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| 181. The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan | |
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This book reads like a growing, raging wildfire: it starts out slow, then builds up to a spellbounding climax and finishes with a lengthy cleanup of loss and grief and the realization that the Forest Service is needed.
Timothy Egan is a gifted writer who knows how to keep readers spellbound. I started reading the book yesterday "just to get a feel for it" and a few hours later couldn't put it down. He does a great job of pulling the reader into this subject, introducing the main characters of TR, Gifford Pinchot (first Chief Forest Servicer who met an early demise when Taft took over) and Bill Greeley (District Ranger), and all the wealthy New Yorkers who resented wild lands being put in reserves for future generations. In the background is John Muir, this country's first passionate nature advocate and preservationist. TR created the Forest Service in 1905 and Congress passed the first laws for its agency. With the buffalo, grizzly bear and wolf practically killed off from most lands, the last great fear was the wildfire. History has proven that even in the young United States, a ravaging fire could wipe out entire families, entire towns. After a brutally cold and wet winter in early 1910, the weather warmed up, drying the forests of the eventual burn area by April. Over 1000 smaller fires were already burning by late July. By then Roosevelt was out of the White House and a new man, William Taft, his successor. This book is divided into three parts: 'In on the Creation," which describes the characters who were for and against the creation of the Forest Service and the western lands; the young underpaid progressives who were picked by Pinchot to be the first forest rangers, and all the wealthy senators and businessmen who were opposed to open lands for the public. The first rangers were more than just office administrators (like they are today), but young men who had to endure a two day grueling exam to prove that they could survive in the wilderness, hunt and cook their own food and build thir own cabin. Part II describes in vivid detail the frantic attempt to recruit forest fire fighters among Westerners who were still more interested in logging, mining, hunting and whoring and opposing anyone and anything that would prevent them from doing so. But then those smaller 1000 forest fires bled into one humungous inferno in late August that ravaged so much of eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana in a matter of two days. The actual fire is described starting in the chapter "Men, Men, Men!" on page 110 out of this 297 page book. Part III winds down with the postfire days and months in "What They Saved" with the realization that the Forest Service is a necessary evil for the landowners and corporations that do business from and in the wilderness. The reader sees how the complete story of all the characters falls into place. Egan knows how to make popular history interesting without dragging down the story with too many details. Describing the people involved in this story is no easy feat, yet reading "The Big Burn" is excitingly fast, highly entertaining and most interesting. Egan does an extraordinary job describing the constant tug and pulls that were going on during Roosevelt and Taft's administrations between Congress and especially Senator Weldon Heyburn from Idaho, wealthy railroad owners and businessmen on one side, and the growing young progressives pushing for reform across the country on the other. The reader becomes familiar with all the corruption, crimes, lies and stalls that went on for years in the early 20th century between land owners and land conservationists. (Preserving land for public use was unheard of at a time when large corporations were given it free to exploit for its natural resources.) Add in the popular yellow press at the time and all the many social changes going on in the working class, the final product is a well written social history that deserves to be read, enjoyed and passed on. A reader who enjoys history will gain greater insight into all the behind the scenes bickering that went on not just because of the Big Burn, but in society as a whole. Many of those progressive changes are with us today. This book is Timothy Egan at his best.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Even though Teddy Roosevelt figures prominently in the title of this book, he has left office by the time of the August 1910 wildfire in the Bitterroot Mountains (along the Idaho-Montana border) at the true center of this story.
Roosevelt has left behind Gifford Pinchot to lead the conservation efforts of the nascent US Forest Service. Pinchot's efforts are underfunded and unpopular with influential senators, congressman and powerful industrial figures who want to leverage western timber and mineral reserves to enhance their personal empires. By the time the fire strikes, William Taft is serving ineffectually as president, essentially leaving Pinchot to do the best he can with what he has. Timothy Egan lays out the political and historical scene setting in animated detail, providing well documented insights. He adds life and personality to the central players in the coming conflict between powerful people (with vastly differing agendas) and nature (with just one). He then shifts to the fire itself. In 1910, the towns of the Bitterroots were populated by a diverse group of immigrants with social issues that could have come from today's op-ed pages. Writing about an influx of Italians, Egan says: "The Italian surge, in particular, angered those who felt the country was not recognizable, was overrun by foreigners, had lost its sense of identity. And they hated hearing all these strange languages, spoken in shops, schools and churches." The events of this book take place at the intersection of many disruptive influences in America; railroads, telephone, freed blacks (the Buffalo Soldiers play a prominent role in the firefighting in this book). As we watch western fires threaten lives and property today, challenging even our advantages of aircraft (the US government owned two airplanes in 1910), communications and road transportation, it's hard to imagine the odds faced by those on the front lines in this book. The final third of this book is an emotional look at hard men and women making hard choices in the face of fire fueled by dry timber and spread with hurricane-force Palouser wind. Some were deliberately heroic, others purely self-serving, and some simply met their end as they ran out of options while doing their duty. Egan captures the time and place with honesty and respect, and leaves you in awe of their pioneering spirit and the power of nature over humanity. The next time you see video of a woodland firefighter wielding a "Pulaski Axe", you'll appreciate its history...and know something about the man who gave it its name.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) The "big burn" was definitely big. Just as the U.S.--under Teddy Roosevelt--finally got around to protecting millions of acres of western forest, parts of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming--an area about the size of New England--burned to the ground in what is probably the most devastating forest fire in our history. Well deserving the name "bug burn" it was front page news for a week, caused dozens (and perhaps as many as 200) deaths, and destruction of vast areas of virgin timber--worth millions of dollars if logged. Yet, the story is now largely forgotten.
Timothy Egan (who last focused his writing talents on the dust bowl) does a good job of bringing this important event back alive. The book is (with a few exceptions discussed below) eminently readable, and he tells a good story--describing both the fire itself, and the political context vividly. I do believe that the sub-title is a little overblown--the fire did not "save America", but arguably did save the concept of wilderness protection. That story is really the story of "spin"--the conservationists simply did a better job of selling their story. The narrative of heroic rangers battling a monster fire, despite having been under funded by timber barons for years--leading to wholly unnecessary lose of life. The timber companies had just as plausible story line: if the woods are going to be destroyed by fire anyway, doesn't it make sense to harvest the lumber in an economically productive manner? But did a terrible job of selling it. My reservation is that the book is a little disorganized. The same story is told twice--in almost identical words--in the introduction, and then again in its chronological "place" in the story. Also, the book really doesn't come alive until the fire starts. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the development of our system of national parks and forests.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) In "The Big Burn", author Timothy Egan skillfully weaves the story of a massive August 1910 forest fire in Idaho and Montana into the histories of the U.S. Forest Service and the conservation movement. The book begins with its two leading characters, Theodore Roosevelt and his close friend, forester Gifford Pinchot. The reader who is unfamiliar with either of these two will receive a superficial biography which enables him or her to understand their roles in the forestry and conservation contribution to the Progressive Era. TR was the outdoorsman who strove to preserve natural resources and wilderness areas for future generations. Pinchot was the wealthy heir who invented the forestry profession and made it the cause of his life. It was Pinchot who taught TR how to protect virgin timber from the lumber industry. This book illustrates the forces and personalities which contended over the issues concerning the preservation or utilization of America's timber resources. Among those opposing TR and Pinchot were President William Howard Taft and timber interest defenders, Montana Senator William Clark and Idaho Senator Weldon Heyburn. The conservationists' disputes were not all fought against industrialists. Pinchot, who favored wise use of the forests, would even clash with his mentor, John Muir, who preferred uncompromising preservation.
After laying out the tale of the conservation efforts, Egan switches to stories of the settlers and Forest Rangers who fought against and live through or died in the Big Burn. These are stories of heroism and tragedy, survival and death. The title says that this is about "Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire That Saved America." As I was reading about the fire, I wondered how he was going to tie this back into the saving of America. Egan brings the preservation of the Forest Service into the story by pointing out that the Big Burn made heroes of the Rangers, thereby increasing public support for funding and defeating the efforts of the industry and its political agents to destroy the Service which stood in the way of unfettered exploitation of the timber lands. The writing is excellent. This narrative moves seamlessly from one story to another. You will always be longing for the next page. Whether you are a devotee of the history of the Idaho-Montana region, Theodore Roosevelt, the Conservation Movement or the Progressive Era, this is a valuable addition to your library. Among my interests are Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era. Although I already knew much about those subjects before I began this book, I learned many new things and deepened my understanding. However familiar you are with these topics, you will learn much from this work.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Timothy Egan, the author of The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and The Fire That Saved America, became one of my "must read" authors after the publication of his excellent book on the Dust Bowl, The Worst Hard Time. In The Big Burn, Egan turns his attention and exceptional research and storytelling skills to an event and individuals unknown to most Americans; a wildfire that, in August 1910, consumed more that 3 million acres, five towns, and about 100 lives. All in the span of two days. To give you an idea the size of 3 millions acres, Egan tells you it would be as if the entire state of Connecticut was burned to the ground over the weekend.
Contents: Prologue Part I - In on the Creation Part II - What They Lost Part III - What They Saved Notes on Sources Acknowledgements Index The Prologue sets up what will happen in Part II - What They Lost. It is a section of the book that fills the reader with dread. To reduce your anxiety, Egan inserts "In on the Creation," a slow build to what will come. In this section of the book, he takes his time introducing the individuals; President Teddy Roosevelt, a very progressive President that was instrumental in the creation of National Parks as well as National Forests, Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the newly formed Forest Service and a very strange person, John Muir, the corrupt members of the Senate, at odds with the President and his idea of protecting vast tracts of virgin forest, and the early Forest Service Rangers, charged with protecting the forests and upholding the laws in a very lawless area of the United States. After racing through the Prologue, it will take some time to adapt to the pace of "In on the Creation." However, the payoff is the thrill ride that is "What They Lost," made more tragic by the knowledge that regardless of the heroics, nothing prepared the Forest Service Rangers, the US government, or the remote towns for the fast, intense (temperatures were estimated in some parts to be 2000 degrees) fire sweeping through the states of Idaho, Montana, and Washington. Fire jumping from tree top to tree top. Trees exploding as their sap boiled. Hurricane force winds knocking down giant trees. Heat so intense that it melted glass and metal and fire that moved so fast that neither man nor beast could out run it. Taking the lessons of this wildfire, Egan then investigates the aftermath, some lessons have remained to this day, while others are forgotten, doomed to repeat. Finally, Egan doesn't keep the reader wondering about the major players after the fire, he relates their stories, some heartbreaking, others uplifting. The result is a powerful story of early America and a forest fire that shaped our views of nature. I never thought that Egan could equal The Worst Hard Time, but I was wrong. The Big Burn is every bit as good as that excellent book; made better by the conflict between early conservationists and the people that wanted the land to further improve their bank accounts, the idealistic, young Forest Rangers, the incredible lawlessness of some early settlements, and the common men and women that rose to greatness in the face of nature at her worst. Egan has penned another masterpiece concerning early America, one that hits hardest when you become emotionally attached to several individuals. The one that will live with me for a long time is Ed Pulaski, whose invention is still used today by the Forest Service and fire fighters the world over, the "Pulaski tool."
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) When you think of the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Theodore Roosevelt, all too often the establishment of the National Forest Service is near the bottom of the list but in The Big Burn, Egan brings it to the fore and details its creation and near extermination by both politics and natural disaster.
In the first third of the book Egan details how the service was created by Roosevelt as a part of his fight against the Trusts that were dominating politics and the economy, then how under the weak willed Taft these same Trusts were able to all but gut the system by cutting off funding. It is a picture of the corruption and influence of big business in the early 20th century and the efforts made to try and defeat them and their response. Having set the scene the rest of the book details how the Rangers of the Forest Service were suddenly confronted with the biggest forest fire in history. This was not just the sort of burn we see today on the evening news. This was a confluence of conditions that would create what a later generation would call `the perfect storm' but not in rain and wind, but in fire, a firestorm whipped by hurricane force winds. Fire that didn't just burn national forests, but railroads, bridges roads and wiped entire towns off the map. In exploring this oft overlooked element of American History in a fairly small space Egan brilliantly balances rich detail without overloading the reader with needless detail. He has a positive talent for choosing how to give a vivid description of people, their appearance, life and motivations within a few pages. Mostly this is spent on the Rangers who were on the forefront of the fight, against corruption and fire, as well as the politicians who champions and despised them, but also he gives insight into some of the men who took up a shovel for the cause. Naturally the rangers are the heroes. The professionals who, though underpaid, under trained and virtually unsupplied who all the same did not shirk in their duties to face down a particularly horrible death. The book also details enough people, an Irish cook, Italian miners, a former Texas Ranger spring to mind, that you feel you really know the people who risked and in some cases gave, their lives for the conflict. Egan's writing style flows effortlessly and you're scarcely aware of the pages turning in your hands. For anyone with an interest in American History, Conservation or just a love of the wilderness this book is an amazing read, being entertaining and educating at once.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As a child of the sixties I was brought up on the image of Smokey and Bear and the admonition, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires," placing responsibility for preservation of our national forests squarely on every American's shoulders. I learned while a Boy Scout to build fires properly, to control their burning, and to ensure that it was doused before leaving the campsite. I did not learn the history of forest fires in the American West and how they destroyed both property and natural resources. Timothy Egan's "The Big Burn" is a useful addition to that earlier knowledge, telling as it does some of this history in a graceful, conversational manner.
Egan narrates in this book the story of an August 1910 forest fire in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho and Montana. He recites how this fire, the largest forest fire in American history and perhaps in the history of the world, devastated 3 million acres of timberland and 13.5 million dollars in property. Fueled by a superdry year and powerful winds, it took out some 8 billion board feet of wood. Before it was over, the fire had killed 78 firefighters and 8 civilians. Some bodies could not be identified because of the intensity of the flames. This one moved faster and caused more damage than virtually another other forest fire. This was in no small part because on August 20, immense winds of hurricane force (more than 75 m.p.h.) fanned the flames. By August 23, when rains finally came to help bring the fire under control, the extent of its destruction had only begun to be perceived. More than a third of Wallace, Idaho, had been incinerated, but other towns like Grand Forks, DeBorgia, Taft, and Haugen were completely wiped out. Sailors as far away as the Pacific Northwest reported seeing smoke from the fire. Dense smoke from the Idaho fire could also be seen as far southeast as Denver, Colorado. It is hard to overstate the power of this forest fire. It is also hard to overstate the lessons its destruction seared into the psyches of those who experienced it. Something had to be done to curb this threat, and Egan spends considerable time talking about the response to it. National fire policy turned from then on as the Forest Service began suppressing fires with full-time, trained crews. They also developed a system of fire lookout posts and orchestrated media campaigns to prevent fires. Smokey the Bear was born out of these efforts to ensure that "everyone" worked to prevent forest fires. "The Big Burn" is a well-written account of a turning point in the history of forestry in the United States. Like so many such turning points, unfortunately, the changes resulted from a deadly and devastating natural disaster.
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| 182. Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: A Clinical Approach by Elizabeth M. Varcarolis RNMA, Margaret Jordan Halter PhDPMHCNS | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $86.95 -- our price: $69.56 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1416066675 Publisher: Saunders Sales Rank: 2666 Average Customer Review: 
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Editorial Review The 6th edition of this market-leading textbook offers a clear, straightforward way to understand the often intimidating subject of psychiatric mental health nursing. Its practical, clinical perspective and user-friendly writing style help you quickly master key concepts. Clinical chapters follow the nursing process framework and progress from theory to application with a wealth of real-world examples to prepare you for practice. Reviews
The only thing that could have been better, was the index. When using this text as a reference I occasionally had a tough time locating information that I knew was in there, but couldn't seem to locate using the index.
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| 183. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan | |
 | Paperback
list price: $17.00 -- our price: $11.56 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0345409469 Publisher: Ballantine Books Sales Rank: 2304 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review *Los Angeles Times "POWERFUL . . . A stirring defense of informed rationality. . . Rich in surprising information and beautiful writing." *The Washington Post Book World How can we make intelligent decisions about our increasingly technology-driven lives if we don't understand the difference between the myths of pseudoscience and the testable hypotheses of science? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and distinguished astronomer Carl Sagan argues that scientific thinking is critical not only to the pursuit of truth but to the very well-being of our democratic institutions. Casting a wide net through history and culture, Sagan examines and authoritatively debunks such celebrated fallacies of the past as witchcraft, faith healing, demons, and UFOs. And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms. "COMPELLING." *USA Today "A clear vision of what good science means and why it makes a difference. . . . A testimonial to the power of science and a warning of the dangers of unrestrained credulity." *The Sciences "PASSIONATE." *San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle Reviews
This book challenges the reader to critically scrutinize information professed by supposed experts, and be more of a skeptic. Sagan states early on in the book that "some 95 percent of Americans are scientifically illiterate." By using the scientific method combined with a little bit of logic and common sense, one should find that it is much more difficult to be mentally taken advantage of by pseudoscience "experts." Intelligent inquiry and analysis of information presented, and those presenting it, proves to be an invaluable tool. Nonetheless, stories regarding crop circles, area 51, and other such nonsense still abound. Sagan runs through various examples and places them under the hypothetical microscope. Once examined more closely, most of these theories and fallacious postulations crumble quite easily. What some people don't realize, and what Sagan points out, is that things just as mysterious and awe-inspiring can be found all around us, and they are indeed factual and are being investigated by those in science fields. We need not look elsewhere to find mysticism and intrigue. People are still trying to completely understand viruses and the molecular building blocks in gas in space, and if people were equally as drawn to understand real phenomena as they are fallacious theories, then more people would be working to unravel the true mysteries that are much more worthy of our efforts. I truly feel that this is a book everyone should read. Not only does Sagan do an excellent job of attempting to popularize science, but he also tries to teach people how to think for themselves rather than to be force-fed information from less-than-trustworthy sources. The demons in this demon haunted world are both those who perpetuate such celebrated fallacies, as well as those who believe them without question. Sagan attempts to teach, in this book, how to distinguish "real science from the cheap imitation." Indeed, he does just that.
I read this book over two nights, couldn't put it down, and afterwards was eagerly searching for more of the same. Science at it's best-accurate, timely, well-argued, emotionally and mentally invigorating, spiritually uplifting; and filled with boundless enthusiasm and hope. Like the author, Carl Sagan himself. This book describes the 'scientific journey'. Alternately curious, cautious, inquiring, uplifting, compassionate, humane, warning, discovering and fulfilling. Topics include UFOs, alien abductions, witches, religion-both good and bad, Roswell, frauds, scientific genuises, skeptical thinking, wishful thinking, deceptive thinking, balanced thinking, belief, superstition, astrology, ESP, myth, and the like; and the role and place of science and scientific inquiry in all of this. For those who think science "destroys" spirituality-does not scientific inquiry with its' abundant curiosity and courageous endeavour accurately describe a spiritual journey to find the truth? Sagan contends, with great clarity and enthusiasm, that it assuredly does. It's just that this scientific journey is not an easy one, neither for the individual, nor humanity, by any means. But when has the attempt to find "truth" and "light" in this complex world of ours, ever been easy? Sagan argues that science and the scientific method is a noble and enlightening endeavour, an unquenchable candle, lit by the human yearning for truth, and able to steer humanity towards truth and goodwill in a world of mists, shadowy truths, and darkness. For those who wish to open their minds to science and what it has to say about much that goes in this beautiful, yet sometimes dark world of ours, this is the book for you. This great book (Sagan's last) is a fitting testament to a great man of science. Sagan, who passed away recently, was one of the great communicators of science, and this book is considered by many to be his best. Reading it was something I'll always cherish.
To some extent, Sagan oversold himself in the late 1980's and early 1990's. His eager sincerity was even parodied - "billyuns and billyuns - but he was an engaging science writer and popularizer. In this book he stepped a bit outside of that usual role, and made some critical and important points about our culture. No thoughtful citizen can read this book, look around and fail to be concerned. I'd make this book required reading, not for students, but for school board members and teachers. If the average citizen is credulous to the point of embarrassment - and that's pretty clearly the case - the solution has to involve the educational system, and especially those in charge. We are not teaching our citizens and future citizens to think critically. In Sagan's phrase, "Extravagant claims require extravagant evidence." For better or worse, the life of the world is logic, and the ability to reason is as important as the ability to read and the ability to do arithmetic. And if you think it's not a problem, you need to read this book, or just attend the public comments portion of a school board meeting, or read the letters to the editor in your newspaper. You should read this book. You should act on the message of this book. Not just because it is a thoughtful, entertaining treatment of an important issue. But because that issue hasn't gone away; and it seems to be getting worse.
The book itself is a bit disjointed, with several chapters deriving from expanded magazine articles. Additionally, Sagan pontificates about political issues, and reveals a leftist political bent. He also has a tendancy at times to overemphasize his point. Nevertheless, he has some important points to make, and as a society we would be better off if we paid close attention to many of the issues he raises.
Sagan devotes much of the first part of the book to the current fad of alien abduction. This is something that becomes a bit drawn out and boring and in my opinion the only flaw of this book. He does so comparing the many similarities to the role of demons in centuries past. He describes one example of how when scepticism is not used people will devise the most wild and unjust thinking which leads such ordeals as witch hunts. He makes the case that in today's increasingly scientifically dependant western society, people, especially Americans, are abandoning scepticism. Few politicians understand science, and the applicability of it's philosophies. Furthermore the general public is becoming increasingly scientifically illiterate. If this trend continues we could easily slip into another `dark age' of witch hunts. This book is one of those rare books that I would insist that everyone reads. Far too few people understand that to abandon scepticism, relying upon blind faith and assertions, is to close ones eyes, and abandon all hope of understanding the truth. Demon haunted world is truly a masterpiece. I found it completely engaging, and full of most valuable insights. Demon Haunted world will light the darkness for anyone that reads it. ... Read more | |
| 184. Five of Maxwell's Papers by James Clerk Maxwell | |
 | Kindle Edition
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| 185. Mosby's Manual of Diagnostic and Laboratory Tests by Kathleen Deska Pagana PhDRN, Timothy J. Pagana MDFACS | |
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list price: $51.95 -- our price: $40.98 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0323057470 Publisher: Mosby Sales Rank: 2672 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Widely used in both academic and clinical settings, this comprehensive resource provides clear, concise coverage of more than 700 of the most commonly performed diagnostic and laboratory tests - including 30 new to this edition. Chapters are organized by test type and begin with a list of the tests covered, followed by a test type overview with specimen collection techniques. Tests are presented in a consistent format with normal findings, indications, test explanation, procedure and patient care, and test results and clinical significance, as well as any applicable contraindications, potential complications, interfering factors, and related tests. Reviews
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| 186. Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika by B. K. S. Iyengar | |
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list price: $18.95 -- our price: $12.88 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0805210318 Publisher: Schocken Sales Rank: 1874 Average Customer Review:
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Iyengar then further assists the beginning student with a list of which poses to start with and add each week, for a comprehensive schedule that will keep you improving for years. Also included is a list of common ailments and asanas that can relieve these ailments. Anyone interested in strength, flexibility, balance, and inner peace should have at least this one book.
Iyengar's text is characterized by a thoroughness of content, a detailed, precise, step-by-step "how to" for instruction in asana and pranayama. There are 602 photos of Iyengar himself demonstrating the poses with extraordinary flexibility and precision. I have an early, hardcover edition with the photos collected together at the back of the book. The newer editions have the photos spaced appropriately throughout the text. The 34-page Introduction entitled, "What is Yoga?" is a concise overview of the nature, aim and extent of yoga as gleaned from the ancient texts, in particular Pantajali's Yoga Sutras, the Bhagavad Gita and Swatmarama's Hatha Yoga Pradipika (from which Iyengar gets his Sanskrit title, Yoga Dipika). These are the three great texts of yoga and Iyengar knows them well. This Introduction rewards patient study, and is the kind of pithy text that needs to be returned to again and again, and yet it is written in an accessible, inspired, and inspirational style. Iyengar emphasizes precision and careful technique and a whole body mindfulness as prerequisites to success in hatha yoga. From my experience this mindfulness is absolutely essential for two main reasons. One, you will surely strain or pull a muscle, usually several little ones, if your mind goes astray or if you practice with your attention elsewhere. Count on it. Two, the full import and effect of asana cannot be appreciated, nor the psychological and spiritual lessons implicit within the practice be understood without a deep and continuous concentration--the mindfulness leading to meditation. The technical instruction of the poses includes some commentary on beneficial effects. It should be noted that according to tradition there are 84,000 poses known (or perhaps the number is 840,000) of which about 84 are said to be necessary for health and the progression to samadhi. It is also said traditionally that a cat was the first yoga teacher. I want to note that only a gifted person with a natural suppleness can hope to master all the poses that Iyengar demonstrates. So don't despair. Most authorities will tell you that a dozen or so will suffice. Even though detailed instruction is given in only three pranayamas, the subject is nonetheless throughly introduced and explained in the twenty-five elegant and succinct pages that constitute Part III of this book. Included and noteworthy is Iyengar's well-know warning: "Pneumatic tools can cut through the hardest rock. In Pranayama the yogi uses his lungs as pneumatic tools. If they are not used properly, they destroy both the tool and the person using it." There are two appendices, one on "Asana Courses," which may be useful for teachers or for those who like a highly structured approach. The other is on the curative effects of asana for various disorders including arthritis, asthma, diabetes, flatulence, etc. I take this second appendix with some reserve and note that a comprehensive study of the curative effects of asana awaits its great genius. Nonetheless, the traditional experience, which Iyengar relies on, is part of the ancient practice of ayurvedic medicine, one of the great healing traditions of the world, and as such commands the highest respect. Personally, it is obvious to me that certain asanas facilitate certain natural bodily processes, and it is well know that a concentration of attention and blood flow to an effected part of the body can assist the body's healing mechanisms. Asana, properly understood in this context, is part of a maintenance program for a healthy body. Iyengar's is preeminently a practical approach seeped in the ancient traditions of India. As such there is a distinctive, but unavoidable Hindu cast to his instruction. (Separating yoga from Hinduism is like trying to unscramble an omelette.) Nonetheless Iyengar strives for a universal approach and does an excellent job of achieving it. Note this from the introduction: "Food, the supporting yet consuming substance of all life is regarded as a phase of Brahman. It should be eaten with the feeling that with each morsel one can gain strength to serve the Lord...Whether or not to be a vegetarian is a purely personal matter as each person is influenced by the tradition and habits of the country in which he was born and bred."
In your search for books on Yoga, this reviewer urges you NOT to be persuaded by marketable and fashionable products. The dedicated student will learn all the basic lessons of Yoga by carefully reading Light on Yoga, and through the negotiation of all 200+ poses without the aid of special props and without concern for the seemingly gargantuan task. Two important requisites for a beneficial study of Yoga are explicitly stated several times throughout the book: determination and perseverance in all aspects of life lead to success. In its structure and content, Yehudi Menuhin's foreword exemplifies the duality of simplicity and profundity that Yoga can offer. The beauty of this book resides in its minimalistic conciseness. In this respect it is a hidden treasure as well as a faithful embodiment of the ultimate goals of yogic practice: mental, physical and spiritual development. It is also an ancient radicalism aimed at the heart of our modern quick-fixes and 30 minute workouts. In case some of the other readers missed Mr. Iyengar's instructions with respect to the duration of each of the poses, please note the following. Light on Yoga recommends that one should always begin by GENTLY, CORRECTLY and RESPONSIBLY negotiating each pose before holding it for at least 20 seconds (a bit longer if you are physically capable). Always keep in mind that Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual discipline. Therefore, one should take note of his or her own capacity when doing any of the asanas. It is imperative that all poses be held for as long as possible once the CORRECT posture is GENTLY and RESPONSIBLY negotiated. After some practice one should hold each posture slightly beyond what seems to be humanly possible at the moment. Once one becomes an expert the duration can be extended according to one's personal physical capacity. The key is to first follow the advice and cautions outlined throughout the book. What follows is the classic battle of mind over matter. Learn to master the body by focusing your mind on the discomfort and use your mental powers of Self control to learn to relax the affected areas. Ultimately, the body will be strong and no longer a major concern. The mind is then free for further development. This requires patience as well as discipline, and it is what Mr. Iyengar is trying to get across. Yoga is a life-long discipline with the hidden power of providing durable results only to those who persevere. Do yourself a favor and do not look for the easy way out by searching for pretty pictures and a standardized array of time frames. The reader, of course, is free to choose from the myriad books available, but I urge you to keep one thing in mind. Such books are NOT the treasure that you will find in Light on Yoga. Quite frankly, there is no other Yoga book on the market that even comes close to genuinely caring for the personal benefit of its reader. Read this book, study it and take notes before reading it again and repeating the cycle indefinitely for the rest of your life. You owe it to yourself. I wish you success in your exploration of this life-changing gift from a living legend. Have faith in the ancient history that precedes your Self. With time and patience one can create a proper sequence of asanas to fit comfortably within a busy schedule and according to one's needs and capabilities. Trust me on this one. Mr. Iyengar recently reached his 80th year of youth, health and vitality. But do not be awed by this. Neither should you worship him. Instead, admire his humility. Learn from him. Simply let him guide you. He is human...and so are you. Namaste.
For example, in his instructions for headstand he not only gives a list of correct body actions, but also suggests practicing in a corner to prevent misaligning the legs. I met a wonderful yoga teacher who studied without a yoga instructor for ten years, following only the instructions in this book. The book is so complete. It has wonderful instructions on basic poses and a suggested set of asanas to perform each week of your practice. For inspiration, check out the poses toward the back of the book! I aim to perform these after 20 more years of practice. :-) This book is a must-have for any yoga student. The book gives some forward to yoga philosophy and instructions on pranyama as well, but the focus is on the asanas (poses). My only complaint about this book is that it is so encyclopedic that it is too difficult to use while I am actually practicing yoga. I find it's too hard to keep the book open flat while I try to perform the asana. Now I try to focus on a pose every week. I reach Iyengar's instructions each night and try to put them into practice the next day.
Part I gives in brief the theory of Raja Yoga and how it is complemented by, not separate from, Hatha Yoga. The theoretical part alone makes "Light On Yoga" worth the money. But it is really a book for serious practitioners of yoga. If you like this part of the book and want to know more, you might want to check out some good commentaries on "The Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali" and "The Bhagavad Gita" (Iyengar has his own). In Part II (the heart of the book) are all the major asanas, generously depicted by over 600 photographs. The Sanskrit names of the asanas are used, along with a short explanation of each one in English. Then, you get step-by-step instructions on how to execute the pose, with ample warnings and tips. Each pose has a number or difficulty-level assigned to it (1-60), and there are basic and advanced stages of many postures. Take that seriously and do not go too far too soon. Lastly, the author tells you what health benefits you will reap from a pose. Part III introduces you to the complex area of pranayama. But for this, I would recommend "Light On Pranayama," which is a companion to the present volume. Appendix I has a 300 week course divided into three stages: easy, intermediate and difficult. Appendix II lists various ailments and the asanas that can cure them. There is also a glossary, a table of asanas and an index. Another reviewer asked if the health precautions make sense. They do. Do not dismiss Iyengar's warnings. Do not practice certain asanas (particularly, inverted ones) during the menstrual period. Do not perform the head stand without assistance if you are a beginner, especially if you have sensitive eyes. Be sure to follow the courses as given in the back of the book, since practicing asanas beyond your capacity can be harmful. Start with the easy poses first and add gradually the intermediate and advanced asanas as your body adjusts. Some asanas must be approached with great caution. Be very careful if you decide to try those at home without a teacher or friend to assist you. My only real complaint? I wish that these gurus would give simple English names for the asanas, as an alternative to the confusing Sanskrit/Indian names. It would make memorizing the order of asanas in a given routine easier. Iyengar is a true master of his art, and this book is the best guide on the subject available today. Whether you want to become a full-time practitioner, or are just looking for basic exercises to improve your health with, this book will give you what you need. I wish I had found "Light On Yoga" sooner. Granted, there are countless other books on the topic that describe the same asanas and all. But this one is the most exhaustive and the most reliable. Also good is "Yoga: the Path to Holistic Health." That other book by Iyengar is not as comprehensive as this one, but it is a full-color, coffee-table book with 360-degree views of the main poses. A big plus is that it makes use of props--benches, chairs, pillows, etc.
This book contains everything you need to know about yoga. With each pose, Mr. Iyengar explains not only how-to-do-it, but WHY-to-do-it (how the pose benefits you). Looking at the pictures, a beginner can easily be intimidated, but do not compare yourself to Mr. Iyengar, who has devoted his life to yoga. Beginners have MUCH to gain! NOTE: (1) This book costs only a third of what you are used to paying for a book this size. NOTE: (2) Books, and especially videos, are no substitute for studying with a good teacher. With his teachings and with this book, Mr. Iyengar has given a gift to mankind, a gift of undescribable beauty, joy, and compassion. You need this book. The world needs this book.
As a teacher, I became more of an avid student than I was before. I bought just about every book and tape on yoga, and I even had friends bring me books from respected Yogi's in India. But the best book I ever found was Light on Yoga. It starts at the beginning with, "What is Yoga?" before continuing on with each position. It details the technique in both written form and with a photograph, and then it discusses the effects of each position. You see, yoga is not just designed to make you more flexible or releave stress--each position can help treat/prevent certain sickness and infections. For those of you who are just getting started, this book might seem overwhelming when you see photographs of Iyengar doing things with his body that seem humanly impossible. But don't focus so much on the flexibility aspect, as the healing aspect. If you take each position to your own level, you will be doing a great service to your body, and to your health. Bottom line--buy the book and join a local yoga class!
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| 187. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky | |
 | Paperback
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Because our need for salt is so fundamental, its history encompasses that of humanity. Salt was basic to many economies, Kurlansky notes. It's acted as the basis of exchange between traders, was the target of empire builders and even paid out to soldiers as a form of "salary" - hence the term. Venice, a coastal city tucked away from the main tracks of Mediterranean trade, bloomed into prominence when it discovered it could garner more profit by trading in salt than by manufacturing it. The Venetian empire and later renaissance was founded on the salt trade. Empires may be built on salt, but can be felled by misguided policies on its trade and consumption. One element leading to the downfall of the French monarchy was the hated "gabelle", or salt tax, which imposed a heavier burden on farming peasants than it did on the aristocracy. The reputation of tax evasion borne by the French relates to the resentment expressed over the salt tax. A British regulation on salt resulted in similar reaction leading to the breakup up their own Empire. It was a "march to the sea" led by Mahatma Ghandi to collect salt that galvanised resistance to British rule. Over a century after the French Revolution, the British were displaced from India for similar reasons - greed. While acknowledging the importance of salt in our lives, Kurlansky notes that determining how much is "too little" or "too much" is elusive. Many people today claim to have "salt-free" diets while remaining ignorant of how much salt is contained in our foods, both naturally and through processing. Yet, as Kurlansky records, salt has appeal beyond just the body's needs. He records numerous commentators from ancient Egypt, China and Rome who express their admiration for salt's flavour-adding qualities. Sauces based on various ingredients mixed with salt permeate the book. He notes that the salt dispenser is a modern innovation, supplementing the use of salt in cooking processes. Salt's decline in conserving food, which changed the amount of salt we consume directly, came about due to increased world trade, displacement of rural populations into cities, and, of course, war. "The first blow" displacing salt as a preservative came from a Parisian cook; a man so obscure that his given name remains disputed. Nicolas [Francois?] Appert worked out how to preserve meat by "canning". Adopted by Napoleon's armies, the technique spread rapidly. The technology of the Industrial Revolution led to effective refrigeration. Kurlansky gives an account of Clarence Birdseye's efforts to found what became a major industry. Although the topic seems overspecialised, the universal application and long historical view of this book establishes its importance. Kurlansky has successfully met an immense challenge in presenting a wealth of information. That he graces what might have been a dry pedantic exercise with recipes, anecdotes, photographs and maps grants this book wide appeal. He's to be congratulated for his worldly view and comprehensive presentation. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
I like these small, focused histories (as you've probably guessed if you've read any of the other reviews I've written). I've read many of them, including another one by Mark Kurlansky, Cod (which I rather enjoyed). So when I ran across Salt, I was certain I wanted to read it. I liked Kurlansky's style, and I already knew that the subject matter would be interesting. And it was. In Salt, Kurlansky walks through both the history of salt and the influence of salt on history, presenting a wide and varied picture of one of the [now] most common elements in our modern world. And he does this in the same engaging fashion that he used in Cod; although, with fewer recipes. So why not give it five stars? Well, it has a couple of noticable flaws that tended to detract a bit from the overall presentation. The first flaw was in the sheer number of historical snippets that were included. While I'm certain that salt has been important in the broad span of human history, there are a number of these historical anecdotes where he was clearly reaching to demonstrate the influence of salt. Salt may have been involved in these incidents, but it was peripheral at best, and the overall tone sounds too much like cheerleading. Cutting a few of these out would have shortened the book without detracting from the presentation at all. The second flaw was the meandering path that he takes through the history of salt. He generally starts early in history, and his discussion moves along roughly as history does as well; however, he has a tendency to wander a bit both forward and backward without effectively tying all of this together. I'd have preferred to either walk straight through history while skipping around the world (effectively comparing the use and influence of salt around the world) or to have taken more time to discuss why we were rewinding (effectively following one thread to its conclusion and then picking up another parallel one). To me it made the presentation a little too choppy. There have been other criticisms as well; for example, the chemistry is incorrect in a number of places, but if you're using this as a chemical reference, then you've got serious issues with your ability to library research. Of course, that begs the question of what errors are in there that we didn't catch. And it does tend to be a bit repetitive in parts; although, this could have been used to good effect if historical threads had been followed a bit more completely. While I had a few dings on the book, overall I liked it. The fact that I read it end-to-end and enjoyed the last chapter as much as the first is a testament to my general enjoyment of it. It wasn't the best book I read last year, but I'll certainly keep it on my bookshelf. So, back to my original question: does salt merit its own book? Yes, it does, but perhaps in a somewhat shorter form.
This is an informal and amusing book, filled with what seems solid research and clear thinking. Half history and half food writing, Kurlansky visits Portugese cod-fishing fleets and Roman salt mines, ancient Asian saltworks and Edmund McIlhenny's salt island in New Iberia Parish, Louisiana. He uses the repeated cycles of history to visit certain recurring themes: a human's need for salt making them vulnerable to taxation, and thence rebellion, as well as the growth of technologies, particularly drilling technologies, spurred by the need for, and want of, salt. Today, with blast freezers, refrigerated truck lines and jets that can move fresh seafood around the world, we have forgotten just how critical salt once was. Nowadays we can tinker with our salt intake and question its affect on health, but for men and women laboring under the sun in salt-poor regions, it was life itself. Kurlansky remninds us of these things, and how the humble white crystal has been part of our development as a civilization.
The descriptions of the role of salt in the American Civil War and the Caribbean islands were fascinating. Then there were the Romans, the Mayans, The Aztecs, the Chinese, the French, the Germans, the English, the Dutch, the Russians, the Scandinavians and others and their involvement with salt. The recipes for cooking with salt are aptly chosen from about 4000 years of recorded history and are remarkably similar to those in use today. The colorful view and history of the San Francisco salt ponds from an airplane were always a bit of mystery to me, but no longer. The origin of towns and cities whose name ends in "wich" was enlightening, to say nothing of Salzburg and the many salt mines in the world. In short, this book is a grand, well-written, informative and often amusing world panorama of salt filled with a host of pearls of learning. It is hard to put down and makes 449 pages pleasantly fly by, leaving you with a taste for more. If you have ever used salt, you really should read this book. ... Read more | |
| 188. Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media: A Synthesis from the Good Play Project by Carrie James | |
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| 189. Rapid Review Pathology: With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access by Edward F. Goljan | |
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Editorial Review Book Outline format: Concise, high-yield subject matter is presented in a study-friendly format. High-yield margin notes: Key content that is most likely to appear on the exam is reinforced in the margin notes. Visual elements: Full-color photographs are utilized to enhance your study and recognition of key pathology images. Abundant two-color schematics and summary tables enhance your study experience. Two-color design: Colored text and headings make studying more efficient and pleasing. New! Online Study and Testing Tool Student Consult Reviews
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| 190. The Wheat-Free Cook: Gluten-Free Recipes for Everyone by Jacqueline Mallorca | |
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Editorial Review The Wheat-Free Cook is the ultimate cookbook for those with celiac disease and everyone else who has found that they simply feel better when they avoid wheat. Veteran cookbook author Jacqueline Mallorca takes gluten-free cooking into the mainstream by creating delectable recipes that appeal to everyone at the table. Inspired by her travels in Europe as well as the wine country cuisine of northern California, Mallorca presents approachable recipes for everything from breakfast and quick weeknight suppers to elegant dinner-party fare. Boneless trout with crispy crumbs takes just five minutes to broil; chicken meat loaf wrapped in prosciutto doubles as a tasty pâté; rustic seed bread looks and tastes as though it comes from an artisanal bakery; and chestnut and sausage dressing upstages the holiday bird. In addition, Mallorca presents a nutritionally sound, lighter style of baking that results in fabulous cakes and cookies. If you like to eat but without the wheat, The Wheat-Free Cook should be at the top of your shopping list. Reviews
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| 191. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition by Jon L. Dunn, Jonathan Alderfer | |
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| 192. Who Switched Off My Brain?Revised: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions by Caroline Leaf Ph.D. | |
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Editorial Review We're living in an epidemic of toxic emotions. Research shows that as much as 87% to 95% of mental and physical illnesses are a direct result of toxic thinking-proof that our thoughts affect us physically and emotionally. In this best-selling book, Dr. Caroline Leaf clearly communicates 13 ways to detox your thought life and live a life of physical, mental, and emotional wholeness. Reviews
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| 193. The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum | |
 | Hardcover
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I love reading about famous crimes, medical oddities, and cases solved by forensics. This book has them all, and is every bit as entertainingly well-written as my old favorite, THE MEDICAL DETECTIVES. by Berton Roueche.
Better yet, the title, THE POISONER'S HANDBOOK, is not just hyperbole. In describing famous New York City crimes committed with poison, the author discusses the chemical makeup, toxic effects, and early-20th-century sources of (1) chloroform, (2) methyl alcohol, (3) cyanide, (4) arsenic, (5) mercury, (6) carbon monoxide, (7) radium, and (8) thallium. In reading this book, you will probably find that there is a lot you thought you knew but didn't really know about well-known poisons frequently encountered in mystery novels and television shows. Did you think that fast-acting cyanide delivers a "one whiff, you're done" death? Think again! Did you think that only Skid Row bums drank wood alcohol during Prohibition? Not so! Did you know that Marie Curie died of radiation poisoning? Probably, but did you know exactly how radium works in the body to produce aplastic anemia and death? In reading this book, you will also learn about pioneering forensics efforts that required the grinding up of large samples of brain and organ tissue prior to laboratory testing. (In the early 20th century, testing was done with "wet" chemistry; today it is done with "dry" chemistry that only requires smears for testing.) The testing itself required many time-consuming steps and tricky procedures. Some of the testing involved tissue samples that were retained in room-temperature containers for weeks and months. The book also tells the story of three great pioneers in forensics science--NYC medical examiner Charles Norris, his chief chemist, Alexander Gettler, and New Jersey medical examiner Harrison Martland. Norton and Gettler lobbied tirelessly against Prohibition, which caused countless deaths from bad booze (renatured industrial alcohol), and against other toxic commercial products sold for hair removal, better-looking skin, and generally improved health. Martland did important research into the effects of radium on factory workers who painted radium watch dials, and also lobbied against the sale of radium-laced health elixirs, such as Radithor. Some of these toxic products actually worked--until they succeeded in poisoning the user. Although the book is an easy read, it is well-researched, and includes footnotes describing the author's sources. (My advance review copy did not include footnote numbers within the text, but presumably the numbers will appear in the final printed book.) The book also includes a useful bibliography of scholarly works on forensic toxicology.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Police work has always included an element of an arms race between criminals trying to outwit authorities and get away with a crime and police trying to prevent this from happening. This battle of wits is especially true in the case of murder. Science in the latter part of the 1800's had exponentially added to the store of chemicals whose use could prove to be fatal to humans. Science was great at finding all sorts of new elements and chemical compounds. The problem was that science was not always good at seeing if these new discoveries were safe around people, and there was no shortage of people who were willing to explore the lethality of these new chemical. It is against this "golden age of poison" that Blum builds her history. Through the dangerous poisons (chloroform, arsenic, mercury, cyanide, radium and wood and grain alcohols) active in the early twentieth century New York City she tells the story of Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler, who are arguably the fathers of the modern Medical Examiner's office and of forensic science. Set against the backdrop of the hubbub of New York City as a growing city, a center of society and money, and as ground zero in the social experiment of Prohibition, Norris works to advance the medical examiner's office from a position of patronage to Tammany Hall to an office integral to the solving of crime and building a knowledge base for civic health information. Norris would be the driving force of change trying to build a modern department built upon science, as well as be a Cassandra warning about the coming dangers of Prohibition in terms of public health as drinkers, cut off from their normal alcohol, would turn to poisonous wood alcohol drinks, despite the government's attempts to render industrial wood alcohols poisonous (denatured). Meanwhile Gettler, the meticulous toxicologist continues experimenting to test and discover new ways to identify and test organs and tissue for the presence of poisons - the better to convict poisoners.
Each chapter revolves around cases encountered that involved the particular poison, covering the two decades between 1915 and 1936. A recurring theme of the chapters is how society focused on the triumph of the industrial age, blasting ahead with new chemicals without worry or heed to potential health effects. Cyanide gas would be freely pumped into areas to rid buildings and ships of rats and other pests with little regard to the dangers should the gas seep up pipes to inhabited areas on the floors above, or the danger to sailors in fumigated ships that had not had the gas fully ventilated from below decks. Arsenic, mercury compounds, cyanide compounds and thallium were all generously available for purchase as rat poison, cleaning agents and for, often dubious, medicinal purposes. But what could be a benefit to society could also very quickly become deadly when used incorrectly or illicitly. Glow in the dark radium watch faces were a boon that came from necessity in World War I, but the need to `retip' the radium paint brushes by using one's lips introduced radium poisons to the factory worker's bodies, eating them from the inside out. It fell upon science to prove these poisonings were often deliberate, and may be a result of a crime. Toxicology searched for ways to detect even minute traces in the body after death, and to determine how long this telltale trace lingers in the body after death and burial. It was up to the medical examiner's office to take their research and package it for juries to understand in order to obtain a conviction. This took time, dedicated research and effort of Norris, Gettler and many others. Today, with crime procedure shows such as CSI the norm it is amazing to think that the structure, procedures and values of these kinds of investigations is only 60-80 years old. This book is a blend of several stories - part history, part science and part sociology. The book also points out how attempts from some areas of government to remove poisons from the lives of citizens came up against other government efforts to remove one large `poison' from people's lives only to force them to seek out even deadlier poisons in Prohibition. The result is a very readable account of the government at some of its best and its worst in regards to the safety of the public.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I love true crime books. I find it fascinating to read about crimes that really happened. I know that makes me weird, but so be it.
For a person who has similar (morbid) tastes, "The Poisoner's Handbook" perfectly fits the bill. These crimes take place in New York City during the Jazz Age. The author carefully describes various poisons, such as wood alcohol, arsenic, and radium and the various effects it had on the victims. If your knowledge of poisons is based on tv shows or movies, you will be surprised to find out a lot you (probably) didn't know already. As you can guess, forensic science was in its infancy at the time. This book focuses on Charles Norris, the New York City coroner, Alexander Gettler, Mr Norris' lead chemist and Harrison Martland, the New Jersey coroner. These people are for real, not like the old "Ouincy, ME" television show of long ago. When you see old movies of people drinking "bathtub gin" during Prohibition, it looks so carefree and fun. But it wasn't. Many deaths were caused by the "hooch" that was made from renatured industrial alcohol. It wasn't a pretty death, either. It makes me wonder why anyone would be willing to take the risk of drinking homemade booze, but plenty of people did it, I guess thinking "It won't happen to me". When you see what types of ingredients were in the common ordinary household items, you will wonder how anybody managed to stay alive in that type period. You think toxic products are bad now, when you read this book, you will be surprised how far (or maybe not) we have come. One of the more interesting sections (to me) was the part about radium. You wouldn't think of ingesting a radium laced "health elixir" now. But it was very common during that time period. It also made me think of the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz. It makes me wonder what happened after the end of the story. I had heard the story of the radium watch factory workers from my father. I was pleasantly surprised to see it told in full in this book. It seems somebody might have thought about the possibility of poisoning in the factory workers, but apparently the company didn't realize what radium is capable of doing. I strongly recommend this book for any fans of true crime or the "CSI" roster of shows. It's a great read and you will learn a lot about poisons,
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Alexander Gettler "positively hated the idea that some poisoner off the street could outwit him." No other city in the United States in the early 1900's had a toxicology lab. Gettler was hired to design the lab and invent the methods for analyzing poisons. He was the perfect man for the job.
"If research methods didn't exist, he would develop them himself. If a new poison or drug came on the market, he went off to a butcher shop, just around the corner from his Brooklyn home, and bought three pounds of liver." Poisoners during this time were hard to catch and even harder to convict in a court of law. The science of toxicology was so new that it seemed to many jurors to be nothing more than conjecture so a person guilty of poisoning could easily walk free. Gettler worked tirelessly at his work and his paper, "The Toxicology of Cyanide," was so thorough and accurate that it was referenced into the 21st century. Deborah Blum writes thoroughly about a fascinating subject. Her writing remains interesting while still including the more technical chemistry involved in toxicology. Blum recounts some of the more notorious cases like Typhoid Mary and introduces us to America's Lucretia Borgia, Mary Fanny Creighton, who continued to haunt Gettler for twelve years after her 'not guilty' verdict in the murder of her brother and mother-in-law. Or Eben M. Byers, a fifty-two year old millionaire, industrialist, athlete and social elitist, who enjoyed his health drink, Radithor while his bones were mysteriously splintering, his skin was yellowing and his kidneys failing. He drank over a thousand bottles of his health drink never imagining that the radium-based drink was his killer. "This is a poison. Warn Everyone." Gettler's message to doctors after realizing wood alcohol was responsible for the severe weakness and abdominal pains, vomiting, blindness, heart failure and death. Used as a substitute during Prohibition, wood alcohol often caused blindness and death. Wood Alcohol, radium, arsenic, mercury, carbon monoxide, ethyl alcolhol... it's a wonder anyone lived a long life with these poisons freely available and often freely dispensed. This is a very captivating book for the reader with an interest in science and history.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Until reading this book I had never given any thought to how forensic medicine started. I had no idea that in the early 1900's our country was not as advanced as European countries in it's efforts to use science to make definitive determinations of the causes of deaths. The author begins the book by explaining that medical examiners were elected in NYC at the turn of the century, and the Tammany Hall system resulted in incompetent and corrupt medical examiners holding the office. A reform movement resulted in the establishment of an ME's office that not only operated respectably, but that undertook cutting edge research in order to come up with methods to determine if people had been poisoned. The book is arranged in chapters for the major types of poisoning of the early 1900's.
This book does NOT read like a textbook. The author provides you with the political and social picture, and also the personalities of the various doctors who developed the tests to determine poisons as well as the vicitms and the perpetrators. One historical point I had been totally unware of was that doctors pushed for repeal of Prohibition. During prohibition there was a dramatic increase in the number of people dying due to deadly concoctions sold by bootleggers. In addition, the U.S. government required manufacturers to add some horrific chemicals to products that had alcohol in them but were not meant for drinking in an attempt to prevent people from drinking them. Alcoholics drank those products anyway, with terrrible consequences. One of the saddest chapters was about radium. In WW1 soldiers needed watch faces that could be read in dim light or darkness. It was discovered that radium glowed and was good for this purpose. Women in a factory in New Jersey used their mouths to wet paintbrushes they dipped into radium for painting those numbers. In addition, the factory air had a dangerously high level of radium in it. As a result, these women had heavy exposure to radium. Radiation poisoning sickened and ultimately killed them and some sued and won a settlement from their employer. There were also companies selling water containing radium as a health drink. Sadly, it wasn't until a well known and wealthy NYC man died (from consumption of radium drinks) that any effort was made to outlaw products containing this deadly substance and force companies to protect their workers from it. The author obviously did a lot of research for this book, and did an excellent job in providing simple but full explanations of the science. I don't give a lot of books 5 stars, but this one absolutely deserves it.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) On seeing the description of this well written, extensively researched history of forensic chemistry by a Pulitzer Prize winning science journalist I was hoping that I could exercise the well-worn expression "reads like the best fiction"; instead this is a book of historical vignettes of developments in toxicology and forensic chemistry that is exquisitely researched, clearly described and placed in interesting and accurate contexts; but, in my inexpert opinion it lacks the fiction-like attributes of a scientific history like Jennet Conant's "Tuxedo Park". The writing is lucid, non-technical and interesting, and great effort has been placed in developing its scientific and historical accuracy, but the case studies and the criminal incidents which it describes in developing the context of toxicological breakthroughs do not read like mini-mysteries. I would certainly have been pleased with this excellent work if I were looking for a history of forensic chemistry describing the development of particular techniques organized around the assays developed to detect particular compounds and poisons; as I was also looking for well-developed short mysteries based around these historical developments I was slightly disappointed with this otherwise masterful work of science journalism.
--Ira Laefsky
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| 194. The Mayo Clinic Book of Home Remedies: What to Do For The Most Common Health Problems by Mayo Clinic | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $25.95 -- our price: $17.13 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1603201599 Publisher: Time Home Entertainment Inc. Sales Rank: 12012 Average Customer Review:
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| 195. The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat by Loren Cordain | |
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list price: $14.95 -- our price: $9.49 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0470913029 Publisher: Wiley Sales Rank: 1908 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Healthy, delicious, and simple, the Paleo Diet is the diet we were designed to eat. If you want to lose weight-up to 75 pounds in six months-or if you want to attain optimal health, The Paleo Diet will work wonders. Dr. Loren Cordain demonstrates how, by eating your fill of satisfying and delicious lean meats and fish, fresh fruits, snacks, and non-starchy vegetables, you can lose weight and prevent and treat heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, and many other illnesses. The Paleo Diet is the only diet proven by nature to fight disease, provide maximum energy, and keep you naturally thin, strong, and active-while enjoying every satisfying and delicious bite. Reviews
1)I just want to say that I first started to lose weight when I switched to a low-carb diet, but continued to eat lots of dairy and soy, as I was a vegetarian. I have always been a size 12-14, and was quite pleased when I dropped to a size 10 by eliminating bread, pasta and sugar from my diet. I still experienced occasional fatigue and lots of digestive upset, though, and it wasn't until I took an allergy test and found I was allergic to grains and dairy - and subsequently cut both completely out of my diet - that I started to feel the energy and vitality for which I have been searching for years. I'm also allergic to most beans, so my only alternative source of protein was meat. I started to eat lean, unprocessed meats and fresh fruits and veggies, and my energy was not only soaring, but my depression lifted, my skin became smoother and softer, and I dropped down to a size 4 without even trying to lose weight! (I've never been less than a size 10 in my life!) Anyways, I effortlessly maintained that level of vitality and a size 4 until I started to eat rice flour, oats, processed meats and candy. I quickly gained 15lbs and fell into depression once again, leading me to realize that once on a paleo diet, it must become a way of life. The foods that Dr.Cordain describes as detrimental to our health (grains, dairy, legumes) are indeed factors in all sorts of health problems. If you are a possible buyer of this book, please take note of this, you cannot expect to lose weight and then go back to your usual style of eating. Buy this book and undertake Dr.Cordain's suggestions only if you are ready to change your lifestyle - it will be well worth it, I promise! In any case, I have since started back on the paleo-lifestyle route (feeling better already and have lost 5lbs in one week), with the help of Lauren Cordain's book, and it has been an invaluable resource for me. I have beeen waiting for him to write a book for a while now, as I have been reading interviews and papers written by him on www.beyondveg.com since I first started on the paleo nutrition route 2 years ago. This brings me to my second point in writing this review: 2)In response to the reviews that mention disdain at the apparent contradiction with Dr.Cordain discouraging the use of saturated fat while promoting the idea that humans' natural diet contained lots of meat, known to be rich in saturated fats, I have read research that sheds some light on this, at least for me. It seems that the saturated fat found in lean game meat - buffalo or wild boar that has been running around the jungle or the plains all day - has a different composition entirely than the saturated fat found in your average piece of supermarket meat - cows, chickens, even free-range game. There is a more favorable ratio of omega 3:omega 6 fatty acids in the lean game meat, as well as other aspects that I can't remember offhand, but you can read more for yourself on this subject in interviews of Dr.Cordain on beyondveg's website. One more note for those of you trying to decide between Dr.Atkins or something similar, or a book such as this one or Neanderthin: speaking from the point of view of a person who has developed IBS and multiple food allergies as a result of the Standard American Diet, I wholeheartedly agree with the low-carb way of life, but must offer my 2cents that any diet that fails to caution the consumer on the downfalls of consuming fake foods such as artificial sweetners and salty, processed meats, cannot be healthy for the long-term. I would eat fresh cream or whole milk before I put MSG, nitrates, sulfites or Splenda into my body. I have tried Atkins, and I felt a big difference in my general health from that program to one of eating more natural foods as advocated by Dr.Cordain, Diana Schwarzbein and Ray Audette. If you are undecided, please take your long-term health as well as your short-trem weight into consideration. Any of the above-mentioned authors can help you lose weight and feel great, but unlike Atkins or Eades, they will help you do it for life. As far as deciding between the above-mentioned authors, "The Paleo Diet" is written by a well-respected professor and expert in the field of paleolithic nutrition, and if you were to go with one book on low-carbing, this would probably the healthiest, most sane and moderate approach I have seen out there.
Cordain evidently seems to have ignored much of his own research. The most alarming error is his frequent recommendation to use flax oil when cooking meat dishes. Recipe after recipe calls for marinating cuts of meat in flax oil before cooking - a very bad idea! For those who don't already know, you should NEVER cook with any type of polyunsaturated oil. Their high degree of unsaturation makes them extremely prone to oxidative damage, and this process is greatly multiplied by exposure to high temperatures (e.g cooking temeratures). Omega-3 fats, like those found in flax oil, are the most vulnerable polyunsaturates of all. When eaten, these 'healthy' fats trigger a chain-reaction of nasty free-radical activity in the body, leaving one open to the development of all sorts of degenerative ailments. Cordain should be well aware that liquid vegetable oils simply did not exist back in paleotlithic times. Cordain also denigrates saturated fat in his book, which once again is rather pitiful considering his background. The anti-saturated fat doctrine is a product of agenda-driven 20th century researchers and beaureaucrats, eagerly supported by commercial interests and their cheerleading squad of ignorant nutritionists, health authorities, and authors. Cordain claims that a single experiment where saturated fat raised cholesterol levels in young men is proof that this fat is bad. Big deal! Such an assertion assumes that the cholesterol theory of heart disease is a valid one. Considering the numerous absurdities inherent in the cholesterol theory, that is a rather risky leap of faith. Hunter-gatherers ate lots of animal fat, which is around 50% saturated. And no, just because an animal is wild does not mean it is low in fat - I had the pleasure of sampling some camel steak last week, and you can be sure I enjoyed every bit of the backstrap fat covering the steak! Even the leanest animals have fatty portions of meat, and if observations of recent hunter-gatherer societies are anything to go by, these would have been the most valued and preferentially eaten cuts. Cordain also jumps on the anti-low carb bandwagon, even though his own research shows hunter-gatherers were far more likely to consume a low carb diet than a high carb diet. In fact paleo nutrition, with its emphasis on animal foods and starch poor plant foods, and low carb nutrition are a perfect match. The whole book reeks of an attempt to squeeze paleolithic nutrition into currently fashionable and politically correct guidelines. Only problem is, back in the stone-age there weren't any pompous cholesterol researchers who thought they knew better than mother nature, and there were no advertising campaigns to let people know of the `heinous' health effects of saturated fat - so people ate it, and lots of it! Paleo eating is still the ultimate nutrition in my opinion. It is the only eating plan that cannot even begin to be accused of being a 'fad'. Subsistence patterns that dominated for over two million years can hardly be considered a fad. Cordain's book does contain some useful info, but Neanderthin by Ray Audette is a far better, and cheaper, book on paleolithic nutrition. Buy that instead.
But it is also what is so difficult for people to get their minds around. As Robert Ingersoll said: "In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments, merely consequences" and we are inclined to regard our dietary preferences as matters of taste (in all senses), or even of ethics - as do vegetarians and those who point out that grain-based diets are far less demanding on the environment than meat-based diets such as those advocated by Dr Cordain. But this misses the point. Cordain is telling us what is natural, not what is ethical. If a meat-based diet takes more land for each consumer than a grain-based diet, that is a consequence of human population numbers, it is not a reason for dismissing a paleo diet. It also misses the point to say that, if we are to adopt a paleo diet, we should return to stone tools and a totally paleo life. Cordain's thinking is clearer than this and the book has many stimulating ideas and insights about our evolutionary inheritance. Cordain also tells us that the human species has barely altered since grains were first cultivated 10,000 years ago. We are hunter-gatherer bodies in a post-industrial world. Much of the book is devoted to explaining how diabetes, cardiovascular disease, food intolerances, osteoporosis, asthma, heartburn, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and many other modern diseases derive from the extent to which we have departed from the evolutionarily-proven lifestyle. For this reason alone, this book deserves to be taken seriously. As Ingersoll implies, there are natural consequences to our behaviour; our cultural preferences are irrelevant to the truth. The author also contrasts modern activity levels with paleo activity levels and presents an exercise routine to complement his dietary advice. Dr Cordain devotes a part of the book to pointing out how meat, fish and fresh vegetables can be contaminated and he gives some guidance in avoiding such contaminated foods and whether the contamination levels are serious. I'm a paleo eater and exerciser myself and I've been looking for a book like this for ages that I can pass to my friends to explain why I eat and exercise the way I do. I bought two copies. Great stuff!
The reviewers here who argue that saturated fat has been getting a bum rap, that our Stone Age ancestors undoubtedly ate the whole bird and not just the breast, etc., appear to have read the book cursorily, if at all. Cordain clearly explains that the animal protein prehistoric people thrived on had nowhere near the amount of saturated fat found in today's domestic meats, poultry, and dairy products. Quoting from the book, "Paleolithic people couldn't eat fatty meats if they tried--they had nothing like the tubby grain-fed animals that produce our steaks today." Readers who want more science may consult the 20-page bibliography in the back of the book. The Paleo Diet is primarily a diet manual, a nutritional primer, and a cookbook, loaded with practical information (e.g. "How to Be a Savvy Shopper for Fish," "Dining Out, Travel, and Peer Pressure," etc.) for readers who want to adapt the Stone Age diet to the 21st century. What's more, the book is engagingly written and extremely readable. Above all, Cordain makes the Stone Age diet seem simple. If I could give his book an extra five stars, I would!
Cordain's diet recommendations have two big plusses: 1) they make sense, and 2) they are simple enough for anybody (except maybe the 'reviewer' in question) to understand and implement. In addition to this book, I recommend Ray Audette's NeanderThin.
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| 196. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2010 (The Best American Series (R)) | |
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list price: $14.95 -- our price: $9.30 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0547327846 Publisher: Mariner Books Sales Rank: 1503 Average Customer Review:
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This collection of "the best" science and nature writing of 2010 (collecting articles published in 2009), is certainly not just for scientists. In fact, scientists may find it frustrating, given that it's really comprised of articles that are geared towards the general public, most of which appeared originally in "general interest" publications: eight of the twenty-eight articles were first published in The New Yorker, seven in National Geographic, leaving thirteen which appeared in a variety of other periodicals such as GQ and The New York Review of Books. Not one of the articles chosen came from Scientific American or Science. There isn't a single article on Public Health or Mathematics, and the only Biology/Medical Science covered at all is Neurology, and all three articles in this section focus on behavioral issues (memory alteration, self-control, neurosis). The collection is more remarkable for what is missing than for what is included.
The articles are, of course, well-written and interesting, and favor "nature" writing over "science" writing, with three sections dedicated to the environment. One such section, "Natural Beauty," gives fifty pages to the singing of the Earth's praises for its stunning diversity and, well, natural beauty. These essays cover the status of Minnesota's goshawk, a "raptor of gentility," as it struggles in the face of logging interests in Gustave Axelson's "The Alpha Accipiter," and the elegantly written celebration of the New Zealand godwit, "Flight of the Kuaka," by Don Stap, as well as a brief piece by famed naturalist Jane Goodall on the mysterious survival of a phasmid thought to be extinct. Given the controversial stand of the editor, Freeman Dyson, on the subject of climate change, these essays smack just a little bit of "things aren't as bad as they seem here on planet Earth," and serve to challenge the importance of the collection as a whole. In the section titled: "The Environment: Doom and Gloom" Dyson cedes the floor to "climate-alarmist" Elizabeth Kolbert for two articles, "The Catastrophist," a profile of climatologist/activist James Hansen who is unrelenting in his efforts on behalf of educating politicians on the drastic state of the planet, and "The Sixth Extinction," which posits that if current trends are any indication, half of Earth's species will be gone within the next century. Jim Carrier tells us more than we want to know about where the shrimp in our cocktails is coming from in "All You Can Eat," a profile of shrimp-fishing trends and disasters, and Felix Salmon gives us the mathematics of bad money management (on a global scale) in "A Formula for Disaster." Then Dyson wraps the book up with an octet of "Small and Big Blessings" to reassure us. In addition, the first section, "Visions of Space," sees Tom Wolfe passionately decrying the end of the Space Program and our failure to get to Mars, Andrew Corsello profiling South African genius Elon Musk and his extraordinary journey to riches, and Timothy Ferris rhapsodizing about telescopes. There's nothing wrong with any of these essays, or with the collection itself, but given the current state of things like Public Health, constantly evolving stem-cell research, genetic engineering, and of course, the ethics of all this evolution, it seems that a better title for this book would have been "Science & Nature Writing: The Best Light Reading of 2010."
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) If you're hoping to find some enthusiastic,insightful writing here, along the lines of Lewis Thomas, Stephen Jay Gould, Loren Eisely, Barry Lopez, or a host of other nature/science writers, go elsewhere. As I read the articles/essays in this collection, I had the sense they were all written by one person. They are descriptive and stick to the facts, with a few novel tidbits by some authors to make their subject matter seem a bit more interesting, for example, one researcher discussed in one essay likes Jimi Hendricks, another uses vernacular like "It sucks," etc. Does that impress or delight you? It sure doesn't do that for me. There are a few contributions on neurobiology (almost a requirement nowadays for such a collection I guess), but nothing noteworthy. The authors stick primarily to the facts. There's no attempt at addressing moral philosophy, personal viewpoints on the subject matter, quantum leaps of insight by the writers. It's all basically journalistic.
The typical essay starts with an anecdote, something like this: "Dr. Ralph Fenstermenster was crossing his college campus when he discovered a piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of his shoe." Then we get some personal reminiscence like, "Fenstermenster recalled how when he was a kid, he would spit out his own chewed gum, gleefully thinking how someone would end up with it under HIS shoe." Then a little development: "Fenstermenster considered the cognitive and attitudinal changes he had experienced on his journey to adulthood, and wondered if there was a structural change in the brain that made these changes universal." Then we learn how he got funding from a skeptical committee, science foundation, university, etc., who thought he was a crackpot for wanting to find this structural change. Then he dissuades his detractors and proves he has found such a developmental mechanism. Then we learn he has a celebration party at his favorite Northern Italian restaurant, where his friends have ordered his favorite Pinot Grigio. I may be a bit harsh here, and you might suspect I didn't actually read these essays. However, I did, but their quality got me depressed, so why re-visit them? Maybe I'll do some research on 'Factors in typographic information avoidance,' present it to my peers, and someone can write a science article about me. This is not to blame the editors, including the impressive Freeman Dyson. But in the introduction even the series editor states that science writing is becoming rarer and rarer in the popular media (read: The New Yorker). It really is a shame. The New Yorker used to publish an issue that was an entire book-length essay (i.e., J. Schell's [sic?] 'The Fate of the Earth.' Now, you'd probably have to tweet it to get any recognition. For a terrific science writing anthology, get Richard Dawkins' edited book published by Oxford Univ. Press.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING0-2010
There are as you may know a series of the Best American writing of all sorts, travel, short stories Mystery writing, Poetry, etc. This one is, as the above title indicates, is titled, THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING. Freeman Dyson is the Editor; Tim Folger is the Series Editor on this volume. There are 28 articles, reprints from various high profile magazines, such as Wired, the New Yorker, National Geographic, OnEarth, Orion, GQ, Discover and several others. Great writers as well as great scientists flood the pages with outstanding stories. Writers and/or scientists such as such as Tom Wolfe, Steven Weinberg (a Nobel Prize winner), Timothy Ferris, (one of my favorite science writers) Jane Goodal, Elizabeth Kolbert and many more grace the pages with outstanding tales and scientific realities. Wisely, for greater readership I suppose, as well as crisp reading, most of the articles are not hard-wired science; they are told in mainly layman's language. Dyson highlights these essays covering astronomy and cosmology, neurology, nature writing, and three sections loosely organized around various views and aspects of the environment. Since I have great interest in a variety of science and nature subjects, and some more than others, I picked about and around, not reading the articles in the order of their posting, checking off articles as I read my way through the book and eventually reading the rest of the 28 far more quickly than I had estimated. Among my very favorites were: David Quammen's Darwin's First Clues, Kathleen McGowan's Out of The Past, The Flight of The Kuaka, which I read when it was originally published written by Don Stap. Others I thought outstanding and compelling; The Lazarus Effect, by Jane Goodall, Cosmic Vision, and also Seeking New Earths, both by Timothy Ferris, Brain Games, by John Colapinto, a few of which I here describe in greater detail. My first choice was David Quammen's Darwin's First Clues. My first love among the sciences is Anthropology (in which I won a Ford Foundation Fellowship) and this story was not disappointing. In this short article (9 pages) Quammen exposes some widely unknown, exaggerations, falsehoods, fairy tales, "cartoonish," fables, omissions, false assumptions, of which most Anthropologists who ventured beyond undergraduate studies would easily know but most other scientists and certainly laymen, or even physicians would not. Included are some errors and false assumptions by Darwin himself. Among the many discoveries that were non-fiction, were the remains of the Elephantine Megatherium, a discovery, back when I was an undergrad student, this was for me, riveting. This beast was the largest land mammal ever found (and was also of course, obvious by its size, not a tree climbing sloth.) It is also important to note, according to Quammen, One of Darwin more humorous mistakes was when he mistook a rea for a juvenile ostrich, having forgotten to snare one to bring home until after an affable gaucho had killed it, roasted it and Darwin's party ate it. I won't spoil some of the larger discoveries and misapplications, nor the misunderstood skills attributed to the "highly attentive" field man Darwin was, and the myths which surrounded his adventures, his actual as well his mythical discoveries and those falsely attributed to him. His studies and implications of varieties of rea's he said, are more than interesting, as were his hints that his discoveries concerning human evolution were in 1845, less important and provable than those of Galapagos birds. Darwin's term, "transmutation" preceded his thoughts of "evolution." It was not until 1858 that he began to piece together in writing his ideas about evolution and his treatise through which he hurried, sketchily, gave form to his now more immediate and perhaps older, more underlying idea, which he feared he had too long put off, and for which he might lose credit to others for, "On the Origin of Species Through Natural Selection which became a runaway best seller. Great article. Likewise, in the neurology section an article concerning the reprogramming of traumatic memory stress in efforts to reduce the ruinous impact of PTSD, (Post Traumatic Stress Disease). Kathleen McGowan's, OUT OF THE PAST for Discover magazine concerns a breakthrough protocol, using a common blood pressure medication and some simple and short term memory therapy for certain types of PTSD, attached to trauma forced upon the memory in which fear and/or anger well up causing a person to constantly relive the trauma's of war, accident, rape, torture and other horrific experiences. Would it work? Is it a viable treatment? Are there off-the-hook repercussions if and should be used for violent criminals to suppress their own memories of their violence? This protocol may hold great promise, may be a great discovery, especially if we later find the that "common BP drug" does not, like so many other concoctions of the Legalized Drug Dealers of America, the Pharma's, turn deadly. I personally, have a problem with calling PTSD a disease; it is more of an injury - a trauma to an organ, the portion of the brain, which serves memory. Disease indicates that drugs can be found to cure it. Damage to other organs, like a ruptured spleen, a broken leg, or a bullet or knife wound, are injuries, and yes, certain drugs can overcome or protect against infection but cannot "cure" the injury itself. There are no known antidotes for injuries. The "common" BP drug assists in some way, to calm a person's anxiety, but is not without other forms of mental therapy, a "cure" in this case. I also found interest in Visions of Space, The Believer, One giant Step to Nowhere, by Tom Wolfe, whose humor I have liked in the past, though here after the first few pages the humor waned. I likewise loved the intelligence of, The Missions of Astronomy, Cosmic Vision, and most especially, Seeking New Earths, which is at once Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi transforming itself into to non-fiction. Further, in The Neurology section, all three stories were thrilling and maybe some may find, a bit awesomely spooky. The excitement of the rest of the stories, was, depending upon your point of view and favorite science, were at least rather compelling. I liked The Environment, Gloom and Doom and the other four articles in that genre, including two by Elizabeth Kolbert, very intriguing. The answers to that challenge, the environment: Small Blessings was less attractive as was Big Blessings. Another excellent and fascinating article, involves the environmental area featuring two sides (really, three sides) to Global warming and other aspects of what is known by most of those with foresight, the exploitation of Planet Earth by the greedy Corporate interests. Some believe that environmental disaster might be averted, others, judging by past experiences, perhaps more sensible, do not. Other reviewers who here published their reviews before I received my Vine copy, detailed all of the stories, so there was no need for me to duplicate their efforts. I simply reviewed in detail those, which were my top choices among the 28 I read. I found among them all, however, nary a losing effort, all wonderful in their own way and discipline, though one or two, one of which I mentioned were weaker than others were. Almost all were excellently written, riveting and charming. However, each of us may find some articles, according to our individual interests, more interesting than others. This series, which began in 2000, has maintained, with various noted scientists as Editors, a consistently high standard. Bravo!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) In his introduction to The Best American Science and Nature Writing, physicist and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton Freeman Dyson laments the decreasing attention given to science writing in today's American magazines . Although the quantity may be down, the quality is still excellent, and science enthusiasts typically find ourselves in the enviable position of having too much to read and too little time. Since 2000 the series The Best American Science and Nature Writing (and the very similar series Best American Science Writing) has eased our frustration just a little by publishing an annual collection of the best short science and nature pieces as chosen by a guest editor from a larger initial selection made by series editor Tim Folger from publications such as The New Yorker, Discover, The New York Times, and National Geographic. Guest editors are well-known scientists or science journalists , and past editors included people like E. O. Wilson, Brian Greene, Jerome Groopman, and Richard Preston. I imagine Folger having one of the best jobs in the country, reading science articles to try to identify the best 122 articles to present to the guest editor, but I do not envy the guest editor who has to choose the final 28!
People of the caliber of these guest editors have wide-ranging inquiring minds, and the articles are diverse, but each annual volume reflects the special interests of that year's editor. Dyson is no exception to this, but his selections might come as a bit of a surprise to readers, because, although space science is well-represented, the physical sciences are otherwise in short supply. This year's volume is divided into six parts. Part 1, Visions of Space, contains 5 articles about astronomy and the space program, very appropriate for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo landing. The writers range from novelist Tom Wolfe through award-winning science writers Timothy Ferris to Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg, a very nice selection. Part 2 contains three articles on neuroscience by science journalists, including Jonah Lehrer. Part 3, Natural Beauty, gives Dyson a chance to showcase seven examples of beautiful writing about nature by, among others, Matt Ridley, Tim Flannery, Jane Goodall, and David Quammen. Dyson says that Don Stap's "The Flight of the Kuaka" in this section goes "beyond science and beyond poetry", and, indeed, this article alone is worth the price of the book. Parts 4-6, more than half of the book , are devoted to articles about the environment. Part 4 is subtitled Gloom and Doom ; Part 5 has the subtitle Small Blessings; and Part 6 ends on a more upbeat note with Big Blessings. For readers who find 28 articles too few or the selection too narrow, Tim Folger appends a list of Other Notable Science and Nature Writing of 2009. There are also short bios of each author, which is very handy if you discover a new author and want to find some of their other work. It seemed to me that the subject matter this year was more narrow than most of the earlier volumes of The Best American Science and Nature Writing. This may be merely more obvious than in earlier years, when the articles were simply ordered alphabetically by the author's last name. This year's arrangement made the book more cohesive, but I missed the fun of wondering what would be the subject of the next article Nonetheless, only the brain dead would not find something interesting in this collection. It is a great book to keep by the bedside or the fireside for browsing.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) (I save five-star reviews for rare things like this.)
If you're familiar with this series, you know that they are always going to be excellent, no matter who the guest editor. That might well be because editor Tim Folger preselects 100+ articles each year that his guest editors then winnow down into a volume. But inviting the creaky, ancient maverick Freeman Dyson to be editor? I must admit I was dubious. That lasted about half a page into his introduction, which by itself is worth the price of admission. He immediately makes the point (that I'd completely missed before, despite the actual NAME of the series) that this is just American writing, and therefore doesn't represent all the points of view available. He makes his case by comparing the Russian 100-year vision of space exploration to the American anything-longer-than-a-decade-jest-cain't-be-funded-so-no-point-tawkin-about-it approach, and makes it personal with the tale of his daughter going through cosmonaut training at Baikonur. But then he gets into environmental issues (not his field of study, supposedly) and REALLY hits his stride. It is my field of study, but he approaches it in ways I'd never imagined. He eviscerates environmental posers, alarmists, deniers equally, and backs it up with solid science. He makes a quick detour into calculating how much energy/greenhouse gases could be saved by simply replacing corn-fed feedlot culture with grass-fed culture (the answer might stagger you too: more than the energy used and greenhouse gases emitted by every last automobile in the country). Oh, I got carried away: that's just the first 11 pages! Then there's the articles, always excellent. Dyson singles out one: "But I have to confess that for me, 'The Flight of the Kuaka' is in a class by itself. It is a celebration of nature's glory, going beyond science and beyond poetry." I don't know that it goes beyond poetry, or science for that matter, but "The Flight of the Kuaka" describes a modest, barely-noticed-before shore-bird that summers in Alaska, then migrates to greener pastures like many other birds. But satellite tracking has recently shown that this one migrates CLEAN across the Pacific ocean, 8,000 miles non-stop (including passing over Hawaii at an altitude of two miles), eating its own intestines along the way for nourishment, and finally descending onto the shorelines of New Zealand. Along the way, the article explains that the ancient Polynesians, observing the bird migrating, and recognizing that it was a shore rather than an ocean bird, followed the direction of its flight and discovered Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud", now known as New Zealand. I haven't finished all the articles yet, so perhaps there is one that describes the effect the Polynesians then had on Aotearoa, like quickly hunting the giant Moa to extinction, and then they probably turned to eating quite a few Kuaka... And there's 27 more articles where that one came from.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I wanted to like this book. It's... okay. You'll certainly learn some good stuff from it -- there's bits on the math behind the subprime mortgage crash, some discussion of mass extinctions, a sketch of Darwin before the Beagle, and the psychology of ant colonies.
I've got two concerns though -- one is that the choice of Freeman Dyson as editor is, while largely an excellent choice, a little strange when it comes to the environmental section of the book. Dyson has a curious position on global warming that is largely at odds with the scientific consensus, not to mention a bit outside his specialty as a theoretical physicist, and he explicitly discusses it in the introduction, making me wonder whether he was able to keep an objective mind about the articles he chose. No question that Dyson brings some serious star power to the book; however, it seems like one of those cases where he probably put more of his own prejudices into the book than he should have. Fortunately the authors' works speak for themselves. The other is the near-total lack of contributions any of the prominent sciencebloggers. PZ Myers, Phil Plait, David Gorski, Harriet Hall, Chris Mooney, Sheril Kirshenbaum, Carl Zimmer -- all have significant amounts of work worth noting; not one of them appears in this book. In 2010, when the closest you come to new media is the odd article from Wired, you just aren't trying remotely hard enough. (Come to think of it, I'll bet there were some awful nice tributes to Martin Gardner that Dyson passed over. Probably deeply unwise.) It's not a bad book, but it's very lackluster. If there's something you want to read in it, the articles are pretty good, but it's not the sort of thing that you would want to buy just to peruse.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) When I first ordered this book, I had in my mind which categories of articles *I would cover. I was at first, disappointed - he didn't pick the same things I would! That lasted oh, five minutes, as I began reading Dyson's introduction, which was truly superb in itself, and then went on to skip around the book, initially looking at those topics which interest me most - but, I'd end an article, and see the beginning of the next, which would simply grab me right away.
It's a book that is full of wonderful science, but Dyson didn't select only for that... he chose writers whose skills are most evident in their ability to create a story - it's NOT just reporting, it's literature. And that's not something you can say about most science books. There is so much wonderful writing here that rather than list the contents, (which is amply done above and described in the Editorial Review), I'll tell you about some of the writing which 'grabbed' me. Brian Boyd's "Purpose-Driven Life' is perfection - I liked it better than Dyson's admitted favorite, "The flight of the Kuaka" - which is NOT to say that the latter article isn't wonderful at all, it certainly is. Elizabeth Kolbert's "The Sixth Extinction" - in the 'gloom and doom' section, is sobering, yet her way with words is joyous. A wonderful, satisfying experience to read her work. The book opens with Andrew Corsello's "The Believer"... and it's a story about an entrepreneur, Elon Musk... Corsello makes the story downright gripping and you delight with the ideas this man has and the applications he continues to concieve. I cannot say enough about what a wonderful book this is. I can say, Thank You, Freeman Dyson, for NOT picking what I wanted, but for giving me new knowledge and the pleasure of learning in other scientific areas. ... Read more | |
| 197. Biology with MasteringBiology (8th Edition) by Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $202.67 -- our price: $139.84 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0321543254 Publisher: Benjamin Cummings Sales Rank: 2129 US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France | Japan |
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Editorial Review The best-selling biology textbook in the world just got better! Neil Campbell and Jane Reece’s BIOLOGY is the unsurpassed leader in introductory biology. The book's hallmark values–accuracy, currency, and passion for teaching and learning–have made Campbell/Reece the most successful book for readers for seven consecutive editions. More than 6 million readers have benefited from BIOLOGY’sclear explanations, carefully crafted artwork, and student-friendly narrative style. Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life, The Chemical Context of Life, Water and the Fitness of the Environment, Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life, The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules, A Tour of the Cell, Membrane Structure and Function, An Introduction to Metabolism, Cellular Respiration: Harvesting Chemical Energy, Photosynthesis, Cell Communication, The Cell Cycle, Meiosis and Sexual Life Cycles, Mendel and the Gene Idea, The Chromosomal Basis of Inheritance, The Molecular Basis of Inheritance, From Gene to Protein, Control of Gene Expression, Viruses, Biotechnology, Genomes and Their Evolution, Descent with Modification: A Darwinian View of Life, The Evolution of Populations, The Origin of Species, The History of Life on Earth, Phylogeny and the Tree of Life, Bacteria and Archaea, Protists, Plant Diversity I: How Plants Colonized Land, Plant Diversity II: The Evolution of Seed Plants, Fungi, An Introduction to Animal Diversity, Invertebrates, Vertebrates, Plant Structure, Growth, and Development, Transport in Vascular Plants, Soil and Plant Nutrition, Angiosperm Reproduction and Biotechnology, Plant Responses to Internal and External Signals, Basic Principles of Animal Form and Function, Animal Nutrition, Circulation and Gas Exchange, The Immune System, Osmoregulation and Excretion, Hormones and the Endocrine System, Animal Reproduction, Animal Development, Neurons, Synapses, and Signaling, Nervous Systems, Sensory and Motor Mechanisms, Animal Behavior, An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere, Population Ecology, Community Ecology, Ecosystems, Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology. For readers interested in learning the basics of Biology. | |
| 198. Where There Is No Doctor: A Village Health Care Handbook by Jane Maxwell, Carol Thuman, David Werner, Carol Thuman, Jane Maxwell | |
 | Paperback
list price: $22.00 -- our price: $14.19 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0942364155 Publisher: Hesperian Foundation Sales Rank: 1603 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review
Reviews
I have been active training people in wilderness emergency care for some years now, and this is one of the books that I always recommend. When a friend of mine went to live in Russia (in the Siberia area) I recommended that he take along a paramedic manual and this book. Both books served him well, but he referred to this book much more often. Overall, for a person who is going to be in a medically isolated area and/or in an area where the general level of health knowledge is low, this is an absolutely outstanding book. This company also published "Where There Is No Dentist" and "The Village Midwife." Both are excellent. They recently came out with another great book titled "Where Women Have No Doctor." I really like and respect the work these people do.
The forms included in the book for basic check ups and keeping medical records will be helpful in the future when we set up a clinic. I can't emphasize what a straight forward, useful, and practical book this is. If you intend to work anywhere in a developing country, with health or not, you need this book.
I found this book useful in diagnosing and treating tropical diseases like parasites, malaria and hepatitis-A. Bubbles in the stool, blood and mucus, how do you sort these tell tale signs out. "Where There Is No Doctor" helps you do this. I even used it to diagnose a case of celebral meningitis and saved the kids life by getting him to the nearest hospital which was 100 miles away. His parents thought it was a case of possession. The information on drugs and doses is also useful, especially in situtations where prescription drugs, heaven forbid, can be bought without a prescription. But then again, that's where you use this book -- Where there is no Doctor. Don't leave home without it.
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| 199. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (P.S.) by William Kamkwamba, Bryan Mealer | |
 | Paperback
(2010-08-01)
list price: $14.99 -- our price: $10.19 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 0061730335 Publisher: Harper Perennial Sales Rank: 2484 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks; some scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a remarkable true story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. It will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him. Reviews
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the story of William Kamkwamba, a clever boy in Malawi, Africa who built his own windmill from found materials at age 14. Much of the energy of the book is that it is a very recent story, the main events taking place just in the last six years.
The story is in three parts. The first part tells of Willam's life growing up and that of his father, giving a fascinating glimpse of the village life of subsistence farmers whose culture has changed little in thousands of years. Daily existence includes very real fears of witchcraft, shamans for healing, and strong currents of superstition. Although written in clear, simple narrative (mostly by the co-author, Bryan Mealer, an AP reporter with extensive experience across Africa), it is by no means a child's bedtime story. Malawi, an interior country of 13 million, has minimal health care, primitive agriculture, and no free public high schools. Villagers can be killed by wild animals in the forest. In 2001 the maize crops failed, plunging the countryside into famine and near social collapse, and William loses friends to disease and starvation. The government comes off badly in this episode, incompetent, brutal against the local village chief who complains, and corrupt. William is a bright boy eager for school, but his family cannot afford the fees. He is forced to drop out. In the second part of the story, doing the best he can in spite of this disappointment, William finds an elementary physics textbook in a local library and sees diagrams of windmills - he cannot even read the English text. From this bit of information, with impressive focus and persistence he manages to build his own version from scraps of wire, an old bicycle hub, and flattened PVC pipe for blades. He has zero resources - not even a soldering iron, which would be useless in any case since there is no electricity in his household. But he is a natural engineer, and even with no guidance or help, he succeeds in making an operating windmill which powers a few lightbulbs for home and village, charges cell phones, operates a water pump - all of which make a real difference in village life. The third part of the book, just as remarkable as his technological triumph, is about William's discovery by the outside world. The hero of the discovery phase is really the Internet. William's windmill comes to the attention of an engineer working in the capital city, who blogs about it, inspiring others to take a four hour bus journey to find William, who then quickly comes to the attention of international entrepreneurs and technologists. His life quickly expands - amazingly, straight from his village he is invited to speak at an African conference organized by TED, the California organization which publicizes emerging ideas about technology and design. Taken under wing by US sponsors, he travels internationally and finds scholarships for his own education as well as funding for his village technology. He now has a website of course (just Google his name), a PayPal donation account, and a promotional video here on Amazon - more international attention within a short time than the coolest MIT Media Lab guru! There are a few technical errors in the text - malaria is not a virus for example, and the core of a transformer is a ferromagnet, not a conductor. These are minor points; William is an appealing character and the story is inspiring. But there must be millions of Williams across the developing world. What the book really shows is that the best international assistance is in response to local energy rather than top-down through an ineffective government. The tools to find those kids and offer that help are now at hand. Whereas electric windmills are not new - everything William did has been known for a hundred years - instant cheap global communication is a revolutionary innovation which can help bring the best minds of Africa and many other places into the world community.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) After barely surviving a famine in Malawi (sub-Saharan Africa), 14-year-old William Kamkwamba was determined to find a way to make life better for himself and his family. What if he could somehow bring electricity to his village, to pump water for crops in times of drought? Using diagrams in an old forgotten science book called "Using Energy" that he found in a grade school library, he cobbled together a contraption out of scraps and junk that worked to power a few light bulbs -- and changed the life of his village forever. His neighbors, steeped in superstition and with little or no knowledge of science, thought him crazy. But he had a gift for mechanical things, he understood the principles, and he knew he could do it. And he did. Eventually he got a second windmill going, powering a water pump from a deep well, which is now used by all the women in the village. Today every house there has a solar panel and a battery to store electricity, too.
But this is much more than a story about an African boy who built a working windmill. It's a monument to the human spirit. In fact, we don't even get to making the windmill itself until halfway through the book. In the first half, William tells us a lot about his life in Africa, the terrible famine that swept his land, how he and his family survived, and the clues along the way which eventually led to him making the windmill. Even as a little kid, he was taking apart radios to see how they worked -- with no books or training, just trial and error. Then he saw a bicycle light that ran from a mechanical dynamo -- the kind that generates electricity when you pedal. Experimenting with this, he figured out how to get it to power his radio when he turned the bike pedals. When he finally found a picture of a windmill in the "Using Energy" book, it all came together. "In my mind I saw the dynamo," he explains, "saw myself with my neighbor's bicycle those many nights ago, spinning the pedals so I could listen to the radio... The wind would spin the blades of the windmill, rotating the magnets in the dynamo, and then creating current. Attach a wire to the dynamo and you could power anything..." Sounds simple? In principle, yes -- but there is no local Radio Shack in a Malawi village for William to go get the parts. He must make do with what he can scrounge -- and that's the really amazing part of this story. Step by step, Willam explains what he needed for the windmill, how he adapted things he found in the junkyard, or took odd jobs to get money to buy what he could not make. Some simple tasks took three or four hours because he did not have the right tools and had to improvise. But he kept at it. All in all, he probably put a hundred or more hours into this project. Talk about determination! As I read the story, I could not help thinking how wasteful we are here in America. Over and over, I was astonished at William's creativity in finding uses for things I would have considered useless junk. That gave me serious pause for thought. One more point: I finished this book the same week as President Obama's "stay in school" pep talk to students in America (Sept 8, 2009). Here in a land where every child can get a free education, we have a 30% dropout rate, even higher in some places. In Malawi where William is growing up, school is only for those who can afford to pay tuition, and he is desperate to study. Because of the famine, his family had lost everything and could no longer afford to send him to school, so he was forced to drop out. Yet he wanted to go so badly, he was sneaking INTO class. Eventually he does get a scholarship, thanks to the publicity generated by his windmill project. Had it not been for that, his genius might have gone to waste, and who knows what future inventions the world would miss? Perhaps this book should be required reading in American schools, so kids here will know just how lucky they are to have such good educational opportunities. I give William's book ten stars!
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This is the autobiography of William Kamkwamba, who grew up in rural Malawi, Africa, in poverty and famines, and who would eventually build a windmill to provide electricity for his family. I found this firsthand account of life in a third-world country fascinating, especially his account of living through a famine. And, this is really what the bulk of the book is about. He's over halfway through the book before his windmill even enters the picture, though you can see his fascination in similar things earlier on.
I would have appreciated this book even if it had a more standard ending, because the depiction of his life is enthralling, vivid, and hard to put down. The descriptions of famine, and shortages, and riots, and the desperation that starving people are driven to is riveting. But, his character is also fascinating in his desire to dream and to obtain a better future for his family. The building of his windmill is inspirational, persevering in the face of ridicule and making do with junkyard parts. I very much became interested in William and desired to see his success by the end of the story. For those who are mechanically inclined, the details of how William improvised his windmill and other inventions will probably be fascinating. I am not so inclined, and cannot visualize things like that without a diagram, with was not included in the advance reader's edition, but I understand will be in the final version. So I just skimmed through some portions. But, these are only small portions of the book. I would have enjoyed seeing a bit more shared about his family's faith. His parents are Presbyterians, and his father isn't caught up in the fear of magic and curses, unlike many around them. "Respect the wizards, my son, but always remember, with God on your side, they have no power." There's the passing reference to Canaan or Noah or some such thing that lets you know William is knowledgeable of at least some portions of the Bible, but I really think a good portion of his hope and reaching to the future was because of his religious background (superstition does cause some opposition against his windmill). Overall, I would probably rate this book 5 stars, assuming the mechanical diagrams in the final edition are good, but even if not, I'd rate it a 4.5. This is a wonderful description of life in a poor African country, and a wonderful story of a boy striving for a future for his family. As he's currently in his early 20s, it will be interesting to see what he does in the future, and hopefully, he will be a further blessing to his countrymen. I will definitely read this book again in the future, and quite probably aloud to my children (currently 8 and under) a few years down the road. I highly recommend it.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) An incredible memoir about a young boy who becomes fascinated with the way things work. "How does this radio work?" ... "But HOW does it work?" From humble beginnings, William begins to figure out how to fix things, then create things, in turn creating a better life for himself and family and those around him.
It doesn't read quite like the other memoirs I've read recently. It reads like a novel, you forget that these are events that actually happened. This kid lived through this and accomplished feats that many of us in the modern, developed world can only fathom. It would be unfair to cite too many examples but from his early questions comes his first experiments with figuring out how radios work. Using cheap batteries and found wire, he figures out the difference between AC and DC, why FM and AM are different, different sources of power... of course all this leads to creating MORE power. All in all, a really great book. William Morrow (publisher) has been putting out a lot of great memoirs lately. Good job on their part for finding all of these gems! I hope they keep it up.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) Caution: Some spoilers below. This is the most awe inspiring book I have read in years. William Kamkwamba is a tribute to human inventiveness and persistence. William grows up in a society in Africa that believes that witchcraft can cause children to steal people's heads and play soccer with them during the night (without the headless person even noticing). All around him people are quite literally starving to death, eating corn husks and sawdust in an attempt to stay alive during a famine. He does not attend school because his parents can not afford the tuition (you and I spend more on a pair of shoes). In spite of all this he gets a hold of some science textbooks, written in English, and teaches himself the basics of electricity and magnetism. He scavenges junk yards and begins to build a windmill. Almost everyone thinks he is slightly crazy, even his own family. Until he gets the windmill working and powers up some small lights for his home. Then they are lining up to charge up their cell phones from his "electric wind". (one does wonder why they have cell phones in such a poor country) The book reads well, his voice comes through the prose and at the end you have some understanding of how he accomplished this astounding feat. This book humbled me, made me cry and also laugh out loud. Highly recommended.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) This autobiography of William Kamkwamba from Malawi, Africa tells about his journey from having little schooling and no resources to being able to build a windmill that generated electricity for his family, and eventually was able to power a water well for his village, improving their quality of life, and perhaps even saving lives. He details his father's conversion from a drinker and a fighter with quite a reputation, to becoming a Christian, and then setting a good example for his son. Along the way, we learn a little about the political and economic history of his country, and the basic problems that have led to frequent famines and food shortages. His determination to figure out how to build something that would generate electricity is fascinating. Hours and hours reading a few books from a library about electricity, tinkering around with transistor radios, eventually creating a little businees of repairing them, banging on junkyard parts for days to liberate a needed part, and ingenious makeshift tools makes this a fascinating and inspiring journey. Imagine using a nail driven through a corncob as a drill; and stamping a knife out of sheet metal and sharpening it by hand are a few samples of his resourcefulness.
I couldn't put this book down, it was so captivating. There are some heart-rending passages about the effects of famine; no longer is lack of food in Africa an abstract concept to me. Living for weeks, on one meal a day, consisting of a few mouth-fuls of cooked corn, and working in the fields for the next harvest, are detailed so well you can feel the strain. I would recommend this as a good book for mature teens to help them realize what can be accomplished when you have so little. There is some mention of superstitions and witch doctor magic, and some descriptions of violence, of people fighting to get food and seed from the government and others.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) I was actually thinking this book was going to be about the technical challenges that the character (who is also the author) had when attempting to build a windmill to harness power for his village. My initial take was wrong - this book is so much better.
This book is The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, mixed with The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America, but with its own twist... a struggling country that hasn't known anything else in modern history (rather than Depression/Dust bowl America) is "introduced" to a person who is unwilling to let things play out as others have. Can't pay for school? Then become a lazy drunk or a farmer. William Kamkwamba proves that those are not the only two options for those struggling with 3rd world poverty and a corrupt government. It's not so much that he is willing to build the windmill (or do self-study, or experiment on his own), because, given time, parts, and lack of distractions (TV/Video games/etc), I think many intelligent individuals would attempt similar feats. The powerful message here is - it can be done, and it was done. Despite challenges, being called crazy, living in poverty, and his own turmoil of almost starving, there was no giving up. A very good book - would recommend to anyone. While it doesn't deter at all from the value of book, for my own interest, I wish there would have been a few pictures of his windmill...it would have visually driven home the fact of technical improvising.
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?) As a scholar working in African Studies I always approach popular writing on Africa with a degree of skepticism, given the narrow range of tropes and stereotypes that one usually finds (see Binyavanga Wainaina's brilliant satire, "How to Write About Africa"). Fortunately this book runs against most of the common (mis)representations of rural Africa. From the start Kamkwamba is writing of a world shaped by colonialism, cash cropping, and the brutal pro-market policies of the World Bank and IMF. He vividly brings to life the risks of rainfed agriculture and the realities of hunger and HIV without falling into a depiction of Africa as victim, instead focusing on the myriad strategies (including his own) that people use to survive the uncertainties of climate and neoliberalism.
Overall the book is a delight to read, grounded in anecdotes of everyday life in rural Malawi, and evoking for me many memories of travelling and living in east and southern Africa. Some readers may find it a bit too free of descriptions of landscape and setting - I was constantly conjuring images from my own memory of the kind of small trading town where William seems to live. The last part of the book is probably the least satisfying -- after the dramatic stories of impoverished people on the edge of survival, the account of various wealthy Western sponsors who pop in and out of rural Africa was not so interesting. I was also frustrated that the nature of the relationship between author and co-author had been clarified -- the text makes no mention of the process of authorship. Despite these minor complaints, I really enjoyed the book, from the tales of witchcraft to the recaps of basic electrical engineering. It's certainly suited for high school level courses, and maybe first-year college courses. I could also see using some chapters as supplementary readings on famine and food security. Readers should also check out the afrigadget blog which has dozens of examples of African "makers" as well as reprints of some of the Malawian newspaper coverage of William's windmill. ... Read more | |
| 200. Physical Examination & Health Assessment (Jarvis, Physical Examination & Health Assessment) by Carolyn Jarvis PhDAPNCNP | |
 | Hardcover
list price: $99.95 -- our price: $72.32 (price subject to change: see help) Isbn: 1416032436 Publisher: Saunders Sales Rank: 2158 Average Customer Review:
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Editorial Review Reviews
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| 181-200 of 200 Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
A Terrible Disappointment, February 28, 2005
The Not-too-chemical Handbook, October 21, 2010