Book Description
In this rousing examination of contemporary American male identity, acclaimed author and journalist Elizabeth Gilbert explores the fascinating true story of Eustace Conway. In 1977, at the age of seventeen, Conway left his family's comfortable suburban home to move to the Appalachian Mountains. For more than two decades he has lived there, making fire with sticks, wearing skins from animals he has trapped, and trying to convince Americans to give up their materialistic lifestyles and return with him back to nature. To Gilbert, Conway's mythical character challenges all our assumptions about what it is to be a modern man in America; he is a symbol of much we feel how our men should be, but rarely are.
Customer Reviews:
The Last American Man .......2007-09-12
The lifestyle and ideals of Eustace Conway go against the current of modern life, yet it is the fascination others have with his lifestyle (if not his ideals) that carries him along. Disciples (he calls them apprentices) are as important to his way of living as is Turtle Island, the place in which he lives. This book is about his failures with people as much as his untiring pursuit of union with nature.
Limited portrayal .......2007-09-05
Gilbert writes that she had "doubts about writing the book" but when someone said "wouldn't you rather make a mistake by doing something than make a mistake by not doing something?" she felt compelled to write Conway's story. And that's the sad part because had she listened to her own doubt she might have postponed writing this book until she became a little older and wiser. Although a gifted writer, I believe it would have been a different story. I can't help but think that because of her focus, Conway will be reluctant to allow another biographer such access. This is a man, who has lived an incredible life, little of which we are privileged to see in this portrayal.
How we like, in certain intellectual circles, to tear down people--to focus only on the defect not the accomplishment, not the journey--not comprehending that life unfolds in its own beauty. Very little, unfortunately, was written about the remarkable accomplishments this man undertook and completed. Traveling down the Mississippi River, hiking across Alaska, scaling cliffs in New Zealand and living with the Navajo of New Mexico, surviving in the wilderness--all are given short shift. Instead the focus of her book is on Conway's troubled relationships with family, later with staff at Turtle Island and through out the book, in great detail, with the women he tried to bond with along the way.
And then there's Gilbert's commentary--about politics, feminism, men's rituals, his family relationships--difficult at times to ascertain fact from tongue--in--cheek, admiration and pure condemnation. A powerful story tells itself--it doesn't need commentary. Let the readers draw their own conclusions. It sometimes felt as if Gilbert needed more pages turned out, thus the commentary--but come on--what a great story to tell, so many more things much more interesting to know . . .
Finally, people notice different things. Some pay more attention to feelings and things, others to nature, logic, art, science. Besides choosing different information to focus on (which often says more about ourselves than others), we also have access to different information. We tend to believe as if we have all the important information there is to know about another, but we don't and so what we choose to focus on is limited by what we see. Age often, but not always, expands what we are capable of seeing. And that's my main problem with this book.
Gilbert was young when she wrote it, most likely struggling with her own relationships, her own identity as a woman and thus the focus of her book. She repeatedly states, for example, that Conway's father was verbally abusive yet writes little concerning two extraordinary attempts of both father and son at reconciliation and yet, isn't this the more poignant story? Did she just have a deadline to meet? (And let me reveal my bias!)
Her portrayal is of a damaged man, not a man in the process of becoming. Becoming what? I don't know but from direct quotes of his conversations with her, a man willing to reflect upon his own life. This could have been a great biography and I'm not stating Gilbert shouldn't have delved into Conway's troubled relationships. I'm simply saying it is only part of the story, filled with commentary when the story could have been presented more powerfully and more simply merely by letting the story tell itself while including the extraordinary with the ordinary.
Modern Day Mountain Man.......2007-06-19
Fascinating read. You will come away admiring Eustace's work ethic and self sufficiency and will also question his intolerance for "us." Good lessons about American Utopian societies of the past and some of the lesser known facts about Mountain Men like Daniel Boone and Kit Karson. It is also "cold water in the face" to any dreamer who wishes to give everything away and start a new life in the wilderness.
Next generation Ed Abbey.......2007-05-31
In the end, Eustace Conway is no more or less human than the rest of us. He's got his own family issues and seems to be internally conflicted about what will bring him peace vs. what he should do. For those decrying Ms. Gilbert's awards, feel free to market the books you've written. The point of this book seems to be as much a reflection of her process to understand Mr. Conway as it is a description of his life. While her writing is more informal than "literature" (whatever that is), she effectively entices the reader to join in her journey. This book was enjoyable, as was Eat, Pray, Love. It provided a brief insight into living closer to the earth. Whether we agree is beside the point. Mr. Conway seems to be comparable to Ed Abbey in his view of the world, lust for life, difficulty in reconciling inner peace with changing other people's behavior, and inability to settle down with a family. We could all take away some of his respect for life (/nature) and our individual responsibility in recognizing how we each impact our environment. I'm looking forward to learning more about his efforts at Turtle Island.
Not what I expected.......2007-05-23
A friend suggested this book to me, because of my interests in nature. Although the book can be interesting, it did not hold my interest as well as I had expected. Not to mention the ending was completely the opposite of what I expected.
Book Description
Whether he is nurturing a single rare seedling into a blossoming tree or planning acres of exquisitely conceived royal gardens, John Tradescant's fame and skill as a gardener are unsurpassed in seventeenth-century England. But it is Tradescant's clear-sighted honesty and loyalty that make him an invaluable servant, and in his role as informal confidant during garden strolls with Sir Robert Cecil, adviser to King James I, he witnesses the making of history, from the Gunpowder Plot to the accession of King Charles I and the growing animosity between Parliament and court.
Tradescant's talents soon come to the attention of the most powerful man in the country, the irresistible Duke of Buckingham, the lover of King Charles I. Tradescant has always been faithful to his masters, but Buckingham is unlike any he has ever known: flamboyant, outrageously charming, and utterly reckless. Every certainty upon which Tradescant has based his life -- his love of his wife and children, his passion for his work, his loyalty to his country -- is shattered as he follows Buckingham to court, to war, and to the forbidden territories of human love.
From the details of garden design and innovation to the politics of a growing revolution which was to kill a king and turn a world upside down, Philippa Gregory once again makes history come alive through the people whose passions shaped that world.
Download Description
"Whether he is nurturing a single rare seedling into a blossoming tree or planning acres of exquisitely conceived royal gardens, John Tradescant's fame and skill as a gardener are unsurpassed in seventeenth-century England. But it is Tradescant's clear-sighted honesty and loyalty that make him an invaluable servant, and in his role as informal confidant during garden strolls with Sir Robert Cecil, adviser to King James I, he witnesses the making of history, from the Gunpowder Plot to the accession of King Charles I and the growing animosity between Parliament and court. Tradescant's talents soon come to the attention of the most powerful man in the country, the irresistible Duke of Buckingham, the lover of King Charles I. Tradescant has always been faithful to his masters, but Buckingham is unlike any he has ever known: flamboyant, outrageously charming, and utterly reckless. Every certainty upon which Tradescant has based his life -- his love of his wife and children, his passion for his work, his loyalty to his country -- is shattered as he follows Buckingham to court, to war, and to the forbidden territories of human love. From the details of garden design and innovation to the politics of a growing revolution which was to kill a king and turn a world upside down, Philippa Gregory once again makes history come alive through the people whose passions shaped that world. "
Customer Reviews:
Sexual Impropriety?.......2007-08-30
I have read several of Philippa Gregory's books; at least one from each series (the Tudor stories, Wide Acre and now Earthly Joys). And while I find her writing engaging and her characters intellectually attractive, I strongly feel that there must be something amiss in her psyche. That she can write so vividly about sexual-taboos makes me wonder what went on in her own life.
I glossed over the overtly sexual goings-on of the Other Boleyn Sister, The Constant Princess and The Queen's Fool, attributing it to the eccentricity of royal life. However, I threw Wide Acre away and refused to read the remaining stories of the series.
From the beginning of Earthly Joys I was waiting for the sexual deviancy at every page turned. I feel that the physical relationship between the gardener and the duke was unnecessary. The plot and John's character development would in no way have been compromised had she left out their tryst. Furthermore, I don't believe that the shipboard encounter advance either character; on the contrary I feel that her inclusion of sex in their relationship only weakened my trust of John's steadfast and honest character (and quiet frankly of Ms. Gregory's mental capacity).
I would have enjoyed this story so much more had she left out the physical relationship between John and the Duke. I will not be recommending this novel to anyone.
Boring, disappointing rubbish........2006-12-15
As an avid fan of all other novels by Philippa Gregory, I was terribly let down by this one. Unless you are a gardener or botanist interested in the origins of English gardening, there is nothing remotely interesting about this story. And even the historical facts, which are usually so masterfully intertwined with the plot in Gregory's other books, are given very little attention. The main focus is on the characters, but the characters never change or grow or learn from past experience. One theme is established at the outset of the book, and it just continues in the same dull vein until the end. Stuck with it because of how much I loved her other work, but I'm sorry that I wasted weeks of reading on this dud.
weird.......2006-11-30
Have enjoyed her other books. this book proves that "company men" live in all ages. Career is just more fun than familys.the book wanders like a vine, not a good first choice read.
earthly Joys.......2006-08-11
Philippa Gregory seems to have kept quite close to historical facts in accuracy, when comparing her fiction to a factual book on Tradescant's life.
It is a pacy read with emotional and erotic scenes;good descriptions of the finding of rarities and plants, modes of travel, social,religious,political feelings of the time.
The story brings history to life.
earthly joys.......2006-03-20
I have read all of Phillipa Gregory's books, and always eagerly await her next, but this was a miss. I was very disappointed in this stilted, boring book...I can only imagine that it is enjoyable to garden enthusiasts. Unlike Gregory's other novels, which have unexpected twists and enough action to keep one interested, 'Joys' drags on, with pages and pages devouted solely to plant descriptions. Gregory's attempt at some sort of 'love connection' between the gardener and his master is completely unromantic. I encourage anyone who likes this genre to read Phillip Gregory's work-just don't bother with this one.
Average customer rating:
- "Virgin Earth"
- Annoying Main Character
- Virgin Earth
- 2ND GENERATIION GARDENER TO KINGS
- Philippa, what is happening?
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Virgin Earth: A Novel
Philippa Gregory
Manufacturer: Touchstone
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Earthly Joys: A Novel
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Meridon
ASIN: 0743272536 |
Book Description
As England descends into civil war, John Tradescant the Younger, gardener to King Charles I, finds his loyalties in question, his status an ever-growing danger to his family. Fearing royal defeat and determined to avoid serving the rebels, John escapes to the royalist colony of Virginia, a land bursting with fertility that stirs his passion for botany. Only the native American peoples understand the forest, and John is drawn to their way of life just as they come into fatal conflict with the colonial settlers. Torn between his loyalty to his country and family and his love for a Powhatan girl who embodies the freedom he seeks, John has to find himself before he is prepared to choose his direction in the virgin land.
In this enthralling, freestanding sequel to Earthly Joys, Gregory combines a wealth of gardening knowledge with a haunting love story that spans two continents and two cultures, making Virgin Earth a tour de force of revolutionary politics and passionate characters.
Download Description
"As England descends into civil war, John Tradescant the Younger, gardener to King Charles I, finds his loyalties in question, his status an ever-growing danger to his family. Fearing royal defeat and determined to avoid serving the rebels, John escapes to the royalist colony of Virginia, a land bursting with fertility that stirs his passion for botany. Only the native American peoples understand the forest, and John is drawn to their way of life just as they come into fatal conflict with the colonial settlers. Torn between his loyalty to his country and family and his love for a Powhatan girl who embodies the freedom he seeks, John has to find himself before he is prepared to choose his direction in the virgin land. In this enthralling, freestanding sequel to Earthly Joys, Gregory combines a wealth of gardening knowledge with a haunting love story that spans two continents and two cultures, making Virgin Earth a tour de force of revolutionary politics and passionate characters.
Customer Reviews:
"Virgin Earth".......2007-09-30
This book is very long and at times tedious. Gregory has vivid descriptions of EVERYthing. Her characters were good. We reviewed this in book club and after discussion, I found out I remembered and enjoyed more than I realized!
Annoying Main Character.......2007-09-28
I usually love Philippa Gregory's books. But this one, for me, was lacking. The main character was frankly annoying--from the beginning of the book to its VERY disappointing ending. I agree with another poster who had a hard time understand how three intelligent women could love this guy. The reason I gave it two stars (instead of one or none) was because the book did have its moments. The time spent in early Virgina and the look into the lives of King Charles I and the story behind the English civil war were interesting. I just wish the story could have been told from another main character's perspective.
Virgin Earth.......2007-09-05
I love the writings of Phillipa Gregory. Most of them are historic and based on true happenings. I find that she has researched her material well. I have read most of her writings. I only recently found out that she wrote a few children's books.
2ND GENERATIION GARDENER TO KINGS.......2007-08-15
NOT A VERY LIKEABLE CHARACTER BUT THE STORY IS AN INTERSTING PERSPECTIVE OF EARLY ENGLISH AND AMERICAN HISTORY FROM A GARDENER'S PERSPECTIVE.
Philippa, what is happening?.......2007-07-26
Phillipa became one of my most sought after authors after reading the juicy and wnderful Other Boleyn Girl. Followed by Queen's Fool, I was hooked, chasing bookstores for her next delivery of her next book. Since then, I have read The Constant Princess, Virgin's Lover, Earthly Joys, Wise Woman, and Virgin Earth. All these are 3 stars at best.
The writing is no longer rich with descriptives. Plots become unbelievable and basic. There is no longer much historical reference in these, making them feel like 'supermarket novels'.
Very dissappointing, since after Anya Seton (Katherine may be the best England/Historical novel yet), she was my favorite historical writer.
It feels like her publisher is pushing her to cough up a new book every year and the writing feels strained and rushed. She needs to stop and smell the flowers and let the historical imagination flow again.
Book Description
A fresh look at Darwin's most radical idea, and the mysteriously slow process by which he revealed it.
Evolution, during the early nineteenth century, was an idea in the air. Other thinkers had suggested it, but no one had proposed a cogent explanation for how evolution occurs. Then, in September 1838, a young Englishman named Charles Darwin hit upon the idea that "natural selection" among competing individuals would lead to wondrous adaptations and species diversity. Twenty-one years passed between that epiphany and publication of On the Origin of Species. The human drama and scientific basis of Darwin's twenty-one-year delay constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution.
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin is a book for everyone who has ever wondered about who this man was and what he said. Drawing from Darwin's secret "transmutation" notebooks and his personal letters, David Quammen has sketched a vivid life portrait of the man whose work never ceases to be controversial.
Customer Reviews:
Beware the audio book verson.......2007-09-13
Be forewarned: the narrator of the audio book version is an unfortunate cross between J. Peterman from Seinfeld, Mike Wallace from 60 Minutes, and the narrator of old elementary school film strips. The content is very good (as described in other reviews posted here) but you should have a friendly warning about the audio version. The narrator will put you to sleep.
Short, Fast, and Informative.......2007-04-25
"The Reluctant Mr. Darwin" by David Quammen is a concise, fun, and fast read. If you want to learn the bullet points about Charles Darwin's life and the formative people, events, and intellectual and social climate that surrounded Darwin's publication of the On the Origin of Species, then this book is for you. Quammen does not spend too much time on any one point, but maintains a theme that Darwin was not lazy in publishing his famous book many years after his voyage but reluctant, wanting to make sure his ideas were sound and well evidenced.
An outline of Darwin's life can be found in many places, even Wikipedia, but what makes Quammen's book particularly helpful is the sections he devotes to writing about Darwin's contemporaries and their contributions to natural history and Darwin's work. Quammen writes about Charles Lyell and his advocacy of the idea of uniformitarianism, the idea that was formed by slow-moving processes, which opposed the idea of catastrophism, the idea that was consistent with Christian theology of the times and based on the belief that certain catastrophes shaped the geologic features of the earth as it is today. Quammen also writes about John-Baptiste Lamarck and his idea of the inheritance of acquired traits, an idea that has been found to be incorrect, but one that Darwin uses in his famous book. These sections in "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin" give historical and scientific context to Darwin's work and allow the reader to more completely appreciate the specific and significant contribution that Darwin made in advocating the idea of evolution by natural selection.
Another important aspect of Quammen's book was how Quammen made it a point to show the evolution of Darwin's famous publication from its infancy, where he first wrote his ideas in journals titled Journal A, Journal B, Journal C, and so on to his obsession with writing a tome that covered every possible argument and objection to his idea with as much evidence as possible to his final rushed publishing of On the Origin of Species due to the threat of Alfred Russel Wallace nearly publishing the same theory before Darwin himself.
This book definitely gives the reader a good picture of Darwin and the social and scientific climate in which he lived. I came away from the book having what I felt was a basic yet complete understanding of Darwin's life.
On the Evolution of Darwin.......2007-04-25
I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick read on the life and works of Charles Darwin. David Quammen beautifully integrates excerpts from primary sources into this biography, really making the work a book, and not just a really long research paper. The sections are smartly headed and the writing style is engaging and makes the biography an easy and interesting read.
The biography itself provides an intimate portrait of Charles Darwin the son, husband, father, friend, etc., which also reveals much about his tendencies as a scientist. The author gives a good overview of all the theories regarding speciation that had already been discussed throughout the intellectual community before Darwin came up with his idea on the "transmutation" of species. It was particularly interesting when trying to imagine a society before the theory of evolution. My struggles to do so only further demonstrate how much Darwin has impacted our modern thinking. Quammen's summary on the ideas and examples provided in "The Origin of Species" may be interesting to many who do not wish to read the 500 pages or so of the actual book, but in my opinion, it was unnecessarily dry and seemed out of place in an otherwise interesting and engaging work.
However, one point that I particularly enjoyed was the fact that Quammen explored the evolution of Darwin's theory of evolution: from the beginnings of its fabrication in "notebook B" to its revealing to the public in the first edition of "Origins" to subsequent subtle changes in order to rectify problems brought up by opponents and finally to its modern applications in the field of molecular biology. The author definitely provided a persuading argument on the "fitness" of Darwin's great idea.
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen.......2007-03-31
This book is by far one of the best I have read on Darwin. David Quammen puts you inside the period in Enland as well as providing a great understanding of Darwins personal thinking and self doubt as he formulated his theories on evolution. This is an excellent book for anyone but especially a non-scientist such as myself.
Larry Wilkinson
Howell, Michigan
Quammen on Darwin.......2007-03-12
This work focuses on the post Beagle period of Darwins life, and although I would have liked more included on Wallace, Lyell,and Huxley, Darwin was the deserving subject.
David Quammen is an excellent writer on science and scientists, and if you are starting with this work, you should check out his other works.
Average customer rating:
- Short and usefull
- Expected more
- Glad I had it!
- Pocket Guide Intro
- Nice laminated quick guide to common animals/birds
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Costa Rican Wildlife: An Introduction to Familiar Species (Pocket Naturalist - Waterford Press)
James Kavanagh
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ASIN: 1583550739 |
Customer Reviews:
Short and usefull.......2007-08-08
I'm back from Costa Rica and I can say this booklet is a good resumé of what you can see in that wonderful country. On 152 differents species shown on the booklet we saw 16 of them. I will bring it with me on my next trip in hope to see more.
Expected more.......2007-05-13
This handy pocket guide has the most frequently seen species, but I expected a bit more. Handy, but not what I expected.
Glad I had it!.......2007-03-29
I wasn't holding out much hope for value on this little "brochure" of wildlife but it turned out to be very nice to have. We just returned from a trip to Panama and Costa Rica and the guides - experienced naturalists with National Geographic and also from the parks and the Smithsonian - used it along with others. They are available for different regions and types of wildlife and I purchased two more when I was down there. Easy to carry on a hike, easy to refer to and great for the kids. They are certainly very basic but we were in isolated areas and some of us only got glimpses of an anteater or agouti so as the naturalists were talking about it, we could look at the guide and try to spot it again. Then if I only saw the tail, I knew what it looked like! Hiking up 300-500 ft. on muddy uneven trails with a camera in one hand, binoculars around my neck and a small backpack with water and such, it was hard to pull out a book for reference so if your trip is going to be at all like that, I recommend them.
Pocket Guide Intro.......2006-03-16
This booklet was offered as a bundle with another book I purchased. The booklet itself is well done, but not very extensive re: the wildlife of Costa Rica. It seemed to be a bit pricey to me, even at a discounted rate, for what I received.
Nice laminated quick guide to common animals/birds.......2005-09-29
These are great for families, casual wildlife fans. For die-hard bird fans, you'll need the BIG Birds of Costa Rica book.
Customer Reviews:
Good hagiography of a controversial man.......2003-05-04
This is a good introduction to the theories and life of Viktor Schauberger, an Austrian naturalist and inventor. Born in 1885, Schauberger started life as a forester who tried to understand and copy Nature. From watching mountain streams he developed unorthodox theories based on vortex movement about water and its use. He started out designing highly efficient log flumes that used water in vortex motion and at its densest temperature of 4 degrees Centigrade. He then proposed cleaning up the Rhine River by rebuilding the natural curves which stimulate vortex motion in the water. He said that this vortex motion in the Earth caused spring water to be more alive than plain water. He believed that plants grew better in this living water and developed laboratory sized egg-shaped water energizers to activate water.
He also developed theories about the harmfulness of iron and steel tools in agriculture and proposed replacing them with copper ones. He designed an egg-shaped composter that was supposed to develop Noble compost which would be much more beneficial in gardens.
Around the Second World War his theories and experiments take a much different direction and he starts talking about Implosion energy as opposed to combustion explosion energy. He starts developing machines that generate more energy than they use and that run on water and air. Out of this research he claims to have developed a domestic power station that generates large outputs of energy from slight streams of running water. Even more fantastic is a flying saucer that used a 1/20 horsepower electric motor as a starter and then ran on the surrounding flow of air. The research on these inventions was destroyed at the end of the war. Schauberger and his son Walter never seem to have been able to find the resources to develop working models again.
Today his theories on vortex motion of water are taught at the Anthroposophical Emerson College in England. His copper farming tools are sold from the school his son Walter started, the Pythagoras Kepler Schule in Austria. His water, forestry, and farming theories have been accepted by Biodynamic Farming communities and may be helpful to organic farmers today.
There are two appendices at the end of the book by New Age science experts on the underlying theories of vortex energy. I find these actually detract from the book rather than help it. A Bibliography also is less than useful. Most of the sources are to obscure journals or original Austrian publications. These types of resources are less than helpful in such an introductory text.
Perfect Start for anyone interested in Learning about Water.......2002-04-06
I agree that this book is only a brief introduction into the thoughts of Schauberger but hopefully many people are inspired by this book to move forward into the area of water research in an effort to uncover many more truths about what really makes water healthy.
Unfortunately there is so much...on the market, evolving around new-age water products, which in-no-way copy Mother Nature as Viktor had stressed. All these people need to purchase this book in order to obtain some form of initial clarity if they are going to be involved in water research or water products of any kind. Living-water; revitalized-water; restructured water; clustered & micro-clustered-water; alkaline water; Pi-water; crystal-water; snowflake-water; cupcake-water; energized-water; polarized-water; magnetized-water; and all the many others that are on the market have obviously never read any of Viktor's work or at least understood it. Let us all use Viktor's work as a basis to change the planet and make this world a better place to live.
An Excellent Appetizer, Please Pass the Main Course.......2001-04-16
This is an excellent, brief introduction to the thought of Viktor Schauberger, and I hope it inspires works which are more complete. Callum Coates' books reach in this direction, but what is really needed are more people to read these books, synthesize their information, and come up with new and original books which take us further into depth in these areas. This will probably involve synthesizing the work of Schauberger, Grander, Bienveniste, and others.
An understanding of Schauberger is very important for those attempting to reconstruct an Indigenous European Perspective. Schauberger has the elements of a modern water shaman, and his shamanic / intuitive techniques of letting his body float with the water should be closely correlated with what Hans Peter Duerr has to say about "out of body" experience in his tome "Dreamtime". Although Schauberger lived in the 20th Century, his perspective allows us to imagine back what earlier indigenous practitioners may have been like. The Colonial, Imperialist Europe is only one side of the coin of Europe. We must also include the suppressed indigenous, pagan, and green sides. Significantly, the Inquisition represents a watershed in European history where a great deal of the indigenous healers and theorists were wiped out in holocaust proportions. An understanding of Schauberger, coupled with an appreciation of Steiner, Hildegard of Bingen, Hans Peter Duerr, and others, will allow us to reconstruct what a noncolonial, nonimperialist Europe was like.
Understanding water's nature is essential in this regard, for water forms the basis of our understandings of flow. Furthermore, understanding water's energetic qualities will help us understand how it interacts with the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, would benefit from an accurate and holistic understanding of water's qualities.
In short, this book is an excellent appetizer, but I await the main course ...
Thought provoking intro to little-known qualities of water.......1998-11-19
Although it occasionally veers into new-age speculation or pseudoscience, this book offers a rare look at truly alternative ideas about water and energy. The description of Schauberger's early work with flumes is enthralling, and the brief exposition of "flow forms" towards the end of the book is valuable. Search "flow forms" in any web search engine to see some of the sites around the world espousing a fascinating technology that unites water pollution control with esthetics.
Great introduction to IMPLOSION and what we missed out !.......1998-08-24
I have to say - I got very AGGRAVATED by some portions of this book , because it TOTALLY agreed and expanded on my very own frustrations with our retarded "modern" technologies.
I have ALWAYS dreaded NOISE - I haven't done empirical research on this subject, but my gut instinct has led me to run from & truly hate noisy machines. I feel like someone were stabbing me when I am exposed to a Harley Davidson on the road ! The only friends I really have in this matter I think are the ANIMALS - have you ever noticed the DREAD & FEAR with which ANY animal reacts to our machines ( most notably our motors - be they lawnmowers, drilling machines ... ) Even birds totally abhor the NOISE from our aircraft & automobiles .. notice their flight, as from terror, when they are flying over traffic !
Now I see that IMPLOSION is essentially a NOISELESS phenomenon !! And this is the technology that truly supports the LIVING ! My question - FOLKS, WHEN WILL WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NOT MACHINES ?? AND OUR SPIRITUALITY IS NOT SOME GOD-DEVIL-CRAP but a PHYSICAL manifestation of the higher ????
" They have eyes, but they don't see ..... "
Book Description
Charles Darwin’s foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human. A sensation on its publication in 1859, The Origin of the Species profoundly shocked Victorian readers by calling into question the belief in a Creator with its description of evolution through natural selection. And Darwin’s seminal work is nearly as controversial today. In her illuminating study, Browne delves into the long genesis of Darwin’s theories, from his readings as a university student and his five-year voyage on the Beagle, to his debates with contemporaries and experiments in his garden. She explores the shock to Darwin when he read of competing scientist’s similar discoveries and the wide and immediate impact of Darwin’s theories on the world. As one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, Browne’s history takes readers inside The Origin of the Species and shows why it can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published.
Customer Reviews:
You can ask for little more in so little space.......2007-09-09
Simple me, I enjoyed the book tremendously. I was impressed by the author's ability to cover so much territory in so little space (the book is, in the end, a biography of both Darwin and Darwinism). Even condensed, it reads well. The last chapter, on the fate of Darwinism after his death, did seem a little rushed, but it was all so new to me that I was happy to have it, rather than nothing at all. This is, after all, an introductory book, and after you have read it, you can look elsewhere for something more substantial. You should judge a book by what it sets out to do, not by what you would do if you were the author.
Adequate.......2007-06-07
This short book is devoted to exploring Darwin's Origin of Species. Browne provides concise summaries of the background to the Origin, Darwin's life, the circumstances under which it was published, and its reception. Overall, these parts of the book are solid and essentially glosses of Browne's outstanding 2 volume biography of Darwin. The final part of the book is a brief tour of the subsequent history of Darwinian ideas from the late 19th century to the present. This is simply too much stuff in too brief a format and is superficial.
Readers interested in a better exploration of this topic would do well to read Browne's biography of Darwin. This is a thick book but very well written and is simply superb as an introduction to Darwin and the relevant 19th century history. Another complementary and excellent book is Ruse's The Darwinian Revolution.
This author knows the subject too well to explain it.......2007-05-22
This book was very disappointing to me, in that it failed to accomplish its main task. It's supposed to help us see how The Origin of Species changed the world, right? To do that it would have to make us see what the belief system was that Darwin's book upset. What did intelligent, educated people believe about animal and other species before Darwin came along? Why was his thesis so shocking? I am sure Janet Browne herself understands this thoroughly, but she makes the Number One mistake of bad pedagogues, which is to fail to imagine what her readers know and don't know - to fail to see the subject from her readers' point of view. We all live in a world steeped in the idea that species evolved over vast spans of time, through random variations, into the ones we know today, which are still evolving. Before Darwin, however, a different dogma was in the air, and I could not grasp from Browne's text what it was.
She should have devoted a whole chapter to putting us back into that mind-set, so we could then appreciate the shock of Darwin's theory.
Book Description
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring antagonized some of the most powerful interests in the nation--including the farm block and the agricultural chemical industry--and helped launch the modern environmental movement. In The Gentle Subversive, Mark Hamilton Lytle offers a compact life of Carson, illuminating the road that led to this vastly influential book. Lytle explores the evolution of Carson's ideas about nature, her love for the sea, her career as a biologist, and above all her emergence as a writer of extraordinary moral and ecological vision. We follow Carson from her childhood on a farm outside Pittsburgh, where she first developed her love of nature (and where, at age eleven, she published her first piece in a children's magazine), to her graduate work at Johns Hopkins and her career with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Lytle describes the genesis of her first book, Under a Sea Wind, the incredible success of The Sea Around Us (a New York Times Bestseller for over a year), and her determination to risk her fame in order to write her "poison book": Silent Spring. The author contends that despite Carson's demure, lady-like demeanor, she was subversive in her thinking and aggressive in her campaign against pesticides. Carson became the spokeswoman for a network of conservationists, scientists, and concerned citizens who had come to fear the mounting dangers of the human assault on nature. What makes this story particularly compelling is that Carson took up this cause at the very moment when she herself faced a losing battle against cancer. Succinct and engaging, The Gentle Subversive is a story of success, celebrity, controversy, and vindication. It will inspire anyone interested in protecting the natural world or in women's struggle to find a voice in society.
Customer Reviews:
A sensitive subject indeed.......2007-06-25
Rachel Carson's careless criticism of DDT killed millions of people, mostly poor children, a point that deserved better coverage in this book. Even today, decades later, there is still no good alternative to DDT for fighting malaria.
Carson was correct to point out that DDT has very bad side effects, but as it turns out, banning DDT has had much worse side effects. Science eventually determined that very small amounts of DDT would have been effective against malaria-carrying mosquitos and safe for the environment-- but Carson's rush to judgement prevented the scientific facts from being adequately investigated and considered.
She and her followers in the environmentalist movement refused to consider the full consequences of their actions, and millions of people have paid the price for that refusal.
. png
A Beautiful Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson.......2007-03-08
Mark Lytle does fine justice to the legacy of Rachel Carson in this well researched summary of her early life, upbringing, education, professional experiences, evolution of her writing and publishing culminating with the struggles to write and publish her most potent and last book, "Silent Spring", a dire warning of how deadly pesticide and herbicide assaults were damaging the health of ecosystems and non-targeted life forms including humans and which many proffer, launched the modern age of environmentalism.
Lytle continues Carson's beautiful legacy in his "Epilogue" and "Afterword".
Packed with an abundance of notes, citations and bibliography, this little book gives one a huge sense of awe and admiration for Carson's perseverance and dedication to educate the world about the interconnectedness and beauty of Nature and to cultivate a sense of responsibility and good stewardship.
Average customer rating:
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Beyond Impressionism: The Naturalist Impulse
Gabriel P. Weisberg
Manufacturer: HNA Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810919222 |
Book Description
Before Darwin, before Audubon, there was Merian. An artist turned naturalist known for her botanical illustrations, she was born just sixteen years after Galileo proclaimed that the earth orbited the sun. But at the age of fifty she sailed from Europe to the New World on a solo scientific expedition to study insect metamorphosis—an unheard-of journey for any naturalist at that time, much less a woman. When she returned she produced a book that secured her reputation, only to have it savaged in the nineteenth century by scientists who disdained the work of “amateurs.”
Exquisitely written and illustrated, Chrysalis takes us from golden-age Amsterdam to the Surinam tropics to modern laboratories where Merian’s insights fuel a new branch of biology. Kim Todd brings to life a seventeenth-century woman whose boldness and vision would still be exceptional today.
Customer Reviews:
A gorgeous biography surveying her life and achievements........2007-05-17
Today Maria Merian is mostly known for her lovely butterfly prints, but back in 1699 she sailed from Amsterdam to South America on an expedition to study metamorphosis - a rare journey for any naturalist of the times, much less a woman over fifty - and spent two years in the tropical jungle seeking out caterpillars and studying butterflies. Her accomplishments were largely dismissed and forgotten but come to life here in a gorgeous biography surveying her life and achievements.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Fascinating new book.......2007-01-21
Ever since "Tinkering with Eden," I have been eagerly awaiting Kim Todd's next book, and, with "Chrysalis," she does not disappoint. Anyone who enjoys a good biography should read this book - and for that reason, it's a great book to give as a gift. The topic sounds obscure, but Todd's vivid prose brings her remarkable subject to life. Highly recommended!
Books:
- The Naked Truth: A Working Woman's Manifesto on Business and What Really Matters
- The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates (Volume 1)
- The Synaptic Organization of the Brain
- Thermodynamics and Kinetics for the Biological Sciences
- This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future
- Vertebrate Life (7th Edition)
- Vertebrate Life (7th Edition)
- Walker's Bats of the World
- Wheater's Functional Histology: A Text and Colour Atlas
- YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger
Books Index
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