Book Description
Thor Janson has spent over twenty years crisscrossing Central America photographing its animals and plants. He has written several books about the region, known today as the Mayan World, which includes southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. His pictures of animals are impressive. He has been known to sit for days in one spot in the jungle waiting for the chance to photograph a rare bird or animals. His travels also include extended stays in all of the area's national parks where he and his white camper are well known.
Take a photographic safari through the Mayan World where you will learn about some of the Earth's mos beautiful and exotic plants and animals. Here are photographs with descriptions of wildflowers, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals. Also included is detailed information of the region's national parks, how to get there, where to stay, and the most interesting sites to visit in each.
Customer Reviews:
Very Pleased.......2007-01-31
I am very pleased with the book and the photographs of the hundred or more critters are quite nice. Only drawback is that the book needs a lightweight tear out that summarizes the animals with small photos included so that you can take it with you. The book itself is too heavy (printed on nice photo paper) to carry in my backpack and won't make the journey to Belize. It is a simplified book, not technical, and gives a general overview.
Customer Reviews:
really fun for the amateur naturalist.......2007-08-15
This is just a great book if you like this sort of stuff. The content is thorough but not overwhelming, and the author does a really good job making the complex science of neotropical ecology accessible for non-academics.
I purchased it before I traveled to birdwatch in Costa Rica and wowed my companions with little tidbits and facts that I pulled pretty much verbatim from the book. It opens you eyes to things in the tropics that you would most certainly miss otherwise and should be considered indispensable for anyone traveling there with an interest in nature.
Textbook.......2007-04-11
Well, this is a requirement for class, so I can't complain too much. Still, it looks to be chock full of useful tidbits.
A Neotropical Companion.......2007-01-10
Received the book in a few days and in excellent condition. Very pleased with my purchase.
Great overview of the tropics.......2006-11-10
I took this book along with me to Peru and read it during long boat rides on the river. If you have an interest in biology and ecosystems, this book is a great introduction. It covers a little bit of everything, from birds to mammals to plants. You can dip into one topic without having to read it linearly.
The book greatly enhanced my trip. Guides are great but they can't be experts in everything at once.
whet your appetite for a fascinating region of the Americas.......2006-07-02
Kricher's NEOTROPICAL COMPANION is not the kind of 'field-guide-for-dummies' that many of us depend on to find our way around Central and South America's flora and fauna. Rather, it's the next step for people who've become familiar with that kind of guide and want to understand at a deeper and occasionally more abstract level why the natural life around them is what it is.
Ours accompanied us through many years in Costa Rica.
The photos are stunning, but there are not many of them. Fairly dense, instructive prose dominates.
A fine book by a recognized authority. Buy the field guide and get it well-thumbed and into your mind. Then add Kricher's NEOTROPICAL COMPANION to it.
Average customer rating:
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Plant Science: An Introduction to World Crops
Jules Janick
Manufacturer: W.H. Freeman & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
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Soil Science
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ASIN: 071671261X |
Customer Reviews:
The Green World- book review.......2006-08-13
The Green World , by Richard Klein, is a terriffic book on plants and their significance on society. A broad overview, technically correct, but readable.Recommended for general reading.The subject covered is on world wide plants, agriculture and social significance for a general, educated public.
Average customer rating:
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First Nature Book an Introduction to the Fascinating World of Plants and Animals (First Nature Book)
robert wellesley
Manufacturer: Treasure Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Children's Books
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| Baby-3
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| Animals
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ASIN: B000ND59I2 |
Product Description
book for all ages, arranged in ABC order
Book Description
The quest for a steady food supply sparked plant breeding attempts over 12,000 years ago. The Concise Encyclopedia of Crop Improvement is a comprehensive resource explaining the development of crop improvement methods over the centuries. This extensive history of development is examined in detail, including influential individuals in the field, plant cultivation in Asia since the Neolithic time, techniques used in the Old World, and cropping in ancient America. The advance of scientific plant breeding in the twentieth century is extensively explored, including hybrid breeding, biotechnological improvement, and genetic manipulation.
Book Description
The best of Savannah, Charleston, and the Golden Isles
The homes and haunts of colorful Savannah eccentrics featured in the best-selling Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil-- with an excerpt from the novel
Charleston's lovingly preserved historic district, harbor mansions, antebellum churches, and Old City Market
Side trips to Georgia's subtropical Golden Isles and wildlife-rich Okefenokee swamp
10 pages of maps locating restaurants, hotels, and sights
Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget
Grand hotels, modern motels, town-house inns, and cozy B&Bs
Dining with local flavor and international flair--hot and spicy BBQ joints and hearty neighborhood cafés
Average customer rating:
- Very good book from JFK's former #1 press secretary
- One of the best books on the Kennedy presidency
- Refreshing to read something of JFK other than personal life
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John F. Kennedy, Commander-in-Chief: A Profile in Leadership (Penguin Studio Books)
Pierre Salinger
Manufacturer: Studio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| United States
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Kennedy, John F.
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ASIN: 0670863106 |
Book Description
John F. Kennedy's presidency has been well examined, but a frequently overlooked yet crucial component of it was his leadership of the United States armed forces. His relationship with the military was forged by personal combat experience and the many lessons learned during his presidential administration. A staunch supporter of the lower ranks, President Kennedy quickly became disillusioned with the upper echelon of the military, preferring ultimately to rely on his own wisdom and that of a close circle of trusted advisers. As a result, it can be argued that John F. Kennedy was more involved in his role as commander in chief than any other president of modern vintage. His was a unique challenge. The world was changing; military actions were no longer large-scale troop movements but small localized and diplomatic crises with frequent guerrilla activity.
President Kennedy, typically, quickly immersed himself in his role. Almost immediately following his election he was confronted with the formidable challenge of the Bay of Pigs. Relying on the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kennedy was humiliated by the results of that action, and yet he accepted complete responsibility for it. It was a mistake that would not be repeated. Thereafter, Kennedy questioned everything and came to his own decisions. He began to involve himself in details of the services, reviewing his "new" army, navy, and air force, even spending time thinking about what the individual
soldier was wearing and carrying.
In John F. Kennedy: Commander in Chief, Pierre Salinger, press secretary and confidant to the president, provides an insightful view of this side of John F. Kennedy. He shares his unique understanding of all the major events of the Kennedy administration that had a military component. He draws a fascinating and clear depiction of the Kennedy learning curve--illuminating the brilliance of the man. Kennedy learned his lessons quickly. One can only speculate what may have resulted had Kennedy lived and been elected to a second term, especially when one reads Kennedy's commencement address speech at American University included in this volume. This speech, considered by many to be his finest, is remarkable in showing the maturity that President Kennedy had attained. Today it is easy to see the beginning of a new statesmanship in his speech, a new global consciousness, a larger and longer view for peace. Pierre Salinger, tantalizingly and profoundly, traces the maturation of Kennedy in his role as commander in chief and brings us to wonder what might have been.
Customer Reviews:
Very good book from JFK's former #1 press secretary.......2005-12-21
(Andy Hatcher, #2; Malcolm Kilduff, #3)
I recommend this book from Pierre Salinger. It has some very nice pictures and a good text. I especially like the perspective it gives on John F. Kennedy as the leader of the Nation's military might. Of particular note: Salinger states that, in his three years serving President Kennedy [he had also served JFK when Kennedy was a Senator], he may have missed just "two or three trips"...one of them was the ill-fated Texas trip.
[...]
One of the best books on the Kennedy presidency.......2000-07-18
This book was the first one to explore Kennedy's role as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces. It also described how foreign events such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the conflict in Vietnam were viewed by the Kremlin and the Pentagon. The book also talks about Kennedy's frequent disagreements with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on military issues and how these problems were handled and resolved. I think that this book is very interesting and worth reading.
Refreshing to read something of JFK other than personal life.......1999-10-16
Being so close to Pres. Kennedy, Pierre Salinger is well qualified to share his knowledge and experiences during his tenure as Press Secretary. I also found the photos very interesting and inviting; I enjoyed reading this book very much; enlightening to learn of JFK's harrowing experiences during WW2 and the suffering he experienced during that time. He certainly was a hero in the true sense of the word. It's sad that these years of his life were not more highlighted, rather than focusing on all his personal escapades. He truly, in my opinion, was a great President; it's tragic he wasn't with us longer. Thank you, Pierre, for a great job!
Book Description
Combining his knowledge as a doctor and a lifelong fascination with Virginia Woolf's life and work, eminent psychiatrist Peter Dally offers a haunting and compelling look at the depression that tormented Virginia Woolf throughout her adult years.On three ocassions Virginia went mad. Symptoms of these episodes included conversations with her dead mother, and hearing birds speak in Greek. Thougha quiet life cushioned her childhood, the renown Woolf achieved through writing inspired the bouts of depression and elation that she regularly experienced as an adult. This terrified Virginia, and though the experience offered extraordinary insight into her craft, Woolf lived in constant fear of her dreadful affliction.Virginia's most vital protection from stress was her husband, Leonard. Without his constant vigilance and care, it is doubtful she would have been so creatively productive. Yet, paradoxically, their marriage ultimately preciptated her most dangerous bout of madness. Toward the end of her life, when events outside the couple's control led to Leonard's own depression and gradual withdrawal, Virginia found herself facing madness alone, and with tragic results.Compassionate and disturbing, this fascinating study is the first to look at Virginia Woofl's life from the perspective of her illness.
Customer Reviews:
The Tragedy of Ignorance Concerning Manic Depression.......2005-07-04
I was window shoppping at Amazon.com as I often love to do when I came across a book that I have treasured for some time. I was dismayed to see that Peter Dally's magnificent tour de force was not being recognized as such. Frankly, it is beyond comprehension that this would be so! One cannot understand the scope and depth of Virginia Woolf without reference to the marriage to which she so desperately needed in order to achieve the balance and stability necessary (given her illness) which resulted in our watershed of wonder in having such Masterpieces to read and enjoy today! Also, Dally's most compassionate view of her bipolar disorder provides to anyone who has had real experience with this disease profound insight into a curse, really, for so many artists that surely would have resulted in her suicide far sooner had it not been for Leonard Woolf. Surely, he is not perfect. No one is. But Dally provides that all-important insight into the need for all of us to accept the fact that no man or woman is an island unto themselves and in the absence of another upon whom we can rely in times of trial and trouble -- we are all lost. Given the unimaginable low price for this book, if you love VW -- you will not be disappointed!
Exactly what Woolf would have expected of a doctor.......2004-05-22
This is far and away the least insightful, least knowledgeable, least useful book I've ever read about Virginia Woolf. If I ever come across a book by this doctor again, I will shun it like the plague. Here are a few of the many, many ways he went wrong:
1) The "family tree" in the back of the book that supposedly supports his claim that Woolf's mental health issues were genetic is totally incomplete. So far as an informed reader can tell, he only named and "diagnosed" immediate family members of Leslie Stephen and family members who he could identify as having some kind of problem related to Woolf's. Another problem is that he doesn't appear to have presented his evidence for having determined that these people even suffered from the same difficulties one to the other, let alone to Virginia Woolf's manic depression.
2) He constantly undermines the evidence given by women (Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell -- Bell is supposed to have not even known whether or not she had a miscarriage in 1911) while bolstering the evidence given by men. He promotes the causes of George Duckworth and Leslie Stephen, and belittles the evidence that George at least may have committed some serious offenses against his half-sisters. In the spirit of humility and a recognition that he was not there and did not know these people, Dally should at least have indicated that the evidence might be sketchy and presented the evidence for his views as *possible*. His attitude towards women is, at best, outdated. Given that, I don't think he should have undertaken to write about one.
3) Dally "diagnoses" medical conditions of people for whom he has extremely limited information without defining his terms. What is cyclothemia? Well, I could look it up in a book, but what it means to Dally or how he came to his conclusion, I'll never know.
4) Dally uses only published sources for his book. Yes, some of them may have been out of print and quite difficult to find, but that doesn't change the fact that he allowed himself to be limited to published sources. There are a lot of documents (Leonard Woolf's letters, for one) that were not published or were published only in part at the time that Dally's book was written. But many of these resources are readily available at university libraries. How he can presume to diagnose and criticize based on an incomplete record -- well, it's an astonishing act of arrogance, and if he were practicing REAL medicine would probably get him sued.
I could say a lot more about Dally's characterizations of Woolf's motivations, his overlooking the importance of various people in her life, his lack of understanding of the period about which he wrote, his utter lack of sympathy for the values of Bloomsbury -- but I don't have enough space.
Bottom line -- this book is junk and although it could have been a terrific addition to Woolf scholarship, any half-competent graduate student could have produced something really useful and far more insightful than this exercise in medical chauvinism. It's exactly the sort of thing Virginia Woolf would have expected from a doctor.
Hell is where this psychiatrist belongs.......2003-03-23
Interesting title, promising subject. But the book is a huge disappointment. If you are looking for a brief biography of Woolf that touches on her bipolar disorder, then this may be what you want. If you want any real discussion of the disorder and a decent analysis of how she developed it and how it manifested itself, go elsewhere.
Dally is a psychiatrist who came of age in the 1950s. He is particularly interested in "manic depression" and anorexia nervosa, and he found both in Woolf. He used her extensive diaries to divine what troubled her, and his own background to determine why.
Dally has a tendency to trot out theories and present them as facts. From the beginning he describes Woolf's illness as genetic and attributes it to her father's side of the family. His "proof" is a family tree that shows that some members of her father's family suffered from various nervous disorders and he could not find as much evidence of such illness on her mother's side. He offers no proof of the genetic basis but merely proclaims it. In the appendix he notes that the genetic basis has not been proven "but it is only a matter of time".
Yet, in his own description of Virginia's childhood, he offers a much more potent and believable basis for her later depressions. Her mother did not want her, essentially rejected her, and always considered her of less value than the males of the family. There was nothing Virginia could do to win her mother's approval, yet she continued to try. As is typical with those with depression, she could not outright reject her mother or blame her for her own pain, and as a result her anger turned inward. This seems a far more plausible reason for her bipolar disorder than some vague genetic predisposition.
He also provides absolute treatment prescriptions, as if he were prescribing an antibiotic for a bacterial infection. Manic-depressives need quiet. They need to be kept from becoming excited. They need people around who will support them. They need to be protected from stress.
Is this true? Would Virginia have not killed herself if she had never had to face stress, if she were kept in the country, if nobody ever offered her any excitement? Even though she herself craved excitement, social interaction? Would she have truly been better off without the parties, the various stresses of everyday living? I was not at all convinced.
Dally's assumptions don't stop with Virginia and Leonard. He proclaims that Virginia's lover, Vita Sackville-West, was incapable of forming long-term intimate bonds. By what means did he make this diagnosis? He never met the woman. He can't possibly know if she was outright "incapable", and he certainly offers no basis for this assertion.
I found the book offensive for these reasons. He has reduced a writer of amazing creativity to a creature with a genetic disease, and has offered no substance for his simplistic analysis.
The boredom of hell.......2002-04-14
I never did figure it out or finish it. It might be a fine book but it bored me to sleep every night for weeks until I just tossed it on the shelf for good.
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- Microbiology Of Meat And Poultry
- Molecular Genetics Of Yeast (Practical Approach Series (Cloth))
- Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures
- Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms (National Audubon Society Field Guide Series)
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)
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