Book Description
In a well-blended presentation, writings from more than 30 scientists and science writers span scales from the biosphere to the cell to DNA, encompass disciplines from global ecology to behavior and genetics, and explore links between biology and philosophy.
Connie Barlow is a science writer.
Customer Reviews:
From planetary entity to mighty molecules.......2002-06-07
Few scientific ideas have gained as much interest and acclaim as James Lovelock's suggestion of Gaia - the entire Earth views as a single organism. Connie Barlow's own reaction is as good an example as any, stating she could return to a childhood feeling of "science as nature which had been utterly quenched by schooling in science as facts." That dichotomy is the theme of this fine collection of essays - is the Gaia thesis viable, or has "science as fact" overthrown it? Barlow has assembled a strong group of authors to present for us to help in forming our own judgments. Even better, the list of works she draws from or points to allow each of us to delve into the subjects with open eyes, and, one hopes, open minds.
The title of the book imparts its structure, working from the grand picture to finer detailed areas. Barlow begins the collection with Lovelock's own definition of the Gaia concept - "the biosphere is a self-regulating entity." He ties his image to historical roots as well as scientific findings. Reminding us that "even scientists, who are notorious for their indecent curiosity, shy away from defining life," Lovelock is able to define Gaia beyond the normal environment we consider the realm of life. "Gaia," he says, "is a total planetary being." As Barlow notes in her afterword to Lovelock's presentation, "some scientists . . . have wholeheartedly begun the search for Gaian mechanisms."
Although not an outspoken supporter, Lewis Thomas, well known for his commentaries on science, is described by Barlow as viewing "the Earth's atmosphere in a Gaian sort of way." A stronger form of support is presented through the career of Lynn Margulis. research in how a cell is constructed and how that structure evolved was forced into a wholly new way of thinking by Margulis. Her detailed cell research led her to propose that many organelles within the cell are the result of ancient symbiotic relationships. Strongly opposed for several years, her theories are now the consensus view of cell evolution. Barlow sees the idea as a foundation stone for the Gaia hypothesis. Previously unrecognized alliances are now a major part of biological research, and Barlow includes several descriptive essays on this
phenomenon.
A Gaian organism requires a discernible structure, according to Barlow. Arthur Koestler is used to introduce how hierarchical structures are perceived in nature. Instead of tedious labeling of sub- after sub, Koestler introduces the term "holon" to define these organizational elements. Any individual of any species may be a "holon," as may be any societal group. The term is implied in following essays on "systems" or "organized complexity." Various commentators are incorporated in Barlow's collection to explain how Gaia works as an entity instead of just a collection of life forms. Game theory is introduced as a major aspect of interaction and cooperation both among and between Gaia's components. For example, Edward O. Wilson's science of sociobiology provides a framework for explaining such concepts as altruism and aggression.
Opposing the Gaia thesis, since much of its popular appeal rests with those seeking greater respect for the environment, is often considered an assault on "motherhood." Barlow uses three outspoken critics of Wilson to introduce alternate views. Richard Lewontin has derided sociobiology and its offshoots such as Lovelock's Gaia as "just-so" stories. Barlow draws on his writings attacking sociobiology as examples of "bad science." By projection, his criticisms must reach beyond societal species to the entire Gaian thesis. The ultimate, if indirect, challenge to Lovelock's idea is that of Richard Dawkins. Barlow uses citations from The Selfish Gene to show how life is based on the survival down many generations of the gene. Life, Dawkins demonstrates, functions on gene replication. Hence, Gaia, which has no genetic root, cannot be a viable "organism" as postulated by Lovelock. Barlow cites Dawkins' analysis of the evolution of consciousness as "the most powerful passages" in the book.
In an interesting innovation, Barlow concludes the book with some "update" essays by some of the contributors. Margulis, Wilson, John Maynard Smith and others, are given the opportunity to amplify on Barlow's selections. The final submissions are nearly as valuable as the ones she originally used. Her own final essay is an excellent summation and provides a suggestion that the views are perhaps not as disparate as a superficial look might indicate. Superficial this book is not. An outstanding collection and starting point for further reading,
this book is highly recommended.
Customer Reviews:
Great !.......2007-06-27
there is nothing other to say besides Jianshù lovers will be totally satisfied in reading that book. Explanations are simples and illustrated by pictures for example to show moves. I don't think it is a book to practice. It is better to learn in specified establishement, but, it can be a more for personal culture !
So if you don't have that book yet, don't wait for buy it !
Excellent book on little seen art.......2004-12-17
There aren't many books available on the tai chi sword, and most are on the more popular Yang style. This book is on the less well known Wu style, a later development from the Yang style. In the empty-handed version of the art, the Wu style typically uses a somewhat more forward leaning posture, but that doesn't appear to be the case in the sword form. Also (at least from the master I studied with for several years), there is a lot of chin na, similar to the Chen style, but regardless of what style you study, you'll find this a worthwhile book.
The author explains clearly and concisely many basic and advanced principles relating to training, practical applications, and theory, emphasizing the differences and similarities between empty-handed tai practice and weapons practice. The more advanced principles are discussed and are presented in a way that is more easily understood than in many tai chi books. The photo section showing the postures and positions and describing the martial application of each is worth the price of the book by itself.
This is probably the best book on the tai chi sword that I've seen. It's well written and easy to understand even when the author gets into discussing the more abstract principles of chi and of tai chi practice. The author's comments on the practice of the sword apply equally well to empty handed practice, as I said.
The sword is the most widespread Chinese weapon, and the tai chi sword form is a very special example of its use. It there's one weapon that a 70, 80, or 90-year old Chinese will still be able to wield with skill, it's the sword. Interestingly, the tai chi form is only about 150 years old, which I hadn't realized until reading the author's introduction where he discusses some of the history.
This book covers the shorter 32-position Wu style form. Although shorter than the long form and the most difficult positions have been removed, it will still be useful for those interested in the tai chi sword but whose time is limited. Some masters are critical of the short forms since they believe they have limited usefulness for truly cultivating chi and for self-healing purposes. These considerations aside, this is still a very detailed and well done discussion of the principles, theory, practice, and martial applications of the tai chi sword. The serious student, however, will no doubt prefer to learn the long version of the sword.
The author discusses the basics of the sword, including construction, different parts of the sword, length, weight, and balance, grips and how to hold the sword, finger sword or sword helper, jian flowers and jian circles. The applications show the use of the straight sword against another straight sword, the spear, and the curved broadsword. Footwork, stances, movement, and how to hold the body are discussed before getting into the details of the form.
The 13 basic techniques are discussed and illustrated, which are the cut, thrust, block, wash, draw, take back, raise, explode, chop, point, stir, press, intercept with the edge, and block with the ridge. A discussion of combination techniques follows before the author gets into presenting the actual form.
Most of the text, however, is devoted to the presentation of the form, including illustrations of the basic and advanced postures, and practical applications. There are 32 of these and all are shown in photos and described more fully in the test. A nice touch is the author's discussing not only the details of the body position and martial application, but additional key points and internal considerations for each posture and how the chi should feel in performing the move. The photos of the positions are very clear and easy to interpret.
The book concludes with two chapters on how to prctice and fighting applications. There are two appendices which present a lineage of the tai chi sword form and the accupressure points of the human body.
Many people aren't aware that tai chi also has a broadsword form, a spear form, and a staff form, in addition to the straight sword. It is my hope that some day another master will also write a book as good as this one is on those aspects of tai chi. In the meantime, this is an excellent book on the straight sword that will be of interest mostly to the serious and advanced student of tai chi.
I only have one complaint about the book, which is that in some of the photos in which the sword is held edge-on to the camera, the blade is practically invisible, making it difficult to see what's going on. But overall, this is a fine book on the tai chi sword and probably the best one I've seen so far on the subject.
Just a point more.......2001-08-13
I completely agree with every word the previous reviewers wrote on this book. So I only want to say the book refers to the WU stile Tai chi sword form and not to the 32 position of the Yang stile. Anyway whatever stile you practice this book is a worth to buy.
A Manual of Taiji Jian.......2001-03-09
First of all the book is well written. I read every word of the forward. It was that interesting. This book is written by a true master who has practiced the sword for over 27 years... This book describes the history of jian swordsmanship and its fundamental principles. The practice of Taiji Jian is based on Chinese yin-yang, five-elements, and Daoist philosophical concepts, and combines meditation, martial and healing arts. If you study taiji Quan (T'ai Chi Ch'uan) this book will be of great value to you, even if you do not study sword; And priceless if you do. A good book for every library.
The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship.......2001-01-14
Wow! This is a wonderful reference book not only for Taiji Jian (tai chi sword), but also for Taiji Quan. All sections of the book are straight forward and easy to follow. There wasn't any mystical "mumbo jumbo" I couldn't comprehend. The first chapter which gives the reader information about the history of the Taiji jian, I particlularly liked this historical information. Chapter two is for Taiji jian and Tai Chi Quan practitioners. This chapter explains clearly the "ins and outs" of Taiji Quan and Taiji jian. The author explains basic trainning, principles, elements, etc. I found this section of great interest to me having only studied Taiji Quan for about a year now. I believe the information I've gainned from reading this section will help improve my practice.I think advanced practitioners will find chapter two valuable as well. The remaining chapters 3-8 give the reader information on the parts of the jian, how to practce with the jian, basic movements,fighting principles, and a 32 posture form with pictures and detailed explanations. The explaination of each picture includes info about the key points, internal components and the movement itself. This is a great manual that I know I will refer to over and over again. This is a must read book for any Taiji Quan or Taiji jian practitioner.
Book Description
This best-selling writing guide integrates purpose, process, and rhetorical strategies into every chapter, offering readers the clearest explanation of writing.
In addition to emphasizing critical reading, every major chapter contains professional and student samples, rhetorical techniques, journal exercises, reading and writing activities, collaborative activities, peer-response guidelines, and revision suggestions. A student essay in each chapter contains writing process materials (outlines, audience analysis, interview notes, drafts, revision plans, etc.).
For high school and college students.
Customer Reviews:
The Great Book.......2000-05-05
I found this book great referance for people who want to learn a attractive style of writing.
It suitable for both beginer and advanced.
Great Book for College Writers.......1999-01-22
This is a great book for college writers. This book helps to understand more about the different types of essays. This book is mainly used for college for classes Composition I and II english classes including Oakton Community College.
Book Description
This best-selling writing guide integrates purpose, process, and rhetorical strategies into every chapter, offering readers the clearest explanation of writing.
In addition to emphasizing critical reading, every major chapter contains professional and student samples, rhetorical techniques, journal exercises, reading and writing activities, collaborative activities, peer-response guidelines, and revision suggestions. A student essay in each chapter contains writing process materials (outlines, audience analysis, interview notes, drafts, revision plans, etc.).
For high school and college students.
Product Description
Special edition for Students of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana. Taken from: The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, 7th edition.
Product Description
A Custom Edition for Pellissippi State Technical Community College with selections form Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing, Brief Second Edition by John D. Ramage and John C. Bean.
Average customer rating:
- A Good Writing Effort!...
- Horrible.
- A disappointment
- Not exactly progressive rock but album reviews are excellent
- Why so angry B.S.?
|
The Billboard Guide to Progressive Music
Bradley Smith
Manufacturer: Billboard Books
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Binding: Paperback
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20th Century Rock & Roll-Progressive Rock (20th Century Rock and Roll)
ASIN: 0823076652 |
Customer Reviews:
A Good Writing Effort!..........2006-12-22
May be this Bradley Smith book has some mistakes owed to whatever (I must complain about missed bands like Gentle Giant, Rush, Triumvirat and others), but may be we must see that the greatest asset of this book is the trying effort to clasificate the diverse musical roots of all kinds of the Progressive movement. He begins with important topics, as the social, political and cultural context that surrounded that Prog music. Because we must to understand that The Progressive Music was only one, and this was developed, defined and polished in sixties and seventies. Eighties and nowadays Prog and experimental music must be called Neo-Progressive or Post Progressive music (or whatever), because it responds to another social, political and cultural needs of new generations. So the great asset of Bradley was to clasificate by musical forms (as it should be done since the begininng), the diversity of this Prog music using the correct and universal tags for this like: Classical formalism, Impressionism, Surrealism, Dada/ Absurdism, and the Postmodern music style trying to give with this, an structured solid base to his musical ideas.
Although this effort presents some problems like the evolution of Prog music for every band, like Rush that it presents three musical stages: The Hard Rock stage (1973-1976), the Classic Prog stage (1977-1982) and the Neo Prog stage (1983- 2005?) making this job a little bit difficult to follow by the musical evolutive crossover stages. By the other side, a tag like the "Canterbury Scene" tells us only the geographic place were the roots of a determined musical style of Prog music began, and nothing about the musical form that it owns (it resulted in a more cientific way to express it and talk about the topic). Of course, this will oblige us to study and investigate a bit more about the Prog music, but what a better form to do this! Doesn't it?...Good Luck!
Horrible........2002-11-17
One guy's opinion. Like reading the ramblings of a troll on a mailing list.
A disappointment.......2002-09-06
Why write a book on a subject that you don't completely know?
With five pages dedicated to Kate Bush and six to Terje Rypdal one can easily think the author has a very original idea of what progressive music is about.
Non-english speaking artists have a very limited attention here, and the ones mentioned are mostly in the instrumental-only and jazz-inspired field.
And being italian, I can't really stand the assertion that italian prog is "dated, clichéd, badly produced", hence totally ignored in this book....
Not exactly progressive rock but album reviews are excellent.......2002-06-28
This book is essentially a compilation of album reviews with a very personal approach by the author.
Most of the book is dedicated to avant-garde, ambient music, electronic music, modern classical works, jazz-fusion and lengthy instrumental and experimental music in general that is closely related to prog-rock but it is definitely not progressive rock and sometimes not even rock music.
However many progressive rock albums are also included. Some of them real classics, others over-rated due to the author preferences and of course many important classic works and artist are missing.
On the other side, the album reviews are excellent.
The reviews usually open with an excellent and brief overview of the band, followed by a little more extensive album overview and a song by song analysis.
The articles are very smart, nice to read, full of valuable information and his analysis reflect solid knowledge of music and a clear understanding of its meaning on every context.
Even when Bradley writes with love about a music I hate, it is a pleasure for me to read his article and his arguments sustain equally his love and my hate.
I would say that this book becomes a "must" for a prog-rock fan when we consider that most of prog album reviews sources like GEPR, AMG and even some other books and web site are very poor and amateurish.
This book offers excellent comments on the albums you already know. It will introduce you to many other less known and excellent bands and it eventually would open a door to other music styles closely related with the progressive rock.
But definitely not for novices who should look for an approach closer to the progressive rock classics.
Why so angry B.S.?.......2002-04-08
After having read some of the author's negative reviews of other prog books (so young, so angry, damn that prog music), I felt inclined to review his. Generally speaking, this book is a decent listing of the author's opinion of what is significant progressive music and video.
As other reviewers have stated, there are some obvious omissions of bands/artist that most people consider to be progressive "legends." Futhermore, there are numerous inclusions of music that is on the "fringe" of the progressive scene. Many of the included artists would be considered by most prog fans to be new age, ambient or industrial (Throbbing Gristle is a cool name, but are they a progressive rock band?).
The author also seems to have a preference for what most people would consider fusion music. Most prog fans are interested in this, but don't prefer it to the traditional symphonic sounds of the big six. My other criticisms of this book are twofold. First, I believe the author underestimates his audience's ability to determine what they like. Some of his accounts of cds sound "preachy" and like he is stating "if you really knew about music you would be listening to this instead of" (Van Der Graaf, Banco, PFM, Hands, Yezda Urfa, etc. etc.).
The other issue I have is that while I like his format of listing "essential" prog cds, I did not find myself discovering very many new cds to add to the collection from reading this. Once again, this may be due to differing ideas as to what prog is.
Where this books succeeds is in providing detailed descriptions of a variety of artists and cds. The material the author does cover is thorough (everything from sound quality to album art). Overall, this is a worthy, but flawed, addition to a prog-rock library (even if his definition of what constitutes progressive rock is "creative"). However, you should also include the Macan and Martin books (which Mr. Smith is truly hostile in his review of, I mean, does it really matter if an album came out in November of 70 or February of 71?). I don't know about anybody else, but I just want to read about this stuff and find more music I like.
I also find myself questioning Mr. Smith's reviews of newer prog books, since he seems to so negative about all of them, and I frankly enjoyed some of the prior books he thinks were terrible. Ah, but what do I know, I think Gentle Giant is more progressive rock than Liz Story.
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Bradley and the Billboard
Mame Farrell
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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Binding: Paperback
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Book Description
Nana was calling down the stairs for him to come up and help Meggie with her hair...He could hear Aunt Jill squealing over the color of his mother's new eyeshadow.
It was girls' night out, and even though Brad wasn't one of the girls exactly, sometimes he sure as heck felt like it.
Bradley, who lives with his mom, sister, aunt, and grandmother, is your average baseball-obsessed sixth-grader. Except there's nothing average about Bradley's looks. He's incredibly handsome-- "babelicious," according to the girls in his class. And when he's unexpectedly offered the chance to earn big money by modeling for a local department store, he shrugs off his reservations about such a "wimpy" profession. He can finally step into the role of man of the house by helping to pay the bills-- even if it means having his picture plastered on the biggest billboard in town. And that's when the trouble begins, because it's easy to get bigheaded when you're twenty feet tall.
Customer Reviews:
Do Not Miss.......2000-02-02
This book is very funny. I am thirteen and when my seven year old brother and I checked it out, we read it over and over again until the due date and than we checked it out again. It has alot of good life lessons and it made me think about the world differently.
Average customer rating:
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Bradley and the billboard
Manufacturer: Farrar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0788730592 |
Books:
- From the Redwood Forest : Ancient Trees and the Bottom Line: A Headwaters Journey
- Growing Up Grizzly: The True Story of Baylee and Her Cubs (Falcon Guide)
- Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail: Linking People With Nature by Footpath Along Lake Superior's North Shore
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
- Hawaiian Reefs: A Natural History Guide
- Hiking the Big Sur Country: The Ventana Wilderness
- Hiking Wyoming's Wind River Range
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
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The God Delusion
