Blue Mountains Far Away: Journeys into the American Wilderness

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To live in the vast American Southwest is to understand, writes Gregory McNamee, who lives near Tucson, that "you cannot find a landscape that is not bordered, somewhere, by a blue fringe of mountains." Hence the title of this superb collection of 13 essays that wander the landscape those mountains define. These are meditations on exploration inward and out that revel in nature, honor the environment, touch the land, ponder science and art, contemplate religion, and, with an almost alchemical touch, make big moments small and understandable and small moments big and awesome. The essay "Walking," for instance, is a pointed antidote to the hurly-burly on the surface most of us inhabit:

"Solvitur ambulando," Saint Jerome was fond of saying. To solve a problem, walk around. Walk until your shoe leather falls off, until no moleskin patch can save the tattered remnants of your heels--only walk, walk as only a human can until the mysteries of the ages unravel before you.

There is a lot of walking in these pages--up mountain trails, beside rivers, over deserts, along paths. Indeed, walking is a continuous thread. "To live in the desert requires a certain kind of madness," McNamee writes, "that is epidemic out this way. To wander off into that desert, alone or in company, is to test the very limits of one's endurance and to tempt the end of one's tenure on this otherwise green planet." The point? "Such ventures make us human.... We were made to wander afoot.... and we were made to keep moving. When we settle down, it seems, we tend as a species to become nastier rather than more civilized." For McNamee, these walks within the perimeter of the blue mountains keep him at least civilized if not wholly sane. His evocations are meant to lead us down paths toward blue mountains of our own. --Jeff Silverman

Book Description

In this collection of essays, McNamee presents a startlingly beautiful vision of the miracles of nature and the dangers that humans present to their continuation.

Customer Reviews:

A small package of brilliance.......2004-06-26

McNamee's heartfelt essays of humankind's relationship to the natural world are beautifully and poetically written, and reveal the subleties of the arid American Southwest in much the manner of Edward Abbey, minus the politics. Which is not to say that McNamee does not have strong convictions. His analysis of Las Vegas is searing, as is his detailing of desert development in general. What he points out here is how alive the desert is and how easy it is to miss that aliveness. Those of us who have lived here a long time still learn from these uplifting letters.

First read of McNamee.......2001-03-21

This is my first experience with McNamee's writing, and I thoroughly enjoyed this work. Rarely have I read an environmental work that conveyed so much of the spirit of the Southwest, in such an informative and yet, lighthearted fashion. Here, too, we have blue mountains on the horizon, but they are often obscured by the haze of the the civilization surrounding them. His writing makes me long for the spare uncluttered areas he writes about. It is strange to think of a place where there is so little moisture, since we have so much, yet he makes it come alive.

Disappointing effort for McNamee.......2001-01-14

Tucson resident Gregory McNamee has written some of the best eco-prose about the Southwest, such as _Gila: The Life and Death of an American River_. But this volume was a real disappointment. A collection of essays from Tucson Weekly, North Dakota Quarterly, and other reviews, this book doesn't achieve any sort of meaningful coherence. The large print and brevity (only 161 pages) means that no topic is covered in any depth. The low for me was a glimpse of Howard Hughes, based uncritically on a biography by Michael Drosnin (who has foisted the execrable Bible Code on a gullible public).

This book doesn't give much bang for the buck. Avoid it, and get a paperback copy of _Gila_ instead.

Book Description

Create your desired yacht with help from this yacht-design bible

This handsome edition of Principles of Yacht Design--the accepted standard yacht-design reference for boat owners, designers, and builders--is updated throughout, particularly the calculations of hull and deck thicknesses, or scantlings. Its new two-color format makes it easier for you to use its many elegant illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

The yacht designer bible.......2007-06-27

What can I state more!
A Bible for all who design or want to understand yacht design

Comprensive Modern Yacht Design Reference.......2005-10-09

This is one of the best modern references on the topic of sailing yacht design. Highly recommended for anyone planing to design a sail boat. I personally would put more emphasis on optimizing the prismatic coefficient as a function of design speed. I would also make the book larger and include more information on power boats, various piping systems and electrical systems.

A reasonable introduction..........2004-12-26

This publication can be summed up as a reasonable introduction into conventional "modern" yacht design. However, it seems to be tailored towards amateur boat builders or even the keen sailor. A lot of ground is covered, but it only scratches the surface on many subjects. But perhaps this is all one should expect from a publication that only claims to cover the "principles" of yacht design. In my opinion as a naval architect, the book seems to lack depth and scientific data that could make it an interesting read or reference work for the professional.

Excellent Design Guide.......2004-12-12

The second edition of this book is an excellent step by step guide to both power and sail design. The book is written by a professor and professional yacht designer, that provide both excellent science and practical experience.

Yacht design is not a simple topic and cannot be made into childs play. THere are complex trades among stability, speed, displacement, length to beam ratios and much more. Most any boat will float if some effort is made to be sure its materials do not out weigh the hull shape displacement, but making a vessel that is safe in a seaway, speedy and efficient is another matter.

I highly recommend this book after 20+ years in yacht design software development and strongly encourage the seriously interested boat designer to carefully read and try the examples for him (her) self.

Basically comprehensive but calcs are incomplete.......2003-05-25

This is a worthwhile text on yacht design and is fairly comprehensive. It's the best replacement to date for the venerable but dated "Elements of Yacht Design" by Norman Skene. One word of caution though-if you take the time to actually follow through all the formulas and design methodologies, you'll find that the calculations are often incomplete or simply incorrect! If the publishers or authors would take the time to properly edit this book, they'd really have something.

Yacht Style: Design and Decor Ideas for Your Boat

Average customer rating:

A beautiful display of yacht decoration and craftsmanship
Needs Something

Yacht Style: Design and Decor Ideas for Your Boat
Daniel Spurr
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0070605637

Book Description

Here is a book as useful to boatowners as it is beautiful. Yacht Style provides a wealth of innovative solutions to questions of light, space, color, materials, access, and stowage in boats from small cruisers to megayachts, both power and sail.

One of today's most gifted nautical writers, Dan Spurr roams freely above and below decks, missing nothing, sometimes applauding, sometimes shaking his head. His lively and opinionated text is further enhanced by interviews with such luminaries as powerboat designer Tom Fexas, cruising sailboat designer Robert Perry, and yacht interior designer Blanche Bloomfield.

Carefully designed and crafted, Yacht Style is a book worthy of its subject--the boatowner's ultimate idea book.

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful display of yacht decoration and craftsmanship.......2003-05-31

This is a gem of book, more devoted to the art of designing beautiful details and accomodations in yachts, than to aspects of naval design. It deals mostly with relatively large sailing boats. Offers very interesting insights into what is appropriate in interior design and decoration of a sailing yacht and what is not, i.e. the type of textile designs used in furniture that would make you sick with movement while underway. Full of photos the book covers details in almost every area of the deck and accomodations of top-of-the-line yachts. An interesting and artful addition to a design and decoration library. Full of beautiful ideas. Well worth the price.

Needs Something.......2000-08-14

The book text to me is rather boring explaining the obvious in the wonderful pictures it does include. However, I feel the book could have made even more use of photographs. The book does have wonderful pictures, but really didn't leave me with any ideas I could use. My partially biased opinion is based on the fact that I was looking for remodeling ideas for powerboats, and this book does tend to focus more on sailing yachts. My boating library could do with or without this one.

Yacht Design Explained: A Sailor's Guide to the Principles and Practice of Design

Average customer rating:

An outstanding book on yacht design
Outstanding book on yacht design, required ASA 108 reading
Good reference book
Good overview of design
"Yacht Design Explained" delivers!

Yacht Design Explained: A Sailor's Guide to the Principles and Practice of Design
Steve Killing , and Doug Hunter
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 039304646X

Book Description

At last, sailboat design explained in a way that all boat owners can understand and put to use. The first guide to design aimed at every sailor, Yacht Design Explained uses state-of-the-art graphics, dynamic charts and photographs, and clear explanations to show what makes hulls, keels, ballast, rudders, foils, masts, and sails work. It reveals why certain designs perform well and others fail. The authors examine a range of boats, from a 14-foot dinghy to a 40-foot cruiser, from a catamaran to an offshore singlehander. They break through the often confusing physics of yacht design to provide an understanding that sailors can use to get the most out of their time afloat.

Customer Reviews:

An outstanding book on yacht design.......2007-09-09

This may be the finest book on the general elements of yacht design that I have ever read. It is extremely readable and entertaining. It contains explanations of matters I have never seen in print before, such as NACA section for rudder and keel. Steve Killing uses real life examples such as the Albacore class dinghy and the C&C 35. It is not for the professional as several other books available here are...but it is very nearly as useful. Matters such as scantlings and constrution methods are better discussed in other books. However, the clarity of writing and an immensely enjoyable style make this book one that anyone interested in yacht design should not miss.

Outstanding book on yacht design, required ASA 108 reading.......2007-05-17

This book is clearly structured and explains yacht design clearly and to the point. Many illustrations and diagrams that explain yacht design for the rest of us. I know some professionals that work in yacht design and they were impressed too. Impressive amount of information covered in about 250 pages covering hull design, rudder, keel, rig, ballast, sails, performance predictions, tank testing and Americas Cup. I learned a lot and it is required reading for the ASA 108 certification (Offshore Passage making). Very impressive and worth every penny. Sail fast and understand why!

Good reference book.......2007-02-16

May not be for professionals, however is a good help for the rest of us.

Good overview of design.......2006-08-10

I'm an automotive designer who enjoys technical reading. Over the years I've subscribed to numerous boating publications and have purchased a handfull of books on sail power yacht design. This book is by far the best. It will answer many of your questions such as "why is a longer hull faster?", "why does 1.34 x the square root of the waterline length approximate max hull speed?". The book is well written and presents a short history of each design element i.e, sail configurations. The technical formulas are seperated in sidebar configuration for those who avoid math at all costs. If you are only going to buy one book on sail powered yacht design-this is the one.

"Yacht Design Explained" delivers! .......2005-10-06

Clear and thorough explanations, lavishly illustrated and wide ranging in scope, put Killing and Hunter's book at the top of its field. "Yacht Design Explained" delivers an excellent mix of the technical with the practical. Killing's extremely readable, clearly understandable text "fairs" seamlessly with Douglas Hunter's outstanding two color drawings. This book covers a wide range of subjects from physics of design to the reasons that various designs work or fail. Attention is given to the history of competetive yachting. Competetive racer, day sailor, dabbler in yacht design, and curious reader alike will find this book a delight. "Yacht Design Explained" delivers and deserves to be a classic.

Yacht and Small Craft Design: From Principles to Practice

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Yacht and Small Craft Design: From Principles to Practice
Gordon Trower
Manufacturer: Crowood Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1852237090

Cruising catamarans: history, design principles, examples,

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Cruising catamarans: history, design principles, examples,
Amateur Yacht Research Society
Manufacturer: Amateur Yacht Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Model yacht construction and sailing: The principles of the design, construction and operation of model and small racing craft in the light of modern knowledge of aerodynamics and hydrodynamics

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Model yacht construction and sailing: The principles of the design, construction and operation of model and small racing craft in the light of modern knowledge of aerodynamics and hydrodynamics
C. E Bowden
Manufacturer: P. Marshall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

Principles of Yacht Design
Rolf E. Eliasson Larsson Lars
Manufacturer: International Marine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDJ332

Average customer rating:

Principles of Yacht Design
Rolf E. Eliasson Lars Larsson
Manufacturer: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OG021W

Principles Of Yacht Design Second Edition

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Principles Of Yacht Design Second Edition
Rolf E. Eliasson Larsson Lars
Manufacturer: International Marine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIFGN8

Customer Reviews:

How am I supposed to paint??!.......2007-06-26

How am I supposed to get my kitchen cabinets painted if I cannot put down this book! As a result of reading only the first three chapters, I already have my first weeks of writing planned for when school starts in August! I loved this book!

She needs to practice what she preaches.......2006-02-05

Spandel has done her homework and has used the trait system extensively in her classroom, which gives her much credibility. However, a well-organized reference book puts all the information about one topic in one place. Unfortunately, information about each of the traits is scattered around the book, making it extremely annoying. I'm sure she could have done better, and we all hope a new edition will prove she can even use the trait of organization herself. Let's practice what we preach.

Need help with 6-Traits Writing?-.......2005-07-21

Do you ever wonder how to score writing samples from the students in your classroom? This is the book for you! Actual writing samples are presented and evaluated. Ideas for lessons are also included. This is a must-have resource for those teaching the 6-traits of writing !

Beyond test taking, create life-long writers with voices!.......2004-10-26

Once again,in her fourth and finest revision of Creating Writers, Vicki shows us how to create more effective,independent writers.Using volumes of practice papers, scores of focused, creative trait lessons, and visits into trait-and-process based classrooms, Creating Writers helps all teachers envision how to design our own instruction models to defeat test anxiety!
You'll find her wise, witty comments on papers invaluable, her linking of reading to writing insightful, and her compassion for struggling writers inspirational. You'll welcome her ideas for teaching traits to beginners and how to use comments, conferences and peer response to support writers. She practices what we know; the source of all best writing topics, the "well" from which we can draw our real writing is our own lives.
Sometimes we need reminders that writing -and teaching writing -can be joyful! Creating Writers,4th edition,and Vicki provide that vision, as they have for me for 20 years. Keep this book on your desk!

Creating Young Writers: Essential to ALL Primary Teachers.......2004-02-13

As a consultant in over 15 schools, this book is a permanent fixture in my briefcase. I take it with me when visiting all primary teachers for good reason: it is integral to improving writing for young students. I've read mostly all of Vicki Spandel's work, and this one is yet another gem. It provides a cornucopia of essential information about the six traits of writing - student samples with valuable commentaries, concrete lessons to use immediately, teaching suggestions, assessments, and more. What is also noteworthy is that this book is versatile. It can be used for those not yet familiar with the six traits, those still experimenting with it, and those well-versed who want more tools. Bravo, Vicki, on another vital resource for teachers so they can elicit the best from their students.

In my writing place: creating fine literature for the young is not all child's play.: An article from: Black Issues Book Review

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In my writing place: creating fine literature for the young is not all child's play.: An article from: Black Issues Book Review
Eloise Greenfield
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Black Issues Book Review, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1295 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: In my writing place: creating fine literature for the young is not all child's play.
Author: Eloise Greenfield
Publication: Black Issues Book Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 8 Issue: 5 Page: 36(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Creating a Page Turner: A Helpbook for Young Writers

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Creating a Page Turner: A Helpbook for Young Writers
Janice Jones
Manufacturer: Creative Learning Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0936386665

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