Windshield Wilderness: Cars, Roads, and Nature in Washington's National Parks (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)

Book Description

In his engaging book Windshield Wilderness, David Louter explores the relationship between automobiles and national parks, and how together they have shaped our ideas of wilderness. National parks, he argues, did not develop as places set aside from the modern world, but rather came to be known and appreciated through technological progress in the form of cars and roads, leaving an enduring legacy of knowing nature through machines.

With a lively style and striking illustrations, Louter traces the history of Washington State's national parks -- Mount Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades -- to illustrate shifting ideas of wilderness as scenic, as roadless, and as ecological reserve. He reminds us that we cannot understand national parks without recognizing that cars have been central to how people experience and interpret their meaning, and especially how they perceive them as wild places.

Windshield Wilderness explores what few histories of national parks address: what it means to view parks from the road and through a windshield. Building upon recent interpretations of wilderness as a cultural construct rather than as a pure state of nature, the story of autos in parks presents the preservation of wilderness as a dynamic and nuanced process.Windshield Wilderness illuminates the difficulty of separating human-modified landscapes from natural ones, encouraging us to recognize our connections with nature in national parks.

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A fast pleasant read for baseball fan

Schmidt was juiced?

A delight

Alright baseball autobiography

Dignified, tepid memoir from a Hall of Famer

Clearing the Bases: Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, Sham Records, and a Hall of Famer's Search for the Soul of Baseball
Mike Schmidt , and Glen Waggoner
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports

Richie Ashburn Remembered

Juicing the Game : Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball

Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero

Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big

ASIN: 0060854995
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Book Description

Between 1995, when Mike Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the dawn of the recent "Steroid Era," when baseball's biggest names were as likely to appear before Congress as they were to play in the All-Star Game, our national pastime has devolved into a national punch line. Even though the past two years have witnessed the Red Sox' finally putting an end to the Curse of the Bambino and the White Sox' bringing a championship to the South Side of Chicago for the first time in eighty-seven years, the sad truth is that the 2005 and 2006 seasons may be remembered as much for the league's scandals and blockbuster free-agent signings as they are for historic accomplishments on the field. Something has gone horribly wrong with the game, and according to Schmidt, it's time to do something about it.

Clearing the Bases is a much-needed call to arms by one of baseball's most respected players. Drawing on his experiences as a third baseman, a manager, and, most recently, a fan, Schmidt takes on everything from skyrocketing payrolls, callous owners, and unapproachable players to inflated statistics, and, of course, ersatz home run kings. With bold and spirited counsel, Schmidt offers his own prescription for restoring integrity to the game and bringing baseball back, once and for all, to its rightful place.

More than just an old-timer's screed against the modern game, however, Clearing the Bases goes beyond the BALCO investigation and never-ending free-agent bonanzas that dominate the back pages. It also examines all that's right -- and what still needs work -- with our national pastime, including interleague play, expansion, and, most surprisingly, better all-around hitters.

Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a Hall of Famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.

Download Description

Between 1995, when Mike Schmidt was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the dawn of the recent ""Steroid Era,"" when baseball's biggest names were as likely to appear before Congress as they were to play in the All-Star Game, our national pastime has devolved into a national punch line. Even though the past two years have witnessed the Red Sox' finally putting an end to the Curse of the Bambino and the White Sox' bringing a championship to the South Side of Chicago for the first time in eighty-seven years, the sad truth is that the 2005 and 2006 seasons may be remembered as much for the league's scandals and blockbuster free-agent signings as they are for historic accomplishments on the field. Something has gone horribly wrong with the game, and according to Schmidt, it's time to do something about it.

Riveting, wise, and illuminating, Clearing the Bases is a Hall of Famer's look at how Major League Baseball has lost its way and how it can head back home.

Customer Reviews:

A fast pleasant read for baseball fan.......2006-11-13

Clearing the Bases is a quick easy read for all baseball fans, and especially so for those of us who remember Schmidt's playing years (he does spend a large percentage of time on the timeline and events of his career). Schmidt's opinions come across as honest and direct, even if mostly unsurprising. Refreshingly, Mike takes the politically incorrect view that if he were playing in the late 80s and 90s, there is a strong possiblity that he would have taken steriods as well. This is an oversimplification however, and his lengthier discussion is certainly worthy of a Hall-of-Fame role model. In the end, he comes out strongly against performance enhancing drugs, but its the route he takes to get there that is refreshing - he speaks as someone who has a far more intimate knowledge of the sport, the pressures, and the costs/benefits than all the rest of us readers who never experienced it. On the flip side, Mike spends a bit too much time on his managerial interests (and at times seems to be using this book as a vehicle to speak to baseball on this topic). That being said however, on balance Clearing the Bases is an interesting look at Mike Schmidt's career and the opinions he has formed as a result of those experiences.

Schmidt was juiced?.......2006-09-30

Steroids have been around for 50 years. The Steelers of the 70s were reportedly on 'roids. Schmidt is a competitor, albeit a gentleman competitor. Draw your own conclusions. It's not inconceivable, though the evidence will never come to light, that the superstars of the 60s and 70s, if not the 50s, were juiced. I have not read this book; probably a hagiography.

A delight.......2006-09-09

Mike Schmidt's love and passion for the game really shine through in this well-written and often funny book. Number 20's observations on steroids, the Hall of Fame, the Pete Rose saga and Barry Bonds are thought-provoking, and he does a good job describing how the game has changed since he played it. Clearing the Bases is recommended for any baseball fan, especially those like myself, who enjoyed watching Schmidt on the field back in the days when baseball was at its peak. (And I'll forgive him for all those homers he hit against my Cubs throughout the years, including four in one game at Wrigley in 1976).

Alright baseball autobiography.......2006-08-09

As a general rule autobiographies are pretty valuable things. They allow the great and the notorious to reflect on a noteworthy life, and they allow us to peek over their shoulder while they do so. When the author is perceptive enough, or the events of their lives of enduring interest, the world is likely to be graced with a classic. Athletes' autobiographies tend not to fall into that category. Athletes are usually reactive rather than reflexive, and most of our curiosity about them can be satisfied by a perusal of the box score or the record book. There are exceptions - the books by Jim Brosnan and Jim Bouton being the most notable - they're as substantial as peanuts and Cracker Jacks.

So, with modest expectations, I read Mike Schmidt's `Clearing the Bases.' Even the unwieldy subtitle (Juiced Players, Monster Salaries, etc., etc.) didn't fool me none. Putting the word `juice' in the title of a baseball book nowadays guarantees at least 10% higher sales, and anyway the endless subtitle adds a certain swagger. Schmidt was an All-Star third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1970s and 80s, a first ballot Hall of Famer, and considered by many the greatest third baseman in the history of the game. If Schmidt doesn't surprise and delight or swagger all that much past the title page, he doesn't necessarily disappoint, either. The awestruck first venture into a major league clubhouse is duly noted, as are the streaks and slumps, World Series' wins and losses are all dutifully catalogued, recalled rather than recreated.

Besides a brief and somewhat sketchy look back at his career Schmidt also writes about steroids - he would, he wouldn't, he would, he wouldn't but he would have been mighty tempted; modern ballplayers - superior to the old guys because of better nutrition and better conditioning; Pete Rose - interceded between his friend Pete and Bud Selig the last time Rose applied to the Commissioner to be reinstated in baseball; and Barry Bonds. I found Schmidt's comments on Bonds oddly affecting. Boiled down to its essence, his advice to the beleagured San Francisco Giant superstar is a simple "Enjoy yourself." Coming from a player who, in his day, was also viewed as an aloof and distant superstar, the advice has a sober, almost Gatsby-like quality to it.

A mild recommendation for Philadelphians and diehard baseball fans.

Dignified, tepid memoir from a Hall of Famer.......2006-08-01

Mike Schmidt's new book is half autobiography and half commentary. The lean first half covers Schmidt's lengthy career with the Philadelphia Phillies organization, primarily focusing on his successful Phillies teams from 1976-1983 and his 1989 retirement. Phils fans will enjoy stories of beloved contemporaries like Garry Maddox and Tug McGraw. However, the breezy narrative skips entire seasons and ends at page 79.
The title implies incisive commentary on the current state of Major League Baseball - the inside flap states `something has gone wrong with the game and according to Schmidt it's time to do something about it.' Unfortunately, Schmidt proposes few tangible improvements beyond liberalizing the strike zone and quintupling the pay of farm team management. He discusses lightning rods like Mark McGwire and Pete Rose but offers little new or interesting insight. Schmidt also seems embittered that his one season managing the single-A Clearwater Thrashers did not immediately lead to succeeding the fired Larry Bowa as Phillies manager. The best parts of the book share Schmidt's extensive knowledge of hitting, for example a multi-page exploration of advances in bat technology. Mike Schmidt was the greatest player in the history of my favorite baseball team and a childhood hero so I enjoyed reading this book, but at less than 200 pages it seems overpriced.

Book Description

What's a couple to do in Dallas/Fort Worth? Lots. This true insider's guide reveals exciting nightlife, romantic hotels, intimate dining venues, secluded country retreats, and much more for couples of all tastes and budgets in and around the Metroplex. It includes hotels and B&Bs best suited for pampering your most romantic whims, the Metroplex's most romantic places to feast, linger over drinks, and picnic, where to indulge your interest in the arts or theater, special shops for special gifts, from boots and saddles to fine antiques, where to have fun together dancing, riding, roller coasters, cheering at a ball game and more, great evening entertainment and nightlife from honky-tonk to opera.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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Twelve Shots deserves 12 stars!

Twelve Shots
Harry Mazer
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0440220025
Release Date: 1998-08-10

Book Description

In a dozen riveting new works of short fiction, written especially for this collection, popular contemporary authors explore the emotion-driven world of guns. From the grim reality of urban violence (in "Chalkman" by Rita Williams-Garcia) to a boy's first glimpse of manhood while target-shooting with Dad (in Ron Koertge's "Fresh Meat") to mercy killing (in Rob Thomas's "The War Chest"), the 12 stories included here are as different as the 12 authors themselves.

Customer Reviews:

Twelve Shots deserves 12 stars!.......2000-10-24

I read Tweleve Shots in a sudden urge to get up and read a odd-sounding titled book. I was suprised at how intrigued one could be in a book with this such genre. I had never thought I would enjoy the book, but as soon as the library fines started becuase I was to busy reading it to return it, I went out and bought myself a copy! That was May. By December, all my friends had read the book and a few bought THIER friends copies for X-mas and birthdays! I now own a battered and worn thin, but loved and frequently read, copy.

At Twelve Mr.Byng Was Shot (Alison Press Books)

Average customer rating:

"For the Encouragement of the Others"
An excellent account

At Twelve Mr.Byng Was Shot (Alison Press Books)
Dudley Pope
Manufacturer: Secker & Warburg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0436377497

Customer Reviews:

"For the Encouragement of the Others".......2004-01-19

At one stage in Voltaire's Candide, our characters approach the English coastline to witness the execution of an admiral who was guilty of no particular offense, but is being shot "for the encouragement of the others." This was a reference to the notorious execution of Admiral Byng, described by Pope as one of the worst instances of "judicial murder" in British legal history. Pope's narrative takes us to the opening of the Seven Years' War (the European name for the French and Indian Wars), wherein Byng's fleet attempted, unsuccessfully, to resupply the British Meditteranean base in Minorca. After an inconclusive naval encounter with the French, Byng withdrew from the island and took his fleet back to Gibraltar. Whereupon all hell descended upon him and he was court-martialled, and shot, by a panicky British high command for supposed cowardice. Pope takes us through each phase of the trial, as well as the subsequent attempts to pardon Byng. Several of the usual heroes of British naval history, such as Lord Anson and Admiral Byng, emerge with less than admirable reputations for their complicity in the show-trial, whereas others such as Augustus Keppel seems to have taken genuine career risks in order to save their friend.

I would read this together with Piers Macksey's excellent "The Coward of Minden," which deals with a near-contemporaneous trial of a British general, on similarly trumped up charges.

An excellent account.......2002-02-16

This is a fascinating account of the incident which resulted in Admiral Byng being shot on 14 March 1758. It is very well told and the story is a lamentable one. John Byng was sent to the Mediterranean in 1757 with a weak squadron, engaged in a battle with the French off Minorca, and then the next day the squadron--some ships in which had been badly damaged--went back to Gibralter. Admiral Byng was court-martialed and shot! As Voltaire said: "In this country it is thought well to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others!" You can't go wrong reading this book about this amazing event.

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AT TWELVE MR. BYNG WAS SHOT.
Dudley Pope.
Manufacturer: Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1962 1st Am. ed. 375p.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0297166212

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Twelve Shot
Keith Abbott
Manufacturer: Z Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0915990040

12 (Twelve) V. I. Warshawski Mysteries - Indemnity Only - Deadlock - Killing Orders - Blood Shot - Burn Marks - Windy City Blues - Guardian Angel - Tunnel Vision - Hard Time - Total Recall - Blacklist

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12 (Twelve) V. I. Warshawski Mysteries - Indemnity Only - Deadlock - Killing Orders - Blood Shot - Burn Marks - Windy City Blues - Guardian Angel - Tunnel Vision - Hard Time - Total Recall - Blacklist
Sara Paretsky
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KIM1UO

Product Description

12 (Twelve) mass market paperbacks - V. I. Warshawski Mysteries - Indemnity Only - Deadlock - Killing Orders - Blood Shot - Burn Marks - Windy City Blues - Guardian Angel - Tunnel Vision - Hard Time - Total Recall - Blacklist

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My twelve most difficult shots
Bobby Jones
Manufacturer: B. & B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B000889WJ4

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