Average customer rating:
- A Great Book by Carl Sagan
- A masterpiece science for the average reader
- Sagan, the polimat
- great book
- C'mon, its Carl Sagan!
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The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence
Carl Sagan
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Similar Items:
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The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
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Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
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Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
ASIN: 0345346297
Release Date: 1986-12-12 |
Book Description
Dr. Carl Sagan takes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends--and their amazing links to recent discoveries.
"A history of the human brain from the big bang, fifteen billion years ago, to the day before yesterday...It's a delight."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Customer Reviews:
A Great Book by Carl Sagan.......2007-07-21
The first time I read Dragons of Eden was about thirty years ago. I enjoyed the book more this time because I have a better understanding of computers and neuroanatomy. This is a great book for a student to learn the evolution of the human brain from it's reptilian origins.
A masterpiece science for the average reader.......2007-06-12
A reviewer at the "Boston Globe" asked: "How can I persuade every intellignet person to read this important and elegant book?" There are so many great lines and passages in this book that even now it is timely.
Buy the Ballantine paperback edition with the wonderful mural-like foldout showing an ape man and woman as Adam and Eve in a Garden of Eden that includes dinosaurs.
Sagan, the polimat.......2007-05-13
I really miss him. Just picture it: Carl Sagan debating the climate crisis... or the Iraqui war... Well, this book shows his caractheristic polimatic veiw of knowledge: not separated boxes and disciplines, but a way of thinking, using both, creativity and skepticism to approach nature in its most complex subject: the human self, the misteries and intricacies of our brains and the resulting mind states, wich some call "mind", Sagan and Druyan at its best.
great book.......2007-01-16
This is a fascinating read on the subject of the development of human intelligence and how our species evolved morals, etc. The book is a very good summary of information packaged for the layman but with deep and thought-provoking insights that could serve to stimulate the thinking of experts in the field. Sagan's style is very humorous and engaging.
I give this book the demotion to four stars for only one reason: it was a book very much ahead of its time, but it was published over thirty years ago and much of the research cited in it is now obsolete.
C'mon, its Carl Sagan!.......2006-11-10
I love love loved this book. Some might think its dry, but I love the way he writes, simple, but verbosive enough to make interesting. He always makes a point and backs it up, most of the book is evolution of the human brain, and proved highly insightful, and told me some stuff I never even thought of. If you love learning, defently get this book.
Book Description
An estimated one in 20 Americans has a natural talent for perceptiveness. Could you be one of them? Usually they are unskilled empaths, which means they suffer from such problems as emotional instability, apparent co-dependence, low self-esteem, or hypochondria. Rose Rosetree's seventh book, Empowered by Empathy, explains how to improve the quality of life by turning off unwanted empathy.
Her how-to techniques also demonstrate how to turn empathy on. At will. Bigger than ever before. Interspersed with her teaching, Rosetree describes elusive spiritual travels that are sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, and consistently mind-boggling. The cover, for instance, demonstrates “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” an outrageously simple method to move an empath's conscious awareness into the physical body of a consenting partner. An example of one of Rosetree's wild but true anecdotes? Read how she inadvertently outed a spy--see page 134. Yes, you can learn to experience vividly, from the inside, what it is like to be another person. The author, a teacher of personal development since 1971, has tested these techniques. Use them and they will alter your reality (for the better).
Rosetree's pioneering discoveries will also revolutionize how you understand empathy. You'll learn why it happens and how it goes far beyond “Emotional Intelligence” or “sympathy.” True empathy, you'll discover, comes in many varieties, including physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional gifts. Although an increasing number of authors today discuss empathy, Rosetree is the one who will satisfy you if you're really an empath. The depth and scope of her work will bring you relief. Yes, relief is not too strong a word for the rare chance to meet a skilled empath who understands your gifts and can teach you how to make them work for you.
Could you be an empath? Three tests near the start of the book will help you find out. Then you'll learn Rosetree's 25 ways to Fly in Spirit. Plus a great deal more. Pay special attention to the chapter on “Grounding,” with its insights into smoking, weight-loss, and more—counter-culture but absolutely on target.
And, as always with any book by Rosetree, you're in for a treat just because the writing is so good. Between the covers of Empowered by Empathy you'll find powerful words, directed with caring intent, and sparkling with Rosetree's honesty, insight, surprises, and irrepressible humor. America's first book ever for empaths can empower you to be of greater service to others. With less suffering and more skill. Consider yourself invited.
Customer Reviews:
One of the most helpful books I have ever read.......2007-07-20
There are few books out there that both inspire and inform at the same time. With each sentence, I kept nodding my head in approval because it all applied to me. As I read the part on emotional onneness and emotional intuition, I could not help getting teary eyed because for the first time I had an explanation for what I had. I was not abnormal, or an emotional wreck. I had a gift all along and I did not even know it. Also the fact that it is written by one who has actually been there is a a sigh of relief because you are not alone. I recommend this book to anyone who believes that empathy might be a part of their every day life, and I hope it is as much a blessing to you as it was to me.
Great book for understand your empathy.......2007-05-26
Some of things are long winded and not all that well explained, such as some of the exercises. I got the impression that you sort of had to understand things a bit more to really get use out of some of the exercises. Unfortunately, shutting it off and turning it back on isn't quite as simple as she'd have you believe. My empathy is very ingrained in me and I still have trouble doing it without the aid of my guides, and I'm far more advanced now. BUT... it is a wonderful book for beginning to understand more about a latent gift I didn't realize I had.
Hogwash.......2007-04-10
I was so disappointed with this book. I expected something more concrete, complex and helpful. The author used to read faces at parties as a paid party entertainer, for godssake. I read it and tried all of the exercises, and to get anything out of it you have to be one of those New-Age-suspension-of-reason types. It is simplistic and unhelpful. Someone with a more serious background in psychology is better equipped to truly help people who have a problem with feeling too much empathy.
Wonderfully helpful!.......2007-01-05
After being clued into the fact that I was an empath by my minister, I checked around for books to help me. This one by Rosetree was really helpful. I particularly liked the sections that helped me to 'shield' myself from other people's vibes. I recommend this book!!
Excellent, Most Helpful Book I've Read!.......2005-12-23
If you have lived your life thinking you are a mess, a basket case, then you owe it to yourself to READ THIS BOOK! I am very grateful to Rose for her GENUINE caring nature and her crystal clear intentions. Rose has been there and done that and is here to assist the rest of us!
Thank you Rose!
Average customer rating:
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Encyclopedia of Stress, Four-Volume Set, Volume 1-4, Second Edition
George, Ed. Fink
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0120885034 |
Book Description
Like the first edition, the second edition of the
Encyclopedia of Stress covers nearly every conceivable aspect and ramification of stress including a wide range of related topics such as neuroimmune interactions, cytokines, enzymatic disorders, effects on the cardiovascular system, immunity and inflammation, and physical illnesses. Over the last decade, scientists have presented convincing research showing that psychological stress increases vulnerability to disease. They now understand more clearly that stress may be the thread tying together illnesses that were previously believed to be unrelated. Bone loss, increased abdominal fat, and damaged memory cells in the hippocampus have been linked to elevated cortisol levels.
Building on the success of the first edition, this completely revised work surveys the vast amount of research generated in the past five years, resulting in a substantial revision with over 30% new material and over 100 new entries. Expanded sections include Animal Studies, Anxiety and Depression, Drugs, Depression, Disasters, and Psychological and Other Therapies.
Also available online via ScienceDirect (2007) featuring extensive browsing, searching, and internal cross-referencing between articles in the work, plus dynamic linking to journal articles and abstract databases, making navigation flexible and easy. For more information, pricing options and availability visit www.info.sciencedirect.com.
* Timely update on the topic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder taking into account events such as terrorism and middle east wars
* Includes expanded coverage on anxiety and depression
* Incorporates entries on the advances in our knowledge of immunology, cytokines and cell mediated immunity involved in stress responses and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Type I diabetes
Customer Reviews:
Must Have!.......2000-03-26
This is a must have for any psychiatrist's office or any student. It's BIG and costs a lot but it worth it. Even non-professionals can use and understand it.
Book Description
The grassroots handbook for Edenizing nursing homes.
Customer Reviews:
The time to change the atmosphere of long-term care is....NOW.......2007-05-03
The concepts in this book work. The long-term care center where my mother spent her final nine months actually introduced me to the concepts of the Eden alternative, and indicated that many residents were feeling more content and "stable" with the presence of animals and plants in the individuals' rooms and throughout the facility. An indoor fountain was donated to the lobby. My mom was delighted when a parakeet magically appeared one day to become her roommate for many months. There were small birds in various rooms and lobbies, often donated by families or staff. Bunnies and dogs made weekly visits to residents, and each floor had a free-roaming cat. I especially loved one who occasionally cruised into Mom's room to check up on its feathered friend in the cage.
Long-term care MUST change to meet the needs of aging boomers, though they may be aging well for their years; bodies eventually fail as life closes. Mr. Thomas has the ideas and vision to change the course of eldercare so that the wisdom and dignity of the elderly can be recognized in society, enabling them to remain assets rather than burdens.
E.A. Davis, author, Waiting for Wings: Accomanying a Parent to the Edge of Life
Novel and inspiring.......2006-07-19
Anyone planning to place their family member in a nursing home should read this innovative book first. They author's insightful, yet relatively simple ideas show how a well designed nursing home can be a welcoming, life affirming place for your loved one to live. I am a legal aid hotline attorney and own an medical supply business and often discuss nursing home related issues with my clients and customers. I found this book eyeopening and educational. If your relative is already in a nursing home, give the director a copy of this book.
Caring For My Mom-A Daughter's Point Of View..............2005-08-15
The activities director at my mother's nursing home(Tn.) brought this author and his book's to my attention. The nursing home administrator is currently having the entire staff read this line of book's(The Eden Project). I ordered "Life Worth Living" and "Learning From Hannah", because I want to be a part of what will make mom's life and other's a better place to be. I started reading "Life Worth Living" and was honestly amazed about how educational this paperback really was. Not only is this book easy to understand, it's extremely interesting! I can only pray that some day all nursing home facilities realize how beneficial the "Eden Project" really is.
Life Worth Living: How Someone You Love Can Still Enjoy Lif.......1999-12-10
This book will show how to turn a cold clinical facility into a warm, caring home. A place families want to visit, not make exuses to avoid. This truly can be revolutional. Anyone placing a person into a nursing facility should make sure they have Edenized.
An Ombudsman's point of view.......1999-06-16
As a Regional Ombudsman, responsible for a large county in N. CA, I used this book to inspire people to form a "Family Council" in a sample nursing home and to lobby for the changes that Thomas recommends. The home adopted several of the changes and they transformed the home, once known as the worst in the county into the best. Several people emerged from years of depression, others simply took a whole new interest in life, others simply had whole-hearted laughter reenter their lives for the fist time in years. The Eden alternative is indeed the "recipe" for making one's years in long term care "worth living."
Book Description
"I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are," reports a fourth-grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in—and so out of touch with the natural world. In this groundbreaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's wired generation—he calls it nature deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and depression.
Some startling facts: By the 1990s the radius around the home where children were allowed to roam on their own had shrunk to a ninth of what it had been in 1970. Today, aerage eight-year-olds are better able to identify cartoon characters than native species, such as beetles and oak trees, in their own community. The rate at which doctors prescribe antidepressants to children has doubled in the last five years, and recent studies show that too much computer use spells trouble for the developing mind.
Nature-deficit disorder is not a medical condition; it is a description of the human costs of alienation from nature. This alienation damages children and shapes adults, families, and communities. There are solutions, though, and they're right in our own backyards. Last child in the Woods is the first book to bring together cutting-edge research showing that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development—physical, emotional, and spiritual. What's more, nature is a potent therapy for depression, obesity, and ADD. Environment-based education dramatically improves standarized test scores and grade point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Even creativity is stimulated by childhood experiences in nature.
Yet sending kids outside to play is increasingly difficult. Computers, television, and video games compete for their time, of course, but it's also our fears of traffic, strangers, even virus-carrying mosquitos—fears the media exploit—that keep children indoors. Meanwhile, schools assign more and more homework, and there is less and less access to natural areas.
Parents have the power to ensure that their daughter or son will not be the "last child in the woods," and this book is the first step toward that nature-child reunion.
Customer Reviews:
Last Child in the Woods.......2007-10-09
As humanity goes deeper and deeper into materialism and our children are displaying symptoms in their emotional, behavioral and physical health, this book brings us back to the understanding that children are not little adults and human beings are not machines. The importance of self-discovery is being undermined through our over intellectualization on one side and on the other side the over protectionism of little ones. This surpresses the development of the imagination and intuition, which is so needed if our society is to refocus on humanity instead of amassing material good and consumption!!
Thank you Professor Louv for your timely and VERY important book!!
Reclaiming Childhood.......2007-10-08
I grew up in a very small and rural town. Growing up I was surrounded by nature and even though video games were popular neither my siblings nor myself nor any of our friends ever had to be forced to spend more time outside. We liked being outside. We enjoyed playing in the fields, woods, yards, and vacant lots that were around. Having become a secondary teacher and also having spent many summers working at a summer camp, I have noticed that many children and young people no longer have the same connection to nature that I had as a child. There are some who may ignore this shift in child development and reason that it's not significant and is simply an expected result of an increasingly technologically based society. But, as Richard Louv points out in LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, such an attitude is severely misguided and ignores the disturbing consequences of what can happen if children aren't connected to nature. Though scientific in nature, the book is written for lay people. Therefore, the text is fairly easy to read and comprehend. Highly recommended for parents and people who work with children.
Too much of the same thing.......2007-09-27
The whole concept is an interesting one but the book drug on with the same message.
Taking Back Nature ...........2007-08-05
I would have never heard of this book if it wasn't for my sister-in-law, who is battling lung cancer. She and I were talking about whether or not I should bring her some books to read while she was undergoing chemo and she happened to mention this book, as her school system was recommending that she read it before school starts in a few weeks. Naturally, I had to pick up a copy of it and was sold.
This book (with a wonderful front cover, by the way ~~ my boys kept saying, "Mom! That kid's going frogging too!" ~~ they love frogs) is chock full of information and data and statistics. It is a book full of common sense and while Louv was very very careful to say that studies have not been done yet to proven that kids with ADHD disorders can be weaned from their medicine if they were outside in nature more, he offers that as a possible solution to solve a lot of mental disorders in today's society among kids and adults. He also offers a lot of other solutions as well ~~ different types of studies or programs that other people are trying to start up to recruit people back into living in a greener world.
As a kid, I was not very interested in playing outside. I lived in a neighborhood in a small town. BUT my parents signed me up for junior naturalist programs, they took my siblings and me camping, they took us to the parks, they encouraged all kinds of outdoor activities. I did not get a chance to go into the woods by myself in the morning like my dad did while he was growing up (he lived in a very rural area), but when we were camping, I took advantage of playing in the woods. We were not encouraged to watch a lot of tv. That is a trend that a lot of my friends look down on me at ~~ I only have one tv in this house. My boys probably do watch a lot more tv than they should but whenever we get a chance, we are outside, working in the yard, playing or going camping someplace now that they are older and we can start introducing canoeing, hiking ... things that take you back to nature.
Louv writes very compelling though throughout this book about today's generation and how they are drifting away from nature. He writes about the irony of people driving ATVs into the desert with their children to look at wild life and basically destroying the terrain with the automobiles and kids are "being exposed" to wildlife but from the safety of the vehicles. Or encountering kids who show no interest whatsoever in the wild life that the author had just spotted. There are a lot of stories that he shared ~~ personal and from other people. He also writes of the connection between kids being locked up in their houses all day and the rising concidences of obesity among today's children ... and so on.
This is definitely a book for parents to read. I cannot write an accurate review of this book because there are too much information in here and one cannot honestly know where to begin. Yes, it can be dry reading in spots, but keep on reading because it gets better and more interesting. However, I do have a question for all those global warming experts out there ~~ how come none of you have read this book and tried to implement some of the theories into practice? I'd like to see this book touted more in the media.
8-5-07
Finally, a ray of hope.......2007-08-02
Until I read Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods," I only had two books on my shelf that merited permanent allegiance: Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac (Outdoor Essays & Reflections)" and Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." Both works were thoughtful and intelligent observations on the natural world and how we affected, and were affected by it. But they also left me slightly depressed. I felt hopeless and unsure of how to regain the ground we had lost. Although "Last Child" has numerous examples of what we've lost (including old-fashioned goofy play outdoors and an early-learned appreciation of nature), his research and interviews also focused on ways individuals and communities are turning dire predictions into positive ways to return childhood to children, and nature to families who have forgotton, (or maybe never learned,) how much we need it to survive and be healthy. Louv gathered and stitched together ideas that previously many others have tried to communicate, and this book is now my backup when I am trying to explain why I am hopeful about the future. What started as a catchy phrase ("nature deficit disorder") has morphed into a growing movement, and maybe this time the children will lead us all back into a more healthy and balanced way of living.
Average customer rating:
- Just as good the second time
- Scholarly writing
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- Badly dated
- Down the drain
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The Hidden Dimension
Edward T. Hall
Manufacturer: Anchor
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Similar Items:
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The Silent Language
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Beyond Culture
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The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time
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Human Dimension and Interior Space: A Source Book of Design Reference Standards
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Geography Of Time: The temporal Misadventures of A Social Psychologist, or How Every Culture Keeps Time Just A Little Bit Differently
ASIN: 0385084765
Release Date: 1990-09-01 |
Book Description
An examination of various cultural concepts of space and how differences among them affect modern society. Introducing the science of "proxemics," Hall demonstrates how man's use of space can affect personal business relations, cross-cultural exchanges, architecture, city planning, and urban renewal.
Customer Reviews:
Just as good the second time.......2007-01-10
I read this book in the 70's and loved it. It was eye-opening, and I was astounded by his level of perception. I owned it, lost it in a move, and finally couldn't stand to be without it. So after 20 years, I got this book and a number of his other books. Edward T. Hall is an American gem, and all of his books are worth reading. His greatest works are roughly 30 years old, but I think the information stands up to the test of time.
Scholarly writing.......2006-04-24
A captivating scholarly writing on how human beings react to and make use of spatial distance from a physical and psychological viewpoint, i.e.. the study of Proxemics. The book also deals with cultural differences in the use of space. Hall examines the French, German, English, Japanese, and Arab world comparing each with the American context and with one another. The concluding chapters look at the world of 1950's and 1960's and seek to explain the ways in which we must design our cities to reflect proxemics values.
Many readers would immediately disagree with Hall's claims that there are inherent differences between the races that could not be overcome but Hall is rather persuasive. Though this is an old classic it is not outdated. This book is very different from "Management Science" books, as it requires broader general cultural knowledge from the reader by venturing into the domains of art, classical history and psychology. Students of international management and cross cultural studies should read this book.
All things are revealed within.......2005-10-11
This book serves as an introduction to the field of proxemics. Hall exams how people interact and how they live together. He begins with an examination of the animal world and how animals share space. Although not directly related to humans it is interesting to know that crowding among rats leads to massive population decline.
The book also deals with cultural differences in the use of space. Hall examines the French, German, English, Japanese, and Arab world comparing each with the American context and with one another. The concluding chapters look at the modern world and seek to explain the ways in which we must design our cities to reflect proxemics values. This is even more valuable advice today as American seeks to integrate more and more immigrants from very different cultures.
Although a little dated this book is worth a read.
Badly dated.......2004-08-07
It had been required reading when I was in college, but I found it hadn't aged very well on a second reading. Hall tried to make his case against urban overcrowding, citing the "behavioral sinks" that were being created in the 1960's. He presented numerous examples, starting with mice, that showed the debilitating effects overcrowding has on animals, and applied this to the overpopulated urban environments.
More interesting was the study he did on the way persons from different culture perceive space, drawing from American, European, Arab and Asian societies. Even between Americans and English the differences were startling, but it seemed to me that he made too much of these differences, that affluence has as much a role in shaping the way people perceive space as does culture, which Hall did not touch upon.
Hall was pessimistic of the modern cities in America, noting that the race riots, in his mind, resulted from the cultural differences between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. I think it had more to do with social inequalities than it did race, but Hall seemed convinced there are inherit differences between the races that could not be overcome, which I found to be too deterministic.
Down the drain.......2003-05-05
Edward T. Hall's The Hidden Dimension, perhaps the scariest book (even scarier than 1984) I ever read. Scary, because it isn't fiction, but a rather elaborate essay on anthropology and proxemic behaviour. If Hall's right, things as disregard for other cultures, mindless urban development and demographic growth have generated a behavioral sink in which stress, crime, intolerance and physical and psychic disease grow everyday, and to make things worse, our governments take measures that only accelerate the process. We are all going down the drain.
Book Description
Promoters of multi-billion dollar land-use development megaprojects systematically misinform parliaments, the public and the media in order to get them approved and built. This book not only explores these issues, but suggests practical solutions drawing on theory and scientific evidence from the several hundred projects in twenty nations and five continents. It is of interest to students, scholars, planners, economists, auditors, politicians and concerned citizens.
Customer Reviews:
Packed with Knowledge!.......2004-03-02
Every once in a while a little book comes along that, while small in size, carries sufficient intellectual weight to strike the body politic between the eyes, thereby getting its collective attention. This may be one such book. It offers a realistic look at megaprojects - those major infrastructure endeavors that span vast bodies of water, dam natural resources to generate energy and extend rail lines to previously unreachable regions - and compares the promises of these projects to what they actually deliver. The report card isn't very good. Cost overruns are typically 25% to 100%, and sometimes 200% or more. Worse yet, studies show that the public tends to use megaprojects - be they airports or subway systems - only a fraction of the amount predicted. We strongly recommends this book to politicians, legislators and anyone who wants to know the truth behind these huge infrastructure projects, as well as to CEOs, CFOs, project managers and risk officers in the private sector - this applies to your projects, even if there is a difference of scale.
A fool, his money and the bridge that parted them..............2003-09-13
I am the first amazon.com reviewer of this short, but important book. It concerns me that this might reflect a diminished U.S. readership. That would be unfortunate. Professor Bent Flyvbjerg and his colleagues have written a book of significance to taxpayers everywhere. It's apparent that they have written this book largely for the policy-maker; yet, make no mistake about it: the ordinary taxpayer has a major stake in this book's message. The central characters in Megaprojects and Risk are three large-scale, European transportation projects: the Chunnel, the Great Belt and the Oresund. American readers unfamilar with these names (the chunnel connecting London and Paris is perhaps the most recognizable to American readers) will nonetheless recognize familiar features. Specifically, they will find project costs that exceed estimates, and revenue inflows that are below projections. The traits are not unique to these projects. In fact, cost over-runs and revenue disappointments are a familiar global refrain, according to these authors. In spite of this, the number and scale of infrastructure projects continues to grow, forming what they call the megaproject paradox. The book is stronger on documenting problems, including the lack of project post-audits, than on providing solutions. I think they have correctly identified the problem -- the lack of accountability throughout the project life-cycle -- but their solution, which largely involves ensuring a healthy segment of private capital not supported by state guarantees, together with more attention to genuine risk assessment, falls short of the mark. The risk assessment tools are firmly established and largely well-understood (Monte Carlo simulation packages are increasingly available). So is the "moral hazard" problem that rears its ugly head when projects (in this case) are "over-insured." The difficulty, which they acknowledge, is that the political interplay between state, private interests and NGOs are decisive in determining whether and to what extent the appropriate risk assessment and risk management tools are used.
This problem is inherent in the beast. Policy-makers would love for the private sector to shoulder the risk, but may not be willing to permit a commensurate return. Private players, just as understandably, are apt to seek insurance of one kind or another on the downside. The best medicine, and one that this book delivers admirably, is simply to raise our awareness of the track record from the start.
This short book has the look and feel of an academic work. It would, however, be unfortunate if it languished at the university bookstore. Global demographics dictate that larger-scale infrastructure investments are in our future. No one should pay for, promote or plan for such projects before they have digested the lessons in Megaprojects and Risk.
Book Description
To understand the way children develop, Bronfenbrenner believes that it is necessary to observe their behavior in natural settings, while they are interacting with familiar adults over prolonged periods of time. His book offers an important blueprint for constructing a new and ecologically valid psychology of development.
Book Description
By the time Nate Fisher was laid to rest in a woodland grave sans coffin in the final season of Six Feet Under, Americans all across the country were starting to look outside the box when death came calling.
Grave Matters follows families who found in "green" burial a more natural, more economic, and ultimately more meaningful alternative to the tired and toxic send-off on offer at the local funeral parlor.
Eschewing chemical embalming and fancy caskets, elaborate and costly funerals, they have embraced a range of natural options, new and old, that are redefining a better American way of death. Environmental journalist Mark Harris examines this new green burial underground, leading you into natural cemeteries and domestic graveyards, taking you aboard boats from which ashes and memorial "reef balls" are cast into the sea. He follows a family that conducts a home funeral, one that delivers a loved one to the crematory, and another that hires a carpenter to build a pine coffin.
In the morbidly fascinating tradition of Stiff, Grave Matters details the embalming process and the environmental aftermath of the standard funeral. Harris also traces the history of burial in America, from frontier cemeteries to the billion-dollar business it is today, reporting on real families who opted for more simple, natural returns.
For readers who want to follow the examples of these families and, literally, give back from the grave, appendices detail everything you need to know, from exact costs and laws to natural burial providers and their contact information.
Customer Reviews:
Grave Matters, Indeed!.......2007-10-17
An excellent text continuing the seminal work decades ago of Jessica Mitford to educate Americans in particular about past and present funeral practices, both cultural and legal, and empowering more informed decisions on delaing with one's own or others' human remains.
This information should be of prime importance to individuals for themselves and their families and to those like me [Bill Jolly, a Cemetery Superintendent] with professional roles involved.
Life changing.......2007-07-11
The book is clearly biased for natural burial methods and against the modern funeral industry. I have learned about alternatives to the prototypical procedures and will change how I live. This book will guide me when I have discussions with others about this topic.
Highly recommended.
NOT EVERYONE'S FAVORITE SUBJECT, BUT . . . .......2007-03-21
. . . would you want to be as ignorant about childbirth as most people are about 'procedures' at the time of death? The author's premise is that preparation for death, and burials, should be "GREEN" - - I happen to agree, and will donate my remains to a teaching hospital, me & my Pacemaker and all four replacment joints (if they'll have me).
The thinking of humans advances in pitifully tiny increments. In recent years the number of cremations has increased dramatically, and Green Cemeteries are no longer considered for space aliens only. Mark Harris shapes his book around ten persons who carried out decisions not relying primarily on undertakers and embalmers. Details about funerals held in the home, burial on one's own property, burial at sea, working with state laws, even the purchase of cardboard caskets for cremation . . . these are discussed quite fully in this book with sources given, costs, even the author's web site.
The book stresses the benefits of treating the death of loved ones in a totally personal way while honoring convictions about a green, less toxic world. Reviewer mcHaiku believes that the greatest hurdle in working one's beliefs seamlessly into discussions, and making satisfactory decisions about "bodies, the disposal of" . . . is squeamishness and the emotional reactions of the moment.
Knowledge can be 'freeing' and contribute towards amicable acceptance. Author Mark Harris has provided details, details (ad nauseam, for some). The book (Be sure to read the full title) is generous with information that will help all readers reach more 'environmentally correct' decisions because we owe this to our planet.
Sooner Or Later.......2007-03-08
I seldom use the word "should" because of its moral connotations. In this case, however, I feel it appropriate to say that everyone should read this book. Every week I take out the trash. It's not a job I like but one I know has to be done. We all will face the time when we have to do the same for a loved one or ourselves when we check out. This book provides specifics as to the process of embalming, costs of burial and even the process of rotting in traditional cemetaries. I love how the author refers to them as landfills. Sooner or later we all will have to deal with these issues and its best we take the responsiblity because ignoring the problem won't make it go away.
Revealing.......2007-02-13
Finally, someone has punched a big, wide hole in the distasteful practice of the American funeral. This book might surprise you on how it will change your perspective on death; either of a loved one or your own eventual one. Who in their right mind has wanted to consider a funeral in the framework of the century-long trend of embalming, gawking and metal boxing. But to consider it in the eco-friendly, natural ways that Harris discusses here is strangely much more acceptable. I feel amazingly better about the whole business now that I know no one in my immediate family or myself will have to be pumped with posion, laid out like a plastic dummy and placed in a $10,000 container that will never be seen again, or made to enhance the earth in any way. Weird as it may seem to those who may not have read this book, I will take much pleasure when I soon begin building my own coffin. Not that I plan to use it for the next couple of decades, but it surely will give me a platform to talk about the hideous practice of the traditional but obscene American funeral. I plan to make my own coffin, but have yet decided to be buried or creamated in it. Mr. Harris, thank you. And to those kind souls who participated in a very important book.
Books:
- The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa
- The Elusive Eden: A New History of California
- The Field Guide to Wildlife Habitats of the Eastern United States
- The Fossil Book: A Record of Prehistoric Life
- The High Sierra of California
- The Land of Little Rain (Classic, Nature, Penguin)
- The Names of Things
- The Octopus's Garden: Hydrothermal Vents and Other Mysteries of the Deep Sea (Helix Books)
- The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates (Volume 1)
- The Search for Life in the Universe (Third Edition)
Books Index
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