Maya Atlas: The Struggle to Preserve Maya Land in Southern Belize

Book Description

The Maya Atlas was made by the forty-two Ke'kchi and Mopan Maya communities of southern Belize. The maps, text, drawings, photographs and interviews were done by Maya village researchers and cartographers elected by the communities. In their own words and with their own maps, the Maya describe their land and life, the threats to their culture and rain forest, and their desire to protect and manage their own Homeland. The Atlas is an important step in developing a Maya Homeland. The Maya researchers and cartographers made the Atlas so that their communities, young people and leaders would have a comprehensive, village-by-village, regional understanding of the state of Maya natural and human resources and their traditions of living in harmony with nature - what is being lost, and what needs to be preserved and developed. The Atlas is a window to both the ancient and modern Maya world. The Atlas will appeal to people interested in indigenous rights, environmental issues, Latin America, arts, ethnography, traditional knowledge, community-based conservation, and the New Cartography, which involves cartographers assisting local communities to map their own lands and land use.

Customer Reviews:

The Modern Mays--an Oral History of Belize.......2007-08-31

This is visually a beautiful book and obviously a labor of love for all parties involved. Since the book has such impeccable scholarly ties to U C Berkley, the National Geographic Society, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation, however, I would like to have seen a disclaimer. The Maya of southern Belize are not historians. Like other people who hand down stories because they have no written language (or in the case of the Maya, have forgotten it), the "facts" depend on the memory of the person telling the story. About half of the book describes each Maya village in southern Belize, and some of the descriptions are simply inaccurate. The village of Santa Elena, for example, was not founded by Enriques, Martin, and Marto Choc; these men (except Marto) were middle-aged when I lived in Santa Elena, and they told me that Jose Tux and Pavian Chen had settled there before they did. They called their village Rio Blanco. Only the priest called it Santa Elena. (The people who live there still call it Rio Blanco when they speak among themselves.) I was teaching school when the first "santo" was brought it, and it was not a statue of Santa Elena--she cost too much. So the statues of three lesser saints were brought in. I have photographs of the ceremony, which took place in 1964.

The history of Big Falls is similarly inaccurate. The people of Crique Sarco did not follow Don Owen-Lewis to Big Falls in order to work for him. They followed him because he had lived in Crique Sarco for many years and they were his friends. I met Manuel and Petrona Xi three years ago in Big Falls--I had first met them in Crique Sarco. Don Owen-Lewis, formerly Amer-Indian Development Officer, has never "employed" Maya workers.

Wonderful close up view of Mayan people in Belize.......2004-09-11

My experience has been as part of medical and dental support to the villages in the Toledo District since 1988. The maps are accurate and give a feeling that you are walking down the trails with the writer. This is an excellent presentation of the villagers at a level rarely seen in such a book. It is mostly written by the villagers and has their perspective. Clearly written by those that love and are proud of their traditions and culture. The book is a beautiful reflection of a beautiful and kind people.

Wonderful book!.......2003-02-23

I lived in Belize for two years and was fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout southern Belize, the Toledo district that this book brings to life so well. The time that I spent with the Mayans in the region impacted my life dramatically, to the point I wrote my own book concerning my time there ("Following Mateo" by Tom Molanphy, available through amazon.com and trafford.com). The Maya Atlas was an invaluable resource for me while trying to portray a fair picture of the Mayans of southern Toledo; in fact, it was the only book I found that focused exclusively on the Belizean Mayan lifestyle and the challenges to that lifestyle. Full of wonderful color maps and photos, this books tells the story of Belize in the words of Mayans themselves. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn about a fascinating and endangered culture.

Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death

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Excellent read, historical and lively information!
Corpse: Alive with history and state-of-the-art research
FASCINATING & CREEPY!
A well-woven tale of history and science
fabulous anthology of forensic ecology

Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death
Jessica Snyder Sachs
Manufacturer: Perseus Books Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Forensic Science | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0738207713
Release Date: 2002-10-15

Amazon.com

In 44 B.C., a physician named Antistius examined the fresh corpse of Julius Caesar and, in science journalist Jessica Sachs's words, "announced that he knew which of the would-be emperor's twenty-three stab wounds had proved fatal," thus giving birth to a new science.

In making his announcement "before the forum"--the origin of the term forensics--Antistius relied on the medical knowledge of the day, which was none too developed. His modern counterparts have much better science at their disposal to account for causes of death, which, Sachs notes, tend to be "usually more than obvious to every police officer responding to the scene." Less obvious, and far more elusive, is the exact time death occurred, the datum that forensic pathologists seek to obtain but usually have to guess at, hampered "by death's infinite variations." Examining a dozen case studies that touch on the contents of Nicole Brown Simpson's stomach, a felled Confederate soldier's skull, the methods of an English serial killer, and the contribution of an Indiana-based student of maggots to the forensic ecology of human remains, Sachs explores the means by which pathologists measure the interval between death and a body's discovery--a determination with often profound implications.

Sachs's book is a lucid, oddly fascinating work of popular science, though it's not for the queasy of stomach or the faint of heart. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

How the hot new science of forensic ecology is cracking some of the world's toughest criminal cases.

When detectives come upon a murder victim, there's one thing they want to know above all else: When did the victim die? The answer can narrow a group of suspects, make or break an alibi, even assign a name to an unidentified body. But outside the fictional world of murder mysteries, time-of-death determinations have remained infamously elusive, bedeviling criminal investigators throughout history. Armed with an array of high-tech devices and tests, the world's best forensic pathologists are doing their best to shift the balance, but as Jessica Snyder Sachs demonstrates so eloquently in Corpse, this is a case in which nature might just trump technology: Plants, chemicals, and insects found near the body are turning out to be the fiercest weapons in our crime-fighting arsenal. In this highly original book, Sachs accompanies an eccentric group of entomologists, anthropologists, biochemists, and botanists--a new kind of biological "Mod Squad"--on some of their grisliest, most intractable cases. She also takes us into the courtroom, where "post-O.J." forensic science as a whole is coming under fire and the new multidisciplinary art of forensic ecology is struggling to establish its credibility. Corpse is the fascinating story of the 2000year search to pinpoint time of death. It is also the terrible and beautiful story of what happens to our bodies when we die.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent read, historical and lively information!.......2007-01-09

Not for those with weak stomachs, but great for those with any interest in death investigations. Pin pointing time since death has always been a thorn in the side of many a prosecuter. This book gives a very nice detailed history of how we started trying to determine T.O.D to where we are now. I recommend this book to anyone in the field of forensic science or with a interest in criminal justice and death investigation.

Corpse: Alive with history and state-of-the-art research.......2005-07-28

If you want to know the latest in the field of forensic sciences, this is your book. Sachs follows the roving eye of those scientists who, most seemingly accidentally, get roped into murder investigations where time of death determines everything: from the indentity of the victim to that of the killer. The liquid in the eyeball, bones, fatty acids, maggots, weeds, germs and pigs all come in to play. More entertaining than CSI and Kay Scarpetta put together.

FASCINATING & CREEPY!.......2005-01-20

I couldn't put this book down. It is a must read for anyone interested in science, death, anatomy, or just the bizarre aspects of decomposition! Really interesting stuff in here and the writer is at turns witty, serious, and altogether a prolific story-teller. A definite favorite in my own collection of books to read and re-read. GREAT!

A well-woven tale of history and science.......2004-08-26

Learning the time of death is crucial in many cases of unnatural death, yet it's still not an exact science. Jessica Snyder Sachs handles the grisly topic with confidence and a conversational tone. The book takes you through the history of determining time of death and then details the recent and current science of it without once slipping into dry academic style or overwrought drama. She uses many anecdotes that bring the topic to life (if you will excuse the expression), and her word sketches of the scientists involved shows the human side of science. Sachs is an accomplished science writer, and it shows. The book is fascinating, not for the faint of stomach but not deliberately grisly either. It's an excellent, readable work, one you'll find hard to put down.

I met Ms. Sachs last year, and interviewed her for a review of the book on another website. We sat in her back yard, talking about death and writing. She is gracious and knowledgeable in person, and her personable manner comes through in the book. As someone who has studied criminal justice in various forms for over 20 years, I highly recommend it.

fabulous anthology of forensic ecology.......2004-04-09

reading Corpse was a joy. having read books by nearly all of the scientists she discussed, i felt privy to a fascinating universe of emerging death science. for those with a genuine interest in death examination, i definately reccommend reading books such as bill bass's Death's Acre and m. lee goff's A Fly For the Prosecution to supplement your knowledge. for other who would much rather read a simple overview, Corpse will do just fine. well written and not sensationalist, Corpse is a great introduction to forensic ecology.

The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier

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Maine History
The Lobster Coast....
More Than Meets the Eye
Finest Kind!
The Maine Coast like you've never experienced it before

The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier
Colin Woodard
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143035347

Book Description

This lively book reveals a little known culture that predates the Pilgrims and has remained true to the earliest version of the American Dream: an egalitarian, self-reliant republic. The self-sufficient lobstermen of the Maine coast are models of environmental prudence: at a time when the fishing industry is in crisis, they have conserved the bounty of their waters, even as the once-humble lobster has become a coveted delicacy. How denizens of the coast achieved this balance, even as they withstood assaults from everyone from French raiders to rapacious land speculators, makes for a Â“stellar informal history ... a primer for conservation and the effects of bad politicsÂ” (The Kingston Observer).

Customer Reviews:

Maine History.......2007-04-12

This book is a page turner I couldn't put down. Beautifully written, it does a thorough job of concisely telling the history of coastal Maine and, by so doing, gives us a start on the history of New England. It takes us from the earliest settlers to today, and even if one has, as I have, lived on the coast of Maine for close to 40 years, one can learn from the book. Put it together with "Islanders" by Virginia Thorndike, and you have a picture of one of the last best places on earth. Please don't let these books persuade you to move here!

The Lobster Coast...........2006-09-11

is a all encompassing look at mid coast Maine, both present day and historically. It took me back to High School US history and made the French Indian wars come alive. Hear about modern day lobster pirates from of all places, "Friendship" invading a small island's lobster fields.

Look ahead for what is in store for a severely depleted fishery
then chuckle when a hidden camera reveals the secret life of lobster and captor. Great read, it belongs in your Maine libary.

More Than Meets the Eye.......2006-09-08

After finishing the first short section, my first thought was that the book was a bit of a lightweight -- at best, a paperback to read while flying across the Atlantic. But when I got to the second section which filled in many of the historical gaps -- particularly the "why's" -- from Elizabethan England to the Pilgrims to the modern era, I realized how interesting this book really was. Anyone who enjoys travelogues will enjoy this book; perhaps you need to have visited Maine at least once or have some connection to the state, but if you do read it, you will learn much more about the history of the western world than the title suggests.

Finest Kind!.......2006-02-17

Colin Woodard skillfully paints a picture of Maine both past and present, identifying the nuances that make the culture so unique, while detailing the insecurities that plague Downeasters. Through the course of the book, Woodard traces the troubled evolution of Maine as both a political and social state, detailing the hardships that plagued early settlers in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and the economic disparity that have shaped the modern culture.

As a historian, Woodard is somewhat of a novice. He has difficulty weaving events together into a narrative that can be easily followed and tends to make broad leaps without establishing a proper foundation.

This shortcoming is more than compensated for by his obvious passion and interest in the subject matter. Woodard clearly understands the psyche of Maine. He recognizes that a Mainer is not an individual dwelling in a geographic territory bordered by Canada and NH, but rather somebody possessing a particular mindset... somebody that strives for the simpler things, while struggling to deal with the challenges of modern economics.

For anybody that loves Maine and the Downeast, this is a fabulous read and well worth the time. The book is definitely part history part sociology. But it's worth a look!

The Maine Coast like you've never experienced it before.......2005-08-12

A book both entertaining and educational - ranging from lobster fishing to the history of Maine - which puts 'Vactionland' in a whole new light.

While the history is clearly presented from a Maine-centric perspective, putting some otherwise well-regarded historical figures (like Revolutionay War General Henry Knox, famous for hauling the captured cannons of Ticonderoga overland to Boston in the middle of winter) in far from flattering light, it is a perspective that isn't often - if ever - told. And it's these stories which put a far more complex backstory into what so many (myself included) have long regarded as a summer vacation sanctuary, but not much more.

This book is a great summer read, a great fall read - whatever season, enjoy it with some lobster, and gain a new appreciation for 'Downeast' and all the way down the Maine coast.

Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihood and Nature Preservation in Africa (California Studies in Critical Human Geography)

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Imposing Wilderness: Struggles over Livelihood and Nature Preservation in Africa (California Studies in Critical Human Geography)
Roderick P. Neumann
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Fortress Conservation: The Preservation of the Mkomazi Game Reserve,
Making Political Ecology (Human Geography in the Making)

ASIN: 0520234685

Book Description

Arusha National Park in northern Tanzania, known for its scenic beauty, is also a battleground. Roderick Neumann's illuminating analysis shows how this park embodies all the political-ecological dilemmas facing protected areas throughout Africa. The roots of the ongoing struggle between the park on Mount Meru and the neighboring Meru peasant communities go much deeper, in Neumann's view, than the issues of poverty, population growth, and ignorance usually cited. These conflicts reflect differences that go back to the beginning of colonial rule. By imposing a European ideal of pristine wilderness, Neumann says, the establishment of national parks and protected areas displaced African meanings as well as material access to the land. He focuses on the symbolic importance of natural landscapes among various social groups in this setting and how it relates to conflicts between peasant communities and the state.

The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival

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The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival
David Kennard
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Useful Dog
A Shepherd's Watch: Through the Seasons with One Man and His Dogs
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A Shepherd's Watch

ASIN: 0312362005
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

“There is no good flock without a good shepherd, and no good shepherd without good dogs.”

These age-old words of wisdom have always guided Devon sheep farmer David Kennard. But as he battles to save his farm from extinction, they take on a greater weight than ever.
The storm clouds are already gathering when Borough Farm suffers a series of disastrous setbacks that threaten the Kennard family’s traditional way of life. Though the farm has survived foot and mouth disease, an invasion of stray sheep, and the threat of disease, a malfunctioning tractor and a sickly sheepdog all add to the farm’s daily pressures. How much longer can they stay afloat financially? And will David be the last shepherd to tend his flock in this rugged corner of England? Is there a way to achieve the seemingly impossible---making a living through farming sheep in the twenty-first century?
A shepherd since the age of seventeen, David offers an honest and affectionate, often comic picture of life on his sheep farm. But throughout this gentle meditation on his family’s rural way of life, David is in a fight for that life, and for the survival of his family and farm. He must rely---as always---on his faithful sheepdogs Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, and Ernie. But even he is surprised when the dogs---and the new dog on the farm---exceed his expectations and prove to be Borough Farm’s secret weapon.

Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve

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The Heart of the Jungle
Review of "Jaguar""
An excellent book for everyone!
Armchair adventure and hair-raising thrills, jaguar style.
An excellent read

Jaguar: One Man's Struggle To Establish The World's First Jaguar Preserve
Alan Rabinowitz
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Belize: And Northern Guatemala (Travellers' Wildlife Guides)
A Neotropical Companion
Tropical Nature: Life & Death in the Rain Forests of Central & South America

ASIN: 1559638028

Amazon.com

In the early 1980s, working at the behest of the noted biologist George Schaller, Alan Rabinowitz traveled to the newly independent Central American nation of Belize to study jaguars, once extensive throughout the Americas, in a remote, densely forested part of that country. ("If the world had any ends, [Belize] would surely be one of them" Aldous Huxley once wrote.) There, deep within mountainous jungle, Rabinowitz conducted a thorough study of the jaguar's natural history, studying its diet (made up, he writes, of a surprising quantity of armadillos), movements, and territories, and learning the ways of the much-feared cat. He also learned a little something about himself--discovering, he writes, that "once I had overcome my initial fears of this dense, dark green world, I started to enjoy it."

Over his two-year stay, Rabinowitz developed plans to establish a forest sanctuary that would be free of the jaguar's principal enemies--not deadly fer-de-lance snakes or other large predators, but loggers, poachers, and cattle ranchers, all of whom had their reasons for wanting to see jaguars disappear from the region. Although he was successful in convincing the Belizean government to authorize the Cockscomb preserve, Rabinowitz writes in the afterword to this revised edition of Jaguar (first published in 1986), the jaguar haven came at a cost to Mayan people who lived in the area and were forced to relocate. His memoir will be of great interest not only to admirers of the jaguar, a magnificent animal by any measure, but also to students of international ecological issues. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In 1983, zoologist Alan Rabinowitz ventured into the rain forest of Belize, determined to study the little-known jaguar in its natural habitat and to establish the world's first jaguar preserve. Within two years, he had succeeded. In Jaguar he provides the only first-hand account of a scientist's experience with jaguars in the wild. Jaguar presents an irresistible blend of natural history and adventure; intensely personal, it is a portrait of an elusive, solitary predator and the Mayas with which it shares the jungle. Strong and sensitive, the book excitingly describes the rewards and hardships of fighting to protect this almost mythical cat." - George Schaller, author of The Last Panda and Wildlife of the Tibetan Stepp.

"The glimpse which Rabinowitz's painstaking and careful research gives us of the world of the mysterious jaguar is tantalizing ....... Packed with interest and adventure." - Jane Goodall, author of Reason for Hope and In the Shadow of Ma.

"An intimate look at the lives of rural Central Americans. At times Rabinowitz resembles a character from Joseph Conrad ... the tension between man and beast becomes startlingly vivid." - The Washington Pos.

"A jungle adventure story in the classic mold, of a daredevil westerner who penetrates the deepest jungles of Belize in search of his quarry. There are thrills and chills aplenty in this quest for the mighty feline." - Kirkus Review.

Originally published in 1986, this edition includes a new preface and epilogue by the author that bring the story up to date with recent events in the region and around the world.

Customer Reviews:

The Heart of the Jungle.......2004-11-29

"Jaguar" is the fascinating story of one scientist's journey to study and protect the elusive jaguar, the third largest cat in the world.

Written like a book of fiction, "Jaguar" reads smoothly, capturing your attention and curiosity with its first-person portrayal of life in an alien world: the jungles of Belize. It is peopled with the Maya, a culture rich in history yet suffering poverty, disease, and insignificance in modern times. And in this world exists the jaguar, a powerful cat who is rarely seen and is not a man-eater, yet is hunted almost to extinction for its exquisite spotted fur and because, quite simply, people fear it.

I read "Jaguar" in about 2 days, and fell completely in love with its spirit. The author, a young scientist, struggled hard to successfully understand the lives of these cats within its world and to keep it alive, often to his own personal tragedies. His description of the jungle is unromantic and riveting, as are the terrible hardships that go with it. I will never forget all the diseases, snakes, and parasites than run amok in this story, practically characters of their own. One lesson I came back with is how thankful I am to live in a country with exceptional sanitation and medical care.

"Jaguar" is haunting. You can't finish it without wishing to enter that dark, dangerous jungle of the majestic jaguar. It draws out the adventurer in you. It stirs your compassion.

Review of "Jaguar"".......2004-03-24

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Central American Rainforest. It has a little bit of everything..field notes, natural history, local culture, paranormal experiences, adventure, and romance. The book was engaging and easy to read. I learned a lot about jaguars and the struggle to protect them. The only drawback was Rabinowitz's negative portrayl of the present day Mayans. Undoubtedly, the author is a scientist and not an anthropologist, but i do feel that he should have shown more respect for their culture and more understanding of their situation.
I reccomend this book, and then i reccomend traveling to Cockscomb Basin in Belize to fully appreciate the conservation effort. Even if you can't get there, you will feel like you have been there after reading this book.

An excellent book for everyone!.......2002-12-10

My boyfriend had read "Beyond the Last Villiage" (also by Rabinowitz) and really enjoyed it so when we saw this one I figured I would see if I liked it. I am into nature and wildlife and this book is filled with all the goodies. I couldn't put down the book, I read it in 2 days! I wanted to see what happened to the jaguar that he caught and find out what happened to it.
I highly reccommend this book to anyone that is interested in our environment and wildlife. Now from reading this book I am planning my next vacation to Belize. I am in Thailand now and plan on visiting the National Park that he studied tigers and jaguars at...SO...my reccommendation is buy this book you won't regret it!

Armchair adventure and hair-raising thrills, jaguar style........2002-08-21

I never would have chosen this book, but it showed up in my mail and, well, what else is there to do but read it? I'm so glad I did.

This is a fascinating story of a zoologist who, in 1983, went into the rain forest of Central America to study the jaguar in its native habitat.

"On Dec. 2, 1984, the Cockscomb Basin was declared a National Forest Reserve, with a no hunting provision for the protection of the jaguar. This made Belize the first country in the world to protect jaguars."

This book tells an utterly fantastic tale -- sometimes terrifying -- of how that came to be. It portrays a world most safely enjoyed from the comfort of an armchair; a very personal story that is a combination of natural history and hair-raising adventure in the Stanley Livingston tradition.

An excellent read.......2002-03-21

This book will appeal to readers who have a specific interest in jaguars and those with more overall conservation leanings. Dr. Rabinowitz is a pioneer in research on this elusive animal and his groundbreaking work shows just how vital the jaguar is to rainforest ecologist, and the devestating impact man has had on this magnificent species. The book is also a remarkable story about the animals and people of the rainforest, who we get to know through Dr. Rabinowitz's exciting narrative. I found myself laughing and crying all at once and was not able to put this book down!

Water, Culture, and Power: Local Struggles In A Global Context

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Water, Culture, and Power: Local Struggles In A Global Context

Manufacturer: Island Press
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Binding: Paperback

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Globalization, Water, & Health: Resource Management in Times of Scarcity (School of American Research Advanced Seminar)

ASIN: 1559635223

Book Description

According to some estimates, at least 1.7 billion people do not have an adequate supply of drinking water and as many as 40% of the world's population face chronic shortages. Yet water scarcity is more than a matter of terrain, increased population, and climate. It can also be a byproduct or end result of water management, where the building of dams, canals, and complicated delivery systems provide water for some at the cost of others, and result in short-term gains that wreak long-term ecological havoc. Water scarcity can also be a product of the social systems in which we live.

Water, Culture, and Power presents a series of case studies from around the world that examine the complex culture and power dimensions of water resources and water resource management. Chapters describe highly contested and contentious cases that span the continuum of water management concerns from dam construction and hydroelectric power generation to water quality and potable water systems. Sections examine:

Impact of water resource development on indigenous peoples

Varied cultural meanings of water and water resources

Political process of funding and building water resource projects

Tensions between culture and power as they structure perceptions and experiences of water scarcity, transforming water from natural resource to social constructio.

Case studies include Lummi nation challenges to water rights in the Northwest United States; drinking water quality issues in Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico; the effects of tourism development in the Bay Islands, Honduras; water scarcity on St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands; the role of water in the Arab-Israeli conflict; and other national and regional situations including those from Zimbabwe, Japan, and Bangladesh.

While places and cases vary, all chapters address the values and meanings associated with water and how changes in power result in changes in both meaning and in patterns of use, access, and control. Water, Culture, and Power provides an important look at water conflicts and crises and is essential reading for students, researchers, and anyone interested in the role of cultural factors as they affect the political economy of natural resource use and control.

Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)
Average customer rating:

A description and critique of 'World Bank' practice

Good Introduction to the Bank

Solid framework of World Bank

A Different Angle

Interesting, but lacking

Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)
Michael Goldman
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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Environmentality: Technologies of Government and the Making of Subjects (New Ecologies for the Twenty-First Century)

ASIN: 0300119747

Customer Reviews:

A description and critique of 'World Bank' practice .......2007-07-11

This book provides a history of the 'World Bank' and a description and critique of its major operating practices. According to Goldman the 'World Bank's operations often fail to achieve their stated goals, and may do more harm than good.
Goldman analyzes the way the agenda of the major fund- providers for the World Bank, the leading industrial states impinges upon the operation of the 'Bank'. He describes the World Bank philosophy which places emphasis on green environentalism and capitalist neo- liberalism. He shows how the World Bank's institutions produce the information and knowledge which often leads their policies in the wrong direction. He goes into great detail in describing and analyzing a World Bank water project in Laos which causes more harm than good.
Is this overall a fair critique? Does it do justice to the full variety of the work, the 'World Bank' has done in the more than sixty years since its inception?
I don't consider myself knowledgeable enough to answer.
But that the World Bank does have in many areas a good need for soul- searching is made extremely clear in this fine book.

Good Introduction to the Bank.......2006-06-01

Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature is a wonderful introduction to the methods, practices and history of the World Bank. It is well written and very easy to read and comprehend. It is arranged logically and most questions that a reader with little prior knowledge of the bank would have are answered early on. The book uses both general history and contemporary examples to explore the evolution of the bank's purpose and methodology. However Goldman tends to make generalizations without expounding on examples he casually mentions, or after providing only one detailed example.
Imperial Nature is excellent at explaining how the bank creates and controls information, exploring an area of power often overlooked. Imperial Nature documents how the World Bank, ostensibly a "development" organization can in fact further impoverish a borrowing nation, leave many of its people destitute and then manipulate the data so that it appears to have in fact accomplished something good. Goldman's exploration of the process by which the Bank produces information and regulates what information is published, both before a project is begun and after it is finished, is the best feature of this book.
Despite the title environmental concerns seem rather peripheral. The book is a promotion of social justice and an exploration of the bank's imperialist control over nations and peoples, but environmental effects are rarely mentioned, excepting how they directly affect native peoples. Overall the book is a good and easy to understand overview of the World Bank in the world today, but it would not provide a great deal of information to someone with prior knowledge of the bank.

Solid framework of World Bank.......2006-05-31

Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature provides a concrete basis for the understanding of the World Bank's infrastructure and policies. Not only does Goldman explain how the World Bank functions, but he gives specific examples of projects from around the world such as the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Goldman attempts to explain how the bank achieves its powerful status and remains a dominant structure worldwide. A passage reads, "From this perspective, the World Bank functions by borrowing capital from a global bond market (that it helped to create), lending it to governments that are deemed in need, and then requiring these governments to spend a substantial percentage of these loans to procure goods and services from firms of the Big Five creditor countries" (Goldman 155). Previously unaware of the World Bank's actual workings, passages like these opened our eyes to a somewhat startling power relationship the World Bank attains with underdeveloped nations. Although the World Bank is portrayed as a dominant "bully" in a way, they are a money lending institution similar to other businesses around the globe.

For somebody who has hardly any previous knowledge regarding the World Bank and its operations, this book will give you the basic understanding of how it works. For somebody who understands the inner-workings of the dominant World Bank, this book might seem monotonous and vaguely informative. But overall, the book is fairly entertaining and revealing.

A Different Angle.......2006-05-31

Imperial Nature by Michael Goldman provides a good source of information about the World Bank. This book doesn't require the reader to have prior knowledge about the World Bank and it is not overwhelming in terms of how much information is presented. It presents the history of the Bank and allows the reader to understand its structure and functions. Goldman's goal was to show the negative aspects of the World Bank's influence in the world. He is a valid candidate to write about this subject because he made observations from within the World Bank headquarters. Goldman gave both views of the development projects by presenting interviews with World Bank officials and the people in developing countries. He presented the reader objective information but it made us more skeptical of the institution and its motives.

In the beginning, the author described broad topics such as how the World Bank functions. This made it easier to understand the specific cases that were presented later in the book such as the case study on the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Some issues addressed by Goldman include water privatization. This topic is a good example of the classic tragedy of the commons and how as a common pool resource it needs to be regulated.

The book made us question who is benefiting from the projects. It described how the World Bank treats the people in developing countries with a neocolonial attitude since most of the lesser-developed countries are former colonies. We considered the question of whether the World Bank should continue to exist with the same power. In our opinion, the World Bank should consult with the people who will be affected by development projects. This will provide a system of checks and balances that is necessary to prevent corruption. Overall, we recommend this book because it succeeded in making us think differently about the Bank.

Interesting, but lacking.......2006-05-31

Michael Goldman's Imperial Nature is not the page-turner of Stiglitz's Globalization and it's Discontents. That isn't - necessarily - a criticism; Goldman's work is significantly more academic, and involves a fairly comprehensive history of the World Bank and an in depth case study. Unfortunately, the criticisms that Goldman levies are not based on systematic analysis but on anecdotal arguments. Which can only be overlooked in light of the fact that the approach he took was one of immersion, not of external analysis. This forces Goldman, seemingly, to walk a fine-line of making generalized criticisms from relatively specific and isolated information. Given the limitations of his approach, however, the book does a surprisingly good job of pointing out the structural problems that are hindering the World Bank's performance, and, furthermore, it addresses these issues with a much more convincing, open-minded and balanced approach than much of the polemical arguments that claim the World Bank is Satan and starving little children.
One particularly interesting element of Goldman's book is his examination of the World Bank's dominate role "[a]s a producer of scientific knowledge," (Goldman, p. 101). This less frequently heard criticism of the bank is well, if anecdotally, discussed in Imperial Nature. In chapter 3, Goldman addresses the Bank's institutional impediments to creating unbiased information. By examining the organizational structure limitations, skewed staff incentives, top-down internal political limitations, and time constraints, Goldman makes a fairly compelling case that there are serious structural problems that can bias the Banks panoply of research.
The rest of the book, and even the chapter on knowledge production, however, could have been better served by a more systematic analysis. In Goldman's defense, he did not intend to write an empirical critique of the bank. In the preface, he writes that his book can "be read as an adventure travelogue," or as a "sociological inquiry," (Goldman, p. xvii). Judged on those grounds, the book may take a different shape, but it still does not satisfy one looking for a compelling and empirical analysis of the World Bank's institutional failures.

Leadville: The Struggle To Revive An American Town

Average customer rating:

I hadn't a clue, until i read this book
Leadville shines

Leadville: The Struggle To Revive An American Town
Gillian Klucas
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

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A Quick History of Leadville

ASIN: 1559633859

Book Description

Leadville explores the clash between a small mining town high up in Colorado's Rocky Mountains and the federal government, determined to clean up the toxic mess left from a hundred years of mining.

Set amidst the historic streets and buildings reflecting the town's past glory as one of the richest nineteenth-century mining districts in North America-a history populated with characters such as Meyer Guggenheim and the Titanic's unsinkable Molly Brown--the Leadville Gillian Klucas portrays became a battleground in the 1980s and 1990s.

The tale begins one morning in 1983 when a flood of toxic mining waste washes past the Smith Ranch and down the headwaters of the Arkansas River. The event presages a Superfund cleanup campaign that draws national attention, sparks local protest, and triggers the intervention of an antagonistic state representative.

Just as the Environmental Protection Agency comes to town telling the community that their celebrated mining heritage is a public health and environmental hazard, the mining industry abandons Leadville, throwing the town into economic chaos. Klucas unveils the events that resulted from this volatile formula and the remarkable turnaround that followed.

The author's well-grounded perspective, in-depth interviews with participants, and keen insights make Leadville a portrait vivid with characterizations that could fill the pages of a novel. But because this is a real story with real people, It shows the reality behind the Western mystique and explores the challenges to local autonomy and community identity brought by a struggle for economic survival, unyielding government policy, and long-term health consequences induced by extractive-industry practices.

Customer Reviews:

I hadn't a clue, until i read this book.......2005-06-15

even though i grew up in colorado in the 80's & 90's i had no idea about the complex issues surrounding the superfund of leadville. this book was not as riveting as a novel, but drew me to read it for better reasons. i learned a great deal from this book about leadville and mining clean up in general. this book is the print edition of an educational IMAX film. it is compact, moves along at a good speed, and doesn't get bogged down in explaining too much but isn't completely superfical either.

i highly reccommend everyone reading this book so that they have a better handle of what it means to mine and then to subsequently clean up mining. these are important issues that impact how our society functions and this book is a good way to get some insight.

Leadville shines.......2005-03-23

I loved "Leadville." I worried that a book about toxic waste and
bureaucracy would be boring, but Klucas's book reads like a novel with fascinating, vividly drawn characters I enjoyed getting to know. But besides being a fun read, the book describes an important environmental issue that few know
about, even though it's happening all over the west. Leadville's battle with the government is a poignant, sometimes humorous, story, and Klucas does a great job of reporting all sides of the issue. The unfolding drama carried me forward effortlessly.

Borneo Log: The Struggle for Sarawak's Forests

Average customer rating:

Third World resources feed First World consumption and waste

Borneo Log: The Struggle for Sarawak's Forests
William W. Bevis
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West
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Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison
The Last Panda

ASIN: 0295974168

Customer Reviews:

Third World resources feed First World consumption and waste.......1996-11-11

This is a story written in diary format by the author who after a year as an exchange professor at Tokyo University spent part of the next year living with native activists fighting the resistance to Japanese logging, and Japanese timber camp managers, on Borneo,the third largest island on earth which lies just north of the Indonesian archipelago in the South China Sea. This is a poignant travel narrative as well as a serious environmental study of the exploitation of third world resources. The true irony of the story of Borneo's rapdily disappearing rainforest, and the local corruption and greed which siphon off most of the profits, while native rights and land uses are obliterated, (sounds like America in the early 19th century!) is that most of the timber shipped to Japan is used to feed Japan's wholesale adoption of American habits: buy it, use it, throw it away, buy another! Much of the wood is being used to make cheap furniture and plywood forms for concrete that are thrown away after several uses. Unlike America's own trees on vast land masses,Japan has little to support such habits. This is really another story which is symptomatic of first world countries exploitation of third world resources - and the hypocrisy of the United States' condemnation of such practices.

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