Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before

Book Description

A visual odyssey that will change the way we see our planet, this remarkable book, companion to the acclaimed Discovery Channel/ BBC series, is an enduring and awe-inspiring record of one of the most ambitious natural history projects ever undertaken. Using the latest aerial surveillance, state-of-the-art cameras, and high definition technology, the creators of Planet Earth have assembled more than 400 stunning photographs of wondrous natural landscapes from around the globe, including incredible footage of the rarely spotted, almost mythical creatures that live in these habitats. Many of the images reveal inaccessible places that few have seen and record animal behavior that has never been filmed or photographed before. With the help of this highly advanced technology and the world's premier wildlife photographers, the book takes us on a spectacular journey from the world's greatest rivers and impressive gorges, to its mightiest mountains, hidden caves and caverns, and vast deserts. Planet Earth captures breathtaking sequences of predators and their prey, lush vistas of forests viewed from the tops of towering trees, the oceans and their mysterious creatures viewed from beneath the surface, and much more--in a magnificent adventure that brings unknown wonders of the natural world into our living rooms.
Copub: BBC Worldwide Americas

Customer Reviews:

Planet Earth........2007-08-14

Wow!!! my 8 year old loves this DVD. Very interesting to watch. Does have some parts that my 8 year old has a trouble watching, this is the section of life and death in the food chain. Otherwise highly recommended, in HD DVD is Awesome....

Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before.......2007-08-10

I have not had a chance to even break the seal on this new book as yet. I skimmed this book at a bookstore, and then decided to buy it. If you saw the mini-series on Discovery or Animal Planet, you will be impressed with this book as well. For those with children, this book is a must.

A Great Coffee Table Book.......2007-08-04

A great companion book to the dvd series.

magnificent.......2007-07-30

Amazing photos and wonderous facts regarding everything imaginable to the unusual. Our family has enjoyed this educational and spellbinding photography.

Glorious.......2007-07-27

Beautifully photographed and informational, this book should be on every nature lover's shelf. The "Planet Earth" series, which I watch weekly on Animal Planet, is even more jaw-dropping. I thank the generous and unbelievably courageous people who have the cojones to make this possible!

Julie Townsend
Metairie, LA

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography (8th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Too tedious and unorganized
Refund
Great for AP Human Geography

The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography (8th Edition)
James M. Rubenstein
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

How to Prepare for the AP Human Geography Exam (Barron's How to Prepare for the Ap Human Geography Advanced Placement Exam)
Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography
An Introduction to Human Geography Eighth Edition: The Cultural Landscape
Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas 21st Edition
Human Geography in Action

ASIN: 0131429396

Book Description

Trusted for its timeliness and readability, this book introduces geography by emphasizing the relevance of geographic concepts to human problems. Two years after Rubenstein's Update Edition was created to encompass the events of September 11, 2001, this revision also begins the careful process of putting those events into perspective. Provides new "Global Forces and Local Impacts" boxes in each chapter that explore in depth an issue related to chapter material, focusing on particular regions of the world. Includes new material on medical geography, terrorism, mineral resources, sustainable development, conservation, and biodiversity. Presents new information on gender differences in development . Expands material on Ethnicity, relating ethnicity problems to political conflict; also incorporates material previously found elsewhere in the book, such as U.S. urban patterns and South Africa's history of apartheid. For anyone interested in learning more about world geography.

Customer Reviews:

Too tedious and unorganized.......2005-12-06

Although I recognize the intelligence of the author, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not assigned to have it. The book does very little to help the reader comprehend the information beyond the "Key Terms." I, too, am taking an AP/IB Human Geography Course, and I found this textbook utterly useless. Please, save your money and time and buy a better book. Of course, if you are in college and like to waste your time reading tedious books, then this is your ticket!

Refund.......2004-08-25

I realized after placing the order that I wasn't quite ready to buy the book and my money was refunded instantly.

Great customer service and quick response time.

Great for AP Human Geography.......2003-12-29

Currently I am taking an AP Human Geography class in my high school and this is the book we were assigned to buy. This book has wonderful charts and pictures along with descriptions. This book goes into depth and doesn't only touch the surface. I recomend this book to AP Human Geography teachers and students!

Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape

Average customer rating:

Fair
Well-written, concise, with specific examples
Open Business Models for Those Who Rely on Technology Innovation and Need Intellectual Property Protection
Innovation requires an open mind...and the courage to challenge "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom."
The World It Is a'Changin

Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape
Henry Chesbrough
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating And Profiting from Technology
Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation
Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

ASIN: 1422104273

Book Description

In his landmark book Open Innovation, Henry Chesbrough demonstrated that because useful knowledge is no longer concentrated in a few large organizations, business leaders must adopt a new, “open” model of innovation. Using this model, companies look outside their boundaries for ideas and intellectual property (IP) they can bring in, as well as license their unutilized home-grown IP to other organizations.

In Open Business Models, Chesbrough takes readers to the next step—explaining how to make money in an open innovation landscape. He provides a diagnostic instrument enabling you to assess your company’s current business model, and explains how to overcome common barriers to creating a more open model. He also offers compelling examples of companies that have developed such models—including Procter & Gamble, IBM, and Air Products.

In addition, Chesbrough introduces a new set of players—“innovation intermediaries”—who facilitate companies’ access to external technologies. He explores the impact of stronger IP protection on intermediate markets for innovation, and profiles firms (such as Intellectual Ventures and Qualcomm) that center their business model on innovation and IP.

This vital resource provides a much-needed road map to connect innovation with IP management, so companies can create and capture value from ideas and technologies—wherever in the world they are found.

Customer Reviews:

Fair.......2007-06-21

This is another pretty good book from the author. As in his earlier book, he starts with the motivation for open innovation, which is an old idea but that is not well practiced. In this new book he addresses many of the shorcomings of the first book, such as getting real value out of the partnerships that can be formed while overcoming internal issues, such as NIH. He then talks about different ways companies go about this. What drives you crazy is that he seems unaware that companies have been doing this forever. In the consumer electronics industry, for example, open innovation is mostly the model. Companies like GE, TI, and RCA were examples. In the case of GE and RCA they go back almost 100 years.

Well-written, concise, with specific examples.......2007-06-02

As with his previous book Open Innovation, Chesbrough provides a concise and easily read review of important new trends in high-tech management. In this book the focus is on the path an innovation takes to profitability in the marketplace. Among the topics reviewed are novel "intermediate markets" for ideas and technology.

I particularly appreciated the chapters of the book that provide nine examples of companies that are more-or-less "pure play" innovation intermediaries. Companies like Innocentive, Ocean Tomo, and UTEK are profiled in depth. I appreciate the specificity, which will allow the reader to evaluate Chesbrough's insights into the future: By following up on the progress of these companies, we'll see how well Chesbrough hit the mark. This specificity is rare in business books.

It will be interesting to see where Chesbrough's interests flow in future. I would welcome a focus on public sector research institutions. A comparison of the innovation and commercialization models among universities, NIH, NASA, ESA, etc. could be helpful to policy makers as Open Innovation ideas gain wider acceptance.

Open Business Models for Those Who Rely on Technology Innovation and Need Intellectual Property Protection.......2007-05-14

This book is misnamed. Rather than being about open business models, the book's topic is about how to open business models to benefit from access to more technological innovation and strengthen your competitive posture through intellectual property.

As a result, Professor Chesbrough creates a misapprehension that successful open business models are almost always linked to technological innovation as their main purpose and benefit. My own research (with Carol Coles in The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Secrets of Continuously Developing a More Profitable Business Model) indicates just the opposite point: Technological innovation is rarely the most effective way to open up your business model to create improvements.

So, this book's value is mostly to those who work in achieving or creating more benefits from technology innovation. If that is your interest, you've come to the right book. If that's not your interest, skip this book.

Why do those involved in achieving or creating more benefits from technology innovation need to open their business models? Professor Chesbrough points to several influences:

1. Technological innovation is coming from more sources than ever before. As a result, you will be developing inferior technology without accessing the best of what the world has to offer.

2. Most intellectual property isn't used for any practical purpose. That's a waste of social and company resources.

3. The protections for intellectual property are stronger now, and your pathway to progress will be blocked without collaborating with those who have complementary IP.

4. Product cycles are shorter and costs of developing new technologies are higher; open business models offer the promise of getting to market sooner at lower cost so that your business has a better chance of earning a decent return on new technology.

5. Large companies need to make new product development more productive if they are to meet their growth goals.

Professor Chesbrough does a nice job of developing those themes. He balances theoretical arguments with case histories of recent practices.

Of even more value, he explains how companies will have a hard time finding all of the technology they need without help. As a result, he feels that intermediaries will turn out to be important to helping connect organizations. His case histories of such intermediaries are very interesting in showing how difficult it is to play such intermediary roles without deep pockets.

For those who are new to the subject of technological innovation in the context of business models, you will find his descriptions of what a business model is (see page 182) and types for assessing your business model (see pages 132-133) to be helpful. The only quibble I would make with his types is that in his examples he assumes relative undifferentiation in industries and business types where there are often large nontechnological differentiations.

I found the last chapter to be by far the most helpful, in describing three case histories (IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Air Products) for showing how large organizations went from closed to open business models for the purpose of technological innovation. In fact, the discussion of Procter & Gamble's practices is the best one that I have read. That point, by itself, is sufficient to commend this book to you. I suspect that almost everyone will be doing what Procter & Gamble is doing now ten years hence.

Excellent work, Professor Chesbrough!

Innovation requires an open mind...and the courage to challenge "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." .......2007-03-14

What is an open business model? In Chapter 1, here's Henry Chesbrough's response to that question: "A business model performs two important functions: it creates value and it captures a portion of that value. It creates value by defining a series of activities from raw materials through to the final consumer that will yield a new product or service with value being added throughout the various activities. The business model captures value by by establishing a unique resource, asset, or position within that series of activities, where the firm enjoys a competitive advantage."

Having thus established a frame-of-reference, Chesbrough continues: "An open business model uses this new division of innovation labor - both in the creation of value and in the capture of a portion of that value. Open models create value by leveraging many more ideas, due to their inclusion of a variety of external concepts. Open models can also enable greater value capture, by using a key asset, resource, or position not only in the company's own business model but also in other companies businesses."

These two brief excerpts are provided because Chesbrough`s definitions of various terms are far clearer and more authoritative than mine could possibly be. Also, these excepts address the "what" so that in the balance of this brilliant book, Chesbrough can then focus almost entirely on the "why" and "how" concerning the design, implementation, modification, and performance measurement of open business models.

I was especially interested in what Chesbrough has to say about what several quite different exemplary companies -- including IBM, Qualcomm, Genzyme, Procter & Gamble, and Chicago (the musical stage show and film) -- share in common: "each started with an idea that traveled from invention to market through at least two different companies" which shared the work of innovation, and, all were assisted by effective management of an open business model. Chesbrough also devotes a substantial attention to IBM whose type 3 business model (i.e. multiple segmentations, "inside-out" mindset) reached a financial crisis in 1992. Had the IBM board not replaced its then CEO with Lou Gerstner and fully supported his leadership throughout an immensely complicated and equally difficult transformation , it is probable that IBM would not have survived. Gerstner deserves much of the credit for the success of that "cultural revolution" (as he once described it) but much credit should also be assigned to IBM's open source business model. Procter & Gamble is another company which completed an especially difficult transition from having internal staff members who protected (hoarded?) various technologies so that other companies, including potential competitors, could not use them to becoming a company with a much more open approach to innovation. Chesbrough notes that P&G began to pay much greater attention of external licensing of its technologies, (e.g. to BearingPoint), now strongly supports openly partnering for driving growth equity joint ventures (e.g. with Clorox), and an entirely new perspective on competitive advantage.

According to Jeff Weedman, vice president of P&G's external business development: "There are many kinds of competitive advantage. The original view here was: I have got it, and you don't. Then there is the view, that I have got it, you have got it, but I have it cheaper. Then there is I have got it, you have got it, but I got it first. Then there is I have got it, you have gotten it from me, so I make money when I sell it, and I make money when you sell it." To me, that in essence describes the primary competitive advantage of the open business model.

I also appreciate what is rarely provided in other business books: detailed notes (Pages 217-242) which are clustered per chapter. As I read them, it seemed as if Chesbrough were standing next to me, supplementing his narrative with additional comments that are always informative and frequently entertaining. What also struck me about Chesbrough's notes is that they enable him to acknowledge various sources with appreciation and admiration. His was obviously an open source approach to the research for this book and then to the writing of it.

To thrive in the new innovation landscape, change agents must have both an open mind and the courage to challenge what James O'Toole characterizes, in Leading Change, as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." They would also be well-advised to absorb and digest the material in this book. Congratulations to Henry Chesbrough on a brilliant achievement.

The World It Is a'Changin.......2007-03-04

We have become accustomed to the fact that innovation has become a standard of the industrial world. Indeed companies like Microsoft market (very successfully) what is essentially nothing but an arrangement of bits. One of the things that this book brings to mind is that a lot of other companies (Procter & Gamble, Air Products) are innovative in a business that you wouldn't think of as being particularly innovative.

This book is exploring fairly new ground in its concept of 'Open Innovation,' that is creating a marketplace for innovation itself. You might not be able to capitalize on your new innovative idea, perhaps Air Products can, or perhaps you can use something that Procter & Gamble has done. And where that's a market like that, there are new specialty companies in the business of marketing innovation between companies.

We live in a time where the future is going to require major changes, peak oil and global warming to name two harbingers of change. Companies that continue to live in the old world are going to have a very hard time -- go look at Ford and GM

In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion (Evolution and Cognition Series)

Average customer rating:

An excellent first step
Defectors and norms?
Very sad
Thoughtful analysis of the origin of religious beliefs
Simply the best book on a charged and intricate topic

In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion (Evolution and Cognition Series)
Scott Atran
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought
Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
The God Delusion
Letter to a Christian Nation

ASIN: 0195178033

Book Description

This ambitious, interdisciplinary book seeks to explain the origins of religion using our knowledge of the evolution of cognition. A cognitive anthropologist and psychologist, Scott Atran argues that religion is a by-product of human evolution just as the cognitive intervention, cultural selection, and historical survival of religion is an accommodation of certain existential and moral elements that have evolved in the human condition.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent first step.......2007-07-26

This book is no beach read. It is dense, technical, and written in a rather stiff prose style. It is, however, absolutely the best book available on the evolutionary origin of religion.

Briefly, Atran defines religion as a community's costly and hard-to-fake commitments to nonexistent beings, commitments which help to assuage existential anxieties involving death, suffering, loneliness, and so on.

Atran uses an incredibly wide array of primary sources in biology, psychology, and religious studies to make his points, and the book brims with insights, both large and small, about how human minds manufacture religion. For example, psychologists and ethnologists have commonly argued that magic in many tribal cultures represents a primitive form of thought which children also have. Atran points out that children in such societies actually believe LESS in magical explanations than their elders. His discussion of divination is also quite insightful.

On the downside, this book is pitched at a rather general, ahistorical level. There is little discussion, for example, of the differences between tribal religions and religions which have had much longer written histories, such as Zen Buddhism and American Protestantism. This is perhaps unavoidable in a book on such a large topic, particularly when this book applies a relatively new sort of explanation to this topic.

Also nice would have been more on how prayer, meditation, and other techniques are used in religion, or about how and why different religions (e.g., Sufi mysticism, Church of Christ Protestantism, and shamanism) differ in the way that they do, but again, this may be expecting too much from a book that weighs less than I do.

On the whole, a superb first step on the road to explaining what human religiosity owes to our evolutionary ancestry, and a wonderful antidote to anti-religious screeds which ignore the universality and complexity of religion itself.

Defectors and norms?.......2007-04-11

Negative reviews are not popular in this venue, so I'll keep this short and sour.

I refer you to ch. 8, "Culture without mind."

I ask you to reconcile the sense of the following claims:

"There is no compelling psychological evidence for norms as packages of learned information, stored as discrete units, clustered into higher order knowledge structures, encoded as specific memory traces in neural tissue, or expressed in clearly recognized and denumerable bundels of behavior."p. 199.

"Perceived reciprocal altruism may result in a culturally stable strategy as long as defectors can be defected and excluded." p. 201

How does one define or recognize a "defector" without a clear notion of norms and their violation? But, it will be argued, the point is that the evidence used by those who identify "norms" as units of selection does not include the detail necessary to verify or falsity the the role of such norms. But the semantic nature of my objection simplify shifts focus to "defection": How can evidence insufficient to verify or falsify the role of norms do more to verify or falsify "defector detection"?

The argument of ch 8 also suggests that 'mind' is equivalent to 'computational architecture'. But current notions of computational architecture are totally inadequate to account for individual differences among any of the world's cultures. That the human mind has a "module" for organizing taxonomies of living things, suggests only that taxonomies always and everywhere are based on essences which do not change over a lifetime and which can be arranged as elements in a hierarchy of nested sets. This is true the world around. But so called modularity of mind does not enable us to distinguish the folk taxonomies of the Amazon basin from those of lowland Guatemala.

If we can't tell folk taxonomies apart, aren't we just being asked to put all the world's religions into one box labeled "minimally counter-intuitive" by-products of natural selection?

Why should that rate five stars?

Very sad.......2007-03-09

It is sad that so many in the world are saddled with the consequences of belief in gods; one hopes that this book will enlighten! It is fairly hard work but worth it.

Thoughtful analysis of the origin of religious beliefs.......2007-03-08

There have been a slew of recent books by scientists on religion which fall basically into two camps. The first, exemplified by Sam Harris' "The End of Faith," are essentially attacks on the logical plausibility of the major religious belief systems. For those who have already realized that these sorts of beliefs are absurd, such works are entertaining but are a bit like preaching to the choir, if you'll excuse the metaphor. The second camp, exemplified by Pascal Boyer's "Religion Explained," are attempts at explaining WHY people believe in such absurdities, from the perspectives of cognitive neuropsychology and anthropology. Atran's book is in the latter camp, and in fact overlaps to some extent with Boyer's book, published at about the same time, although each author has unique insights. I especially liked Atran's analysis of the origin of beliefs in the supernatural as stemming from a cognitive module predisposed to interpret environmental stimuli as coming from a potential predator, and I also found his analysis of "meme theory" to be enlightening (he strongly discounts it). Atran's book is the harder to read of the two and is largely missing the dry sense of humor in Boyer's book, which is why I docked it one star. I also disagree with the pessimism in Atran's last chapter about why religions are likely to endure indefinitely; I believe the secular trends present especially since Darwin must ultimately prevail. But his book is certainly a valuable contribution to the discussion of the origins of religious thought and behavior, which is of paramount importance in understanding today's world of religious fanaticism.

Simply the best book on a charged and intricate topic.......2007-02-01

The topic of Atran's book has recently received a lot of attention, primarily because of the publication of Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell" and Richard Dawkins' bestselling "The God Delusion".
I have just finished teaching a graduate course on evolutionary perspectives on religion, and have fewer doubts than ever that Atran has written by far the best book on the topic. In terms of explanatory structure his theory is more detailed and precise than any of the competitors.
While Atran says openly that he is an atheist, he tries to keep his discussion neutral, and his book is devoid of the polemical tone of Dawkins and Dennett. Yet, paradoxically, his approach has interesting implications for dealing with religious fundamentalism on a political level.
Even though "In Gods we Trust" is an unabashedly scientific book, it is well written and accessible to informed lay-people. I also recommend viewing the interchanges of Atran and Sam Harris ("The End of Faith")during the recent "Beyond Belief" conference either on youtube or (written) on the "Edge" website.

Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting

Average customer rating:

Pure inspiration
Gorgeous book and inspired arrangements
Enjoyed it all
container gardening

Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting
Ray Rogers , and Richard W. Hartlage
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Designing with Succulents
A Pattern Garden: The Essential Elements of Garden Making
The Complete Container Garden
The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes
Perennials: The Gardener's Reference

ASIN: 0881928348

Book Description

No longer a technique just for apartment dwellers or novice gardeners, the use of ornamental containers on decks, patios, terraces, and in the garden itself can save time, space, and money, while offering experienced home gardeners unique creative challenges, site flexibility, and experimental fun. Author and award-winning horticulturist Ray Rogers takes you on an engaging exploration into basic design principles as well as how to create focal points, use water, exploit the potential of empty containers, and more. Stunning photographs by Richard Hartlage provide guidance and inspiration, as well as visually explaining each principle. Gardeners at every level of experience will find inspiration and instruction in this comprehensive book.

Customer Reviews:

Pure inspiration.......2007-08-21

Yet another really fine book from Timber Press. I'll spend long, dark winter evenings wandering through these pages, absorbing the wisdom of the writers and generating ideas for next spring. Gorgeous photographs, too.

Gorgeous book and inspired arrangements.......2007-07-30

I purchased several gardening books together and this one was the highlight. Not only beautifully photographed but full of interesting suggestions and writing. My husband and I were able to immediately use some of the arrangements as inspiration for a new bed in our garden. Turned out beautifully!

Enjoyed it all.......2007-05-14

The book is an excellent reference source. Photos are beautiful. Numbering the pictures with the description very helpful. Lovely coffee table book. I have told other gardeners to seek the book out.

container gardening.......2007-03-14

(This review focuses on the photographs in "Pots in the Garden.")
Picture quality is very good throughout the book, and in parts I and II ("the elements of design" and "bringing it all together") the picture content is excellent as well.
Unlike most container gardening books this one neither details container plantings nor uses captions, instead it inconspicuosly numbers each picture and then conspicuosly puts the number in the text with its corresponding description. Garden styles represented vary but the bold, Little-and-Lewis-type modernists lead the way, and even if this isn't your favorite style of garden you will probably love the containers featured in them!
What really sets this book apart is the variety of pots featured. Terra cotta and stone/concrete are great, and the English gardening books display some wonderful copper and lead, but those of you who especially love high quality glazed/rustic containers and know that it is not all that easy to find good examples of them will be happy to add this book to your collection.
The reasons I didn't give 5 stars are the book's slightly smallish size (9 1/4 x 8 1/2) and its 3rd part ("plant groups for containers") which, though it has some very interesting and unique plant picks (dark purple/black perennial clematis?), does not show most of them in containers; admittedly difficult to do, but David Joyce's "The Complete Container Garden" sure did it well. That's about eighty pages where pots are rarely pictured.
Overall a beautiful and inspiring book at a very good price.

Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation (8th Edition)

Average customer rating:

A Fair Attempt
BUYERS BE AWARE 8th Edition Published
Very well-written and illustrated text with great photos
still on my bookshelf
Book is conundrum

Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation (8th Edition)
Tom L. McKnight , and Darrel Hess
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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Similar Items:

Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas 21st Edition
Physical Geography Eighth Edition: A Landscape Appreciation
New Comparative World Atlas (Hammond Comparative World Atlas)
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Rand McNally Atlas of World Geography

ASIN: 0131451391

Customer Reviews:

A Fair Attempt .......2007-08-04

Although the authors clearly have a deep command and even affection for their subject, the text in this book is often murky. It is a serviceable work for beginners, but certainly not for novices to the area of physical geography. More strict editing and a more "user-friendly" layout in the text are called for, although the graphics do a generally competent job of illustrating more difficult concepts. I would recommend this book with reservations.

BUYERS BE AWARE 8th Edition Published.......2004-09-01

Fall 2004 & Spring 2005 Students: the 8th edition of this book is published and comes with a CD, and, in some cases, a free world atlas. Check with your instructor for requirements. In any case, I wouldn't spend $100 for the 7th edition.
Haven't read the book yet, so no rating.

Very well-written and illustrated text with great photos.......2004-05-23

Obviously written by authors who have a deep appreciation for this subject and a desire to pass on their knowledge, this text is useful not just for students of physical geography, but for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of geopolitics, area studies, anthropology, world history, etc. For example, I would have no clue about the culture, history and politics of Central Asia/Afghanistan and vicinity (my area of interest) without having a comprehensive understanding of the physical terrain and climate of this region--and how its inhabitants have adapted to it. I would not have gained this understanding without reading this text.

My only complaint is that I had hoped for more emphasis on environmental issues. The authors may feel that this is beyond the scope of an introductory text; but problems such as the shrinking Aral Sea and tropical rainforest destruction are so widely catastrophic that I believe they deserve greater attention and understanding even at the introductory level.

still on my bookshelf.......2004-02-20

I remember this book from when I was an undergraduate, lo these many years ago (OK, so it was an earlier edition)! I'm glad to see it is still available and updated -- I enjoyed it then and I am using it now in answering the questions my children throw at me.

This is an excellent resource book. I probably wouldn't pick it up as a light read at bedtime, but if you are interested in this topic you could do far worse than to get _Physical Geography_.

Book is conundrum.......2003-11-03

Suffice it to say, this text is awful, an arduous task to understand and conceptualize. I'm taking a lower level geography course with this book as the primary text and find myself ready to punch a wall when attempting to read.

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life

Average customer rating:

A Book to Re-Read
Necessary
Great insights.
Wasn't what I was looking for
The Courage to Teach-Text book

The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life
Parker J. Palmer
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

The Courage to Teach: A Guide for Reflection and Renewal
To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach

Accessories:

Stories of the Courage to Teach: Honoring the Teacher's Heart
Teaching from the Heart: Seasons of Renewal in a Teacher's Life with Parker J. Palmer

ASIN: 0787910589

Amazon.com

As a spiritually inspirational book for teachers, The Courage to Teach is one of the best. The premise is concise and unarguable: good teaching comes from the identity and the integrity of the teacher. Teachers are encouraged to turn their inquiring minds inward--developing a deeper understanding of what it means to fulfill the spiritual calling of teaching. Good teachers share one trait, says author Parker Palmer, they are able to weave a complex web of connections among themselves, their subjects, and their students, so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves. The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts--the place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

"This book is for teachers who have good days and bad -- and whose bad days bring the suffering that comes only from something one loves. It is for teachers who refuse to harden their hearts, because they love learners, learning, and the teaching life."
- Parker J. Palmer [from the Introduction]

Teachers choose their vocation for reasons of the heart, because they care deeply about their students and about their subject. But the demands of teaching cause too many educators to lose heart. Is it possible to take heart in teaching once more so that we can continue to do what good teachers always do -- give heart to our students?

In The Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer takes teachers on an inner journey toward reconnecting with their vocation and their students -- and recovering their passion for one of the most difficult and important of human endeavors.

Customer Reviews:

A Book to Re-Read.......2007-09-09

Some books speak so deep to our soul that they help facilitate some type of life-change. We will always cherish these books for their ability to speak directly to us, no matter our life stage, for they carry in them principles that transcendent time. As if magical, each time we re-read these books they renew a fire within us or produce new truths that we missed in our first encounter. Some of have said Deitrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and Augustine's Confessions are an example of these type of books. In my opinion, this book, The Courage to Teach, is one of them for me. Palmer's emphasis upon the inner life of the teacher is refreshing and enlightening. Palmer explicitly acknowledges that his book builds on the simple premise that states, "good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher" (p. 10).

Without giving a full summary of the book I found chapters 4-5 the most meaningful. His discussion about "the community of truth" and "subject-centered teaching" greatly impacted my ongoing understanding of teaching and education psychology. His words are sure to continue their impact for many years to come, particularly in my development as a thinker, minister and teacher.

As an intellectual extra, I thoroughly enjoyed his analysis of "movements" in chapter 7.

Necessary.......2007-07-20

Palmer's writing evokes the inner being. He offers a lot of humility and personal experience which calls a person to respond from the inside. I was stirred in numerous ways by his writing and applaud this one like I applaud many of his books. Its a necessary additon to the library of anyone serious about their teaching or in the business of teacher training.

Great insights........2007-03-22

An excellent book on what it takes to really connect with students.
Deals with unusual topics like vulnerabilities, openness, and subject oriented teaching versus student or teacher oriented teaching. Celebrates the inherent wisdom within people, even those who are callous and cynical on the surface.
An important contribution to the field

Wasn't what I was looking for.......2007-02-14

I read this book with a group of teachers as part of our book club. I had high hopes that it would provide some great discussion. After the first few chapters nobody liked it. Out of the 8 of us that read it, not one of us actually enjoyed the book. There were some good points, but too philisophical for our taste.

The Courage to Teach-Text book.......2007-01-30

The book was new and was in very good condition. I am happy about the purchase.

Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers

Average customer rating:

gerat book for any designer
It's well written
great book
Good Reference Book
Only Book Of Its Kind

Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers
Michael E. Doyle
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Interior Design Visual Presentation: A Guide to Graphics, Models & Presentation Techniques, Second Edition
Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide
Marker Magic: The Rendering Problem Solver for Designers
Sketching and Rendering of Interior Spaces
Space Planning Basics

ASIN: 0471741906

Book Description

The Third Edition of Michael Doyle's classic Color Drawing remains the ultimate up-to-date resource for professionals and students who need to develop and communicate design ideas with clear, attractive, impressive color drawings.

Update with over 100 pages, this Third Edition contains an entirely new section focused on state-of-the-art digital techniques to greatly enhance the sophistication of presentation drawings, and offers new and innovative ideas for the reproduction and distribution of finished drawings. Color Drawing, Third Edition Features:
* A complete body of illustrated instructions demonstrating drawing development from initial concept through final presentation
* Finely honed explanations of each technique and process
* Faster and easier ways to create design drawings
* Over 100 new pages demonstrating methods for combining hand-drawn and computer-generated drawing techniques

Step-by-step, easy-to-follow images will lead you through digital techniques to quickly and easily enhance your presentation drawings.

Customer Reviews:

gerat book for any designer.......2007-03-22

this book is an awsome book for any designer intrested in improving their presentations, the book is very thorough and deals with a wide range of subjects....very recomended!!!!

It's well written.......2007-03-10

It is a very handy book, but this edition is leaning more towards photoshop capabilities. The tips it gives for computer rendering are nice to know but I think it's sacrificing a bit of the hand rendering information which I would have liked to see more of.

great book.......2007-02-20

I am an Interior Design major and my professor recommended this book for the use of Prismacolor markers. It gives you great advice on how to render (coloring using the Prismacolor markers to show colors and shadows) and different techniques so you can get the effect you want.

Good Reference Book.......2007-02-08

This book is a great reference book if you'd like to learn historical techniques used in rendering, such as diazo printing, as well as for basic guidance using Photoshop for rendering. However, I highly recommend using the 3rd edition along with a current Photoshop tutorial, or other rendering software for utilizing current digital techniques (all of the outdated Photoshop instructions have been removed from the 3rd edition).

Only Book Of Its Kind.......2007-01-10

I'm thrilled that I finally have a book that tells how to digitally as well as manually color architectural and landscape drawings. It gives tips on using a scanner to get drawings or photographs into a layer of Photoshop and then how to manipulate the layers including opacity and filters. The technics for using markers and colored pencils to achieve realistic wood, rocks,leaves, water, and chrome are outstanding. Includes great tips on paper colors, and what to include or leave out of a drawing to give it visual punch. The entire 414 pages are drawings and tips specifically dedicated to the needs of architects, landscape architects, and interior designers though any graphic person would find tremendous value in this book.

Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada

Average customer rating:

Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada
Stephen S. Birdsall , Eugene J. Palka , and Jon C. Malinowski
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Rand McNally Goode's World Atlas 21st Edition
The Penguin Dictionary of Geography: Third Edition (Penguin Reference Books)
Across This Land: A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada (Creating the North American Landscape)
Regional Geography of the United States and Canada (4th Edition)
Canada 2006 (World Today Series Canada)

ASIN: 0471152269

Book Description

This new edition provides a comprehensive and solid presentation of the geography of the US and Canada, bolstered with material on Mexico and NAFTA. The book presents conceptual insights and interpretations, along with thought-provoking perspectives on North America's land and people.

Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture

Average customer rating:

Old and busted
Usefulness
buy the book, forget the CD-ROM version
This book is a must!!!!
ABD EL MOHSEN SOLIMAN

Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture
Charles W. Harris , and Nicholas T. Dines
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

Time-Saver Standards Site Construction Details Manual
Site Engineering for Landscape Architects
Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors, Second Edition
Graphic Guide to Site Construction: Over 325 Details for Builders and Designers
Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards

ASIN: 0070170274

Book Description

Newly designed and containing a full 40 percent completely new content, Time-Saver Standards for Landscape Architecture, Second Edition, continues to be the most complete source of site design and construction standards and data. It is fully metric, to meet Federal and International requirements. It features increased coverage of: Site storm water "best management" practices · New urban tree planting and xeriscape concepts · Earth retaining structures and pavement design · Land reclamation, including soil and vegetation restoration · Metric site layout practices, including recreation facilities · Energy and resource conservation · Natural processes and site construction procedures · New expanded construction details · Simplified construction materials data. Over 50 sections provide concise tables, checklists, "Key Point" text summaries, and illustrations to provide an invaluable information resource for offices and classrooms throughout the world.

Customer Reviews:

Old and busted.......2007-05-05

I have always found this book to be cumbersome, difficult to navigate, poorly organized, and lacking in sufficient detail. But of course for years it was basically the only game in town, so everyone relied on it. Those days are over. I recently purchased Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards, and it is an outstanding book. If you're trying to decide which one to buy, definitely get Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards instead. And even if you already own Time-Saver Standards, do yourself a huge favor and buy Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards anyway. It covers everything that Time-Saver Standards does plus numerous other topics, all with much better explanations and details. To top things off, it has FAR more graphics and the entire book is better organized an easier to navigate than Time-Saver Standards.

Usefulness.......2006-07-16

As a practicing L.A., I have bought several McGraw-Hill Construction Books. I get a similar result each time: They seem on first look to fulfill the promise, but I found they don't well serve the need in real life. I get far better use out of Architectural Graphic Standards, and I'm looking forward to Wiley's Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards.

buy the book, forget the CD-ROM version.......2005-03-28

I've got the book and was hoping the CD-ROM would enhance using the book, but it doesn't. The content is very slim compared to the book, and the CAD drawings that are included are also of very limited use. Don't bother with the CD-ROM version of TSSLA.

This book is a must!!!!.......2004-02-06

A great book to have. It was a required text for my site technology classes. Kept referring to it. Lots of information. It should be on everyone's bookcase if you're a Landscape Architect student or already in the profession. I highly recommend it.

ABD EL MOHSEN SOLIMAN.......2000-11-06

IWANT SEE PART FROM THE BOOK

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