The Hopes of Snakes: And Other Tales from the Urban Landscape

Book Description

'It's been a while since I stopped being surprised by nature in New York City, which is, after all, simply a name we've given this landscape-a label meaningless to the birds, the turtles, the river." As a child in suburban Maryland, Lisa Couturier spent all her time outdoors, playing with snakes and toads and exploring every inch of what nature offered. Her parents were convinced that she would head out West as an adult, in search of wild lands and animals. Instead, Couturier moved to New York City, and it was there that she began to see nature and all the creatures in it with new eyes. In The Hopes of Snakes, Couturier brings together the best of her essays on urban and suburban nature throughout the Northeast, from Washington, D.C., to Boston. She writes of the things in nature that we typically love, like the power and beauty of the Potomac River or the majesty of a peregrine falcon soaring above a skyscraper, but she also celebrates the animals we either ignore or consider pests, such as geese, snakes, and crows. Nature is often invisible to people amidst the concrete and glass of dense urban life. But Couturier's sharp eye and deep humanity have found what is so remarkable in city nature and illuminated it for readers like no one before her. The Hopes of Snakes is an eloquent and powerful debut by one of the best writers exploring nature in the humanized landscape today.

Customer Reviews:

Poignant tales for our times.......2006-04-16

I live near an eight-lane freeway, and every time I hit the onramp, I look for the red-tailed hawk that can be seen most days scanning for his prey from his perch on a light pole. He would no doubt prefer better hunting grounds than this ice plant thatch that shelters suburban rodents, but after we humans filled in the nearby wetlands and covered the hills with house tracts, this is about all we've left for him. My daily glimpse of him is a vitamin to me, and a reminder that I don't have to travel to a national park to have an encounter with wildlife.

For readers who routinely seek soul-restoring encounters with all that is wild, Lisa Couturier's The Hopes of Snakes will be a tonic. To refer to this book as a collection of essays would create a far too stuffy impression of it. Part of the subtitle, Tales from the Urban Landscape, pegs it precisely: this is a collection of personal reminiscences, musings, meditations and analyses that make for darn good storytelling. The common thread that stitches together all of these tales with a seamless cohesiveness is Couturier's abiding respect for wild animals, many species of which are scorned and hated when they edge themselves back into habitats that were stolen from them by humans.

True to its title, there are uplifting tales here, not just of snakes, but of coyotes, turkey vultures, pigeon ladies, and many others. Nevertheless, this is not an anthology of sticky-sweet, cute animal stories. The overriding tone is one of reverence, not sentimentality. Even so, Couturier's poignance is often moving, and when you read "Take the Long Way Home," a posthumous letter of thanks to Mr. Boyd, Couturier's neighbor and mentor of her high school years, you just might find yourself shedding a tear or two.

Even in the deepest heart of a city, the animal world is all around us, as my freeway redtail reminds me every day. The Hopes of Snakes will help you rediscover, in case you ever forgot it, that despite all our collective efforts to turn wilderness into "civilization," humankind does not exist in isolation from our animal kindred.

A celebration of the underlying world of animals.......2005-06-07

Students of urban natural history and casual readers alike receive a celebration of Northeast urban wildlife in The Hopes Of Snakes & Other Tales From The Urban Landscape. Her thirteen essays observe urban animals from Manhattan skyscraper-dwelling falcons to mice who live on the subway tracks of New York. Wildlife has adapted to human habitations in surprising ways: hers is a celebration of the underlying world of animals which live alongside people.

Living with our fellow creatures.......2005-04-06

Lisa writes about her experiences with wildlife that occupy cities and suburbia and how they interact with humans. As Lisa writes, some animals fare very well while others do not.

Lisa's ability to capture small details about the cirtters with whom she interacts make her essays all the more endearing and important. Although accused of anthropomorphising about the surivivors of the Human onslaught, her descriptions present an important understanding of urban wildlife and enable many otherwise unknowing citydwellers the opportunity to engage with nature's cast outs.

As Julie Warner said in Doc Hollywood: "Most people are merely on the Earth, not a part of it." Lisa Couturier gives us the opportunity to experience first hand those rare species that share their world with the Human invaders.

Have You Ever Read a Book You Wished Would Never End?.......2005-04-05

The Hopes of Snakes is just such a book. From Manhattan to Washington, DC, Lisa Couturier takes her readers on an amazing journey by introducing us to things we may have taken for granted or may never have thought twice (or even once) about. As I have been reading the essays, my family and friends have had to endure my reading passages or quoting from the text, but none acted as though it were much of a struggle because the prose so ably draws one in.

Ms. Couturier not only writes with the beauty of a poet, she teaches along the way so that the reader comes away feeling thoughtful and enriched. I knew nothing about crows other than myths, but now, because I have read A Banishment of Crows, I look for them in the sky, count their numbers, am awed by and respect them.

In her essay, The Hopes of Snakes, she becomes the readers' hero because she does what we wish we could do in similar circumstances.

The essays reflect humor and sorrow and never shy away from the unpleasant. By the end, the reader closes the book, feeling fulfilled by the journey, and yet compelled to assert onself more fully in the environment so that not a moment is lost and the connection will remain.

I have hopes that this will be the first of many books by Lisa Couturier.

MORE THAN NATURE: A GREAT AND TIMELESS READ.......2005-02-24

"THE HOPES OF SNAKES" is a great and timeless read. These essays may remind one of Edward Albee's tension provoking plays and of David Sedaris's dark humor. The essay 'Take the Long Way Home' can sit right next to that provocative genre of southern writers--right next to Faulkner's "AS I LAY DYING" or maybe "LIGHT IN AUGUST." You can roll Couturier's words and descriptive phrases over your tongue like a sweet mint julep. These essays tangle and weave classic coming-of-age tales through muddy swamps, over rocky shores, and into dark and scary woods to bring us to the point where an enlightened woman with an inclination for the wild can thrive in Manhattan and then return to Washington, DC, to enjoy the roots of an ancestral home and the blessings of motherhood. Couturier trades primeval forests for concrete canyons, but the message is an ancient and ongoing one. Anyone can read this book, but it will take a thoughtful reader to grasp and appreciate Couturier's depth. Don't pigeonhole this group of essays into a nice, neat urban nature read. It is so much more. The writing is likely to spring at you and bite you like a coiled and sleeping snake that's been poked and provoked.

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Average customer rating:

All the meat and none of the fat
History of Sea Survival

Essentials of Sea Survival
Frank Golden
Manufacturer: Human Kinetics Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Cornell Manual for Lifeboatmen, Able Seamen, and Qualified Members of Engine Department
Cornell Manual For Lifeboatment, Able Seamen And Qualified Members Of The Engine Department

ASIN: 0736002154

Book Description

Be prepared for the worst! Each year, 140,000 water-related deaths occur worldwide. Essentials of Sea Survival will both prepare you to avoid disaster and to respond optimally in a potentially deadly situation. Frank Golden and Michael Tipton, internationally acclaimed experts on cold-water survival, present the science and step-by-step action plans for staying alive in open water. Be smart, be safe, and be prepared, because there are no second chances at sea.

Customer Reviews:

All the meat and none of the fat.......2003-09-17

I've read alot of wilderness, rescue, survival and outdoor medicine books in my life and have found only a select few that I keep coming back to, and this is one of them. The one of the best water survival books I have ever come across. The book is full of useful information actually backed by the research with a rundown of real accounts and what the people did right or wrong. At the end of each chapter it contains a list of the main points you don't want to forget. If you live near water (any water), enjoy watersports or plan on finally taking the family sailboat to some hidden location, don't leave without reading this book !

History of Sea Survival.......2002-12-27

I haven't read the entire thing yet, but mainly the book cites specific historical examples of characteristics of sea survival (or the lack there of), and then goes on to explain the latest data that is available. So far very interesting, and definately a must have for naval buffs.

Writer's & Illustrator's Guide to Children's Book Publishers and Agents, 2nd Edition: Who They Are! What They Want! And How to Win Them Over! (Writer's Guide)
Average customer rating:

Great companion to the CWIM

Writer's & Illustrator's Guide to Children's Book Publishers and Agents, 2nd Edition: Who They Are! What They Want! And How to Win Them Over! (Writer's Guide)
Ellen R. Shapiro
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0761526862
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Book Description

Here is the ultimate writer’s and illustrator’s reference to hundreds of publishers, editors, and agents in the world of children’s publishing. Inside is an up-to-date collection of names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and Web sites for the best of the best in the industry, plus all the critical basics you need to uncover the most promising publishing opportunities. You’ll also find interviews and articles from insiders who reveal the secrets to big-time success in this ultracompetitive arena. Included are listings for more than:

• 250 book and magazine publishers and exactly what they want
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• 100 children’s book agents and artist reps and how to make them work for you
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At your fingertips is everything you need to get past the slush piles and into the hands of the real players of the children’s publishing market, including guidance, resources, and inspiration that will make the process smooth and swift. With this book and your talent, you hold the keys to being published.

Customer Reviews:

Great companion to the CWIM.......2005-08-29

This is a great book offering guidelines to publishers and agents and is an excellent companion to the CWIM. If you write kidlit and want to be published, get an agent or find out the latest guidelines for magazine and book publishers, this book often has more in its listings than the CWIM. It's great to confirm editor's names and other pertinent info. too. This is the first time I've ordered this book and I'm glad I did. In some ways, I like it even better than the CWIM (Children's writers/illustrators markets)

Amazon.com

A beer bottle that withstood the atom bomb blast in Nagasaki is the subject of Shomei Tomatsu's most famous photograph. Mysterious and repulsive, the object looks like a deformed fetus. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Tomatsu has created strikingly ambiguous images that hint at tensions simmering below the surface of Japanese life. Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation is the first English-language survey of this brilliantly idiosyncratic photographer's work. Grouped by theme, more than 100 images contain subtle layers of meaning. On a Tokyo street in 1962, an abandoned high-heeled shoe, a cigarette butt, and a crumpled piece of tinfoil (likely from a stick of American chewing gum) are bitter souvenirs of a night on the town. A few years later, Tomatsu captured the sense of isolation that envelops both a lone protestor and a shadowy group of policemen. In Okinawa, Tomatsu photographed both the U.S. military presence and the traditional way of life that persisted into the 1970s--glimpsed in the breeze-stirred motion of a curtain against a window or the sight of prowling dogs in the hazy morning sun. Leo S. Rubinfien's revelatory essay about the photographer and his work has a lyrical grace that approaches poetry. Sandra S. Phillips deftly summarizes the shift from American-influenced photojournalism of the immediate postwar era to the subjective approaches of a younger generation. John W. Dower adds further historical context, including the disquieting fact that—due to U.S. censorship—photographs of the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not published in Japan until 1952. Excerpts from Tomatsu's own vivid writings add another layer of insight. The handsomely designed book accompanies a retrospective exhibition of Tomatsu's work at the Japan Society Gallery in New York (through Jan. 2, 2005), which will travel to Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Winterthur, Switzerland. --Cathy Curtis

Book Description

Japan’s brilliant and influential postwar photographer Shomei Tomatsu (b. 1930) has created some of the most dramatic images in the history of photography. Many of his photographs have become icons of the twentieth century. This important book is the first in-depth English-language study of Tomatsu’s work. Richly illustrated and handsomely designed, it features more than one hundred plates representing—in ten thematic sections—the full range of his career.
Tomatsu emerged in the 1950s with his sensitive pictures of postwar Japan. In the 1960s the artist turned his camera to the aftermath of the atomic bomb and the lingering presence of the U. S. military in his homeland. In subsequent decades his lens has captured the elation of Japan’s economic boom and the problems inspired by his culture’s increasing westernization. Throughout, Tomatsu’s pictures have consistently resonated not only with Japanese society but also with American culture. Included in this book are essays by distinguished scholars on all aspects of the artist’s life and career as well as a selection of brief excerpts from Tomatsu’s own writings, many of which have never appeared in English.
Skin of the Nation (the book’s subtitle) is both a literal and metaphorical reference to the surfaces that have appeared in countless pictures throughout Tomatsu’s career. For the artist, skin is more than just a surface, it is a kind of map in which one can read the story of Japan—its essence and its future.

Customer Reviews:

beautiful, haunting, and funny.......2007-05-12

This is book is beautiful. I had the pleasure to see the exhibition of Tomatsu's work at the Corcoran a few years ago, and several images were burned into my mind. Particularly the image of a bottle after an atomic blast, the cigarettes & bubble gum series, and an untitled piece with a big blob of reddish orange pigment splat in the middle of the frame. (I am writing this from memory and don't have the advantage to just flip thru the book at this moment to find the exact titles...) His work is very much street photographer - and he's good at evoking emotion. Think Robert Doisneau with an Asian flair for simplicity.

Skin of the Nation.......2006-08-06

This is a high caliber photographic book. The images are stunning and the layout is easy to navigate. The text is informative and well written, but nothing compares to the visuals.

A different perspective of War .......2006-07-01

As I stumbled across the Shomei Tomatsu exhibit last August I had no idea how much his work would impact me. Everytime I look at this book I find something new. In this book, Shomei Tomatsu documents pre and post war Japan in the 1950s. He depicts startling images of westerization on Japanese Culture, and the effects of hiroshima. The everyday moments he captured speak in volumes and sheds a new light on an era that changed Japanese culture forever.

What would I choose..........2005-08-18

I saw the book laying in the library, between all the other photography books. 80% of the all the bookcovers doesn't look inviting enough to open it. This was one 20% that I took. Now all the books that looks inviting on the outside can really disapoint you when you open the it. I think that from the 30% that is left, 27% of the books are very disapointing on the inside This book is the uposite, what a wonderfull suprice. This is a book word it to open. The inside off the book is just how it should be first a lot of information and criticts about Shomei and her work. And that the work of Shomei, it's deep, tatsing, it's got a feeling a soul. She's got a great feeling about how to see a composition, to organize the contrast. And last but not least, the differsity she put in here work is amazing. From black and white, untill full clor and everything between there. From subkects of human beens untill abstract architecture and evreything between there. From very personal images untill very detached. From really close untill verry far. From very meaningfull untill very unmeaningfull. From a frozen image untill a fast movement image. Yeah, I think this a book is an inspiration for every artist in business.

Average customer rating:

Shomei Tomatsu Skin of the Nation
Sandra S Phillips
Manufacturer: YALE UNIV PRESS @
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N6BBJ0

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