Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (3rd Edition)

Book Description

Bestselling author Barbara Kingsolver returns with her first nonfiction narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.

"As the U.S. population made an unprecedented mad dash for the Sun Belt, one carload of us paddled against the tide, heading for the Promised Land where water falls from the sky and green stuff grows all around. We were about to begin the adventure of realigning our lives with our food chain.

"Naturally, our first stop was to buy junk food and fossil fuel. . . ."

Hang on for the ride: With characteristic poetry and pluck, Barbara Kingsolver and her family sweep readers along on their journey away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Their good-humored search yields surprising discoveries about turkey sex life and overly zealous zucchini plants, en route to a food culture that's better for the neighborhood and also better on the table. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

"This is the story of a year in which we made every attempt to feed ourselves animals and vegetables whose provenance we really knew . . . and of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

Customer Reviews:

Thinking about your food.......2007-10-05

Ms Kingsolver writes smoothly and with passion about organic farming. Sidebars from her college age daughter cover practical personal concerns, complete with recipes to enjoy the seasonal bounty of the land; while ones from her husband give the political overview of how farming policies affect us all on a world level. All in my book group enjoyed the book as a whole. It was obviously edited tightly to be easy and fast to read while still introducing ideas that would be unusual to most people in North America. As one with a extensive backyard fruit and vegetable garden in California, I would have enjoyed more detailed planning information on how she decided what and how much to plant, why she did not try to raise more and different animals for food, (e.g., rabbits, sheep, or even guinea pigs)and what she could have done with a greenhouse and solar or wind power.

Powerful Read.......2007-10-04

I think this is an important book about our society, economy and values. While it can be a bit preachy at times, Barbara's humor is wonderfully dry. I highly recommend.

Great book and fun to read! .......2007-10-01

I loved the book, it was informative and entertaining. Everyone can benefit from reading it and trying to follow Barbara's lead.

Lifechanging book.......2007-10-01

I heard an interview on NPR with the author and purchased this book because her ideas were very interesting to me. I was not disappointed. This book was riveting and eye opening. I've been checking out the websites suggested in the book to find local harvest information and I intend to frequent my local farmers and farmers markets during next years growing season and maybe even try my hand at canning. I'm hooked. Thank you so much for this wonderful informative book.

Totally Awesome!.......2007-09-29

This is one of the best books on what's wrong with our Farm Bill and our Standard American Diet (SAD) and how to fix it! The Kingsolver family have done a great and wonderful service for our country and the world by creating this wonderful book. It should be required reading in every school in the country!

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World)

Average customer rating:

Awesome Book For The Perfect Trip !!!
The Bable for a trip to Disney
To the person that even hinted that this guide was not good enough
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007
Very disappointed

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World)
Birnbaum Travel Guides
Manufacturer: Disney Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1423100514

Customer Reviews:

Awesome Book For The Perfect Trip !!!.......2007-09-21

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World is all you'll need to plan the perfect Walt Disney World vacation!
This book tells you everything you need to know from A - Z. After reading it, you'll feel like you just got back from Walt Disney World.
Birnbaum's Walt Disney World is perfect for first time visitors or for returning vacationers. It will help you pick a hotel, decide which rides to ride, where to eat and when to go. This book is a priceless vacation tool.
You will find because Walt Disney World is always changing that some of the information is outdated, just make sure you get the most recent edition. For instance, if you're going in 2008, get the 2008 edition instead of this 2007 edition.
This is a fabulous book!

The Bable for a trip to Disney.......2007-08-31

There is all the information you can possibly need for a successful trip to Walt Disney World under one cover.
This is an especially useful tool for first timers to the the Parks.
It does not provide much information for those who are planning to include other sightseeing or staying outside of Disney.
If you are planning to stay exclusively in Disney you will find everything you need to know in this book.

To the person that even hinted that this guide was not good enough.......2007-08-15

Just a note to the person who said this guide did not have the downsides listed on hotels+restaurants (and the attractions) in the birnbaum guide...Birnbaum is a DESCRIPTION of everything they were able to review...NOT a "You should go here but not there" guide. -After reading about each item, it should totally be up to you where you stay,where you go to eat and what you ride+see....not someone else. -I can describe to you how to tie your shoes but it should be up to you to decide what the up and downsides to doing this is...(aka personal preference.."Oh,let me see....should I tie my shoes slow or fast? -Should I tie them in the AM or PM?" -Get it? -THIS BOOK IS THE MOST INFORMATIVE OF ALL THEY OFFER I'VE EVER SEEN!!!! -It's a GREAT GUIDE (again...NOT AN ITENERARY or to tell you what to do for your day or wether you should avoid an attration or not while at Disney)!!!!!!!!!! -BIRNBAUM ROCKS!!!! (for those of us who understand why and how it was written and who don't need everything spelled out for us so we don't make a mistake while on vacation). -Thank You.

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2007.......2007-08-11

This book is a wealth of information on Disney World. Provides enough info to help you plan your stay a disneyworld.

Very disappointed.......2007-07-30

Lame! Published by some offshoot of Disney, this is just a thrown together piece of propaganda. I wasn't expecting anything critical, but the information is so weak! There's no depth and the "tips" have no real insight. Plus the dumb-downed design looks so amateur the book made me embarrassed to be seen with it. Try The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides) or The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World instead.

Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, 11th edition

Average customer rating:

Where in the World Am I?
Looked Brand New
Great Maps!
Concepts and Regions in Geography...
Authors biased towards India.

Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts, 11th edition
H. J. de Blij , and Peter O. Muller
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Geography, Study Guide: Realms, Regions and Concepts

ASIN: 0471152242

Book Description

Each chapter has been thoroughly revised to reflect the changing cultural, political, and physical landscape of our world.
Increased coverage of environmental change and the risks that the planet faces with 6.2 billion people.
This new eleventh edition places more emphasis on critical thinking, human geography and environmental issues.

Customer Reviews:

Where in the World Am I?.......2007-02-08

Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts is an excellent text which provides the student with all information relevant to understanding geography on a whole; its regions and landforms, climate, politics and people. There is adequate information for every area of the world, and I am very pleased my instructor required this text.

I would highly recommend this book or any other editions of the author, de Blij, to teachers and students alike!

Looked Brand New.......2007-01-25

It was great to buy a book so cheap and look brand new. Instead of going to the bookstore to buy a 113 dollar book.

Great Maps!.......2006-03-23

I had to use the book for a geography class. Didn't really read it a whole lot, but the maps are OUTSTANDING!!! Tons of maps, full color, really well detailed. If you are looking at it for a class, GET IT!!! The maps are great!

Concepts and Regions in Geography..........2006-02-25

Seems like the typical geography text book but it's neither dumbed down nor intimidating. The CD and website are very very helpful and interesting. The Amazon new price when I bought it was cheaper than the used price at bookstores.

Authors biased towards India........2004-01-06

In the chapter about South Asia, the authors have written quite a lot about the "Kashmir problem" but not once have they mentioned the ethnic cleasing of 350,000 Kashmiri Hindus that took place in 1990. I just cannot believe that they don't know about this.

House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest

Average customer rating:

Childs has done it with this book...
Excellent Read With Interesting Personal Point of Views
House of Rain, A Great Read
House of Rain
Exception read for the non-archeologist interested in the Anasazi

House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest
Craig Childs
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316608173

Book Description

A feat of historical detection--the most significant, andcertainly the most enthralling, book on American prehistory to appear indecades.The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest relates to theAnasazi, the native peoples who by the 11th century converged on ChacoCanyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center thatattracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoricworld. The Anasazis' accomplishments--in agriculture, in art, in commerce,in architecture and engineering--were astounding, rivaling those of theMayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished.What was it--drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder orsuicide? Craig Childs draws on scholarly research and a lifetime ofadventure and exploration in the American Southwest to pursue the mysteryof their disappearance. Considering many possibilities, he points the wayto a new understanding of how a vibrant civilization collapsed.

Customer Reviews:

Childs has done it with this book..........2007-09-11

It's been a long time since I was thoroughly captivated by a book but House Of Rain has managed to do just that. Craig Childs is arguably one of the finest non-fiction writers today. For those of us who live and breathe the Great Southwest, Child's descriptions will bring back vivid memories of Sleeping Ute mountain in the distance and standing where the Ancients stood at Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and Chaco. For those reviewers who felt like they needed maps and an answer, you can get maps at the visitor centers all bound up in glossy little books with equally glossy descriptions of people and places. This is not one of those books - it's so much deeper. This book is not a souvenier, it's a vehicle that takes you to places that a relative few will ever see and even less will understand. Sometimes, there is no final answer - there's just the lingering questions. That's part of what makes it so interesting.

Excellent Read With Interesting Personal Point of Views.......2007-09-06

This is the first book by Craig Childs that I've read. I will say it is an excellent book on the Anasazi. Craig has spent his whole life in the desert Southwest and appears to be quite knowledgeable about his subject. If you are the least bit interested in knowing a bit more about the Anasazi but don't want to read a "dry" scientific book about the subject, this is "the book" for you. Craig has travelled, worked and talked with many southwest Archaeologists who study the Anasazi. His discussions on the Anasazi are not boring and dry and his writing style is superb. I have a passing interest in the subject matter and this is one of the newest books on the subject and based on reviews of his other books, bought this one. I'm glad I did. Craig covers some controversial areas in regards to the Anasazi and where they went. They didn't disappear, their ancestors are still here, spread out over the southwest. He hits on a few quite creditabal possibilities and presents material to support them. I not being an expert on the subject but none the less interested and with some of my own ideas, I think Craig is on to something in regards to some of the reasons for the abandonment of the ancient sites across the entire southwest not just the Four Corners area commonly attributed to the Anasazi. Craig's descriptions of his backcountry travels are excellent and gives the sense that you are there with him which makes it even more enjoyable to read. This one is a keeper which I know I will read over and over again.

House of Rain, A Great Read.......2007-08-16

If you'd like to take a journey into the SW United States looking for the "missing" Anasazi, you should crack open this book, and delve into Craig Child's riveting journey. Child's style of writing puts you there with him, and he's very skilled at creating images that draw you into the adventure.

House of Rain .......2007-07-07

Craig Childs and "House of Rain" took me to places I've been and most importantly, to places I've been unable to experience. As I was reading this descriptive narrative of the Southwest that I love so much, I felt I was walking right beside him...excellent!

Exception read for the non-archeologist interested in the Anasazi.......2007-07-06

I already own several of Craig Childs books which I enjoy reading so that I can vicariously explore the canyons with him. This book is Exceptional. I bought it just last week at the Anasazi Heritage Center near Mesa Verde and Canyons of the Ancients while vacationing there with my wife and granddaughter. Living in Utah, we make yearly trips to the Moab area and southeastern canyons of Utah always hopeing to find a ruin to explore and photograph. This book is great for the non-scientist but those interested in the cultures of the Southwest like me!

Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts

Average customer rating:

The Best Textbook I Own

Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts
H. J. de Blij , and Peter O. Muller
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 047171786X

Book Description

Now substantially revised and updated, the Twelfth Edition of de Blij and Muller's Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts continues to deliver the authors' authoritative content, outstanding cartography, currency, and comprehensive coverage, in a technology-rich package. The text reflects major developments in the world as well as in the discipline, ranging from the collapse of Russia's Post-Soviet transformation to the impact of globalization and from the rise of Asia's Pacific Rim to the war in Iraq.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Textbook I Own.......2007-07-09

This text is my favorite textbook that I have ever owned, in any subject, from four colleges and universities. It is a tall book--it doesn't fit on any shelf. However, the size allows for many more graphs, maps, tables, and pictures. The paper and colors make for a visually appealing text, and the text does an excellent job of highlighting key terms and concepts.

Professor de Blij is a recognized expert on Geography education in the U.S. and his textbook demonstrates his mastery on every page. He covers physical geography, climate, history, politics, anthropology, economics, and every other relevant subject in the region. The entire package is correlated well, without getting mired in details or glossing over important subjects.

There are many features in this text that you will not find anywhere else. My favorites are the drill-downs on the world's great cities, providing interesting information and a map of Mexico City, Saigon, and many others. Another feature is the "Regional Issue" textbox that presents both sides of a current issue for a region, such as "Who Needs Democracy?" for South America. A final feature I like is his "Field Notes" section that is a paragraph or so of his travelogue and a picture as he continues to research our changing world.

This text was a valuable resource in my Geography class, is still a great reference tool as I continue my international studies, and is a fun book to flip through during "down time".

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey

Average customer rating:

True to the man
A modern day "Thoreau"
Just as Good the Second Time
Homesteading in Alaska
inspiring

One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey
Sam Keith , and Richard Proenneke
Manufacturer: Alaska Northwest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0882405136

Book Description

To live in a pristine land . . . roam the wilderness . . . build a home. . . . Thousands have had such dreams, but Richard Proenneke lived them. Here is a tribute to a man who carved his masterpiece out of the beyond.

Customer Reviews:

True to the man.......2007-09-29

Ten years ago I spent a summer volunteering for the National Park Service at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, in Alaska. My remote rangers cabin was located at Twin Lakes. Being on the lower lake, I was about 9 miles from my nearest neighbor- Dick. We spoke daily on our walkie-talkies, checking in about the weather, any visitors, or interesting wildlife viewings. I trekked up his way several times over the summer, and enjoyed a few meals with him. I can't remember if it's in his book, but his favorite sandwich was the "Twin Lakes Special": sourdough flapjaks, raw onion, and honey; don't knock it 'til ya try it! Just like his book, he was a gracious, thoughtful man, a true naturalist. Also the most spry 82-year-old I think I'd ever seen! I was saddened to hear of his death several years ago, and was grateful the NPS kept his cabin as a historical site; it is a cozy place, dark inside, smelling faintly of woodsmoke and 1948 sourdough starter, with wonderful decorative touches throughout. Dick was truly a special person, and this book captures his voice, his no-nonsense manner of talking, as well as his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world, perfectly.

A modern day "Thoreau".......2007-09-16

You cannot visit Alaska without reading this book FIRST! Just the photography alone will make you want to go. I dentify in many ways with Dick as I lived in a cabin in the White Mountains of NH for many years. He didn't intrude on nature...he simply lived in harmony with it. He appeals to all of your senses in his simple but beautifully written words, never mind the pictures. He is definitely portrayed as a "loner" but that is a good thing..for a loner has much higher self esteem and sense of character than those who can't survive in the world without people around them all the time. Dick is a true steward of the land because of his deep, abiding love and connection for this piece of God's Creation. His beautifully chronicled life in Alaska will remind you of Robert Frost's words.."We love the things we love for what they are." Enjoy!

Just as Good the Second Time.......2007-09-12

I was telling my husband about this book as I started reading it. He said, "Don't you remember, we read that many years ago when Alaska Magazine published it"? I knew that Babe, the pilot, seemed familiar. It didn't matter. I was happy to read it a second time which is unusual for me. Oh, how I would have loved to have been able to do what Mr. Proenneke did and to live where he lived. There is nothing dull about this book and I suspect the people who find it dull haven't any interest in living in the wilderness without Blackberries, i-pods, automobiles and restaurants.

Even though most of us who enjoyed the book probably don't begin to have the skills that Richard Proenneke had which made what he did possible (and a pilot friend who delivered for free) I think we all wish we could do what he did. I know I do. I didn't realize that a sequel exists. It costs big bucks, but if it's anything close to as interesting as this book, it's worth it. Maybe I'll find out if the Mission Girls ever showed-up.

Homesteading in Alaska.......2007-08-16

The year was 1968. The setting, the Alaskan bush. The mission, to live simply, deliberately, and self-sufficiently off the land, free of the trappings of contemporary society. The protagonist, clearly not what you might expect given the era. He was not some young, free spirited hippie, luddite, or draft dodger. Rather, he was a skilled hard working machinist/woodsman, who at age 51 decided to permanently leave the rat race behind.

Why this man, Dick Prenacke, suddenly left behind his conventional existence to live in a remote and unforgiving section of Alaska is never fully explored in the book. While snippets do reveal his distain for modernity, it never fully embellishes on what ultimately drove the author to do what few would ever conceive of doing. Perhaps Dick realized that at 51, the physical and physiological fortitude required to make such a transition would soon be out of his reach. More likely however, he foresaw the end of an era. No more than a few years after his departure into the wild, Alaska would enact laws prohibiting trappers and homesteaders from freely trudging off into the woods to live the quintessential "Alaskan experience." Soon Alaska would become like the rest of the lower 48, where people like Dick would be considered trespassers and evicted from any land that they did not rightfully own. Fortunately for the author, the laws were grand fathered in.

While the book is essentially a personal account of Alaskan homesteading, the author episodically weaves social commentary into his writings. He laments a society that is wasteful and superficial. The hunters that come into his Alaska, products of such a society, leave garbage and animal meat behind, unaware that the author cleans up after as well as makes use of their squander.

The author also reveals his anxiety for a society that is increasingly consumed by materialism. He feels that man is entrapped by things that he doesn't need and he seeks to avoid the superfluous at all costs. To the outsider, surviving in the wilds of Alaska would seem to require an extravagant amount of equipment and gear. One can only imagine the bill the average suburbanite would amass at the local REI in preparation for such an endeavor. Yet the author demonstrates just how little is required to not only to survive but also to prosper in such an inhospitable region.

The book closes with some thoughts on technology, and the rapidity of change that comes with it. The author's words are both haunting and prescient as he elaborates on his first year in Alaska and how his experience conflicts greatly with society at large.

inspiring.......2007-07-14

Inspiring book. Diarist was over 50 when he began this journey. Helps me look to the future for myself.

We, the Jury: Deciding the Scott Peterson Case

Average customer rating:

Not what I thought
Experiencing the Peterson trial through those who lived it
We The Jury
brilliant
Interesting but not news

We, the Jury: Deciding the Scott Peterson Case
Greg Beratlis , Tom Marino , Mike Belmessieri , Dennis Lear , Richelle Nice , John Guinasso , Julie Zanartu , Frank Swertlow , and Lyndon Stambler
Manufacturer: Phoenix Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1597775363

Book Description

In "We, the Jury," the jurors in the Scott Peterson case tell, for the first time, what life was like at the center of this sensational murder trial.

Customer Reviews:

Not what I thought .......2007-09-26

I'm reluctant to write this review, since I just read a bunch of negative reviews which were then bashed in the comments, so I'm going to start with this: I do believe Scott Peterson is GUILTY. I believe the jury got the verdict right. I have read numerous other books about Laci and Scott ... including on which was published BEFORE her body was found.

But I did not like this book. Perhaps it's because I really did think they were going to go more indepth in their deliberations, perhaps because they really didn't mention much of the evidence except in passing. I know I was bored to death when they were describing clothing and looks. Part of me has to wonder after reading this if they didn't vote guilty because Geragos didn't come through on his promise to prove Scott "stone cold innocent". Now I'm sure this isn't the case, but by reading the book I sensed that they were waiting for this proof. I would have liked more information on how they deliberated the evidence.

It is not a horrible book for what it is. But it is NOT a book about deliberating the Peterson case. It's a book about 7 out of 12 people and how the trial affected them and their lives (mostly in negative ways).

Now I hope no one feels the need to bash my review just because I didn't enjoy this book. For someone interested in the case I would recommend Catherine Crier's book. For someone interested in Laci's life and the emotions, I recommend For Laci.

It's just my opinion!

Experiencing the Peterson trial through those who lived it.......2007-09-09

Since I'm still reading the book, I can't give a full and accurate review. The four stars reflects my opinon of the book up to this point. So far so good! If you followed this trial, I would recommed this book to read.

We The Jury.......2007-07-18

It was an interesting book and filled in some of the blank spaces in my view of the trial.

brilliant.......2007-06-10

this was an excellent book,i have read about 5 from this tradegy already, it is very interesting to get a different angle on the story.

Interesting but not news.......2007-06-02

I found this book an interesting read. However, most of the information in the book was information we already knew due to the previous books published on the case and the intense media coverage. There were a few surprises but for the most part the book covers what anyone following the case would have already known.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)

Average customer rating:

Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect
helpful
Great Book
Information Packed
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

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ASIN: 0394507606
Release Date: 1980-05-12

Amazon.com

For the untrained observer, it can be quite a challenge to sort out the many trees that make up a stand of older forest in, say, New England or the Ozarks. This well-illustrated guidebook, covering 364 species, comes to the rescue with photographs organized in several ways: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. Following one visible characteristic or another, the reader can narrow the range of possibilities, then turn to an informative text that describes a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Many of the species covered are relatively rare, such as the "stinking cedar" of the Georgia-Florida border; others are locally abundant, such as the paper birch of the boreal forest, used to make ice-cream sticks; still others, such as the smooth sumac, are widespread. The guidebook also covers ornamentals introduced from other continents, such as the Chinese privet and Mahaleb cherry. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Tree peepers everywhere will enjoy these two guides which explore the incredible environment of our country's forests-including seasonal features, habitat, range, and lore. Nearly 700 species of trees are detailed in photographs of leaf shape, bark, flowers, fruit, and fall leaves -- all can be quickly accessed making this the ideal field guide for any time of year.

Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.

Customer Reviews:

Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect.......2007-08-18

I have always liked the Audubon Society Field Guides. This particular guide is great in the amount of color photos for sometimes easily identifying species in all seasons, whether from the fall leaves, bark, summer leaves, and the fruit it produces. Also the organization of the guide is very good. My cons below are NOT enough to prevent me from recommending this guide. Compared to other guides it's still the best.

CONS: The amount of information in the back is not always consistent. Also there still isn't always an easy way to differentiate some of the similar species (e.g. Oaks). In other words the pictures and/or the descriptions are not enough to distinguish like species.

helpful.......2007-07-03

Very much help for figuring out what trees we have and we have a lot. Pictures are very nice and cross reference if you aren't totally sure of what you are looking at. Very handy size too

Great Book.......2007-06-27

Every tree and every leaf that you can think of is in this book. Great clear pictures and the information is great. So glad I purchased this book for my husband. The equivalant to bird watching. Tree watching.

Information Packed.......2007-05-17

My new hobby is woodturning bowls so I bought this book to help me identify trees that supply my wood. Once I learned how to search the material, this book has been great fun and very useful. I take it with me when I walk my dog around the neighborhood to identify trees.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern).......2007-02-04

Product received in great condition and very useful.

Average customer rating:

A Super Modern Western Adventure!
Cowboys!~
Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet."
A wonderful reading experience
All the Pretty Horses

All the Pretty Horses
Cormac Mccarthy
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679744398
Release Date: 1993-06-29

Amazon.com

Part bildungsroman, part horse opera, part meditation on courage and loyalty, this beautifully crafted novel won the National Book Award in 1992. The plot is simple enough. John Grady Cole, a 16-year-old dispossessed Texan, crosses the Rio Grande into Mexico in 1949, accompanied by his pal Lacey Rawlins. The two precocious horsemen pick up a sidekick--a laughable but deadly marksman named Jimmy Blevins--encounter various adventures on their way south and finally arrive at a paradisiacal hacienda where Cole falls into an ill-fated romance. Readers familiar with McCarthy's Faulknerian prose will find the writing more restrained than in Suttree and Blood Meridian. Newcomers will be mesmerized by the tragic tale of John Grady Cole's coming of age.

Book Description

Now a major motion picture from Columbia Pictures starring Matt Damon, produced by Mike Nichols, and directed by Billy Bob Thornton.

The national bestseller and the first volume in Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy, All the Pretty Horses is the tale of John Grady Cole, who at sixteen finds himself at the end of a long line of Texas ranchers, cut off from the only life he has ever imagined for himself. With two companions, he sets off for Mexico on a sometimes idyllic, sometimes comic journey to a place where dreams are paid for in blood. Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.

Customer Reviews:

A Super Modern Western Adventure!.......2007-09-22

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews. This review of "All the Pretty Horses" is pretty good. I didn't want to ruin the story by telling too much. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated.

This memorable novel caught me and wouldn't let go. Around 1948, two teenage boys from Texas ride their horses down into Mexico. From there, the adventure begins. For a while, they live at a cattle ranch where the one boy falls in love with the wealthy rancher's daughter.

Highly recommended.

McCarthy is a powerful writer, and his novel "Blood Meridian" is the most powerful novel I ever read (see my review where I compare his prose to that of Conrad).

Blood Meridian:

"That night they rode through a region electric and wild where strange shapes of soft blue fire ran over the metal of the hoses' trappings and the wagonwheels rolled in hoops of fire and little shapes of pale blue light came to perch in the ears of the horses and in the beards of the men. All night sheetlightning quaked and sourceless to the west beyond the midnight thunderheads, making a bluish day of the distant desert, the mountains on the sudden skyline stark and black and lived like a land of some other order out there whose true geology was not stone but fear. The thunder moved up from the southwest and lightning lit the desert all about them, blue and barren, great clanging reaches ordered out of the absolute night like some demon kingdom summoned up or changeling land that come the day would leave them neither trace nor smoke nor ruin more than any troubling dream."

Compare above lines to similar lines in "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad:

"We could have fancied ourselves the first of men taking possession of an accursed inheritance, to be subdued at the cost of profound anguish and of excessive toil. But suddenly, as we struggled round a bend, there would be a glimpse of rush walls, of peaked grass-roofs, a burst of yells, a whirl of black limbs, a mass of hands clapping, of feet stamping, of bodies swaying, , of eyes rolling, under the droop of heavy and motionless foliage. The steamer toiled along slowly on the edge of a black and incomprehensible frenzy. The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us--who could tell" we were cut off from the comprehension of our surroundings; we glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse. We could not understand because we were too far and could not remember because we were travelling in the night of first ages, of those ages that are gone, leaving hardly a sign--and no memories."
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West

Cowboys!~.......2007-09-18

This book is short but really interesting. Anybody can read it quickly. The only confusing part is that the book has many quotes but it doesn't say who is saying it. This is why sometimes you have to think twice about who said this and that. The lovestory is not like any typical teenage lovestory- in one word it is DIFFERENT.

Part "High Plains Drifter" and Part "Romeo and Juliet.".......2007-09-10

Cormac McCarthy was born in Rhode island and grew up in Tennessee, but now lives in Tesuque, New Mexico. He is viewed by many as one of the more unusual and most talented of the current American writers. For example, Harold Bloom has written a number of things about McCarthy.

Some describe Mccarthy as a loner. Coincidentally, that is what one might call the protagonist in the present novel: John Grady. The novel is set in the 1950s time period and Grady is a young man or mature boy caught between the horse and buggy days of the old west and the new west connected by modern highways. Grady has a fascination for horses and is a talented rider.

The story is about two men who ride their horses into Mexico and work as ranch hands in Mexico. It is part love story and part a tale of justice and adventure, i.e.: Grady meets a woman in Mexico. The protagonist is a sympathetic character and most readers will find it to be a compelling read.

Some might not like it for the prose. The prose is complicated by design. I thought the first thirty pages were sometimes a bit awful but effective as well, but then McCarthy lightens up a bit on his writing. He reminded me a bit of the opening of Farewell to Arms where Hemingway tries to set the mood through the use of prose: Hemingway uses a narrative of the natural surroundings. McCarthy uses expressions such as "the sun sat blood red and elliptic," and these seem out of place when compared to the spartan dialogue of a father and son talking over a breakfast of eggs and coffee.

Also, McCarthy uses what is called polysyndeton, or the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted. It is a stylistic scheme used to slow down the tempo. As pointed out by others, polysyndeton is used extensively in the King James Version of the Bible. For example:

"And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." Genesis 7:22-24

One of the best parts in the book - and exceptional writing by the way - is where he describes a dream in the middle of the book about horses running free on a plain and he does so in 18 continuous lines with no punctuation.

So, this is based on some universal themes, set in Texas and Mexico, and has some interesting and complicated prose. Once you get passed page 30 to 50, it is a novel that is hard to put down. I read most of the novel in an evening.

Highly recommended page turner: 5 stars.

A wonderful reading experience.......2007-09-09

This was one of the best reading experiences Ive ever had. What was most important to me was how true to the how people of this lifestyle actually are. I grew up in this type of atmosphere and its a big part of who I am even though it no longer defines me on a daily basis. Working with horses is a lifestyle. It what you live and breathe. McCarthy captures that. It had such an effect on me and took me back to a life I miss so much. Enjoy this book.

All the Pretty Horses.......2007-08-06

I was disappointed in the style of this book. I had just read "Water for Elephants" and was blown away. The reviews I read lead me to this author and the above book. The story line is good however he is slow to develop it. I appreciate discriptive text however a paragraph (or more) it seems to descibbe a dry river bed is a bit much especially when there is one on every page. Alas the last 1/3 of the book will go unread. And I will search for the next W.F.E.

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