Locomotor Neural Mechanisms in Arthropods and Vertebrates (Studies in Neuroscience, No 16)

Book Description

Sunrise atop Fuji-san, steaming volcanoes, natural hot springs, ancient temples and pilgrim trails, wild subtropical jungles, spectacular gorges, unique wildlife and nature's seasonal shows - explore the wonders of Japan with this meticulously researched guide.

detailed trail notes with kanji for more than 70 day and multi-day hikes
70 detailed, custom-drawn contour maps with kanji
accommodation options from gateway cities to remote camp sites
tips on transport to and from the trailheads
practical advice on local culture, responsible hiking and pre-hike preparation
quick reference language section, glossary and gazetteer with kanji

Customer Reviews:

It's okay........2005-09-07

Only a few pictures, and the maps are very basic. You're really going to need to buy hiking maps at any book store once you arrive in Japan (maps aren't carried in most outdoors stores). I could wish for a few more stories or ratings on which mountains are the best and must be hiked, but the book is useful.

Packed with ideas and advice.......2004-04-07

This is a really good guide to the mountains of Japan, both informative and inspirational. All too often, walking guides focus on the easiest routes to tick off an artificial list of peaks (just about every Japanese-language guide fits this description), but instead the authors have produced a wide range of easy to fairly challenging walks in the most attractive settings around the country which should suit just about everyone. Ok, the suggested itineraries will not stretch the fittest (especially for hut-dwellers who are not carrying tents) but there is plenty of info to enable you to modify the plans to suit yourselves. For the routes that we have followed precisely, we have found the information to be very accurate and up-to-date, and they have all been memorable walks.

This book has significantly enhanced our time in Japan and I highly recommend it to anyone who is itching to get out of the cities but doesn't quite know where to go.

Hiking in Japan.......2003-11-24

Another specialized book from the Lonely Planet team, this one catering to those who like to take exercise with their nature. Japan is heavily populated, and the megalopolis called Tokyo is easily the world's biggest, but nearly all the people live on the coastal plain of the Pacific coast, leaving the rest of this mountainous country open for the adventurous hiker.
The book follows the usual Lonely Planet formula with the first pages devoted to the geography, history, climate, flora and fauna as well as social and religious areas of Japanese life.
The second section deals with specific information for the hiker, including suggested itineraries, weather information, safety while hiking and, usefully, pre-departure planning. This last section tells us to have health insurance and know something about First Aid; good advice for those who haven't thought of such things.
The hikes suggested in the book, and there are over a hundred, cover the length and breadth of Japan, are classified into five levels from easy to hard, and are divided up into day-long walks.
The maps in the book show a marked improvement over earlier Lonely Planet publications, early editions of which often had no scale or compass point! "Hiking in Japan" on the other hand contains maps that are very difficult to obtain even in Japan itself.
For those who speak no Japanese, there is the glossary of everyday language at the back of the book, and, perhaps even more essential, a transliteration of the Japanese character place-names into the roman alphabet.
Recommended.

I only missed one thing.......2002-12-15

And that is descriptions of longer treks.
There are a few described as 4-8 days long in this book, but when walking I found that that would have been at a snail's pace and the times given had to be halved. Even a quick look at the regional maps will confirm that all hikes described only cover relatively small areas.
So those planning a longer trek through the backcountry of Japan might be disappointed (I was, anyway), but I understand we are just the minority...
On the other hand, those looking for advice on a variety of short hikes in national parks or near the major cities will find lots of good ideas, and practical details that tend to be amazingly correct by guidebook standards!
Don't worry too much about the book being a few years old - Japan is such a stable country that much of the information remains as valid as ever.

A wise man climbs Fuji once; a fool climbs it twice........2001-12-10

I found that you really don't have much of a choice if you are going to Japan and are interested in recent comprehensive English hiking guides. There is a lot of information once you get to Japan on day hikes available from the tourist information places in each town. I found that for a survey trip, this book was just extra weight in my pack. (I ended up using this book thrice for 1-2 days trips on a 3 week trip to Japan, and that was pushing it.)

I did read it and looked at the pretty pictures to get an idea of where to go during my Japan trip planning phase. It is useful to the person focused on hiking around Japan. This may seem obvious, but it's basically a trail guide. It gives great information (including translations of hiking signs) that isn't found in other more general guide books. It tells you how to get to a trailhead, and where to go once you get there, and has some sections on floura, etc. native to Japan.

Although they are great (just because they exist), I found the trail maps lacking at times, especially (and surprisingly) for the everybody-does-it Mt Fuji trek.

Customer Reviews:

A Fine Guide.......2007-09-17

I've been living in Japan for many years and have done all or part of most of the hikes in this book. The introductory material is interesting and useful, and the text is consistently candid and well-written. The photocopied pages that I carry with me on the trips continue to be excellent company. Of course, it's also necessary to have detailed topographic maps such as those published by Shobunsha (recommended in this book). It's always wise to check the web for recent advice on practicalities, but the vast majority of information provided by Hunt is still very helpful, especially when you're on the trail. The hikes are rated in terms of difficulty and scenic value, and the descriptions are detailed enough to help you decide where to go and what to do when you get there. Fears of geological processes rendering this book out-of-date are sorely overstated. Fuji is still a tough slog, and Kamikochi is still spectacular. Wherever you choose to go, this book will make your trip safer, smoother, and more enjoyable.

Very, very outdated.......2007-04-22

I first moved to Japan in 1991 and I picked this book up back then, when it was the only English-language option. Despite what the cover says it has NOT been updated since then and at least one of the hikes described was apparently done in 1978 - 29 years ago!!! The book is also notorious for giving the details of a youth hostel near Tokyo that actually closed more than 20 years ago. It also misnames a mountain - called "Ontake-san" in the book - which is actually the name of a different, much more famous and much larger mountain. Basically the kanji (Chinese characters) for the mountain's name can be read in two ways and the author got it wrong. However the introductory section and the info on Japan's geology is interesting.

This was a good option in the 1980s but it isn't now and could well be dangerous - Japan's mountains have heavy precipitation, are prone to earthquakes and vulcanism and, in particular, are being badly affected by global warming so it is important to get CURRENT information before heading into the hills. Save your money and get the Lonely Planet guidebook (which is itself far from perfect) and check conditions with on-line sources before you go anywhere.

A little cheap.......2005-09-07

No pictures, and the maps are very basic. Was hoping for a little more comparison of the hikes...you really won't know what you're hiking until you're out there.

Only focuses on MAJOR hikes.......2002-01-09

I thought this book could be more comprehensive. It certainly covers a lot but focuses mostly on the major trails that are often crowded during the 'official climbing season'. The new Lonely Planet Hiking in Japan is a far better bang for your buck.

author speaks.......2000-11-27

"Hiking in Japan" was first published in 1988, it was substantially updated in the mid-1990s. The author has been pushing the publisher to keep the book updated on every reprint, usually each year.

Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line (Exploring Japan Series)

Average customer rating:

Tokyo from the insider's view

Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to the 29 Stages of the Yamanote Line (Exploring Japan Series)
Jean Pearce
Manufacturer: Special Projects
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

More Foot-Loose in Tokyo: The Curious Traveler's Guide to Shitamachi and Narita

ASIN: 083480123X

Customer Reviews:

Tokyo from the insider's view.......2001-09-01

The Yamanote is the circle line of Tokyo's rail system. And from Jean Pearce's perspective, the line's 29 stations add up to a perfect tour of this marvelous underrated city.

Pearce, for 42 years a columnist for the English-language Japan Times, is the ideal guide for the tour. Her sharp eye misses few details, and her delightful style conveys her deep love for the city, its neighborhoods and its people.

Each chapter describes a walking tour of the area around the station, with a mix of historical background and current details. The chapter on Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics district, pays due mention to the area's famous hi-fi and TV purveyors, but wanders on, as you might, to the neighborhood shrines, and then on to neighboring bookshops and an Russian Orthodox church.

The book is long out of print, and it's possible that some of the shops described are no longer there--though in fast-changing Japan, it's always surprising what survives. But even after so many years, there's still no better armchair tour of Tokyo available, and when you do visit you'll no doubt be able to find the Tokyo that Pearce saw.

Average customer rating:

Highly recommended for nature lovers!

Day Walks Near Tokyo (Origami Classroom)
Gary DA. Walters
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Japan | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Tokyo | Japan | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books
Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer

Kids' Trips in Tokyo: A Family Guide to One-Day Outings

Tokyo for Free

Tokyo City Atlas: A Bilingual Guide (3rd Ed.)

Japan for Kids: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Their Children (Origami Classroom)

ASIN: 4770016204

Book Description

An hour or so from the frenetic bustle of Tokyo lie some of Japan's most tranquil and scenic spots just waiting to be explored-if you know how to get to them. The 25 walks in this guide have been specially selected for their proximity to the capital and for their unspoilt scenery. All the
walks originate from Tokyo, and detailed instructions are provided on how to get to the starting point by public transportation. All walk descriptions are accompanied by precise maps to make sure you won't lose your way. Place names and signs seen along the way are given in both Japanese and
English, and points of interest as well as the flora and fauna of each area are described in detail. This guide gives every Tokyo resident a much-needed and easy-to-follow escape route to the serenity of nature.

Customer Reviews:

Highly recommended for nature lovers!.......1998-07-17

A great little book that makes it easy to wander the best of the countryside around Tokyo. We used an earlier edition that had 25 daytrips around the city and it tells you how to get there, degree of difficulty, and a suggested route along the way. It also provides details on points of historical and natural interest along each walk.

Customer Reviews:

too old.......2004-07-12

I have just arrived into Tokyo to live here for 6 months and was thrilled to find this book on the shelves within the apartment.

Every one of the tours that was described looked like areas that I would like to explore during my time here. Unfortunately, during my first exploration the first two stops were no longer located in the same area. This made the walking tour quite a waste of time.

Excellent book that should be updated.

Tokyo Close Up.......2000-07-26

My sister and I were in Tokyo for two weeks and found this book to be the best guide we had for discovering the Tokyo that tourists rarely see. We walked 11 of the described routes and would not have gotten to know nor enjoy the city as well as we did without it. It takes you through the backyards of temples, shrines, neighborhood shopping areas and more, 100% Japanese areas with almost no foreigners. We loved it! We had several other guides along (TimeOut, Travler's Tales: Japan, etc.) but this one had the most comprehensive walking routes; a must if you really want to know the city better than just the tourist attractions. We wish there were more books like this for other cities.

Not worth its weight.......2000-01-17

I brought this book to Japan and packed it all over the country for two weeks before we got to Tokyo. I had read positive things about it online, and tried to follow the tour of Ginza as described in the book. It was extremely confusing, and after only much effort I managed to find the sites described, which turned out to be extremely uninteresting (some souvenir stores going out of business). I then accidentally left the book at a SegaWorld and was not able to find it again. No great loss. I would give it fewer stars if I hadn't lost the book - I am giving it the benefit of the doubt!

Average customer rating:

More Day Walks Near Tokyo
Gary Walters
Manufacturer: Kodansha International (JPN)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 4770015925

Average customer rating:

A Cultural Lovers and Climbers Delight!

A Thousand Lights
Hope Benton
Manufacturer: Open Minds, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 188892781X

Customer Reviews:

A Cultural Lovers and Climbers Delight!.......1999-12-01

The story about the climb up Mt.Fuji was accurate and culturally correct. It was obvious the writer had been to Japan and climbed Mt.Fuji and that the story was in fact a fictional rendition of a real climb by the two brothers. The addition of the Japanese language and translation within the story (not having to look it up at the end of the book) was very effective, making the story seem more realistic. The added surprise that one of the brothers was hearing impaired was important to the story. Showing that the one expected to reach the summit first was not the one who did in the end. Any parent of a child with a physical disability worries about the child no matter what skills they have. They wouldn't be normal if they didn't worry. It was even more rewarding to have Will overcome the obstacles of the exhausting climb. These brothers and their successful climbing of Mt.Fuji are motivational to everyone who likes to hike and climb. Excellent and thoroughly enjoyable.

Trails of Two Cities: A Walker's Guide to Yokohama and Kamakura

Average customer rating:

Dated but invaluable
Best guidebook of Yokohama and Kamakura, but some update needed.
The Other Japan: John Carroll's 'Trails of Two Cities'

Trails of Two Cities: A Walker's Guide to Yokohama and Kamakura
John Carroll
Manufacturer: Kodansha International (JPN)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Walking | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 4770018371

Customer Reviews:

Dated but invaluable.......2005-12-08

It's not really fair to criticize Carroll for not updating the book. It's obviously a one-time-only labor of love project that he worked up to and put to paper in 1994. So yes, much of Yokohama has changed (as has much of Japan in 10 years time), but valuable insights he has into the history and nature of city can't be topped. Since he's not a professional tourbook author (I believe), I cut him slack. This book is still the only and most important guidebook to just Yokohama, and is a must-read for people who really want to dig into Yokohama, but can't be used as a sole guide.

Best guidebook of Yokohama and Kamakura, but some update needed........2005-08-14

This guide may be a must-have if you'd like to explore Yokohama and Kamakura.

Recently I've joined a voluntary guide group for this area, and started to look for a guidebook from the view of an ordinary American tourist. I found it the best.
Unlike other guidebooks, that are based on official information from the Japanese government and travel agents, this book picks up interesting spots for people unfamiliar with Japanese history and culture.
This is also free from a common flaw in many books on Japan written by elites who have some tendency to Orientalism and love to seek a Madam Butterfly taste everywhere.

However, the Central Yokohama area has been changed a lot since this book was written. It is still useful to plan your itinerary, but you'll need a new map and tips before you start walking.
For example, a new subway line has started the service from Yokohama to Chinatown, and new shopping malls are built in the Brick Warehouse area. Some attractions and new sweets/snacks are now popular in Chinatown.
You can find neccessary information on the Yokohama Convention and Visitors Bureau site, or the Tourist Information Center in front of Sakuragicho station.

The Other Japan: John Carroll's 'Trails of Two Cities'.......1998-11-20

The average American tourist sees Japan through the looking glass: Tokyo. Though it is a fairly accurate view, it is a narrow one. John Carroll, however, has discovered the rest of Japan within an hour of Tokyo. His 'Trails of Two Cities' takes the reader to Yokohama, Kamakura, and other spots within the Kanagawa Prefecture, which covers the peninsula south of Tokyo at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Trails is an excellent tour of the area, but it also gives the reader an accurate history of the area, secret and out-of-the way spots only a local would know, and background, insight, facts and legends you can't get in your run-of-the-mill Fodor's or Lonely Planet guides. The series of walks gives you a through view of the port of Yokohama, a city of foreign influences once considered the wildest port in the Far East; and the ancient capital of Kamakura, where the rise of Buddhism in Japan and the first shogunate occured. Its bilingual maps and information are highly accurate. I was stationed in Japan for more than two years in the area and took every walk in the book and had a great time; I wouldn't have even known Jogashima and Enoshima exsisted if it wasn't for this book, and the part on Kamakura alone pays for itself. It's a super way to explore that part of Japan. Even if you're an armchair tourist.

Book Description

Near the close of the nineteenth century, Isabel Crawford went to the Kiowa-Comanche Reservation in Oklahoma and founded the Saddle Mountain Baptist Mission. This book, written in journal form, begins with her arrival at the reservation in 1896 and describes her decade-long crusade to convert the Indians to Christianity. She and her assistant were the only white women at the isolated station in the Wichita Mountains. Crawford's experience there tested her resourcefulness, endurance, and sometimes her faith. Humor marks her journal as she recounts her struggles to establish a formal mission. She lived with the Indians, at first putting up in a tipi and adjusting, not without difficulty, to their ways. She was "the Jesus woman" who taught the Ten Commandments. In her wake came camp meetings, baptisms, and "big eats." Through the years Isabel Crawford and her Indian brothers and sisters were bound more closely as they raised money to build a church. Though written with Christian purpose, Kiowa: A Woman Missionary in Indian Territory shows Crawford's sensitivity to Kiowa history and culture during a period of transition. The mission still exists and Isabel Crawford is still remembered kindly, according to Clyde Ellis, who introduces this Bison Books edition. An authority on Oklahoma tribes, Ellis is the author of "To Change Them Forever": Indian Education at the Rainy Mountain Boarding School, 1893-1920. He is an assistant professor of history at Elon College in North Carolina.

Customer Reviews:

A valuable book.......2002-06-06

Isabel Crawford, a Canadian woman, came to southwest Oklahoma and was a missionary to the Kiowas for ten years. This book is a compilation of her journals which she kept faithfully throughout her years with the Kiowas, with entries that include personal reflection and testimonies from the Kiowa people. Crawford brought a unique perspective to life on a Native American reservation at the turn of the century. Crawford showed that most Kiowas respected her and she also had a favorable view of the Kiowas.

Most of her entries were written from a Christian's perspective and how she tried to share gospel with the Kiowas and in fact, many became Christians because of her. Crawford also with the help of the Kiowas built a church at Saddle Mountain, Oklahoma. Unlike some missionaries who preached to save the "savages", Crawford truly respected their cultural identity and in fact sought a middle ground, where cultural exchange took place. She told them that becoming a Christian would not change their identities.

This book is valuable because it contains speeches, conversations and testimonies given by the Kiowas which can help to increase our understanding of both their culture and the complexity of their relationship with missionaries.

The Missionary Trail.......2000-10-06

Isabel Crawford came fearlessly among the Kiowa Indians; among the last of the tribes to be confined to reservations. The work of all the missionaries transformed the lives of some of the Kiowa people and gave them a spiritual path that the Kiowa continue to follow. Crawford's recording of the words of these early Kiowa converts have the power to make one laugh and to weep. How poigniant the words of the old Kiowas, the so-called savages.

Home on the Range: A Culinary History of the American West

Average customer rating:

Wonderful historical account of cooking in America
A suprising and wonderful history

Home on the Range: A Culinary History of the American West
Cathy Luchetti
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0679744843
Release Date: 1993-04-06

Book Description

A chronicle of the roots of American frontier cooking- in anecdotes, pioneer writing, and vintage photographs. 145 halftones throughout.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful historical account of cooking in America.......2000-01-12

This is one of my favorite books. I keep it on the coffee table and several of my guests agree and are also looking for a new edition to be printed.

A suprising and wonderful history.......1999-11-03

What a fabulous book! Far from the names and dates and heroic men which bog down many western histories, this history chronicles the stomachs of the priests, soldiers, and homesteaders who were dreaming of fresh butter, unwormy flour, and other delectables while expanding the American frontier. Memorable photos include soldier's wives cooking in a tent to escape the desert heat, a Franciscan priest frying eggs under an umbrella, and a nice Mormon couple having tea on the prairie.

Woman of the Plains: The Journals and Stories of Nellie M. Perry (West Texas a & M University Series)

Average customer rating:

Power of Journals

Woman of the Plains: The Journals and Stories of Nellie M. Perry (West Texas a & M University Series)
Nellie M. Perry , and Sandra Gail Teichmann
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0890969353

Customer Reviews:

Power of Journals.......2001-01-15

Excellent connector of times lived. "This is the way it was!" expressed many times by those who have read and given this book. Thank you, Sandra!

The Life of Elaine Goodale Eastman (Women in the West)

Average customer rating:

The Life of Elaine Goodale Eastman (Women in the West)
Theodore D. Sargent
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Educators | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Sister to the Sioux (Second Edition): The Memoirs of Elaine Goodale Eastman, 1885-1891

ASIN: 0803243170

Book Description

Raised in a sheltered, puritanical household in New England, Elaine Goodale Eastman (1863–1953) followed her conscience and calling in 1885 when she traveled west and opened a school on the Great Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Over the next six years she witnessed many of the monumental events that affected the Lakotas, including the inception of the Ghost Dance religion and the fallout from the Wounded Knee massacre in December 1890. She also fell in love with and married Charles Eastman, a Dakota doctor with whom she had six children, and went on to help edit his many popular books on Sioux life and culture.

This biography draws on a newly discovered cache of more than one hundred letters from Elaine that were collected by one of her sisters, Rose Goodale Dayton, as well as newly discovered family correspondence and photographs. Previous books about Elaine—including her own autobiography—emphasize her work on the Sioux reservation and association with her famous husband. Access to her personal papers, however, enabled Theodore D. Sargent to shed new light on the dynamics of her thirty-year marriage to Charles and its ultimate demise, the importance of her own literary contributions during this period, and the challenges and successes of her life following their separation. The result is a long overdue multidimensional portrait of the relationships and aspirations that impelled and troubled this fascinating woman and her extraordinary life.

Naming the Winds: A High Plains Apprenticeship

Average customer rating:

A Quiet Book with a Loud Message
A spiritual look at nature, the wind, and wild lands

Naming the Winds: A High Plains Apprenticeship
Caroline Marwitz
Manufacturer: High Plains Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

West | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0931271576

Customer Reviews:

A Quiet Book with a Loud Message.......2001-02-05

After I heard Caroline Marwitz speak on Wyoming Public Radio about her book, Naming the Winds, I had to buy a copy. You see, so many talented writers such as Gretel Erlich visit Wyoming, and are so taken and inspired by its stark, demanding beauty, that they end up staying a while and writing their best work as a result. And for this, all of us sensitive readers in Wyoming are very, very grateful. No surprise to me that Wyoming has this effect on people, as I have lived here nearly all my life.

However, with this latest quiet ode to Wyoming--and I fear that it will remain all too quiet without people far more influential than I shouting its virtues from the mountaintops--a Wyoming writer, someone raised here through her youth and early adulthood, has captured the true full naturalist's experience of this state.

Marwitz interweaves the narrative of a talentedly sensitive girl's apprenticeship on "The Prairie", as she calls it, with the fascinating story of her relationship with a mentor in the form of a much older woman willing to share her amazing background and a subsequently thrilling outlook on life. Though nonfiction, this book has a clear storyline, with direction, plot, climax, and a wonderful conclusion. That said, I would do a serious disservice to Naming the Winds if I didn't say that the strength of this book is the honest, non-high-fallootin', lyrical poetry used to describe the natural environment of the high plains. No other word but 'poetry' fits for many of the chapters of this great work.

The author's bio says that Marwitz is working on a second nonfiction work, as well as finishing a novel, Chameleon Man. I just wanted to say that she has at least one devoted reader and fan for all her future work in Thermopolis--one who is spreading the word every chance I get.

Plainly put: Anyone who thrives on naturalist works by western writers such as the late Edward Abbey, William Kittredge, and Terry Tempest Williams, will enjoy discovering this newest talented writer.

A spiritual look at nature, the wind, and wild lands.......2000-12-01

Naming the Winds is a small gem of a book that will be recommended by word of mouth, from one friend to another. It is organized by the seasons (mid-summer, late autumn, winter, deep winter, etc.) and by the winds that the author named as a child (Thunder Hoof wind, Silk Wind, Grass Comb Wind, etc.) Like many of us who grew up before computers and the internet, she roamed the wild, left-alone land behind her family's house in Laramie, Wyoming, and came to know the flowers, sagebrush, prairie dogs, and yucca as friends. Though I don't live in Wyoming, where it is set, I can identify with the author's sadness when the land she grew up on is bulldozed for streets and houses. She tells stories about an elderly woman who befriended her, who also loved to roam the land, and the "apprenticeship" she had with the elderly woman as she learned about the plants and flowers and skies of southern Wyoming. It's a quick read, but you'll want to take your time, as the author is a poet with images and colors. It'll make you want to go back to where you grew up and see if your favorite wild places are still there. I would recommend men buy this book for their wives, and women buy it for their mothers. I certainly am.

Average customer rating:

Across the Plains in 1844
Catherine Sager
Manufacturer: Ye Galleon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Reference | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0877704635

Plain Anne Ellis: More About the Life of an Ordinary Woman

Average customer rating:

Plain Anne Ellis: More About the Life of an Ordinary Woman
Anne Ellis
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

History | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0803267363

Book Description

Plain Anne Ellis builds on Life of an Ordinary Woman, Anne Ellis’s memoir of life in one of Colorado’s most overlooked regions, the San Luis Valley. Despite use and settlement by Utes, Hispanics, Jicarilla Apaches, and Anglos, little has been written about the rich history of this valley.

Ellis describes herself as an ordinary widow with few financial resources trying to make a living in an inaccessible valley. But Ellis was far from ordinary: she raised children on her own, sent them to college, worked as a cook and the only woman on crews installing telephone lines and building roads to open the San Luis Valley to development, and successfully ran for county treasurer.

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about Ellis was her frankness. Ellis admitted that "to have been born in the Victorian era certainly cramps one’s style." She was not afraid to put into print her desire for intimacy and love. This and other observations of her life make it clear that Anne Ellis was anything but plain and ordinary.

Plains Women: Women in the American West (Women in History)

Average customer rating:

Plains Women: Women in the American West (Women in History)
Paula Bartley , and Cathy Loxton
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Schoolwomen of the Prairies and Plains: Personal Narratives from Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, 1860S-1920s

Average customer rating:

Schoolwomen of the Prairies and Plains: Personal Narratives from Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, 1860S-1920s
Mary Hurlbut Cordier
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This lively book, now available in paperback, focuses on the women responsible for educating prairie children. Most were natives of the region, often teenaged girls away from home for the first time. Teaching under difficult circumstances, schoolwomen not only struggled to meet their students' needs but also used all the means at their disposalsummer institutes, normal schools, and even reading programs by mailto upgrade their own educational credentials.

Book Description

Visual Design Fundamentals: A Digital Approach, Second Edition has been completely updated to provide new insights and hands-on tutorials using the latest technology, including Adobe® Illustrator® and Photoshop®. The book teaches the foundational information that artists and designers need to know to understand the art of two-dimensional visual design. It explores the classic elements of design (line, shape, form, value, color, and texture) and their relationship to balance, harmony, variety, and other classic design principles. The theories presented are well-established ideas in all forms of two-dimensional art and design, including drawing, painting, printmaking, graphics, and general design. These principles may also be applied to interior design, architecture, and industrial design. As artists learn the theories taught throughout the book, they'll put these ideas into practice using a variety of hands-on tutorials covering line & shape, type combinations, letters as design elements, color composition, drawing, photo collages, and more. The tutorials use basic computer skills and techniques, and address classic tools and procedures common to all drawing and paint programs, including Illustrator and Photoshop.

Customer Reviews:

can use with any design program.......2007-01-25

Hashimoto teaches timeless precepts of visual design. Many of which predate the Internet. The book seems apt for someone already knowing something about Photoshop and Illustrator. It shows how to use those programs to apply changes to a design, in accordance with the precepts. But primarily you benefit at a higher level, in understanding through the book's examples how to use basic key ideas in design. Hence, the book is not necessarily restricted to users of those design programs. If indeed you favour another program not covered here, the book can still be very informative.

By the way, one chapter uses the example of typeface design. This has an air of antiquity about it. Designing letterforms goes back centuries, and has many subtleties that the chapter lets you appreciate.

Back to the Fundamentals........2006-09-30

The advent of the personal computer and design software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have greatly changed the way in which design work is done. Still, at the fundamental level the essence of good design still require an understanding of the fundamental design theories. The old concepts of line, shape, form, value, color and texture are still fundamental to good design be it of a poster, a kitchen appliance, or an automobile.

This book discusses how to combine the traditional approaches with the advances made possible by digital techniques. This is the second edition and builds on the material covered in the 2003 edition by providing discussion of the more powerful software that is available now.

The CD that comes with the book includes several tutorial projects for the student to complete as well as links to provide trial versions of Illustrator and Photoshop.

Questionable reviews.......2005-06-16

The two other reviews seem questionable. They read like an add for the book.

Honestly, the book has nice illustrations. It is short on design princples, and long on examples. Check out Robin Williams Non-Designer's book as well.

Two Books In One.......2004-07-24

This book is for anyone new to design fundamentals, digital art and computer imaging software. The author, Alan Hashimoto, has written two books in one. First, he discusses the elements and principals of two-dimensional art design and how they apply to both traditional art mediums and the digital art medium. Second, the book is an introduction to digital imaging software. He discusses the difference between object-oriented and paint software. Throughout the book he teaches the basic skills needed for creating artwork on the computer using both Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. However the two objectives of this book are well integrated. The author has done a great job of demonstrating how to apply traditional design fundamentals to 2D digital art. He then reinforces this with seven digital art projects which help the reader to apply this knowledge while creating computer generated art.

Hashimoto discusses the design elements of line, shape, space, volume, value, color and texture and the principals of design such as unity, variety and balance. His explanations are easy to understand even for the novice and he uses many full-color digital art examples. However the best aspect of this book is the conceptual process used for completing the seven digital projects. This process starts by defining the design challenge and then brainstorming various approaches with thumbnail sketches. Next the design is further refined into roughs which incorporate more details. The final phases of the process are a trial run of the finished design and then the completed design.

The purpose of these seven projects is not only to apply the information in the book to real life examples but to demonstrate how the steps of the conceptual process can be accomplished using the computer. Hashimoto first discusses the traditional methods used for completing the process and then progresses on to digital methods. His step-by-step instructions for the Adobe software are very thorough and easy to follow. Even if you have not used this type of software before, these projects will teach you the basics of the software and how to use it. He also covers related topics such as scanning your artwork into the computer and printing your completed projects. I enjoyed all seven of the projects. But the one that I found especially useful was typeface design.

Project One - Modular Design
Project Two - Letterforms and Shape
Project Three - Figure Abstraction and Non-Objective Shape
Project Four - Value
Project Five - Color Theory
Project Six - Typeface Design
Project Seven - Digital Montage/Collage

Reading this book was like attending an art course at your favorite university. The author's presentation of the information resembled a class lecture which he reinforced with class assignments. So it is no surprise that Alan Hashimoto is an associate professor at Utah State University where he teaches graphic design and computer art. He is also an accomplished artist.

A self-teaching guide for artists and designers.......2004-03-06

Visual Design Fundamentals: A Digital Approach by Alan Hashimoto (Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Computer Art, Utah State University) is a superbly organized and presented resource and self-teaching guide for artists and designers seeking to take advantage of basic computer skills and techniques to create appealing, emotionally charged, and attention-gathering works of two-dimensional art. Visual Design Fundamentals includes straightforward tutorials and projects using Adobe Illustrator CS and Adobe Photoshop CS in order to provide hands-on experience with principles such as modular design, color theory, typeface design, figure abstraction, and more. An included CD offers files needed to complete the projects and trial versions of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Highly recommended for an graphic artist seeking to create and utilize computer generated illustrations and/or designs, Visual Design Fundamentals is replete with both black-and-white and color illustrations throughout which wonderfully enhance the detailed, practical, "user friendly" instructions.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books