000 pages.

Birds of North America.......2002-12-02

Birds of North America written by Fred J. Alsop is one of the most complete books on birds of North America that I've seen.

The contents of this book is comprehensive and has a very well-written introduction and a how the book works section, this describes how the books pages are set-up for easy indentification of the birds you find in the wild. The guide to visual references helps again to further refine your classification and a identifing of the bird you've found.

There is an anatomy, topography, and variations sections; also a how to identify birds, birds in flight and by silhouette, but to further hone your indentifing of your birds, there is a behavior, abundance and distribution; classification and how to watch birds in the backyard, along with those in the field.

There is a very fine glossary and index with this book to get the birder to the species you've found. this book classifies birds by species... this I found is the best and fastest way to find and classify to birds you're looking for.

I highly recommend this book for those who really need a book for their birding experience. Along the outside margins of the pages, there is a place for a date, time and location on the page for you when you spot a bird species.

All in all, this is by far, one of the best bird book that I've seen. Excellent choice for a gift for the birder in your family or to get the children involved in what is around them while the are with you on walks through the woods.

If you love birds -- don't hesitate! Get this book!.......2002-07-13

Just got home from B&N, where I saw this book -- I spent a LOT of time flipping through it ... talk about lust! I must have this book ... must must must. After this review I'll buy it now at [...]. I knew [...] would have it at a discount (no discount on it at B&N), plus this tome is very heavy ... and I already had a stack of books (seriously discounted) that I couldn't part with. I'm not even a serious birder, but I love birds and keep track of those that visit my Brooklyn patio (you'd be amazed at the variety!). Can't wait 'til it shows up ... this is truly a handsome book, chock full of terrific photos and info. Splurge and treat yourself!

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