Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble

Book Description

A bold new plan for those concerned about rising temperatures, population projections, and spreading water scarcity.

Lester Brown notes that if the environmental trends of recent decades continue, the global economy will soon begin to unravel. The food sector, he believes, is the most vulnerable. Record-high temperatures and falling water tables are already taking the edge off grain harvests in some countries, including China, the world's largest grain producer.

The wake-up call will come, Brown believes, when 1.3 billion Chinese consumers with an $80 billion trade surplus start competing with Americans for U.S. grain, driving up food prices. Rising food prices could create political instability in low-income countries, disrupting global economic progress.

At that point, it will be clear that business as usual—Plan A—is not working. In Plan B, Brown outlines a World War II-type mobilization to stabilize climate by restructuring the global energy economy and to stabilize population by investing heavily in health care, family planning, and the education of girls in developing countries.

Customer Reviews:

This is a must read!.......2006-10-31

This highly valuable but inexpensive book is available on line. Its readable content and organization, attention to detail and conclusions are important to all. In fact, I recommend this up-to-date, well-referenced book to all professionals involved in all fields of natural resources management as well as to all members of the general public interested in the future of civilization. In fact, unless responsible and concerned citizens, professionals, and elected and appointed officials do read this book - and follow through on its suggestions - its worst predictions will come true, and we will be responsible for failure to act. I would add, on the remote chance that Brown and I are both wrong, we would at least have the satisfaction of knowing that we conscientiously tried to avoid the catastrophes he predicts and documents. by Peter E. Black

Could there be another explanation, Mr. Brown?.......2006-05-20

Brown begins this book with the thesis from his previous book, Eco-economy, which posited that the environment is not part of the economy as many believed, but instead the economy is part of the environment, and from this it follows that the economy must be designed to fit the larger ecosystem of which it is a part. This line of thinking sets up a natural hierarchy, one that holds the environment in the highest position as all important and in high esteem, and the economy in a lower (and some would say the lowest) position. Although it sounds reasonable- indeed, it is meant to sound not only reasonable, but also logical and rational, when one considers the support Brown marshals in defense of his thesis, intelligent and thinking individuals have no choice but to conclude that his point of view is not only flawed, but flat-out erroneous.

Brown, a long-time China Watcher, sells this latest installment of ecological peril with a blurb on the back cover that predicts impending doom for the world's most populous nation. He supports this view by citing the ebb and flow of both grain stocks and rivers in China. He also cites rising global temperatures and falling water tables (the latter almost exclusively focused on one area in China) in support of his dubious `China Syndrome'. Brown would like us to believe that grain supplies are fixed because land area for cultivation is fixed and that only two countries produce grain for export- the US and Canada. Furthermore, he would also like us to believe that `valuable farmland' is being lost at an incredible rate to urbanization- namely, that scourge of all modern, industrial civilizations, parking lots for cars. Brown hopes that this last argument will serve as the proverbial (?) nail in the coffin, an airtight defense of his position that economically developing (not simply growing) China is headed for an Environmental Armageddon.

At first glance I look askance at such dire prognostications of Armageddon, given first the difficulty many have had in obtaining reliable statistics on command economies such as China and the USSR in the past, and second the fact that like most countries going through the process of economic development (most notably, China's historical rival, Japan), China will increasingly obtain more of its grain on the world commodity markets. It does not necessarily follow that impending doom will befall the Middle Kingdom, unless of course, you believe that the only place China can get grain is from the US and/or Canada, and that grain harvests can not be increased.

In reality, while total land area for cultivation can be considered fixed (more or less), the proportion of this land given over to cultivation varies over time, and as long as you believe that all the available cultivable land is under the plow all the time, then barring productivity increases, it does certainly seem to follow that the supply of grain is fixed- it can't possibly go up. Furthermore, besides the United States and Canada, several countries around the world export grain (nations like Australia, Brazil and Argentina come readily to mind). Indeed, China will most likely migrate to the world commodity market to buy its grain not because of rising temperatures and falling water tables, but because it would be cheaper to buy it on the world market than to produce it domestically.

As for his position that valuable farmland is being lost at a rapid rate to urbanization, I respond by asking what is meant by valuable farmland and what constitutes a rapid rate. Long experience has shown that farmland `lost' to urbanization typically has gone through a succession of agricultural use rendering it thoroughly unrecoverable as profitable farmland and exists at the rural-urban interface before it is gobbled up for suburban tract home development, malls and parking lots (for proof, just look at what is currently happening in California).

Like his previous book, Eco-economy, this book contains all of Brown's trademark ideas, beliefs and values, but this time around manages to be more hopeful and less polemical. Plan B is also noticeably shorter than his typical rants on the environment, and Brown freely admits to recycling much of the material from his previous book, Eco-economy. In it, the reader will find expositions long on hyperbole (and short on verifiable fact) on a diverse range of topics. I found his treatment of tax-shifting laughable as always, especially when he invokes the rationale of taxing gasoline consumption (while neglecting to tell the reader that every volume of gasoline is already taxed at the pump; indeed, like cigarettes, the majority of the price paid for it is given over to taxes of some form or another). Brown's statement of falling water tables worldwide, based on an illegitimate leap from a few anecdotal stories presented in the text, also gave me a few chuckles. However, I especially enjoyed his erroneous take on China's food future by far, and eagerly await the day he is proven wrong. If I were a betting man, I would lay odds with him, much like Julian Lincoln Simon did most famously with Paul Ehrlich many years ago.

In sum, my single biggest problem with this book and others like it (Bjorn Lomborg's The Skeptical Environmentalist comes readily to mind) is the tone of absolute certainty the author takes, that his conclusions (generally based on a disparate set of premises, factual or not) are inevitable and inescapable, without allowing any room for alternative explanations. My only consolation is that Brown, who so often in the past has cried wolf, has a long history of being wrong, like many others who have tried their hand at prediction of outcomes dependent on many factors and agents. I believe it was Henry Spencer who once said, "Belief is no substitute for arithmetic," and in the case of this book, blind acceptance of its contents cannot be countenanced without more than a little thought.

Tough Problem - Weal Solution.......2006-03-22

"Plan B' is divided in to two parts - the problem including increasing population, environmental degradation, food shortages, disease migration, and the solution to them. This was a superior analysis of the scope and depth of the problems this world faces. Unfortunatgely I found the "Plan B" solution(s) familiar, ie. hydrogen fuel, population control, etc. I wanted to see some real creative ideas which were just not there. Ideas like redesigning public education, a global task forces on food allocation, or free morning-after pills. The time for being "politically-correct" is running out. Something this author just didn't face.

Good top-down overview of world problems and solutions.......2005-12-15

Plan B is a quick read that brings you up to speed on today's global climate crisis and what can be done about it. Lester Brown does an impeccable job using primary sources to build the Big Picture in a gripping way. Surprises abound. For example, countries with threatened water supplies will import grain. Why? Because it takes 1,000 tons of water to produce a ton of grain (p. 24). Brown also warns of increased storms and climate change due to global warming, remarking that "New Orleans would be under water" (p. 74). If anything, the severity of polar melt and other changes has been worse than Brown predicts, and he was writing in 2003!

Plan B offers a three-fold solution to these problems: (1) tax-shifting, i.e. reducing income taxes while increasing taxes on toxics and carbon emissions. This would mean much higher gas taxes. (2) A re-mobilization of resources modeled after wartime economies that would rapidly build out energy efficiency, hydrogen, wind and solar power infrastructures. (3) A $62 billion / year plan to uproot the social causes of runaway population and environmental stress. This would provide universal basic education and health care, reproductive health and planning (serious business with 29 million HIV cases in Africa --p. 82), school lunch programs (the only reliable meal millions of children may have), etc. Compare this to the U.S.A.'s 2002 budgets of $10 billion in foreign aid and $343 billion for the military (pp. 219, 220).

And here is where the book falls a bit short for me. There's not much mention of what can be done locally, even individually, other than (implicitly) go through top-down political channels that many believe are corrupt. Words such as "organic," "permaculture," "new urbanism," etc. do not appear in the book. It does condemn water-based sewage (in favor of composting toilets - p. 126), but that's as far as it goes for individual choice. With tax-exempt contributions, people can begin their own "tax shifting" and exert political pressure. I'd have liked to see at least a few hints along these lines.

Perhaps Plan B. 2.0, to be published in January 2006, will addres these issues. According to the Earth Policy Institute, the new book will directly address Peak Oil, Urban Farming, and other topics that have come to the fore in the three short years since the first edition. Things are changing fast; I'm betting on Brown to keep us informed.

A must read for anyone concerned with the future of the planet........2005-09-15

The author outlines the problems that we face today with water, energy, pollution, aids, global warming, etc. and he proposes solutions.

In other words there is a way out of this mess but it will take a great deal of will and courage by all peoples of the world, particularly governments, to move us to Plan B because Plan A, business as usual, will ultimately lead to catastrophe.

Carbon Dioxide and Environmental Stress (Physiological Ecology)

Average customer rating:

Carbon Dioxide and Environmental Stress (Physiological Ecology)
YIQI, ED. LUO
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 012460370X

Book Description

This book focuses on the interactive effects of environmental stresses with plant and ecosystem functions, especially with respect to changes in the abundance of carbon dioxide. The interaction of stresses with elevated carbon dioxide are presented from the cellular through whole plant ecosystem level. The book carefully considers not only the responses of the above-ground portion of the plant, but also emphasizes the critical role of below-ground (rhizosphere) components (e.g., roots, microbes, soil) in determining the nature and magnitude of these interactions.

* Will rising CO2 alter the importance of environmental stress in natural and agricultural ecosystems?
* Will environmental stress on plants reduce their capacity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere?
* Are some stresses more important than others as we concern ourselves with global change?
* Can we develop predictive models useful for scientists and policy-makers?
* Where should future research efforts be focused?

Oxidative DNA damage estimated by urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine and indoor air pollution among non-smoking office employees [An article from: Environmental Research]

Average customer rating:

Oxidative DNA damage estimated by urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine and indoor air pollution among non-smoking office employees [An article from: Environmental Research]
C.Y. Lu , Y.C. Ma , J.M. Lin , C.Y. Chuang , and F.C Sung
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PDT904

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Environmental Research, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This study investigated whether urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a biomarker of oxidative stress, was associated with indoor air quality for non-smokers in high-rise building offices. With informed consents, urine samples from 344 non-smoking employees in 86 offices were collected to determine 8-OHdG concentrations. The concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO"2) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) in each office and outside of the building were simultaneously measured for eight office hours. The average workday difference between indoor and outdoor CO"2 concentrations (dCO"2) was used as a surrogate measure of the ventilation efficiency for each office unit. The CO"2 levels in the offices ranged 467-2810ppm with a mean of 1170ppm, or 2.7 times higher than that in the outside air. The average urinary 8-OHdG levels among employees increased from 3.10@mg/g creatinine, for those at the lowest tertile levels of both dCO"2 and TVOCs, to 6.27@mg/g creatinine, for those at the highest tertile levels. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of having the urinary 8-OHdG level of greater than the median, 4.53@mg/g creatinine, for participants was increased significantly at the highest tertile dCO"2 level of >680ppm (odds ratio (OR)=3.37, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.20-9.46). The effect was significant at the middle tertile TVOCs level of 114-360ppb (OR=2.62, 95% CI=1.43-4.79), but not at the highest tertile. Inadequate ventilation in office increases the risk of building-related oxidative stress in non-smoking employees.

Book Description

Seasoned by Salt is the fascinating account of a one-year cruise, from Connecticut to Grenada and back, undertaken by a sailing couple. The book alternates throughout their complementary voices as they relive their journey. They are not your average tourists. Their story is brimming with humor and high adventure, and reflects a deep understanding of the history, people, and economy of the many islands that they visited.

Customer Reviews:

An engaging adventure.......2007-01-10

This is a good read. The adventure is unpacked by the author, Jerry Mashaw in a very engaging way with a lot of information about the varous places they encounter along the way down the east coast of the US and into the Caribbean. A good deal of history and insight into the sorted history of the slave trade and economic struggles that are the reality of much of the caribbean. The story is further enhanced by Jerry's partner and crew, Anne MacClintoc with journal enteries interspersed throughout.

The authors capture the anticipation, excitement, and even fear very well and draw you into their world. I truly felt like I shared their adventure. I considered this along the lines of Ann Vanderhoof's "Embarrassement of Mangos' Anchor Canada, a division of Random House Publishers - which is a must read if you're into sailing adventures!

Escape Into History.......2006-01-30

Part escapist adventure and part historical journey to the Caribbean, Seasoned by Salt tells the tale of a couple who took a year off from their careers to sail the Caribbean. It's a well written yarn, and Mashaw does an excellent job of blending the history of the islands into the contemporary account of his voyage in a way that puts current events into historical perspective. A great added bonus are Anne MacClintock's Passage Notes. She provides a more personal view of the journey, and an occasional counter-point to Mashaw's narrative. - Joe

Nice sailing adventure.......2005-10-10

The old adage, cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places, certainly applies here. The book is very well written, and the interplay of hearing two sides (husband and wife) about the same events adds depth. After reading the book, I think that flying to Grenada, chartering a boat for a month (ooh the hated charterer) and exploring that area was the highlight of their journey, would be better than all the time and discomfort they experiences getting from Connecticut to the Carribean.
I tended to skip the social commentary. Can't change what happened, can only address how to help improve what is there now.

an engaging intelligent sailing story .......2005-05-15

I have just finished the wonderfully wriltten book, Seasoned by Salt, by Jerry Mashaw and Anne McClintock. The flowing narrative will make you feel as though you are right in the cockpit with them, immersed in all the experiences that crossing on the open seas offers up. Though it is not a tutorial on cruising, this book is a must read for anyone who is contemplating sailing to the Caribbean. It is full of valuable information on what one could expect from bule water and island sailing. Sprinkled with humor, it is a fast read. But what was unexpeded was the depth of research done by Jerry Mashaw into the social economic and political history of the coastal towns along the Eastern Seaboard and islands they explored. The extent of his research is rarely found in books of travel. But Mr. Meshaw seems careful not to bog down this book of adventure with too much intellectualizing. Lastly, I found Seasoned by Salt an inspiring love story of two intelligent people finding new levels of understanding that will certainly carry them though many future voyages. I only hope they will put them to paper so we can share in their adventures once again.

Very little sailing...tons of social commentary.......2005-02-20

I admit I am a resident of the South - Alabama to be exact. But when I purchased this book, I sincerely wanted to read a story about sailing for a year in the Bahamas. Sadly, this book is more about a spoiled couple that spends about 25% of the time telling you how scared they are about every aspect of the trip and 50% of the time criticizing the social conditions of the "South" as they travel down the ICW on the East Coast. The other 25% of the time is spent talking about random ideas with a few sentences of the sailing trip they are supposedly on. By page 70 I was tired of their liberal slant on a part of the US they claim to be "from". Message to the author, I live in Birmingham. Rosa Parks made her heroic stand against racial injustice in Montgomery. Simple facts like this seem to be trivial to the authors who are more concerned with expressing their overall disgust with a South that has seemingly not changed much since the days of slavery. Well, I certainly wouldn't say everything is perfect here, but as the authors admit, nowhere is perfect. The Southeast is one of the fastest growing regions for economical development and changes are taking place. Birmingham does boast to be the birth place for Civil Rights and we have an excellent Civil Rights museum that I have taken the time to actually visit to learn of the past injustices with the hope that I will be part of a better place for all. I resent being lectured to by the main author who evidently loves his teaching job. And if he does want to lecture this Southerner, I would expect him to take time to at least learn some of the more major details of the Civil Rights movement.

Very little sailing story. Lots of liberal opinions spewed forth as though they were facts when even his facts are wrong. If you want to read about a sailing story....buy Sailing the Dream. I am going to return my copy of this book to the author. I may even take a red pen and mark all of his errors. I would give him a grade of "F" if I were his professor.

Book Description

Contains over 1,000 useful sentences and phrases for travel or everyday living abroad: food, shopping, medical aid, courtesy, hotels, travel, and other situations. Gives the English phrase, the foreign equivalent, and a transliteration that can be read right off. Also includes many supplementary lists, signs, and aids. All words are indexed.

Customer Reviews:

A great phrase book.......2006-03-13

As the title says, it's not a dictionary, just a phrase book. However, the index at the back helps you find the words you need, so it can, in a pinch, serve as a basic dictionary. It's nice and small and easily fits in a pocket. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to friends.

worthless.......2006-02-27

this book is about the size of a deck of cards but not as thick. I looked at it for about 2 seconds and have not used it since.

not as bad as they make it sound.......2005-10-25

One thing you must be aware of before purchasing this is that it is a CONTINENTAL PORTUGUESE book. Hence, the pronunciation is completely different than that of Brasil. I speak both accents and it's basically like a completely different language. You'd be surprised, if you are not already familiar with the differences. Like, "e" is not pronunced at the ends of words, the "r"'s in the beginning of words are not pronounced as "h"'s but more like a throaty trill (not like spanish, a bit raspier). The vowels are pronounced more closed. Also, continental portuguese's grammar can be quite a bit trickier.

So, ignore all those comments about the pronunciation being incorrect. It's just simply different.

If you are looking for Brazilian pronunciations, don't look here.

Short & Sweet.......2005-09-26

This is great for the phonetics of the language.
It is about the size of a packet of cigarettes.
If you want a book for you pocket with phontics its for you..if you want details and grammar....its not !

Say it in Portuguese Brazilian edition.......2004-10-07

I am not quite sure how often Dover Say it ... series are updated, but obviously they aren't. Since this book is old fashion and does show its age between vocabulary, lack of technical and modern terms, and a pronunciation guide that makes it sound Spanish or Italian. I recommend the Lonely Planet Brazilian Portuguese book. At least it more slangy and more current. It is a lot more informative too.

Brazilian Portuguese-English Dictionary & Phrasebook: English-Brazilian Portuguese (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)

Average customer rating:

Great!
Recommended
Brazilizn Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese-English Dictionary & Phrasebook: English-Brazilian Portuguese (Hippocrene Dictionary & Phrasebooks)
Osmar De Almedia-Santos , and Osmar De Almedia-Santos
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0781810078

Customer Reviews:

Great!.......2007-10-08

This book has a ton of great information. It has a pretty extensive dictionary, important phrases, key verb conjugations. It's really easy to use and explains everything clearly. I am teaching myself Brazilian portuguese and this book is an excellent supplement to other learning materials.

Recommended.......2007-05-24

This is nice addition to have to whatever portuguese books and lessons you are perusing through. The phrase book helps to build a nice base to start with, and they begin with mostly travel phrases that you will encounter right out of the gate. Once you have that down, then move onto verbs and conjugation. Recommended.

Brazilizn Portuguese .......2005-09-14

Nicely divided for easy access to common words/phrases. Now possible to correspond fairly well with Brazilian acquaintance. Book is nice size for toting and reading. Good-sized font. Able to study without magnifying glass. Clear distinct print. rose

Living Language Portuguese (Brazilian : Dictionary)

Average customer rating:

Don't waste your money
Pretty good

Living Language Portuguese (Brazilian : Dictionary)
Jura Oliveira
Manufacturer: Living Language
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Essential Portuguese Grammar (Dover Books on Language)

ASIN: 0517590360
Release Date: 1993-07-07

Book Description

Dictionary included in the Living Language Complete Basic Course.

Customer Reviews:

Don't waste your money.......2007-05-26

This came along with the coursebook and it is very bare bones. For one thing, it does not provide the gender for nouns. This is a major oversight as gender is important in Portuguese and any other romance language. Get the Harper Collins Portuguese Concise Dictionary instead.

Pretty good.......2001-11-20

This Portuguese-English dictionary is decent, but I often can't find words I'm looking for. Important words or phrases are in bold, which helps, but overall, this dictionary is just alright.

Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil (CD): The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)

Average customer rating:

NOBODY WOULD SPEAK LIKE THAT
Péssimo! - Awful!
Horrible!
Good reference book
Not enough audio

Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil (CD): The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)
E. Osborne
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0415280907

Book Description

Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil is easy to use and completely up-to-date! Specially written by an experienced teacher for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to the written and spoken Portuguese of Brazil. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil your best choice in personal language learning?
* it's interactive - lots of exercises for regular practice
* it's clear - concise grammar notes
* it's practical - useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide
* it's complete - including answer key and special reference section.

Cassettes accompany the course to help you with listening and pronunciation skills. By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in a broad range of situations.

Customer Reviews:

NOBODY WOULD SPEAK LIKE THAT.......2006-07-25

I am a portuguese speaker (Brazilian) and don't know why ALL those colloquial books do not show the way people speak on the streets. As far as I could notice, those dialogues would never take place in Rio or Sao Paulo ou any other city in Brazil. For instance, the placing of an object pronoun deeply differs from Brazil to Portugal. In Brazil, it tends to be at the very beginning of a sentence:

Como e que voce se chama? (What's your name?)
ME chamo Esqualidus. (My name is Squalidus.)

In Brazil we tend to use gerunds, while in Portugal they love to use a preposition plus an infinitive:

For instace, let's see the sentence "What are you eating?":

O que e que voce ta COMENDO? (Br.)
O que estas A COMER? (Port.)

As you could notice above, Brazilian colloquial language is full of expletives. Those expletives are not found in those colloquial books.

It's a crying shame that a so widely spoken language do not deserve a good book for teaching very beginners this beautiful latin language.

Péssimo! - Awful!.......2005-09-23

I enjoy studying languages of my choice using self-study kits (books w/cassettes or cds), particularly Brazilian Portuguese. Out of the several language kits I own on this language, I'm sad to say that the 'Colloquial Portuguese of Brazil' is the worst!

The Portuguese spoken on the tapes is way too fast for a beginner to understand. Even intermediate students may have difficulty understanding, just the same. I tried listening to one tape without using the book to practice developing my listening skills. I didn't get far as the Portuguese, spoken so rapidly, was indecipherable. That is, unless you consult the book, of course. I had more fun, and fared better with, listening to the Pimsleur audio course (on cds).

In addition, there is audible background silence between the dialogues, and the English-speaking male explaining the lessons in a flat tone of voice. The background silence, combined with the conductor's flat voice, are sufficient to make the listener (who may already be suffering by using this course) nod off on occasion. I've already had my share with that.

As for the book, the text is flat, dry and impersonal. Even the illustrations in the book are humdrum and lackluster. After two years, I finally resolved to discard them both as they were sitting in my bookshelf taking up space. (Actually, I kept the case where the tapes were in. I could always use that when I'm carrying my other language tapes!)

Evite deste, pessoal! - In English: Stay away from this one, folks. It's no good, and is a complete waste of money. Check out, instead, other well-known book and audio kits, such as the Teach Yourself series, Living Language, Barron's and Pimsleur, among others.

Horrible!.......2002-07-24

This book would be a nightmare for a beginner because it jumps into Portuguese in such a confusing way. It just throws lists of words for you to memorize, and introduces grammar that is hardly even practiced in the exercises.

This book is also very aloof, and hardly forms a "relationship" with the reader. All the explanations are not in-depth. New grammar and vocabulary is just explained with a sentence, and then the reader is left on his/her own.

Here's an example of an exercise:

Exercise 2

Can you remember what the following are in Portuguese?

duty-free, boarding card, departure board, non-smoking, passport control, departure lounge, departure gate

No, I can't remember what they are-all I was given was a list of words!

Compared to Colloquial Icelandic(which is an EXCELLENT Colloquial course), this book is severely lacking, and that is quite surprising. A language spoken by around 200,000 people is taught so much more in depth than one spoken by almost 200,000,000!

Good reference book.......2000-11-07

Although this book was a disappointment when I was first learning Portuguese six months ago, now that I am an intermediate plus Portuguese speaker/writer I find this book an invaluable reference. It is well indexed, making it easy to find the topic I need to review. It includes enough examples to make the point clear (but not enough when I was first learning).

Not enough audio.......2000-10-03

I think this is a poor choice for the total beginner. The audio starts with fairly advanced dialogue, spoken very quickly. While that may well be the way the Brazilians speak, it is useless to the beginning student. The book is comprehensive, but poor for self study - picture your high school Spanish text, without the teacher. I gave up on this one after two fruitless hours, and bought Pimsleur's Audio course. I may go back to Portuguese of Brazil - The Complete Course for Beginners, but only AFTER I finish Pimsleurs.

Average customer rating:

Excellent!

Excellent book of inspiration

A pretty package with no substance

Happiness

Not recommended for students of Wabi Sabi

Living Wabi Sabi: The True Beauty of Your Life
Taro Gold
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty

Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers

Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence

Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Book of Eastern Wisdom (Large Second Volume)

Wabi Sabi Simple: Create beauty. Value imperfection. Live deeply.

ASIN: 0740739603

Book Description

No one is perfect-in fact, we all are perfectly imperfect. That is the paradoxical first lesson shared by Taro Gold in Living Wabi Sabi: The True Beauty of Your Life. What is Wabi Sabi? A universal ideal of beauty, Wabi Sabi celebrates the basic, the unique, and the imperfect parts of our lives. Wabi Sabi is the comfortable joy you felt as a child, happily singing off key, creatively coloring outside the lines, and mispronouncing words with gusto. On a deeper level, Wabi Sabi is the profound awareness of our oneness with all life and the environment. It includes a deep awareness of the choices we make each day, the power we have to accept or reject each moment of our lives, and to find value in every experience."Appreciate this and every moment, no matter how imperfect, for this moment is your life. When you reject this moment, you reject your life. You don't have to settle for this moment, you are free to steer a different course, but for now, this moment is yours, so be mindful to make the most of it."Living Wabi Sabi leads us to discover the true beauty of our lives, to know true joy here and now, to reveal the most powerfully positive sides of imperfection. Illustrated with stunning yet simple watercolor art, Living Wabi Sabi is a beautiful keepsake that is sure to become a beloved resource for wisdom in the joy of living.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent!.......2007-02-13

Before I read this book, I had only a vague idea of what "Wabi Sabi" was, and my vague idea had something to do with a Japanese concept in art. It turns out that Wabi Sabi is not just an artistic idea, but a whole lifestyle! As with many spiritual concepts, it will take awhile for this to totally sink in, so I anticipate many more enjoyable re-readings of this book. I say "enjoyable" because I believe that this will be even better the hundredth time I read it than it was the first time around.

Excellent book of inspiration.......2007-01-18

Taro Gold's beautiful book is a visual delight with a profound message. Each page is washed in a tint of color some pages have powerful quotes written on beautiful backgrounds. But the message is not sweet or simple. Living a Wabi-Sabi life means accepting your faults as well as your strengths, accepting that you will never be perfect and still keeping yourself open to being a work in progress. It means living a joy unrelated to your income. It means sweeping your life free of blame for others, and living instead with the responsibility of choosing your own happiness or misery. You can read the book in a single sitting, but don't. Read a few pages at a time, and see how the concept flows into your life. Don't be surprised if you begin to look at your life differently. One of the characters, Obaa-san, says, 'No matter how it may seem at the time, the core of your suffering is not your inconsiderate partner, your demanding boss, your insufficient bank balance. . .The root of your suffering is found internally, in the limitations you place on yourself.' This beautiful, small book holds a profound truth that can transform your life. Read it, then live it. You will be changed in wonderful ways.

A pretty package with no substance.......2007-01-11

The publisher deserves credit for putting together an attractive little book. The short quotes sprinkled through out are pithy and to the point, while the decorative illustrations are pretty. Those illustrations, however are the flowery type you find in Asian poetry books and have little to do with Wabi Sabi. Gold's exposition on the subject is simplistic to the point of being juvenile. Wabi Sabi is a complex topic and requires more depth. While new to the subject, I have already found two better books. Lennox Tierney includes photographs of items which actually illustrate the principles of Wabi Sabi in Wabi Sabi A New Look at Japanese Design. Wabi Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren Porvides a better foundation for understanding than Gold's book.

Happiness.......2006-11-09

This book is stunning, both visually and emotionally. I feel so good after reading it, I intend to start right over and read it again and again. I learned from this book how to control my mind, to focus, to forgive, to accept myself and others for who they are, and the be truly happy. I simply can't say enough about how this simple book has helped me to improve my life. If you are looking for a design book, this is not it. If you are looking for a book about finding joy in everyday life, this IS it!

Not recommended for students of Wabi Sabi.......2006-11-04

I'm a long time fan of "Wabi Sabi for artists and designers" and a new fan of "the Wabi Sabi House" so I thought this would be along the same lines.

Actually it seems to be a new age self-help book full of self obsessed California psycho-babble. If you are a lost soul needing support and guidance this may be a great book for you. If you are a designer or architect looking for guidance in bringing more authenticity, grit, and poetry to your creative process then pass this one by.

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