Bright Paradise

Amazon.com

Were Victorian explorers tools of imperialism? Accomplices in conquest and genocide? Well, perhaps, and even probably. The 19th-century English explorers who sought the origins of the Nile and the heights of the Himalayas saw themselves as agents of excellence, paragons of Victorian values, and they were well aware that they opened the door for compatriots who traveled not for knowledge but for wealth. Peter Raby examines the lives and work of the great Victorian peripatetic scientists, defending them from their modern detractors and highlighting the accomplishments of those who climbed mountains in search of tea and crossed jungles in quest of orangutans and cities of gold. Some were hapless, like the snakebit Henry Walter Bates; others were fearless, like Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, the archetype of adventure. All were interesting, and Raby does a fine job of presenting them to us.

Book Description

Whether looking for the sources of the Nile, the Niger, or the Amazon, penetrating the Australian outback, or searching for the Northwest Passage, the Victorians were intrepid explorers, zealously expanding the limits of science and human knowledge. In Bright Paradise, Peter Raby describes brave voyages and gives us vivid and unforgettable portraits of the larger-than-life personalities of Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, and Henry Bates, glorious examples of Victorian energy and confidence. He also explores wider issues such as the growth of knowledge and the spread of the empire.

Witty, provocative, and exciting in the breadth of its research, this book charts an important period of scientific advance and transforms it into a compelling narrative.

Customer Reviews:

The collectors.......2005-09-16

Subtitled "Victorian Scientific Travelers," this book tells the story of a handful of 19th Century British scientists, all naturalists, who, through their researches in the field in many different places around the world, helped Darwin advance his theories of evolution. The accounts are interesting: we get Darwin, of course, but also Sir Joseph Hooker in the Himalayas, Alfred Wallace in the Amazon and on the Malayan Archipelago, Henry Bates also in the Amazon, Richard Spruce in the Amazon and the Andes, Richard Lander and Heinrich Barth in Africa, Mary Kingsley in Africa, and Marianne North in Borneo. All were fearless, resourceful, and dedicated scientists/collectors of plant and animal species from the areas they explored. Thousands of new species of flora and fauna were first identified by these intrepid people. Raby covers a lot of ground by telling about each of these scientists (and others as well) succinctly and directly. He also attempts to explain the times in which these scientists worked as people tried to come to grips with Darwin's implications. A fascinating and important book.

Bright Paradise for Anthropology Students.......2000-06-27

"Bright Paradise: Victorian Scientific Travellers" gives a refreshing glimpse into the scientific travellers and explorers of The Victorian Age. It covers the well-known (Darwin, Wallace, and Hooker) to those overlooked and nearly forgotten travellers like the botanical painter Marianne North. It is written without any academic pretentiousness and is ideal for introductory courses in cultural anthropology and European History of the 1800s. The only fault with this book is that it is too short.

Excellent History of an Exciting Time!.......2000-06-21

I've always had a weak spot for the history of science and exploration, so when I discovered this book, I went weak in the knees. We all know Darwin and Cook, but what about Russell and Spruce? Here are the true heroes of science from the days when gaps in your knowledge weren't just unfortunate, they could get you killed! Excellently written, with a mountain of information for the scholar, historian and casual reader. Get it now!

Average customer rating:

Passion's Heirs (Paradise Press)

Manufacturer: paradise press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1576574121

Product Description

In the rugged wilderness of the new West, she was caught in a whirlwind of danger and passion by a masked stranger she met at a costume ball.

Bright Paradise - Victorian Scientific Travellers

Average customer rating:

Bright Paradise - Victorian Scientific Travellers
Peter Raby
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J3L17E

Average customer rating:

Bright Paradise
Peter Raby
Manufacturer: TRAFALGAR SQUARE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLOP24

Average customer rating:

Bright Paradise Vict Scie Trav

Manufacturer: Ramboro Books PLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 7215988899

Average customer rating:

Bright Paradise Victorian Scientific Travellers
Peter Raby
Manufacturer: Pimlico
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000PRV4Y4

Average customer rating:
Taxonomy of Setaria (Gramineae) in North America (Illinois biological monographs)
James McDonald Rominger
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Grasses | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007DO8DK

Average customer rating:
Taxonomy of Setaria (Gramineae) in North America.
James M. Rominger
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V26FA6

Book Description

A combination of observation and propaganda, Hastings' guide was invaluable for pioneers travelling to Oregon or California in the 1840's and afterwards. It describes geography, climate, and economic possibilities and lists equipment and resources necessary for the journey west. It places the modern reader in the mind of the pioneer, with all of the pioneer's attitudes, ideals and prejudices of the time.

Customer Reviews:

My Amazon Book Order.......2007-02-11

The book was sent in excellent condition and I am satisfied with my book.

Average customer rating:

Weeping Willow Dance

A Woman of Unquestionable Strength

A DISAPPOINTMENT

Weeping Willows Strength

Weeping willows dance no more

Weeping Willows Dance
Gloria Mallette
Manufacturer: Gemini Press (PA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

When We Practice to Deceive

What's Done In The Dark

Promises to Keep: A Novel (Strivers Row)

Living, Breathing Lies

Shades of Jade: A Novel (Strivers Row)

ASIN: 0967878918

Book Description

In 1929, by the age of fifteen, Mozelle already knew that she did not want to grow up to be like her mama, a sharecropper's wife. She did not want to get married and, for certain, she did not want twelve children. Mozelle dreamed of getting a good job, of buying herself a car, and of traveling across country a carefree woman--nobody and nothing hanging onto her skirt tail.

That is until tall, dark, handsome Randell Tate, twenty-two years Mozelle's senior, showed up in church that fateful Sunday morning and winked at her, throwing Mozelle's world off-balance. Three months later they wed and Randell carried Mozelle across the threshold into The Great Depression. Her children were born and, against all odds, Mozelle set her sights on buying a piece of land and building a house to put a roof over their heads. To realize that dream, Mozelle was going to have to squirrel away her pennies and in the end, build her house with her own two hands---husband or not.

Abiding by her parents' teachings, Mozelle stays loyal and faithful in her marriage to Randell, although Randell holds no vow sacred. The hard bed that Mozelle's father had warned that she had made for herself by marrying Randell, became less and less comfortable to sleep in, but Mozelle found comfort in turning to the Lord to see her through the storm.

Mozelle is every woman who squares her shoulders and vows to rise above a bad marriage and the excruciating poverty that binds her. Blessed with true grit and a strong backbone, Mozelle stands her ground and sways with the breeze of disappointment and the winds of deprivation. Her determination and her unshakeable faith in God, like the supple branches of the weeping willow tree are strong and unbreakable, thereby proving that Weeping Willows Dance.

Customer Reviews:

Weeping Willow Dance.......2007-04-12

Weeping Willow Dance is well written and engaging. Mozelle went through so much and never lost her faith. The book is a tribute to how strong we Black women are. I am glad Gloria Mallette had the courage to tell this story.

A Woman of Unquestionable Strength.......2006-11-11

Weeping Willows Dance is based on the real life of a woman name Mozelle who married an older man when she was only fifteen. He was her lover, he was her father, he was her abuser. I know Mozelle was uneducated and she was a child of a sharecropper in the south during the Great Depression, but if it was me,I would not have stayed married to a man like Randel. I would have eaten dirt and kept on struggling as long as I know God was on my side. Ms. Mallette, however, wrote this book in a way that made me understand Mozelle. I cried for Mozelle and I fell in love with her because i know her struggle was the struggle of lots of black women then and now. Thank you Ms. Mallette for this wonderful story.

A DISAPPOINTMENT.......2006-11-10

In reading the title and the brief snapshot of the book before buying, the book appeared to promise a good reading experience. However, it turned out to be a very disjointed, hard to follow, not even 'believable' story.

Weeping Willows Strength.......2006-11-04

I am a Gloria Mallette fan through and through. Her books for some reason always get down to the nitty gritty and have the most wonderful plots and they are so well thought out.

Weeping Willows Dance was a book about true strength. It is amazing how Gloria's literary mind works.

In this story "Mozelle" age 15 marries an older man he is exactly 22 years older than she. His name is Randell. He is a sweet man in the very beginning but almost the instant she marries him each situation goes from bad to worse. She moves out of her parents home in with her husband. He is a monster. Verbally abusive and mentally exhausting. Each child he impregnantes her with he "claims" does not belong to him. When she becomes pregnant with the very first child he literally "choked" the child out of her she had her first child in the field while picking cotton...

It's really a story of internal strenght and how involved women were in the early 1920's with their husbands. And all that was endured.

Buy it I guarantee you will Enjoy it...

Weeping willows dance no more.......2006-11-02

This was a very good story how a young woman keeps her kids together and a no good man that dont care wish she is live when a man can't take a stand with his family.She keeps her family together, just to see her daughter death, to build her on house and thats where weppling willows dances then to see her death and wepping willows dances no more

Average customer rating:

Weeping Willow, Good Read, Great Writing
A Beautiful Story!!!
My FAVORITE book
The GREATEST!
Hope, Even Fictional, Is Ever Helpful

Weeping Willow (Aerial Fiction)
Ruth White
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0374482802

Book Description

Tiny Lambert struggles to find security and happiness when her high school years are marred after her stepfather rapes her.

Customer Reviews:

Weeping Willow, Good Read, Great Writing.......2007-01-07

This book is surprisingly a very good one and well-written. The main character is one who you will root for her to overcome the sad obstacles in her life because of a mean stepfather. The pages are just enough in the book, It's not a very short story and not overly long and drawn-out.

A Beautiful Story!!!.......2005-01-03

I read this awhile ago, but the story-line and all the details are still fresh in my memory. I read it a year or two ago and I had finished the whole book in a few hours, mostly because the book is very small. The ending left you with a good feeling. It kind of goes to show you that you shouldn't just shut up and do whatever people tell you. This book was very depressing most of the way through, but was pretty realistic. Stuff like this happens to more teenage girls than people really know about. The ending makes you feel pretty good. I'm 14 now and I really appreciated this story and what it had to say. I would suggest this book to any teenage girl.

My FAVORITE book.......2003-05-31

I remember reading this book in the 6th grade and it has been my all- time favorite book ever since! I love to read it over and over. I highly recogmend this book to anyone. I hope you get as much out of it as I have!

The GREATEST!.......2000-06-28

This book was absoulutley awesome! I couldn't put it down! I highly recommend it!

Hope, Even Fictional, Is Ever Helpful.......2000-02-07

The slightest figment of hope, even when totally fabricated, may spell relief in an otherwise hopeless situation. Survivors of shipwrecks and other disasters have often proved the power of hope. Mourning their lost comrades who died in dispair, survivors recount how they continued to support themselves with fantasies of being rescued. Sometimes optimism, even if irrational, has greater value than more realistic approximations to truth.

Recently I was fortunate to read a book which helped me to experience this paradox in a novel way. Weeping Willow (Farrar Stroux) is a book I ordinarily would not have read. Working so much with the printed word, reading fiction is not something I usually choose for my leisure time. Moreover, this particular book was written primarily for teenage girls. It's the sort of book they'd love, detailing a young woman's coming of age within a poor family in the Virginia mountains, struggling to emerge from the last years of high school out into a larger world. I read the book out of respect for the author, Ruth White, who is one of A.R.E.'s librarians. It is her second book. I recall browsing through her first, Sweet Creek Holler, which won an American Library Association award as a Notable Children's Book. I had put it down because of the subject matter and presumed adolescent audience, but was haunted later by its deceptively simple style of writing and the mood the mountain dialect evoked. When Ruth gave me a copy of her new book, I immediately sat down and read it. As I was nearing the end of the story, I began to cry. I didn't know why I was responding this way to a "kids book" and felt somewhat embarrased with myself. By the end of the book, however, there was no holding back my uncontrollable tears and I was heaving sobs of release. Later that day I found myself blurting out to people feelings I would normally keep to myself. I could not deny that the book had exerted a powerful, if mysterious, effect on me. It remained on my mind for over a week as I pondered its meaning.

The tale is about a girl named Tiny whose prospects for the future are grim. Poverty, being needed around the home, and a lack of expectations in the community narrow her chances of stepping out. Her meager pickings are further sullied by the specter of incest by a step-father. The book handles this topic very gracefully but we can feel the depressing, life draining effects it has on Tiny. There is a happy ending, however. What turns things around? The book begins with a vignette showing how an unsympathetic school teacher forces a young Tiny to disavow her imaginary playmate, "Willa." Periodically through the story she tries to call Willa back, but to no avail. Only when she is in deep dispair over her encounters with her stepfather does Willa return to comfort her. Just as in many documented cases of real life victims of childhood abuse who find their companionable imagination and inner voices to have paranormal ablities, so does Tiny find Willa providing some special guidance that saves the day in a critical moment. By responding to her inner guidance, Tiny is able to face an important challenge and graduates from survival into the larger world of success.

I now know why the book affected me so profoundly. Several times in my life I have known hopelessness, whether through addictions, depression, or interpersonal tangles. I was saved from my first encounter with hopelessness almost magically. The second time around, however, I had to participate more actively in my own rescue. Through successive encounters I was learning, as has every wounded healer, Cayce's secret of transforming crisis to creativity. I discovered that I have an imaginary companion who has a special magic. The companion doesn't usually appear as a vision of a superior being, or as a fairy god mother, or even as a fairy. It usually comes first simply as "The One Who Listens." This friendly ear appears as I become willing to listen to myself. If I have to resort to basics, I get my journal and write how I feel and have an imaginary good listener write out, without judgment or interpretation, simply a "receipt" for what I said ("What I hear you saying is..."). The "One Who Listens" becomes the hint of a special companion. Receiving the gift of listening calms me, my feelings begin to unravel, and a natural intelligence appears. What was at first mere listening now becomes a gateway to wisdom, a companion with guidance. The acceptance of my feelings begins a process of recovery of the ability to hope.

Throughout most of the book, Tiny's attitude toward her life has a special quality. Even if only by dint of the author's use of a first person style, Tiny can acknowledge her feelings. Her breakout to success isn't all to Willa's credit. At a critical moment Tiny herself takes action. Hers is an act of listening. She listens to herself and she hears a clue her little sister's been giving her. Then she gets her mother to listen. These little acts of listening bring about significant change.

Sometimes we can feel too helpless to initiate change and, as Tiny and I both know, self-hatred may seem to be the only thing we can still assert. You may find, however, as we both did by listening even to our self-hate, that there is something good inside, a core untouched by life's wounds, that welcomes us home like the prodigal child returned to awareness. Accompanied by sweet and sour tears, sadness now recognized at a new level of acceptance becomes sadness now open to hope.

A book of fiction for children turns out to be not fiction at all, and not for children only. A simple truth, well told--I wish all my non-fiction reading were as valuable.

To read Henry's essays on other interesting books in the field of consciousness, spirituality, dreams

Average customer rating:

The commentary between writers Geoff and Steve reminded me of Woody Allen if he were siamese twins.

Something fresh for a change.

Entertaining...but it gets old quickly

So good it hurts

Unusual brand of humor

Weeping Willow: Volume One: Welcome to River Bend
Geoff Hoff , and Steve Mancini
Manufacturer: AuthorHouse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The True Stella Awards : Honoring real cases of greedy opportunists, frivolous lawsuits, and the law run amok

ASIN: 1420800477

Book Description

Imagine a staid accountant from Chicago with a beige life forced to live in the attic of a diner owned by a man with questionable hygiene who has a prom carnation (and possibly Walt Disney) in his freezer, then reluctantly falling in with the local theater group (at least one of whom would spell it "theatre") after his wife falls for another man and empties his bank account. Follow Lee Harris, who desperately tries to make sense of a new life that seems perversely committed to thwarting his efforts. You'll also follow the "writers", Geoff (the man with the world's largest head) and Steve (who thinks Othello is a board game), who banter, argue and comment throughout the narrative.

Customer Reviews:

The commentary between writers Geoff and Steve reminded me of Woody Allen if he were siamese twins........2007-08-31

Being the kind of person that can't sit still long enough to read a recipe for boiling water, reading a novel is usually out of the question. But I did find myself drawn to Weeping Willow and at times couldn't put it down. I was frequently laughing out loud, often startling my slumbering dog.

I thought the fourth wall, if you will, commentary between writers Geoff and Steve within the book a unique device that almost became a subplot of its own. Perhaps at times it may have been a touch contrived, but it almost always made me laugh, and I would occasionally scan ahead to see when the next tidbit would appear. And taking it one step further by having the characters actually refer to the writers of the story we're reading was also a clever comical touch.

On the surface the story is rather simple, yet you care about the characters and can certainly relate to their experiences. Some characters at times became almost caricatures, but still left you turning the page to find out what happened next.

My only real negative would be the frequent use of words even Daniel Webster wasn't all that familiar with. At times that did take me out of the story, as I had to either re-read the passage to understand the use of the word, which I can normally do successfully, but in a few instances I actually had look it up. That being said, I now feel far more ubiquitous with a sense of omnipresent liquidity©, having read Weeping Willow.

All in all I highly recommend giving it a read, as it will definitely leave you with a smile on your face and a prodigious vocabulary once completed.

Something fresh for a change........2006-03-31

This book is one of the most unusual and funniest books I've read in a long, long time. The humor comes at you from many angles - in the telling of the story, from the characters and from the writers themselves. It is so rich with detail and "real" characters that I will be sure to read it again. There were so many times I empathized with the main character, noticing the similarity in his situations and mine. And when they happened to him, I realized just how funny they were and that made me feel better about my occasional unfortunate circumstance. If you want to feel lighter about the woes in your everyday life, then you must read Weeping Willow. I'm glad I ordered it!

Entertaining...but it gets old quickly.......2005-12-24

Not a bad idea, but after a while the self-referential humor gets old. It seems like the two authors were so impressed by their cleverness that they forgot that they also had to appeal to an outside audience. Still, it has its moments of amusement.

So good it hurts.......2005-11-24

Sue is wrong. Weeping Willow is the greatest literary work of all time. I've never read anything so utterly engaging, nor have I seen humor used so deftly. The weight of the characters is nearly tangible; although my all time favorite book is Johnny Cash's autobiography "Cash" by Johnny Cash, Weeping Willow is the only work I've read where I honestly wouldn't be surprised to run into one of the characters in real life.

Unusual brand of humor.......2005-11-16

I'm not quite sure how to describe Weeping Willow. It's a good story about a guy who falls on hard times, yet is determined to bounce back, but it's the humor, unusual characters and folksy story telling that drew me in. Just when I got pulled into the story waiting to see what happened next, the authors would break into the story with their own comments and completely throw me for a loop. Some of the comments they made were kind of silly, but some were hysterical and well timed. I kept thinking what's wrong with these guys. Don't get me wrong, they're harmless enough, but I have to wonder how they come up with some of the stuff they say. In a nutshell, Weeping Willow might not be the greatest book I've ever read, but it certainly is fresh and one of the most unusual and left me wanting more.

The Weeping Willow: An Ike and Mem Story

Average customer rating:

The Weeping Willow: An Ike and Mem Story
Patrick Jennings
Manufacturer: Holiday House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Purple Ribbon

ASIN: 0823416712

Book Description

The old weeping willow tree looks like the perfect spot for Ike and his best friend, Buzzy, to build a tree house. The space beneath the drooping branches is cook, and hidden, like a secret. But Ike and Buzzy can't agree on anything--on which branch to use for the tree house, one who should be allowed inside. Soon the boys stop speaking to each other. They don't go fishing or play together. Ike's sister, Mem, doesn't understand why they can't be freinds anymore. Can't they just forget the tree house and move on?

Average customer rating:

Beneath The Weeping Willow Tree
Dolores J. Harrison
Manufacturer: Penman Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 097076460X

Average customer rating:

Beneath the Weeping Willow Tree

Manufacturer: mcAhren
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HSZ5FA

Average customer rating:

Joy Upon the Weeping of the Willow`
Catherine Alston
Manufacturer: Millon Words Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Weeping willow whom do you weep for? Do you weep for rain? Do you weep for other trees or do you weep for mankind and his sin? A book of poetry that deals with the roots of your emotions, spirituality, life and love.

Average customer rating:

Let God Solve It
Florence Chunga
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Divorce | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Dysfunctional Relationships | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Parenting & Families | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1412004470
Release Date: 2006-07-06

Product Description

This book is an exposition of the endurance, misery and distress that Martha, An African woman suffers in her marriage under extreme male chauvinism and also talks about how Martha copes with starting her life again when she finally leaves her abusive husband.

Average customer rating:

THE WEEPING PUSSY WILLOW
Tamara Frankel
Manufacturer: John Martin's House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KHSNLQ

The Weeping Pussy Willow. Merry-Go-Round Book Series

Average customer rating:

The Weeping Pussy Willow. Merry-Go-Round Book Series
Tamara. Illustrated By Simon Frankel Frankel
Manufacturer: John Martin's House, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ST9BDA

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books