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In this memoir of her buying, renovating, and living in an abandoned villa in Tuscany, Frances Mayes reveals the sensual pleasure she found living in rural Italy, and the generous spirit she brought with her. She revels in the sunlight and the color, the long view of her valley, the warm homey architecture, the languor of the slow paced days, the vigor of working her garden, and the intimacy of her dealings with the locals. Cooking, gardening, tiling and painting are never chores, but skills to be learned, arts to be practiced, and above all to be enjoyed. At the same time Mayes brings a literary and intellectual mind to bear on the experience, adding depth to this account of her enticing rural idyll.
Book Description
Now in paperback, the #1 San Francisco Chronicle bestseller that is an enchanting and lyrical look at the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany, in the spirit of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence.
Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.
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Now a major motion picture froom Touchstone Pictures starring Diane Lane.
Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.
"This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it's so delicious, read it first yourself."
USA TODAY
"Irresistible... a sensuous book for a sensuous countryside."
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE
"An intense celebration of what [Mayes] calls 'the voluptuousness of Italian life'."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Armchair travel at its most enticing."
BOOKLIST
"Mayes [has] perfect vision."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Customer Reviews:
Italian get-away.......2007-07-23
The reading starts out fairly interesting and attention getting with all the desciptives of the Italian countryside, but starts to dddrraaagggg as you get towards to middle of the book. It does pick up the pace again towards the end. It's not one of those books that you just couldn't put down and had to finish reading in one day. I think I actually put it down ten or twelve times before I finished it. It's one of those books you can take with you when you're going to lay out in the sun on your day off. You can read it over a period of several sessions of sunbathing like I did.
Lovely !.......2007-07-01
I bought this book because I had loved the movie that was based on it.
That movie arrived at a very special moment in my life, and inspired me to follow some "terrible ideas" and change my life. When I left my own home country I had no idea of what was going to happen to me, I just felt that I could not go back and that something good had to come out of taking a leap and following my heart. It did.
9 months after that, I got married in Florence and, while on honeymoon in Tuscany, I bought the book, and immediately loved it. Mayes sounds happy and in love with Italy, and so was I when I was reading it. Both the book and the movie made me want to cook, travel, plant basil and rosemary in pots and have a glass of wine on a breezy summer evening. They reminded me, in the most wonderful way, that life still has beautiful surprises for all of us around the corner.
I have given several copies to my friends since I bought it, and I highly recommend it to all those who would like to travel at least with their imagination to bella Toscana!
"The mindblowingly boring guide to breathtaking Tuscany".......2007-05-08
There is a reason why there exists a certain breed of writers, before whose titles they are credible enough to affix the word "travel". Frances Mayes is not a travel writer. In fact, I am currently debating whether she is a writer at all. I was profoundly disappointed in this book. It seems inconceivable to me that any book on Italy - that passionate and breathtakingly beautiful place - can be as dull and unexciting as this! The content was deeply insightful when relating to the topic of Italy, the culture, food or anything to do with it however a two-page in-depth walk-through the process of installing concrete beams and walls is just utter torture. (And there is a fair share of that). That said, even the good parts are slow and lacking in excitement.
The book can get very technical in parts and is almost written in a nonchalant monotone that gives rise to a sense of sarcasm and smugness. The author does little to emotionally transport the reader to Tuscany or to create context around her narration. I have just completed the book and still find it difficult to envisage Bramasole and its surroundings. Were it not for the graphic on the cover of the book, I would have constructed an entirely different image in my mind. "Under the Tuscan Sun" felt like an articulation of facts rather than the telling of a tale. Italy lends itself to a whimsical spontaneous magic, which Mayes failed to capture in her writing. I am generally a very fast reader but I literally had to force myself to finish this book...the pages agonizingly dragged on and there seemed no end in sight.
If you are a fan of Italy, don't kill the magic with this book. Conde Nast or Travel & Leisure will make for a more engaging and enthusiastic read and can create a far better experience that will make you yearn for more... Ciò è un libro molto deludente!
Pleasant reading, but not a great book.......2007-04-12
I bought this book when my husband and I were planning a driving tour of Tuscany. I have lived in Italy for two years (in Sicily) and I wanted to see how Mayes' view of living in Italy varied from my own. I loved the flowery language and descriptive phrases used. I could almost smell the sun warmed grass and taste the peaches that she described in such detail. It was her vivid descriptions that kept me from tossing the book aside when the flow of the story seemed to falter. At times I was so bored with what she was describing that I had to force myself to keep reading and it was for this reason that I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4 or 5.
Another reason that I gave it 3 stars was the author's insistance in calling the period of afternoon rest that many people in Italy observe a "siesta". For someone who claims to love Italian people and culture you would think that Ms. Mayes would be ashamed to use the Spanish translation of this practice. In Italian it is called "risposo" and is a very important part of Italian culture. Having traveled north of Rome many times I have found that it isn't as common these days, but in Sicily it is still an intergral part of their culture and you will not find a public office or family business open between the hours of 1 and 4 in the afternoon. My only explanation for Ms. Mayes continuous use of "siesta" in place of the correct "risposo" is that she knows that most Americans are familiar with the Spanish term and would require less of an explanation. This doesn't explain why she couldn't explain early on in the book that the Italian "riposo" was similar to the Spanish "siesta" and then continue to use the correct term from then on. Was she afraid her readers would be unable to comprehend a new vocabulary word? As you can see, this is a sore point for me and was a source of annoyance throughout the book.
Having written the above, I would like it clear that I did like the book and I found her description of living in Italy amusing and right on target. The recipes included were pretty authentic and when they varied from the traditional she pointed this out. If you can get through the boring bits and get over the "siesta" thing, this is a good book for light reading.
Mayes' Breakthrough Masterpiece, Forever a Classic..........2007-04-11
The first triumphant success in her series of Tuscany themed masterpieces, the stupendously composed "Under The Tuscan Sun" is what Frances Mayes will indefinitely be remembered for. Mayes, once incarcerated in a prison of hope, follows her dream of owning a getaway home in the colorful, romantic land of Tuscany. She recounts the hardships, disasters, frustration, and ultimate satisfaction of purchasing and restoring an abandoned Villa in a culturally rich foreign country. Making new friends, discovering new places, and indulging in luscious dishes compounded with asperity and uphill battles makes her story truly sui generis.
The notion of owning a foreign property in an exotic location across the Ocean is one many Americans can easily adore; especially in such a convivial land such as Tuscany. Anyone with the slightest fantasy of immersing oneself in a whole new culture with such history and tradition will be attracted to Mayes' true story that was the inspiration for the movie of the same title. Reciting her experience of a stimulating but discouraging foreign real estate adventure, Mayes reaffirms Murphy's Law but eventually captures the essence of satisfaction in an accomplishing long held dream. We read all the surprises in her journey as she uncovers buried Frescos, vineyards concealed in shrub, and discovering secluded nearby ancient hill towns rich with local treasures. In the end, over all the angst of financial blunders, exhausted searches, buyer's remorse, and logistical incubus, somewhere shines through is the author's complacency and newly acquired cross-cultural understanding in achieving what was once no more than a whimsical daydream. She doesn't simply desire or strive to become an Italian like a disenchanted expatriate, she admires the seductive Italian culture while cautiously preserving her own individuality as an American and accomplished writer. We follow her along her journey as she grows stronger personally and spirituality, seeking some measure of harmonious peace that many readers will easily subscribe to.
Mayes demonstrates that such an aspiration is indeed possible even for the average citizen stuck in an monotonous routine of work in big city America. Even the most eccentric Hollywood screenplay stories can be achieved with a tenacious attitude and without losing sight of a our endearing dreams.
Book Description
Three senses-taste, hearing, and smell-dominate the lives of the characters in these witty, fantastical stories. But the senses, promising the fulfillment of desire and an exit from the self, only lead back to their source: the savoring palate, the listening ear, the smelling nose. “A sumptuous small gem of a book” (Publishers Weekly). Translated by William Weaver. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Customer Reviews:
Three senses.......2006-06-30
As the author's widow explains in the epilogue, Italo Calvino once got it into his head to write a book about the five senses. He dabbled on and off in this project until he died, producing three short stories. With his usual magical delicacy, Calvino explored taste, hearing and smell with a rare skill.
The title story tells of a young couple vacationing in Mexico, where they explore ancient ruins, hear of the history of Oaxaca, and discover new erotic dimensions as they try the local food -- spicy, rich, and almost intoxicating, the food helps link them back to one another.
"A King Listens" is a more experiment story, with no real plot and a second-person narrative ("You are the king; everything you desire is already yours"). A king sits on his throne, alone in a giant hall, alienated from most of his palace and everyone in it. But he hears a woman singing, strange whispers, a prisoner scrabbling against a wall, and much more, which are his roads to the outside world.
"The Name, the Nose" is a tragic tale in the tradition of Poe, but in more lush language. A man danced with a masked lady at a ball, falling madly in love with her -- but he can only identify her by her perfume. He desperately searches a parfumerie for the right scent, thinking of the night when he met her... and is shocked when he discovers where she is, and who the masked figure with her is.
Italo Calvino was obviously a guy who liked to dabble in magical realism, and "theme books" -- tarot cards, magical cities, and the unfolding of the universe. So it's a shame that he never finished "Under the Jaguar Sun." While delightful as a collection, it makes you think of how wonderful "Sight" and "Touch" would have been.
And the way he writes is suitable to each story -- the first is hot and passionate, the second is steady and slightly dull, and the last one is ornate, gothic and blue. Calvino even drops some hints as to what the stories should be about, even when it's obvious; the king in the second story even describes his palace as "all whorls, lobes; it is a great ear." Subtle, huh?
But he can't hold back his natural flair for description in any of these stories. Even though sight isn't explored in this book, we get intricate descriptions of ballrooms, rock orgies, and "a theatre-church, all gold and bright colours, in a dancing and acrobatic baroque, crammed with swirling angels, garlands, panoplies of flowers, shells." His prose can be almost intoxicating.
Calvino's stories about three of the senses are all beautiful, each in a unique, spellbinding way. A must-read for lovers of the magical-realist maestro.
Good Calvino laced with unfulfilled potential..........2005-10-20
In an afterword note, Esther Calvino asks the reader to think of this book as "not something Calvino started and left unfinished but simply as three stories written in different periods of his life." She gives good advice, but the sense that Calvino had something more, something bigger, planned for these stories pervades this tiny book. He definitely wanted to write a book about the five senses and interweave them in some way (as he did with other themes in previous books). In all of these stories the senses mingle sensuously with desire and sensuality (one can only imagine what he had in mind for the sense of touch). Here sense catalyzes desire, hidden desires, nameless primordial desires. But this book only contains a scratching of a surface, a deep misty lake that promises more. Unfortunately Calvino died before wrapping up the project. So here remains a sketch of what might have been. Sadly, stories published posthumously always seem to have a certain "not quite final draft" feel about them. Here sits another example.
Regardless, plenty of good Calvino exists here for ardent fans of his work. 1982's "Under The Jaguar Sun" is a great story about a couple vacationing in México. Taste awakens forbidden desires (the story begins with a very suggestive description of a "love" between a priest and a nun). The couple explore the ruins of ancient México, the local food (now an amalgam of national cuisines), and each other's bodies and psyches as they rip and tear their lusciously spiced food. But forbidden desires arise once again as they explore the history of human sacrifice and realize that eating mingles deeply with the sensual and the forbidden.
"A King Listens", dated 1984, speaks to the reader in second person (sometimes in a manner similar to "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler"). The king sits on his lonely throne trapped by necessity in his own palace. All he knows of the surroundings are sounds. They reverberate, echo, and thud all around him. Paranoid thoughts about the inevitable usurpation stew with the sounds. Suddenly a woman's voice sings out, but he can only hear her. He wants to experience her as a person, not just a voice. Which leads to one of the best lines in the story: "And so, when a desire to be fulfilled presents itself to you at last, you realize that being king is of no use for anything." The senses again awaken desire.
"The Name, the Nose", from 1972, switches contexts abruptly between a French parfumerie (where the saleswomen erotically encircle the cherished patron), the dank smoky aftermath of a rock concert, and a battle between two early humans (this episode evokes "Cosmicomics"). All of the men in the story come to know a woman only by her smell. The singular smell of each woman ignites desires. Strange ineffable and mad desires. The story itself remains a little indescribable.
So taste, hearing, and smell all get represented here as awakening desire or as a source of desire. And desire weaves through this book like a sinuous thread. It interconnects the stories and provides glimpses of a whole. That is mainly why Esther Calvino's advice remains hard to follow. Something more wants to bubble up from beneath this collection. Because of this, thinking of these stories as three disparate entities poses a stiff challenge. So we're faced with a nagging feeling of incompleteness. Here possibly sits the "lost" or "unfinished" Calvino book. Which inevitably leads to lonely abstract thinking about what Calvino had in mind. And so on...
Still, "Under The Jaguar Sun" will doubtlessly please many Calvino fans. It contains plenty of good, not outstanding, examples of Calvino's work. It also unfortunately leaves behind it a sadness of unfulfilled possibilities. Thankfully Calvino stayed around long enough to write numerous masterworks. This probably would have been another one.
Posthumous -- and it shows.......2001-12-26
A collection of 3 short stories. Each deals with one of the senses and were going to be part of a projected suite with, presumably, some kind of framing device. Calvino was one of those happy people that can write works that stretch the intellect without altogether sacrificing story, plot and characterisation. The middle tale ('A King Listens') is unsuccessful, ending up as nothing more than an experiment - who knows whether it would have improved had he time to revise it, it was the last thing he wrote before his death. But the opening and closing stories are much better, especially the latter ('The Name, The Nose'), although still not prime Calvino (try 'Adam One Afternoon', 'Invisible Cities' or 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller' if you're new to the writer and want to know what his talents can *really* produce). 'Under the Jaguar Sun', the title story set in Mexico, deals with taste and develops the idea of human relationships as a form of canibalism in which we digest our partner to taste their thoughts, feelings, desires and wishes in order to make them part of ourselves. 'The Name, The Nose' takes three characters (a Proustian aesthete, a prehistoric apeman on the verge of walking upright and a drug-addled rock musician) that are all in love with an unknown woman identifiable only by her scent, eventually discovering that she has died since making love with them. Despite the differences in the characters, their tales are interlinked surpringly smoothly and satisfyingly. However, due to its posthumous nature, the book is very short, only 83 pages of big type, and so can only be recommended to Calvino fans.
Exquisite style, but short on substance, irony.......2001-08-15
This book collects three of Calvino's last stories, originally planned to be a set of five, each focused on one of the five senses. One of the world's most original and sensitive storytellers, he will be solely missed.
"Under the Jaguar Sun" presents a married couple whose vacation in Mexico is punctuated by the powerful flavors of the local cuisine. Before the trip is over they discover that the spicy food whets their appetite for passion as well as for dining. In "A King Listens" the proud ruler, constrained by the obligations and dangers of his office, finds his only real source of information is his hearing. The ambient sounds of his palace, and the voices inside his own head are all that he can depend on. Finally, "The Name, the Nose" shows us a collage of desperate swains trying to seek out a woman whom they can identify only by her fragrance. As in "Jaguar" Calvino touches on the relationship between the senses and sexual desire, but this tale also carries a different message - one that seems to hint darkly at the author's own coming demise.
For those unfamiliar with the work of this master of postmodern literature, these three stories are probably not the best introduction. The quiet intensity of Calvino's voice is there, and his style is as pristine as ever, almost a prose poetry; but while the stories feature at least a couple of genuine surprises, they fall short of the knockout power that distinguishes his very best work. By focusing so strongly on the senses, he underplays what are probably his greatest strengths - in-depth logical analysis and exquisitely ironic humor. Fans will surely appreciate one last opportunity to experience Calvino's skill, but others should probably start with one of his more revolutionary works if they want to see why he is so greatly admired.
A mixed bag.......2001-04-21
I'm a Calvino mark. Simply said, I love the man's writing! This, however, is a mixed bag, in my opinion. A truly interesting theme (stories about the senses) the only one I really liked was the story dealing with the sense of smell ("The Man, The Nose" I believe.) Its not that the others weren't imaginative or beautifully crafted, but I just felt as if something didn't click for me. The first two tales about the sense of taste and the sense hearing were a little too... self-indulgent, perhaps? It is somewhat difficult to articulate. All in all, this is suitable more for the true Calvino fan, rather than as an introduction or the casual reader. The one lasting impression I drew from the collection was, "What about sight and touch?" Maybe next time around.
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Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living
Ray Pritchard
Manufacturer: Moody Publishers
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 Old Testament
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ASIN: 0802481566 |
Book Description
What can we learn from looking at the world around us?According to King Solomon, quite a lot. Solomon was a man of faith who took his readers on a voyage through some of the backwater regions of life that we all think about but rarely discuss in public. He wasn't afraid to ask the hard questions or to admit when there were no easy answers.In Something New Under the Sun, Pastor Ray Pritchard walks readers through Ecclesiastes, a book written by King Solomon from an earthly perspective. Solomon examines those things available to us in this life and invites us on a search for ultimate truth. Pastor Pritchard adds poignant and revealing stories to the words of this great king of old to bring this book crashing into our reality as we approach the 21st century.In short, bite-sized devotionals, Ray Pritchard brings us face to face with such topics as:the meaning of lifethe reality of deaththe instability of powerthe futility of richesFor a generation desperately searching for reality - and not knowing where to find it - God wrote a book that sets our feet in the right direction. Join Ray Pritchard as he follows Solomon on his journey to truth through the book of Ecclesiastes.
Book Description
The compelling oral history of a remarkable woman's life and political struggle
Customer Reviews:
A MUST READ BOOK!!!.......2005-08-09
This book brought tears to my eyes and its worth reading especially if you or your family are immigrants. It will shed some light to what some immigrants had to go through when they came to the United States looking for a better place to live and raise their children.
Book Description
Gross Universe is an eye-opening, sometimes stomach-turning exploration of the many physical things about animals, plants, and — of course — young readers themselves that often go politely unmentioned. From mucus to vomit, from farts to phlegm, nothing is off-limits. With topics including sweat, mold, pus (a Perfectly Understandable Secretion), our gross microscopic friends, and even fossilized dinosaur poop, the book holds myriad delights waiting to be discovered. Irreverent illustrations enliven the amazing parade of weird scientific facts. Special features include Games You Should Never Play (such as Komodo Kissing Booth), gross activities (example: create a Dandruff Landing Pad), and Scientist A and Scientist B, recurring characters whose bickering back and forth helps elucidate the facts. Gross Universe reveals a universe that may not always be pretty, but is sure to keep children engrossed, laughing, and learning.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2004-03-29
This is a really fun, informative and well designed book. But don't think that it's just for kids - my 31 year-old brother loved it. Gross Universe truly lives up to it's name (esp. the lizard that shoots blood out of it's eyes as a defence mechanism!?)without going too far. It's sitting on the line of revolting and cool, showing us how wonderfully disgusting our world can be.
The pictures are fantastic and the writing witty and easy to understand. I actually learned a few things and had a good laugh while reading Gross Universe. This makes a good addition to both the classroom and the coffee table.
Book Description
We live in constant search mode looking for purpose and meaning, trying to find something, anything, that might satisfy the deep longings of our heart. Yet this search is nothing new.
Customer Reviews:
Changed My Life.......2006-08-17
This book changed my life. As we all go throughout a journey of life searching for which direction to go, McKinley opened my eyes as to how to have true satisfaction.
His comparison of our searches on search engines to Solomon's search provides clarity and application. This was a powerful book in my life...pick up a copy of it today!
Find it in "The Search".......2006-06-27
Where can we find satisfaction? When life happens, what do we do? Where do we turn? Have you ever experienced the death of a loved one, disappointments, or a life disaster? Are you looking for purpose and meaning in those events that often make us disillusioned or disassociated; and often never finding anything?
Author David McKinley takes his readers through areas and issues of real-life that most writers never touch. And in the end, he directs his readers to a Source that most writers never point to. If you are looking for true satisfaction in your life, this book is a must read. You will begin a search that touches on life, when it seems at its lowest point, and how this search will result in true satisfaction in your own life. Whether you are going in, right in the middle, or just coming out of search mode, trust me, this book will be a great help.
A better read than Warren's Purpose Driven Life.......2006-06-13
This is the first book written by Prestonwood Baptist Church teaching pastor Dr. David McKinley. The Search for Satisfaction is a modern guide to the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, penned by the wisest man in history - King Solomon. Just as King Solomon searched for meaning and significance in all corners of the world, so too are many people today searching for purpose and meaning in every facet of life save one - Jesus Christ. McKinley addresses the modern world's approach to happiness and significance and knocks down each and every argument that either avoids the issue or clouds it with worldly wisdom opposed to Biblical truth and the reality of life.
As McKinley knocks down the world's wisdom in comparison with God's truth, he also notes that many of the things that the world says are the central aspects of life are, indeed, important...just not of central importance as compared to a person's standing and relationship with God. But friends, family, food, hard work, and just the enjoyment of each day take on a whole new meaning when given a proper perspective and a proper purpose to a servant of the Lord. McKinley avoids the pitfall of stating that this fallen world is evil; to the contrary, this world was created by God and is being redeemed by Him through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ and the saints who have been called to serve as His ambassadors. So, each day, each life, each activity carries meaning and significance in the life of a follower of Christ and McKinley reminds the believer to live life in such a manner as to be worthy of our calling.
In my opinion, the primary audience for this book is either a person who is not a believer, but is looking for purpose and meaning in life, or the proverbial "carnal" Christian who is far too comfortable with the world and is seeking affirmation from others instead of God. The book is short, easy-to-read and very contemporary with its language and examples - in addition, the examples are very personal as David draws much wisdom from his own experiences and shares many of his life lessons with the reader.
Original, insightful and introspective writing.......2006-06-02
Opening with a quote from Shakespeare's dire Macbeth may provide readers with some insight as to the temper and tone of this remarkably fresh and deeply insightful text on living life from an inward, wisely introspective stance. Author David McKinley does a superb job of presenting an evenly paced yet riveting treatise on understanding what drives men and women to seek satisfaction. Taking in-depth looks at the book of Ecclesiastes and its author, King Solomon, interested readers will find themselves studying each concise chapter, digesting its contents and then subsequently delving within their own hearts and minds for life's solutions to most common struggles --- that of meaning, contentment and purpose.
The author very nicely establishes a mental picture of how much time modern-day individuals waste on their computers doing daily "searches" while frequently coming up with nothing to show for their efforts. Day after day, writes McKinley, people "...boot up, log on, select an engine, and start a search" and walk away frustrated, disappointed and wishing they had a better plan. So it is with life, and the church is no exception. McKinley talks about those nettlesome "itches" that just cannot be scratched. When life becomes an endless, aimless quest for satisfaction, most people, he says, will become skeptical, cynical, fearful and doubtful. Not a pretty picture. So what is the answer?
McKinley warms to his topic by first demystifying the myths of a satisfied life. Using Solomon's "search engine," life travelers will discover similar dead ends. To begin, the search for "progress" has not resulted in peace; rather increased knowledge has increased vulnerability. Next, "excess" is at best a short-term, short-lived state of satisfaction. Third, the search for "success" or accomplishments alone results in achingly cavernous inner-spaces. Fourth, "possessions" leave people only wanting more. Finally, "impression" fails as well; while a good name is a "good thing," it isn't enough to satisfy the need for significance. As far as Solomon was concerned, "No matches found" was the bottom line in his search for satisfaction.
Lest weary travelers be tempted to give up, McKinley urges Christians to stay at the task long enough to discover what Solomon eventually did figure out. There is reason to live and it is most simply found when "...we acknowledge our Creator and our desperate need of a relationship with Him." As believers, make God their focal point instead of subscribing to Solomon's ancient version of SPAM: sex, power, achievement and money; life becomes much more than an in-vain rush for personal actualization experienced at any and every level. McKinley tells men and women to develop their reasons for believing in God first and foremost, then grab hold of the Bible for all its worth as the foundation for living with hope and purpose, and lastly, invest the only life given to each person by honoring God and "living beyond yourself."
--- Reviewed by Michele Howe
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- A useful addition to every biologists library
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Life Under the Sun
Peter A. Ensminger
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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ASIN: 0300088043 |
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Life evolved under the sun, writes Peter Ensminger in this appreciative essay on how various organisms respond to sunlight. No matter where it is found, almost every form of life "has become specialized to sense the quantity, direction, polarization, wavelength, and periodicity of light." Many of the higher mammals, humans among them, have well-developed visual abilities; as Ensminger writes, the range of light encountered during a given day can be likened in magnitude to the height of a small child (about 3 feet) at one extreme as compared with the diameter of the earth (about 7,950 miles) at the other, and the healthy human eye functions over this range and more, even at extraordinarily low light levels.
Vision is, indeed, the most important of our senses. Ensminger notes that "a single glance instantly gives us information about our surroundings that is much more sophisticated than that from our other senses." It is important for countless other species as well; as many as 40 visual systems have evolved separately in invertebrates, following different principles of optical design. In his lively, well-illustrated text, Ensminger offers an overview of these many visual systems, while considering the manifold workings of sunlight. He even explains why you should eat your carrots, and why the old farmer's saw that it's best to plow by moonlight is true. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Which fungus is as sensitive to light as the human eye? What are the myths and facts about the ozone hole, tanning, skin cancer, and sunscreens? What is the effect of light on butterfly copulation? This entertaining collection of essays explores how various organisms—including archaebacteria, slime molds, fungi, plants, insects, and humans—sense and respond to sunlight.
The essays in Peter A. Ensminger's book cover vision, photosynthesis, and phototropism, as well as such unusual topics as the reason why light causes beer to develop a "skunky" odor. He introduces us to the kinds of eyes that have evolved in different animals, including those in a species of shrimp that is ostensibly eyeless; gives us a better appreciation of color vision; explains how plowing fields at night may be used to control weeds; and tells about variegate porphyria, a metabolic disease that makes people very sensitive to sunlight and may have afflicted King George III of England.
These engaging essays present a complicated yet fascinating subject in an accessible way. The book will be treasured by anyone interested in the wonders of biology.
Customer Reviews:
A useful addition to every biologists library.......2001-06-10
A collection of in-depth essays on the interaction of light with living organisms. Ensminger includes enough careful explanation to make the work approachable and rewarding to the non-specialist. Beware of the book length as 34% is made up of appendices, a glossary and notes to pages.
Customer Reviews:
Girl Power! A great book for girls of all ages........2000-11-15
This is a very enjoyable book. My daughter loved the surprise ending, and I liked the example of young girls with goals and dreams. A little taste of the woman's movement before there even was a woman's movement, too.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing Homeschool Science Curriculum for a Year!
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Learning Under the Sun
William J. Klein
Manufacturer: Iowa State Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Math
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
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General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
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General
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Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
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General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
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Mathematics
| Science & Technology
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ASIN: 0813810388 |
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Homeschool Science Curriculum for a Year!.......2007-05-27
This book is divided into four major sections -- one for each season. Included are real, accessible plants and animals to study in each season with discussion questions and labs for each.
The back of the book states: This unique science manual takes students out of the classroom and on location to learn about organisms from personal experience in everyday surroundings. It sparks curiosity and provides a vehicle for a lifetime of learning about the wonders of the world.
Offers more than 75 on site science activities involving common plants and animals. The labs which may be completed in 45-50 minutes or extended over several days are arranged according to the seasons of the year.
Charlotte Mason would approve!
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