Double flowers: A scientific study

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Fantastic.

The Ring of Bright Water Trilogy
Gavin Maxwell
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ring of Bright Water

The Saga of Ring of Bright Water: The Enigma of Gavin Maxwell

The House of Elrig

A Reed Shaken By The Wind: Travels Among The Marsh Arabs Of Iraq

Ring of Bright Water (Classic, Nature, Penguin)

ASIN: 0140290494

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic........2006-06-06

The story captures the essence of the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The beauty and the brutality. The second and third books in the trilogy provide an honesty that leaves you with a respect for and a desire to know more about a man who lived this remarkable life. You will of course fall in love with the otters who allowed people to share their lives for better and for worse.

The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Humanity and Nature in Cooperation (Findhorn Community) (Findhorn Community)

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The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Humanity and Nature in Cooperation (Findhorn Community) (Findhorn Community)
The Findhorn Community
Manufacturer: Findhorn Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1844090183

Book Description

The founders of the Findhorn Community started out living off of plants, flowers, trees, and organic vegetables in a small plot around a 30-foot trailer.

Highland Broadsword: Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship

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Scottish Swordsmanship
Five important works on swordsmanship

Highland Broadsword: Five Manuals of Scottish Regimental Swordsmanship

Manufacturer: Chivalry Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Scotland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1891448218

Book Description

Five manuals of Scottish Swordsmanship from the 17th - 19th centuries

he basket-hilted Scottish "broadsword" or Claymore has long been a symbol for Scottish independence and the fierce regard in which Scots warriors are still held. While the rest of Europe emphasized the use of smaller, lighter swords or curved cavalry models, the Scottish weapon retained its medieval flavor.

The methods by which these swords were employed were recorded in numerous published treatises from the 17th - 19th centuries, true manuals combining fencing theory with practical exercises for techniques unique to these brutal weapons.

Veteren swordsmen and accomplished authors Paul Wagner and Mark Rector present five key treatises that offer a wealth of advice for fighting with both the basket-hilted broadsword and the single stick -- an ash or rattan stick mounted in a wicker or leather basket-hilt, used both for training and as a weapon in its own right.

Included are complete transcriptions of: "Anti-Pugilism" by Sinclair, illustrated with copper plate engravings; MacGregor's "Lectures on the Art of Defence;" "The Art of Defence on Foot with Broadsword and Saber" by Taylor; "Fencing Familiarized" by Mathewson; and Henry Angelo's "On the Use of the Broadsword," rendered in full color.

These texts contain useful exercises for historical swordsmen of any background. In addition, Paul Wagner provides a full introductio n and overview on the fascinating basket-hilted broadsword itself with a survey of surviving examples.

Customer Reviews:

Scottish Swordsmanship.......2007-02-15

This is a very good book with five manuals on Scottish Swordsmanship, written in the times when Napoleon was a threat to Britain's survival.
The sword fighting system is simple, easy to teach or to learn, natural, and very effective. Whenever I want to get someone interested in Western Swordsmanship, this is the first system I teach them. The rudiments of it can be taught or learned in a day, and the entire system can be learned in a few months.
The book has only two flaws. The first is that there is a lack of good photographs. Until I found the pictures on page 125, I could not make head nor tail of the system, but after finding them, it was easy to learn.
The second flaw is, as Mr. Hand stated, the overrating of the effectiveness of the Scottish Regiments. However, this has nothing to do with the effectiveness or validity of the system.

Five important works on swordsmanship.......2005-04-24

If you want to learn how to use a basket hilted broadsword, buy this book.

At the core of this book are the five treatises, teaching and discussing the use of the basket hilted broadsword. What we know of the use of this weapon is mostly English, due to the thoroughness of their suppression of Scottish martial culture after 1745. However, even if Scots regiments went into battle using their swords in an English manner, that does not detract from the weapon and the systems documented here. Collected together here are five of the most important and influential works on the basket hilted broadsword. These teach systems that are similar enough that you can learn them all, each one having a slightly different take on the use of the weapon, but utilising the same fundamental principles.

Also in the book are essays on the Highland regiments and on their fencing, together with excellent photos of swords from a very fine private collection. Paul gets a trifle carried away in the first essay, ascribing every English success at arms to the Scots and their wonderful charge. This is despite the 'two volleys and in with the bayonet' being recorded among English troops as early as the English Civil War (except that it was clubbed muskets, not bayonets back then) and was used by Wellington himself as Colonel of the 33rd Foot before he gained command of Highland troops. By the end of it I was waiting to hear that the Scots Regiments invented sliced bread and manned space flight in between their important work rescuing puppies and reading to blind orphans.

Still, all the essays contain great information, and an author is entitled to have an opinion, even if Paul's are usually strong. The treatises are the centrepiece of this work, and are why you'd buy it. The instructions on how to use an 18th/19th century basket hilted sword (or a sabre for that matter)are clear and unambiguous. The system is relatively easy to learn and is very effective.

The Rough Guide to The Scottish Highlands & Islands 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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Very Useful
An Updated Guide for the Thinking Traveler
Proved its usefulness in the field, summer 2002
How to get there?

The Rough Guide to The Scottish Highlands & Islands 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
Rough Guides
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1843536900

Book Description

Explore every corner of this unspoilt and dramatic area with the fully-revised fourth edition of the Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands. From walking along the deserted beaches in South Harris to whale-watching in Mull - inspired by dozens of photos - the 24-page, full-colour introduction highlights all the ''things-not-to-miss''. In addition, there are two, brand-new, 4-page, full-colour inserts: ''Wildlife'' and ''Food & Drink''. The guide includes listings of all the top hotels, guesthouses and the best places to eat and sample the local whiskies. There is plenty of practical advice for exploring the great ''Scottish'' outdoors, from bagging munros to skiing on The Cairngorm mountains. The guide comes complete with maps and plans for the entire region.

Customer Reviews:

Very Useful.......2006-08-07

I used an earlier edition of this guide three years ago on a trip to the Orkneys and found it very useful then. Now I am using it to plan a trip to the Outer Hebrides next summer.

An Updated Guide for the Thinking Traveler.......2006-08-02

Most travel guides to Scotland consist of lots of photographs taken on the best weather days, bumper sticker location descriptions, a few travel hints, and listings for high-end accomodations. The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands aims at a somewhat more demanding audience, those readers who have already decided to visit Scotland and want honest and substantive travel narrative, along with practical details about a range of accomodations and travel possibilities.

This rough guide is densely packed with the kind of information one gets from the locals. It favors maps, graphics, and written description over photographs, although a nice selection is included. The guide provides a narrative oriented along the major travel routes, with enough description to allow travelers to make their own choices about what might be worth visiting and what should be avoided for overcrowding. A useful amount of historical detail is provided about many points of interest without overwhelming the reader. The information about hiking, biking, and other outdoor fun is enough to permit advance planning, while pointing the enthusiast toward additional details once on the ground in Scotland. Discussions about accomodation and dining center on mid-range facilities, and includes some inexpensive hostels and bunkhouses. The information on trains, planes, and automobiles will allow the traveler to figure out his or her own itinerary in Scotland, where the travel infrastructure can be fairly limited.

This book is highly recommended to those planning a vacation in the Scottish Highlands or Islands.

Proved its usefulness in the field, summer 2002.......2002-09-01

.
If we had relied solely on our standby Scotland Blue Guide this August, we would have had a very difficult time. IN retrospect, we could have dispensed with the Blue Guide, and soloed with the Rough Guide. Rough Guide's Highland volume provided us with a basic reality check early on: we would not be able to see as much as we wanted, and would have to make trade offs. Rough Guide made those trade offs far easier. In each geographically based section, they provided a list of the area's key points to hit. (Blue Guide has a hierarchy also, but it's not nearly so easy to tap into.) And while some of Rough Guide's advice on accommodations and restaurants may go out of date, it was nice to have that information (Blue Guide chooses not to cover these aspects).

We knew little or nothing about the Highlands a few weeks ago... Rough Guide helped us have a very good time.

How to get there?.......2001-03-13

This book was thorough, but strangely unhelpful. Many regions/towns are listed, but with no depth. Each entry tells geography, and interesting things to see, but no idea of how to get there, where to stay. The main advice for each town: call the travel office. There are no recommendations for the "must see" vs. not that interesting. If I had a teleporter and knew I wanted to see Loch Ness, this would be useful book. Otherwise, it is not helpful for planning a trip to the Highlands. And I can't imagine taking it with me when I go.

Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides

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Fascinating subject, horrible writing
Patience pays off with fine sense of the Hebrides
Not Just for Scotland Lovers

Seasons on Harris: A Year in Scotland's Outer Hebrides
David Yeadon
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Scotland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060741813
Release Date: 2006-07-03

Book Description

The Outer Hebrides of Scotland epitomize the evocative beauty and remoteness of island life. The most dramatic of all the Hebrides is Harris, a tiny island formed from the oldest rocks on earth, a breathtaking landscape of soaring mountains, wild lunarlike moors, and vast Caribbean-hued beaches. This is where local crofters weave the legendary Harris Tweed -- reflecting the strength, durability, and integrity of life there.

In Seasons on Harris, David Yeadon, "one of our best travel writers" (Bloomsbury Review) and intrepid chronicler of the "world's most remote regions" (New York Times), captures, through elegant words and line drawings, life on Harris -- the people, their folkways and humor, and their centuries-old Norse and Celtic traditions of crofting and fishing. Here Gaelic is still spoken in its purest form; music and poetry ceilidh evenings flourish in the local pubs; remnants of ancient "black houses" huddle near five-thousand-year-old stone circles; Sabbath Sundays are observed with Calvinistic strictness; and folklore, in the form of mythical creatures and "second sight" abilities, is still both tantalizing and tangible. Yeadon also journeys to Barra, the southernmost of the Hebrides, to the Shiant Islands with author Adam Nicolson, and to the fabled St. Kilda, the most remote of all the Scottish islands -- fifty miles out in the Atlantic, wreathed in legend and mystery.

Harris, while beautiful and beguiling, is also a symbol of the threats to traditional island life everywhere. Through Yeadon's unique book we come to care about these proud islanders, their challenges, and, in particular, the future of their beloved tweed.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating subject, horrible writing.......2007-07-04

David Yeadon's book on his experiences in the Outer Hebrides is unfortunately rather dull. The style is bland, riddled with clichés, and the only truly interesting descriptions we get are in the form of quotations. There are some bright spots; his conversations with local residents are intriguing. I only wish that he would have allowed them to speak for themselves; virtually every interchange with the residents is punctuated with David's insipid observations and framed by his own rather portly ego.

Patience pays off with fine sense of the Hebrides.......2007-04-09

By the end I loved this book, but it is slow going in the beginning, and keeps to a very leisurely pace clear through. Mr. Yeadon does a fine job of describing many of the more notable characters in the area, and a superb job of describing this most beautiful of locations. I had just returned from Scotland when I read this book, and it made me want to hop right back on the plane, regardless of airport hassles, and return. However this is not a book for people looking for a tourist guide. More a meditation on the slow but rich life in the Outer Hebrides. Hence the pace of the book matches the pace of living described within.

Not Just for Scotland Lovers.......2006-07-07

David Yeadon has been composing beautiful hymns to remote places for many years, and here is another in a distinguished list of books he has written. If Seasons on Harris doesn't impel you to plan a trip to Scotland and more specifically the Outer Hebrides, well then, you should consider shopping for a tombstone. I understand the next in his "seasons" series will be on the Beara Peninsula in southern Ireland, and with a name like O'Reilly, I can't wait for that one.

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Aberdeen 1800-2000: A New History

Manufacturer: Tuckwell Press, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Eastern | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1862321086

Book Description

This book provides an understanding of the huge changes that have taken place in Aberdeen's economic and social structure over the past 200 years, from the age of textiles to the age of oil. It analyzes changes in work patterns, housing, education, economy, social welfare, religion, local government, leisure and culture, and discusses the effects of national and international market forces, periods of instability and high growth, and political struggles. It features many of the people who played an important part in this period of Aberdeen's history.

Oban, Mull and Kintyre Walks (Pathfinder Guides)

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Oban, Mull and Kintyre Walks (Pathfinder Guides)
Jarrold Publishing
Manufacturer: Jarrold Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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ASIN: 0711709920

Scottish Highlands - The Hillwalking Guide: British Walking Guide (Trailblazer Guides)

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Scottish Highlands - The Hillwalking Guide: British Walking Guide (Trailblazer Guides)
Jim Manthorpe
Manufacturer: Trailblazer Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

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ASIN: 1873756844

Polly: The True Story Behind Whiskey Galore

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Polly: The True Story Behind Whiskey Galore
Roger Hutchinson
Manufacturer: Mainstream Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Irish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Whisky Galore

ASIN: 1840180714

Book Description

In 1941 an 8,000-ton cargo ship ran aground in the Sound of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. In the difficult war years any gift from the sea was welcome, and the SS Politician had among her cargo a quarter of a million bottles of whisky. The events that followed inspired Compton Mackenzie's novel Whisky Galore. Using eyewitness accounts, historical papers, and official documents, this book tells the story of the SS Politician and the circus that surrounded her, from islanders in small skiffs to wartime excise officers and the final solution, to the problem of the vessel affectionately known as the "Polly."

Footprint Scotland Highlands & Islands, 3rd Edition (Footprint Scotland Highlands and Islands Handbook)

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Footprint Scotland Highlands & Islands, 3rd Edition (Footprint Scotland Highlands and Islands Handbook)
Alan Murphy
Manufacturer: Footprint Handbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1904777805

Book Description

Europe's last great wilderness is home to stunning lochs, silent glens, crashing seas, and unbelievable views. Detailed here are the region’s must-see sights, activities including fire festivals and whale watching, and the best places to dine and stay, from B&Bs to baronial castles.

Book Description

Conceived during Thomas Jefferson's junket in Paris, Thomas Woodson was Jefferson's first child by Sally Hemings. He was banished from Monticello at the age of 12, after a journalist exposed Jefferson's relationship with his young slave. A President in the Family traces Thomas Woodson's subsequent journey from Virginia to Ohio where Thomas and wife Jemima, a former slave, would raise a productive and ambitious family. Their eldest son Lewis, author of the famous Augustine letters, would carry on the family tradition of education, leadership, and public service. A founder of Wilberforce University and described by some as the father of black nationalism, Lewis argued that the black race should not depend on white philanthropy to achieve success in America. His children and grandchildren would prosper as entrepreneurs, engineers, and educators. A President in the Family tells of the Woodsons' continuing struggle to correct accounts by Jeffersonian historians and their successful discovery of documentation that supports an oral history that survived independently in five branches of the family tree. Byron W. Woodson, Sr., a sixth-generation descendant of Jefferson, details the recent developments in the quest to corroborate family lore, to locate missing family members, and to reveal the truth about the complex day-to-day life at Monticello. This is the amazing story of the Woodson family and its steadfast effort to reveal its illustrious past to the American public.

Customer Reviews:

A fine book and a fascinating story.......2007-04-11

If you've followed the Jefferson-Hemings controversy, you know that the DNA tests have shown that Jefferson was almost certainly the father of Sally Hemings' children. This conclusion is supported by virtually all historians and informed observers, with the only holdouts being the Old Virginia types (as exemplified by some of the reviewers here) who simply refuse to accept that their hero, Thomas Jefferson, had an affair with his African-American slave.

But if you've followed the Hemings controversy you also know that the DNA tests indicated that the Woodson family, the branch with the most robust oral history of their descent from the President, are apparently not related to Thomas Jefferson at all. And that while their oral history is emphatic that their ancestor, Thomas Woodson, was Jefferson's son -- in fact the "Black Tom" alluded to in Callender's contemporary attack on the President -- this young person cannot even be definitively placed on the Monticello plantation.

It's a genuine mystery. It's mysterious because the Woodson family's oral history is so strong -- and in fact so accurate about many things, such as Sally Hemings' personal ancestry. It was the Woodson family's research that uncovered much of the trail that finally linked the Hemings descendants together.

So who was Thomas Woodson? Who was he really? Who was his father?

This book, written by a direct Woodson descendant, is an account of the family's search for the truth behind their oral history. As such it is a compelling and enlightening read. Despite the lack of DNA match and the ultimate question mark as to Thomas Woodson's real parentage, it is absurd to say that the book is not "true." It is a true account of the family lore preserved by the Woodson family, of what they found when they began to search the records, and of how they ultimately pieced the puzzle together with the other descendants of Sally Hemings (those whose genetic connection to Jefferson has been demonstrated by DNA tests).

The book is also a two-century history of the Woodson family itself, a highly accomplished African-American clan that has had an important impact on this country. Even without the putative Jefferson connection, their multi-generation saga is fascinating.

Highly recommended.

Stop missing the point!.......2006-09-11

Many of the reviewers harping on whether the Woodsons were actually descendants of TJ are completely missing the significance of this book.

So we're not related to TJ (I'm the son of the author). Our historical and genealogical research is accurate (we have found over 1700 living relatives) minus one speculation. For the record, as a member of the Woodson family I grew up knowing that I am related to Thomas Woodson, but thinking I might be related to Thomas Jefferson.

So the Woodson's aren't related to TJ . . .So why read the book? Because it's a darn good book.

I was even surprised at how well-written it is. This book aspires to be an honest account of how history is lived and made through the lives of real people as part of a family, and how history is both written and mis-written. The most ground-breaking and under-appreciated aspect of this book is that it tracks the stroy of at least seven generations of successful African Americans!

This multi-generational family-centered view shows the triumphs, plights, hopes, beliefs and one mistake of generations of a family (we're not related to TJ's cousin:) and the dishonesty of historians (DNA proved TJ is related to the descendants of at least one of Sally's children, much to the chagrin of historians; and that historians physically altered national landmarks [Monticello and Jefferson's farm book] to erase evidence of the close relationship between TJ and Sally).

Move this one to the FICTION section.......2005-09-21

This is a well-written and fascinating story that has been passionately believed by generations of descendants of Thomas Woodson (allegedly the "Black Tom" who was the central piece of "evidence" in scandalmolnger James Thomson Callender's 1802 charge that Thomas Jefferson had a sexual relationship with Sally Hemings). But SIX different DNA tests of male-line descendants of three of Thomas Woodson's sons have proven beyond any serious doubt that the story is fiction. Serious scholars are still divided over whether Sally Hemings was more than one of his house slaves to Thomas Jefferson. A year-long study by more than a dozen senior scholars released in 2001 concluded the story was probably false with but a single mild dissent, but some scholars continue to embrace the story. But no serious scholar still contends that Thomas Woodson was the son of Thomas Jefferson. (It is not known whether he was the child of Sally Hemings.) When pressed to reconcile his claim with the DNA scientific proof that has repeatedly shown it to be false, Byron Woodson noted that there is no known sample of Thomas Jefferson's DNA (the 1998 tests used DNA from descendants of his cousins -- which should have carried the same y chromosome as the president) and reasoned that perhaps Jefferson was illegitimate. Woodson seems like a nice fellow, and it is understandable why he might hold on to his belief despite such powerful scientific proof that it is untrue. But the issue has been clearly resolved by reliable scientific testing, and this volume should now be moved to the FICTION section -- where many readers may well find it a most interesting read.

The Only Problem Is It's Not True.......2002-06-11

The existence of 'Black Tom' is highly questionable, though Woodson is quite right about the erasure in Jefferson's records, I've seen it too in a holograph edition of his Farm Book.
Unfortunately for Mr. Woodson's thesis 'Tom's' name should certainly have appeared more than once. His 'mother' and 'brothers and sister' are listed not only on Jefferson's Slave Census but in distributions of rations and clothing as well. 'Black Tom' supposedly lived at Monticello till 1802, his name most certainly should have appeared in those records just as the rest of the Hemmings family's names did.
However the even if the existence of 'Black Tom' were proven it would do the Woodsons no good. The famous DNA tests that proved the Eston Jeffersons are indeed descended from *A* Jefferson male, (possibly Thomas but his brother or nephew is equally probable) also proved that though Thomas Woodson was undoubtedly sired by a white man that man was *not* a Jefferson.
The Woodson family has chosen to ignore this incontrovertable scientific evidence and cling to their family myth. Frankly I find it pitiable that this extraordinarily accomplished and successful family should be so fixated on a fictitious illegitimate descent from a Founding Father. The achievements of generations of Woodsons, against unbelievable odds, is in itself a heritage to be proud of, they don't need Jefferson's blood to validate their role in American history.

Oops! No President in this family!.......2002-06-11

This is pretty sad really. I started out as a believer in the Woodson story and Woodson has obviously done a lot of research on his family history. Certainly, there are many distinguished people in Woodson's family...sadly, Thomas Jefferson has been pretty definitely proven by DNA (no match after testing 6 Woodson lines!) not to be one of them! Since Woodson was the Hemings child with the strongest "oral history"/family lore--the fact that there was no link to Jefferson really calls into question the whole story since obviously Sally got pregnant by somebody else in Paris. And the allegations started about a "Black Tom"....Still and all, with irrefutable evidence that someone in Woodson's family lied to create a link that science has proven doesn't exist, Woodson still can't give it up, claiming the 'no match" was the result of illegitimacy later in the line...which Woodson still doesn't seem to get would still mean he is not related to the Great Man. Bottom line: Don't waste your money.

A President in the Family: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and Thomas Woodson

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A President in the Family: Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings, and Thomas Woodson
Byron W. Woodson Sr.
Manufacturer: Praeger Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORC61U

Amazon.com

To an outsider, Buddhist meditation can appear self-indulgent, time frittered away buttressing an intransigent ego. To an insider, such as Sandy Boucher, the dividends of meditation can come at unforeseen times, under extreme circumstances, such as facing down malignant cancer. Boucher, a counterculture patchwork of pursuits and causes, sews together a memoir of suffering to rival any proof of the Buddha's first noble truth. Although her surgery is a success, like so many other cancer victims Boucher's battle with chemotherapy causes the most damage. Having lost her home, her lover, and her health, Boucher collapses into the spiritual arms of her longtime meditation teacher Ruth Denison. Parallel to the drama of the cancer, we are treated to a minibiography of Denison, who proves to be an oasis of sanity in the desert of Boucher's life. Honest, occasionally compelling, and often unusual, Boucher's story contains glimmers of Buddhism's light amid many shadows of human frailty. --Brian Bruya

Book Description

Hidden Spring is the first book to demonstrate in moment-to-moment detail how Buddhist meditation and practice can help us cope with the ordeal of life-threatening disease. In 1995, Sandy Boucher — a well-known Buddhist and feminist writer — was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. In vivid prose, she describes her year-long encounter with the disease, and reveals how meditation techniques and understanding of Buddhist principles prepared her to meet the mental and physical challenges of her illness. This intimate account of the development of a Western Buddhist meditator is a triumphant tale of the human spirit in its struggle with mortality, and a guide for anyone looking for strength and comfort for their own struggles.

Customer Reviews:

A reason to live.......2000-10-16

I heard a review of this book on National Public Radio & had to see for myself if it was as great as it sounded. This is an inspiringly honest book. It would be a great read for anyone dealing with cancer, depression, or daily life.

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