Don't Kill the Cow Too Quick: An Englishmans Adventures Homesteading in Panama

Book Description

Retiring to live on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, the author humorously describes how he learned through experience, from the first essential of handling a boat without danger to himself and others to his ultimate achievement of establishing an organic farm on the shore of a distant lagoon. Interspersed with vignettes of the local culture, the account gives an insight to the challenges facing Gringos when pursuing dreams of life on a tropical island.

Covering a span of six years from the beginnings of the growth of a tourist industry to a time when the islands were clearly destined to become a major tourist destination, Don't Kill the Cow Too Quick records a passing era.

Customer Reviews:

live the dream.......2007-06-08

Look at a map of Central America then zoom in on Panama. Just south of the border of Costa Rica on the Caribbean shore is the archipeligo of Bocas del Toro. As the author says, Bocas del Toro is like Key West was in the 1920's just getting noticed by tourist, retirees and developers. This is a small city on a tropical island with the surronding islands, coral reefs, beaches, small farms, tropical forests and mangroves, the area that Malcom Henderson and his wife settled to live the years of their life after age 60. This book is his story of finding the area, settling there and working to fit in by building a home in town and starting a ranch (finca) on the mainland.

Henderson has an unusual writing style, very personal, like writing a diary. Some of the chapters have abrupt endings that seem a bit odd in the way that perhaps your grandfather would have told a story that takes a while to register than you get the meaning of it. His writing flows better through the book and makes it hard to put down by the end. Henderson also has a well developed sense of humor and perhaps this follows from some of the laughable situations that he gets into that still maintain the admiration of his friends. I felt a sense of loss when I finished the book, wanting to continue to hear his stories about Panama and the people of the Bocas del Toro region.

I purchased this book mainly to learn more of this region from the expatriat's viewpoint but I picked up much more than that. Anyone moving to a foreign country should anticipate the potential conflict of gringo and latino, foreigner and national, impoverished and wealthy, and greedy and charitable. Henderson covers all of this and it is a tribute to this book that he tells it with insight, humor and is able to evoke some of the essence of the region for us.

I am looking forward to reading a book with the Panamanian's view of the changes in the Bocas del Toro region next.

A good read.......2006-08-23

Malcom gives the reader a real first hand view of Bocas. He is funny and hauman. Makes you want to move there.

Very Interesting.......2006-06-02

This has been the first book that I have read cover to cover, except for techincal manuels. I enjoyed all of Malcolm's adventures. Having been in Bocas, I can relate to some of them.

A psychologist's perspective.......2006-03-05

I have just finished reading, for the second time, Malcolm Henderson's enchanting tour of a marvelous part of the world and his introduction to some wonderful people. Mr. Henderson has what other writers wish they had, the innate gift of being able to tell a story. In this delightful book Mr. Henderson displays the qualities of a Mark Twain, or Ambrose Bierce in that regard. This book would make an excellent addition to University classes in creative writing and psychology courses on social psychology. Mr. Henderson succeeds in taking us to Bocas Del Toro, sharing his relationships with interesting people, and engages us in the desire to live with and assist however we can, both the indigenous tribal natives and other Panamanians. He is candid in the things he probably should not have done, as well as in those things he did well. You will become engrossed in this book as it is truly a relaxing, entertaining, and informative work. Human behavior is remarkably different in different cultures and Mr. Henderson introduces us to a truly admirable culture in Panama, in a truly admirable manner. Sit back, read, enjoy. I look forward to other offerings by this author.

Papa Malc Goes to Bocas.......2006-01-20

Mr. Malcolm (as he's called in the book) is a kind hearted fellow and I found this memoir to be a very enjoyable read. Other books talk about the nuts and bolts of retiring to Panama while this one does a nice job of telling what the experience is actually like. If you are considering moving to Panama, this book is required reading.

Reading of Mr. Malcolm's exploits does beg the question, "When does one man's success become society's failure?"

Malcolm has a house on a Bocas island with 25 acres of rain forest, a 5 - 10 minute boat ride to town. He didn't like the "public" town dock, so he bought an oceanfront parcel in town to make his own dock. On that parcel he built the biggest house in Bocas in which, according to his words, "the majority of Bocas families live in a space no bigger than our downstairs dining area." The house has an upstairs dining area as well. Malcolm also bought a 21 acre farm (with yet another house he built) on the lagoon. He also owns a "mansion" (his words) in Tampa (later sold for a cushy condo), a home of some sort in Virginia, as well as his business holdings to do with his wife's art career.

To make up for his "largess" he did resolve to rent out the bottom part of his downtown Bocas mansion, but only to professionals like a doctor or lawyer, not too the needy families living in the tiny shack. How is that for social action!

If you are keeping score, Malcolm has 46+ acres of land and 5 homes a varying extravagance + businesses, while the average Bocas family lives in a one room shack, owns no businesses, and survives on low wages paid by the likes of Mr. Malcolm.

The financial gap between Mr. Malcolm's empire and that typical Bocas family living in a 14 X 20 ft shack is a massive gap. What effect does such large financial power moving to Bocas have on the native people? What long term effect does sky rocketing land prices have on future generations of poor Panamanians who had a hard time affording property before the boom? What is going to happen when more and more wealthy gringos move in? What happens to the natives when the force of the American real estate market is transposed upon Bocas, a market they can never afford to be a part of?

True, Malcolm gave some bags of cement to a local school, ensured that jailed Panamanian women have soap while incarcerated, bought the mayor an air conditioner, financed a 10' X 10' garden for the growing of medicinal plants to cure snake bites, and furthered the long standing tradition of boosting employment via low wages (enough to get by, not enough to move to a higher class).

But is that charity fair compensation for the loss of their country, the loss of the ability of future generations of natives to own their own land?

It would be interesting if a neutral economist would conduct a study examining the long term economic effects on average natives when wealthy people like Mr. Malcolm, albeit a kinder gentler landowner, invade their domain.

All that aside, the book is a good read, recommended.

Water Well Drilling Troubleshooting Guide

Average customer rating:

Great help for the average guy who needs help.

Water Well Drilling Troubleshooting Guide

Manufacturer: drillingfab
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Portable Water Well Drilling Rig Plans Book
Water Well Drill Bit Construction Guide & Plans (drillingfab.com, vol 1)
Waterhole: How to Dig Your Own Well
Wells and Septic Systems
Builder's Guide to Wells and Septic Systems

ASIN: 1599713411

Product Description

Hands on tips to help anyone master drilling there own water well. covers drilling,logging the well,making drill pipe,making your own well screen,gravel pack,drill stem falling to fast,blow the well with air,making drill bits, plus much more. Knowning what to look for when buying a your first portable drilling rig. easy to read and understand .You'll have a sure understanding after this read..

Customer Reviews:

Great help for the average guy who needs help........2006-01-31

This book is great for the do-it-yourself guy or homesteader. Gives helpful tips and tricks, not to metion how to make your own drill pipe and well screen.Logging your well,mixing drilling mud,blowing the well, plus much more.Book is written in a easy to understand way with money saving tips too. What to look for in portable drilling rigs and what works and what does not.

Travel-Trailer Homesteading Under $5,000

Average customer rating:

Go to Half.com for this book.
What a good book!
WELL RESEARCHED, CONCISLEY WRITTEN, ACCURATE TO A FAULT!
Environmental Engineer endorses Authors' Septic System!!!
www.dirtcheapbuilder.com has this book in stock

Travel-Trailer Homesteading Under $5,000
Brian D. Kelling
Manufacturer: Loompanics Unlimited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Camping | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Motor Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Complete Guide to Full-Time RVing: Life on the Open Road
All New Square Foot Gardening
The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It
Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence

ASIN: 1559501324

Amazon.com

This is a small book that packs a wallop, with information for readers tired of paying rent and yearning for a suitable home of their own, but who don't have a huge bankroll to do it. Kelling lays out all the basics: how to analyze your budget and costs; how to find suitable land and a livable travel trailer or RV to use as a permanent home; what kinds of tools you'll need; and how to construct a septic system, generate power, devise heating and refrigeration systems, and much more. It's incredible but true: you can head down the path to self-sufficiency and affordable living in your own home right now for under $5,000. --Mark A. Hetts

Customer Reviews:

Go to Half.com for this book........2004-09-26

This book is available at Half.com for about $10.

What a good book!.......2004-03-02

While the lifestyle this book describes may not be for everyone, it does offer very practical, down-to-earth suggestions as a viable alternative to the 30 year mortgage ball and chain. His writing style is very personable, as if you were sitting across the table having coffee with him. Lots of useful information....
I recommend this book!

WELL RESEARCHED, CONCISLEY WRITTEN, ACCURATE TO A FAULT!.......2002-03-06

What a simply charming book. Take a travel trailer, homestead a 20 acre mining claim for free ...follow the directions given in the book and you are good to go! What could be simpler.

With this book as a guide, shucks, even I can do this!

The author found a beautiful piece of ground in colorado, by the looks of the cover of this great little book. The good news is that he has already done it and taken the onus out of the equation. It is duplicatable!! He provides a true "template" for the entire venture. No guess work. Just follow the yellow brick road and the simple instructions on the back of the box.

Thanks a million, Brian. What a great wealth of information.

Hap

Environmental Engineer endorses Authors' Septic System!!!.......2002-03-06

Any "Full-Timer", (Living full time in a Recreational Vehicle, like my wife and I do), could tell you that Mr. Kelling is right on track. His info is timely, accurate, and most importantly, useful! Since a "Full-Timer" already has a firm grip on the basics of a travel trailer, or motorhome, the author has correctly dispensed with all but the valuable stuff, ergo his title:
". . . HOMESTEADING. . ."

I've seen older travel trailers (30' or less) sell for $300 and last a lifetime. All of the prices noted in Mr. Kelling's book are correct, by my research. Certainly one could spend much more, but that lends itself to the old story of Richard Petty (the racecar driver) asking a famous racecar builder just how much it would cost to build a racecar. The reply was, "Depends on just how fast you want to go."

The idea here is frugality. If people can't do the work themselves, the "Do-it-yourself" book isn't the proper genre.

If, on the other hand, those of us who are self-sufficient pick up this little jewel -we're good to go! It's all here.

We folks living in the country know all about outhouses, septic systems, and cisterns. Suffice it to say that any engineer of Septic systems will endorse Mr. Kelling's plans. A leeching field is the correct place to return the liquefied matter back to mother earth. Lateral lines are what carry the liquefied matter to that leeching field. A separation tank, and liquefying tank are the correct instruments to reduce the matter to liquid.

Well, enough techno prattle.

It just irks my hide when a person pens a flame without doing their homework first. My wife and I have each staked a mining claim -20 acres each- in gorgeous country, beautiful mountains with dynamic and breathtaking views. Cost? Free!! (Well there was a meager filing fee, and we must make $100/yr improvements.) That takes care of the land, notwithstanding millions of acres of wilderness.

$30,000 worth of power & hand tools would make one a professional in the trades, so that's out of the question. A professional is not needed here, if you use Kelling's book. Park your travel trailer, get your pickaxe and shovel out and go to work. There's your excavation for the septic system for sweat equity. OK, so you have a few dollars, hire a backhoe.

Well, I could go on and on. This is such a marvelous book. Small? Well, maybe it isn't War and Peace sized, but there's an old country saying that goes, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, but the size of the fight in the dog."

This dog has plenty of fight in it and it will sure hunt.
Buy the book and go hunting!!

www.dirtcheapbuilder.com has this book in stock.......2000-09-23

This really is a motivating little book. We all dream of geting away and his description of exactly how to find a trailer, adapt it to solar, septic, compost and very livable condition!

Has great info on how to fix the trailer, and live comfortably. My company keeps this book in stock at all times. visit the website at www.dirtcheapbuilder.com and look under the cheap houses link.

Customer Reviews:

A good but incomplete book........2006-06-21

An interesting book, but one wonders after reading if any of this every happened. It's mostly just a collection of recipes. A better and more complete vision is in "Sea-steading" by Jerome FitzGerald.
I'd recommend both!

Ingenius Lo-Tech Ideas to Achieving Self-Sufficientcy.......2002-11-01

What I especially liked about this book was the ingenius ideas the author came up with, ie, a simple solar still to convert salt water to fresh using just the sun's energy. He even has plans for a portable still that can be rolled up when not in use. A couple of my seakayaking friends are using them as a backup for freshwater needs. He also has a great plan for setting up a mini-greenhouse up in the bow of the sailboat to ensure a supply of fresh vegetables. Also ideas to use the time at sea to make in-demand items to sell whenever or if you pull into a port. All ideas can be folded down for portability and easy storage. Could work well in a hot, dry land environment as well as on the water.

How to have world-wide mobility in a self-sufficient habitat.......1998-07-27

Back in the 1970's with the new homesteading and back-to-the-land movement, there was a small and brief interest in "seasteading", a maritime equivalent. This book, along with The Solar Boat Book, is the best how-to book addressing this issue. Read it along with Annie Hill's Voyaging on a Small Income. Neumeyer discusses topics I've not seen elsewhere, such as food production at sea, trade goods, diet for maximum nutrition WITH minimum weight and space, weapons, etc. Right now there is a colony of sailors that live by this book intentionally adrift in the Sargasso.

Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth

Average customer rating:

Be careful about what you wish for
Educational and Inspiring
Fantastic Resource for anyone wanting to get into agriculture
Make your dream come true
Recommended reading ...I was not disappointed!

Micro Eco-Farming: Prospering from Backyard to Small Acreage in Partnership with the Earth
Barbara Berst Adams
Manufacturer: New World Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

Crop Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Sustainable Agriculture | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Agricultural | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Backyard Market Gardening: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling What You Grow (Good Earth)
The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener (A Gardener's Supply Book)
Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach (Down-To-Earth Book)
Five Acres and Independence
Making Your Small Farm Profitable: Apply 25 Guiding Principles/Develop New Crops & New Markets/Maximize Net Profits Per Acre

ASIN: 0963281437

Book Description

Microfarms—or small acreage farms—are gaining popularity across the country for their astoundingly high yields and great tasting produce, as well as their profitability. This handbook reveals the secrets of successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to start their own small agribusiness. Questions such as What can be grown? How do farmers reach their markets? and What sustainable production methods can be used? are answered in detail and supported be hundreds of real-life examples. A variety of unusual uses for crops are also provided, including producing organic spa products, building an urban greenhouse, creating a heritage rose farm, or cultivating a connoisseur apple orchard. Ecologists, amateur gardeners, farmers, and those interested in sustainable living will enjoy this in-depth look at the spiritually and financially rewarding aspects of this new field.

Customer Reviews:

Be careful about what you wish for.......2007-09-06

This is a very enchanting book, but I think the reader would be wise to take it with a grain of salt. The author makes a list of vegetables sound so good your mouth starts to water. Food literally comes to life. One farm has world class leafy lettuce. Another has miraculous tomatoes. A third has peppers for every taste. A fourth makes wool as smooth as silk.

On the other hand, some of the stories are fanciful at best. For example, there is the story of the 'good' coyote. A farmer takes pity on a limping coyote and offers it some food. The standard practice in the neighborhood was to shoot coyotes on sight, but this coyote touches the farmer somehow. The coyote mends. Once recovered, the coyote decides the farmer is 'one of the pack' and his chickens are 'his things'. Thus, she identifies the farmer's chickens as off limits and protects them from other coyotes, raccoons, and varmints. I've got chickens and cohabitate with coyotes. The idea of a coyote protecting the farmer's hens was good for a hearty laugh.

Another story concerns the 'good weed'. This story is part of section on letting plants restore soil depleted of essential trace minerals. The idea is that plants can concentrate trace minerals deep in the soil and deposit them on the surface. In this context, we meet the good thistle. The good thistle pulls out trace minerals out of the stony soil, then dies out as the soil returns to health. I had another good laugh with this story. In some ways there is truth in it, but let me tell you about my thistles. They are beautiful. Every year my soil gets better. I haven't noticed them dying out, though. Maybe next year!

Finally, there is the story of the weak plant calling out to nearby insects to end it's suffering. This theme is repeated numerous times. I guess it is the story of the 'good' bad insect. You see, those worms and beetles are not just eating any plant, they are consuming the suffering plant. I'm not going to argue that nature has a way of maintaining balance, but I had to laugh. I guess those squirrels that entirely consumed 3 trees of gorgeous, plump, red organic peaches were simply answering the peach trees cries of distress! I should have known!

If you want to grow your own food, more power to you. Don't be surprised if Mother Nature throws you a few curve balls along the way, though. Don't count on coyotes to protect your chickens, nor thistles to conveniently disappear.

Finally, Ms. Adams never mentions the local banker or tax man, which seems odd. I've never met a farmer that doesn't have something to say about these friendly folks.

Educational and Inspiring.......2007-03-09

If you've ever dreamed of having a small, productive farm but didn't know where to begin or how to creatively make money and have fun at the same time, this book is The Source for you. Barbara Berst Adams' "Micro Eco-Farming" is loaded with great ideas, sensible how-to information and strategies for starting, maintaining and expanding an environmentally friendly mini farm. The breadth of her knowledge is impressive. She obviously understands every aspect of small-scale farming from raising livestock and poultry to growing specialty herbs, flowers and vegetables. This is a practical handbook and a solid reference you will always want to keep on hand. It has earned a permanent place in my library.

Fantastic Resource for anyone wanting to get into agriculture.......2007-03-09

This is a must have book for anyone wanting to get more for less out of their garden, farm, or acreage. I loved it and found it interesting and informative. It'll stay on my shelf long after I pass it around to all of my friends and family! Bravo! The world would be a better place if more people read and would take to heart the message this book brings.

Make your dream come true.......2006-10-26

It has been my long-time dream to have a house in a rural place with a few acres and a cash crop. With this dream in mind, I read
"Micro Eco-Farming" by Barbara Berst Adams. It is a wonderful book. Besides great suggestions for types of small farm or backyard businesses that lend themself to success, the many real examples bring the possibilities to life. But, there is much more. The book describes how to go about setting up a small eco-business, why and how each one works, and how the benefits of such an endeavour go far beyond just cash. Of special interest to me is practical ways to make the most of a very small gardening plot or space. I don't have land yet (I'm still in a condo in a small city), but there was one tip that I used immediately. It was using trace minerals to help plants flourish, with sometimes dramatic results. I use trace minerals for my personal health, but never thought about my houseplants needing the same. This makes total sense, and I have just started adding trace minerals to their water! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Barbara's delightful book and can hardly wait until I get my
own small plot of land to make use of the wisdom she conveys through her own experience and that of others. I could almost taste the strawberries, smell the hay, and hear the sounds of the birds as I read her book. Ahhh.

Recommended reading ...I was not disappointed!.......2006-08-23

It made sense to me that I first saw this book recommended by the National Gardening Association. After all, some of the farms described in it successfully operate from backyard gardens and even urban lots. Later I saw that Rodale's New Farm magazine recommended it with the following quote:

"The author continually returns to the concept of the "whole farm," where each part integrates with the whole in a mutually beneficial relationship--from the animals, to the insects, to the soil, to the plants, to the farmer and his or her family, expanding outward to the local community and region. She offers an abundance of examples of how farmers have come up with one-of-a-kind products--from specialty wool to simply the experience of interacting with animals--or turned a problem into an advantage--such as the couple who sold homemade salsa "kits" like hotcakes right smack in the middle of a tomato glut."

I'm glad I now own a copy of this book. I was impressed to find out that the Trends Institute had correctly predicted a nationwide (if not worldwide) return to farms like these, or that a new world was opening up again for local farms. I liked learning what makes these new micro eco-farms very different from pre-industrial farms, as well as in what ways they are similar. I never expected it to be a step-by-step rehash of ag-extension grape-trellising or fence-making how-tos which are available free or low-cost to anyone, nor the details of just one person's farm that worked for that person in his or her location. It is non-technical and describes many microfarm examples, explains the concept of how they grow and expand continually (without getting physically larger). Most farms described are from backyard size to five acres, with some up to 15 acres or so, and even one larger farm that added a microfarm element that seemed to outdo its larger counterpart in business!

At Home in Nature: Modern Homesteading and Spiritual Practice in America

Average customer rating:

homesteading: origins and history

At Home in Nature: Modern Homesteading and Spiritual Practice in America
Rebecca Kneale Gould
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

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

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Outdoors & Nature | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Religion & Spirituality | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It
Nature Religion in America: From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age (Chicago History of American Religion)
Our Lady of the Exile: Diasporic Religion at a Cuban Catholic Shrine in Miami (Religion in America)
The Modern Homestead Manual
Plain Reader

ASIN: 0520241428

Book Description

Motivated variously by the desire to reject consumerism, to live closer to the earth, to embrace voluntary simplicity, or to discover a more spiritual path, homesteaders have made the radical decision to go "back to the land," rejecting modern culture and amenities to live self-sufficiently and in harmony with nature. Drawing from vivid firsthand accounts as well as from rich historical material, this gracefully written study of homesteading in America from the late nineteenth century to the present examines the lives and beliefs of those who have ascribed to the homesteading philosophy, placing their experiences within the broader context of the changing meanings of nature and religion in modern American culture.
Rebecca Kneale Gould investigates the lives of famous figures such as Henry David Thoreau, John Burroughs, Ralph Borsodi, Wendell Berry, and Helen and Scott Nearing, and she presents penetrating interviews with many contemporary homesteaders. She also considers homesteading as a form of dissent from consumer culture, as a departure from traditional religious life, and as a practice of environmental ethics.

Customer Reviews:

homesteading: origins and history.......2007-06-30

I enjoyed reading this very comprehensive academic treatise on the causes and history of the modern American urge to re-homestead. Through interviews with modern homesteaders (e.g., first-hand experience with the Nearings and their legacy) and explication of the ethos of John Burroughs, this book explores the fundamental desire to spiritually re-align through the practice of homesteading. Through it, I have come to understand my own desire to escape the practices and principles of modern America; my husband and I have decided to homestead and this was a good fundamental beginning that helped me explore and share my dissatisfaction with today's society. It is a very in-depth book which I enjoyed because it helped me to discover that innominate urges in myself have a common origin and societal basis, and even a name. For those of you who have an unsettled feeling of discontent with your current life and the choices available through organized religion, maybe this thought-provoking book is for you.

The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier

Average customer rating:

Not very honest
Wrote the book on Virtual Communities
A seminal 1992 work with update tacked on
Prophet of Electronic Power to the People
New expanded edition is forthcoming

The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier
Howard Rheingold
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Communication | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet
Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution
The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit , Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives)
The Psychology of the Internet

ASIN: 0262681218

Amazon.com

Written by the man known as the First Citizen of the Internet, this book covers Rheingold's experiences with virtual communities. It starts off with his home community, The Well, out of Sausilito, CA, and makes its way through MUDs and beyond. No one understands the compelling strength of online community like Rheingold.

Book Description

Howard Rheingold has been called the First Citizen of the Internet. In this book he tours the "virtual community" of online networking. He describes a community that is as real and as much a mixed bag as any physical community -- one where people talk, argue, seek information, organize politically, fall in love, and dupe others. At the same time that he tells moving stories about people who have received online emotional support during devastating illnesses, he acknowledges a darker side to people's behavior in cyberspace. Indeed, contends Rheingold, people relate to each other online much the same as they do in physical communities.

Originally published in 1993, The Virtual Community is more timely than ever. This edition contains a new chapter, in which the author revisits his ideas about online social communication now that so much more of the world's population is wired. It also contains an extended bibliography.

Customer Reviews:

Not very honest.......2002-01-23

The virtual community is, in reality, at best a bunch of people disagreeing and regularly indulging in shark-like small group attacks. The WELL, of which Howard speaks so much, hounded one of its early members - Blair - to his death by suicide, a matter described, but not really examined with much thoroughness. Yes, he touches on flaming, but does not examine a deeper pattern of common harrasment, particularly of outliers. How Howard himself participated in this type of online gang harassment activity, not understanding the man, Blair, and discounting his claims out of hand is a quite interesting story. He touches on this, and gives an account, which would be acceptable in a personal autobiography. But to leave it where he does in a book purporting to be a seminal piece on virtual community is truly remarkably remiss. Since the record is all there, or was, it could have been given serious consideration.

The conflicting interests, and the commonly irresponsible behavior of people online - viciousness, gratuitous, undeserved nastiness, intellectual dishonesty - looking for targets to vent on is not explored as it should be. This is quite common outside of the world of flaming.

This book is a gloss piece, advertising for something that doesn't really exist as he claims. Howard, while a pleasant guy personally, does not show himself a deep thinker, and may not be much of an observer either. Nor is the author ready, willing or able to take on anything that is likely to upset the herd of which he has become something of a starring member. The story of virtual community is not such a very nice one in many ways.

The underside of the story of virtual community is a story of psychological denial, denial about a great deal. It is a story of in-groups and out-groups, and a good deal more, something which requires an anhtropologists eye, and someone with more nerve.

Go ahead and read this book. But understand that the book itself is evidence of the degree of denial which pervades the "virtual community".

Wrote the book on Virtual Communities.......2001-07-19

Howard Rheingold is the most important lens through which the entire culture of the Virtual Community and Virtual Environment dynamics should and can be seen. This book, in any of its print runs or versions, is essential for anyone who wants to understand contact between people who's only connection is online via computers.

A seminal 1992 work with update tacked on.......2001-07-03

Rheingold provides a comprehensive, broad sweeping portrayal of the virtual communities landscape, particularly as it was in the early 1990s. In particular, the book provides a fascinating history of the development of virtual communities from back in the 1960s. The many stories of the development of virtual communities and of life in virtual communities provide a rich account.

The books' style is more journalistic that academic. It reads something like an extended newspaper article, with some fine writing. The book concentrates mostly on a kind of anecdotal and human accounting with a smattering of theory and stuff thrown in. Howard Rheingold eloquently lays out many of the salient issues and does an excellent job of arguing for the importance of recognizing the growth of online social groups. Also, he provides an intriguing treatment of cultural issues. The depth and breadth of his experience with the medium is clearly evident.

Generally, book is more historical than theoretical or practical. Howard admits to wanting to popularize the notion of virtual communities, which he does effectively. But, there is little that would help you set up a virtual community or really understand why they work that way. His basis is more in his experience than in theory or rigorous research.

The original book has been widely commented on, so perhaps just two comments on the 2000 version are in order. First, the book seems a little dated. The new material for this new version seems mostly added in the last two chapters, leaving the preceding 10 tinged with the state of affairs in 1992, which was pre-web and pre- a large bit of corporate development of e-business and virtual communities on the web. Of course, most of the issues are still relevant, but one has to keep the age of the material in mind. Second, the new material, although comprehensive and certainly based on Howard's considerable experience, seems a little rushed. Howard qualifies this by saying it would need another book, but this leaves the book feeling like an older book with a lengthy afterward tacked on later.

Prophet of Electronic Power to the People.......2000-12-30

Everyone seems to miss what I think is the most important the point of Howard's book. First published in 1993 and now in the expanded edition, the bottom line on this book is that the Internet has finally made it possible for individuals to own the fruits of their own labor--the power has shifted from the industrial age aggregators of labor, capital, and hard resources to the individual knowledge workers. The virtual community is the social manifestation of this new access to one another, but the real revolution is manifested in the freedom that cyberspace makes possible--as John Perry Barlow has said, the Internet interprets censorship (including corporate attempts to "own" employee knowledge) as an outage, and *routes around it*. Not only are communities possible, but so also are short-term aggregations of interest, remote bartering, on the fly hiring of world-class experts at a fraction of their "physical presence price". If Howard's first big book, Tools for Thought, was the window on what is possible at the desktop, this book is the window on what is possible in cyberspace, transcending physical, legal, cultural, and financial barriers. This is not quite the watershed that The Communist Manifesto was, but in many ways this book foreshadowed all of the netgain, infinite wealth, and other electronic frontier books coming out of the fevered brains around Boston--a guy in Mill Valley wearing hand-painted cowboy boots was there long before those carpetbaggers (smile).

New expanded edition is forthcoming.......2000-05-12

This is a classic work on the development of online communities immediately before the advent of the World Wide Web. A new expanded edition with a terrific follow up chapter and expanded bibliography is due this fall from The MIT Press. A must read!

Average customer rating:

This book is very good !
It's a pamphlet, not a book.
Pump Water for Free No Electricity Required.
Excellent guide for the do-it-yourselfer
Great little book!

All About Hydraulic Ram Pumps
Don Wilson
Manufacturer: Atlas Publications (NC)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Hydraulic Ram Pumps: A Guide to Ram Pump Water Supply Systems
RED CLAW! Raising the Giant Australian Freshwater Crayfish
Small Scale Crayfish Farming
Microhydro: Clean Power from Water
Motors as Generators for Micro-Hydro Power

ASIN: 0963152629

Book Description

The ram pump, or water ram, is a very useful 'old-tech' device that has been around for many years and is as useful today as ever. It can pump water from a flowing source of water to a point ABOVE that source with no power requirement other than the force of gravity. Invented before electric water pumps, this rugged, simple and reliable device works continuously with only 2 moving parts and very little maintenence. Typically installed at remote home sites for domestic water supply, watering livestock, gardens, decorative lily and fish ponds, water wheels and fountains. Because it uses no power, a ram pump can be used where water would normally not be used and would flow on downstream.

This book explains in simple terms and with illustrations how the ram pump works, where and how it can be set up, and how to keep it going. The second section of the book gives step-by-step plans for building a fully operational Atlas Ram Pump from readily available plumbing fittings and which require NO welding, drilling, tapping or special tools to fabricate. The final chapter shows how to build an inexpensive ferro-cement water storage tank.

Customer Reviews:

This book is very good !.......2007-09-10

This book is very good !
I 'd read this ,now I try to make Hydraulic ram pump !

It's a pamphlet, not a book........2003-11-16

I thought it was some kind of joke when I openeed the package. It was supposed to be a book. Just know before you get this that it's a pamphlet and not a book. Highly overpriced if you ask me.

Pump Water for Free No Electricity Required........2002-05-09

How many times have I heard people say "my Grand Dad had a Ram Pump on his farm". Yet the ram pump today has been almost totally lost in the modern fast paced world we live in. Which makes this book so important to have the ability to pump water uphill with no electricity required. Now thats saying something about the ram pump and the great book which covers from A-Z the plans for building your own pump. Get this book.

Excellent guide for the do-it-yourselfer.......2000-08-22

Not only an informative booklet on the topic of hydraulic ram water pumping, but filled with clear diagrams, part lists and sources, and thorough set-up and troubleshooting sections. Even with a minimal water flow, this pump performs! Although the price to build it in todays dollars is more than indicated, you can't go wrong with the sturdy, dependable design. I've been moving water over 1200 feet at a 100 foot rise for over 3 months, averaging 600 gallons in a 24 hour period. Highly recommended for entry into this fascinating method of pumping.

Great little book!.......1999-08-09

I have built and bought hydraulic ram pumps. I have bought the books from England, called ram builders all over the US, and searched the net. Don Wilson's book has the clearest directions I have seen.

Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City

Average customer rating:

Must own for any wantabe urban homesteader
A bit limited, but still useful...
A great overview

Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading in the City
Christopher Nyerges , and Dolores Nyerges
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Parenting Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

How to Survive Without a Salary: Learning How to Live the Conserver Lifestyle
Living Well on Practically Nothing: Revised and Updated Edition
Better Off : Flipping the Switch on Technology
When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance and Planetary Survival
Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth

Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer
Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1890132365

Book Description

"Upon a foundation of not being able to change the world, the Nyerges have changed themselves, along the lines, that is, of Tolstoy's observation that everybody thinks of changing the world, and nobody thinks of changing himself. They provide simple, natural, and cheap ways to live in the city, partly as survivalists, partly as environmentalists, by recounting the tale of their newly-acquired dilapidated duplex in LA. Their first step was removing the energy-wasting dishwashers, disposals, and central heating units and gradually beginning beekeeping, rainwater collecting, and organic/natural gardening." --Book News, April 2003

Here is an upbeat, unabashedly outrageous book about applying the principles of self-reliance, more often associated with rural back-to-the-landers and wilderness campers, to life in suburban Los Angeles. By telling their own homesteading story, the Nyergeses have created a blueprint that will help city-dwellers anywhere live more independently.

The book is organized more like a how-to or self-help book than a personal memoir. The authors present self-sufficient and ecological approaches to commonly defined areas of a household: The House, The Yard, Homegrown Foods (and wild edibles), Domestic Animals, The Garden, Water, Energy, and Recycling. A concluding chapter takes on larger lifestyle questions of livelihood and healthy relationships with money and security.

Here are some basic tips that are covered:
--Save water, gasoline, and fertilizers by substituting a traditional, water-lavish grass lawn with more low-growing plants which require very little upkeep, and which are pleasant-smelling and wonderful food sources. New Zealand spinach, red clover, mint, and thyme are some examples.
--Lower your power and gas bills by using solar energy to heat water, bake bread, and generate electricity for other purposes.
--Get rid of your costly garbage disposal and recycle your own garbage. Give food scraps to your animals. And you can go as far as making a compost pit of kitchen scraps and pet manure with a joint rabbit hutch and worm-farm.
--Allow cooler air to flow through the house without having a pricey and high-powered central cooling system. Replace regular screen doors with steel security screens, so you can leave the doors open all night without worrying about a break-in. You can also paint your dark-colored roof with a white coat to keep down solar heat absorption.
--Don't rake your yard. By keeping the area heavily mulched, you don't have to water as often or use any hazardous chemicals. The organic matter in the mulch replenishes grass.
-- Plant shade trees. This increases the fragrance and beauty of your yard and lessens the need for mechanically cooling your house. Consider citrus trees. They are drought-tolerant and yield delicious, fresh, natural fruits.

Customer Reviews:

Must own for any wantabe urban homesteader.......2006-01-28

This is a timeless and well written book for anyone interested in the idea of living as self sufficient as one can within an urban or suburban area, especially in California.

The authors writing style is a combination of journal and how to genre. From fruits, vegetables, flowers, small livestock, water and unexpected issues like how to protect what you have the authors lay out a cornucopia of facts and think ahead ideas that will help anyone interested in urban homesteading.

Loved reading how they started with a fixer upper home and made it into a home to be proud of and how they took a totally neglected yard and made it into an Eden to be proud of as well as an inspiration to the rest of the neighborhood.

Also nice to read how their efforts also saved open space around them that was a dumping ground for junk but became a safe haven for wild birds etc.

A bit limited, but still useful..........2005-01-06

First of all, it's nice to see a book that deals with urban/suburban (rather than rural) homesteading! Some of what the authors suggest is not terribly practical in my region, such as going without air conditioning in the summer (Michigan's humidity can be pretty unbearable), but there are plenty of good suggestions that can be adapted for any climate.

A great overview.......2003-12-30

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but beware; it's not really a how-to manual. It's the personal and very specific homesteading experiences of the authors. There is some good how-to information but it is not covered in any depth; there are whole books dedicated to topics that "Extreme Simplicity" covers in a page or two. This is the book for you if you are looking for an extensive overview, personal anecdotes and ideas to get you started in your homesteading lifestyle.
I only gave it 4 stars because I felt the title was a bit misleading. I purchased the book based on the subtitle "Homesteading in the City". What they really mean is "Homesteading in the Suburbs of a Major City Where You Have a Bit of Land and Own Your Own Home". I was hoping to be able to recommend this book to my apartment bound friends in NYC but if you don't have even a bit of land or you are in a rental, this book won't help much. Still, it's a good read if you are interested in the topic. Kudos to the authors for what they are doing.

Average customer rating:

A Small Cabin That One Person Can Build
Aristotle Locke Rousseau Hume Madison a.k.a. Al Madison
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

"How-to" Build This Log Cabin for $3,000
How to Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Backcountry Getaway
Cabins: A Guide to Building Your Own Nature Retreat
Building a Log Cabin Retreat: A Do-It-Yourself Guide
Rustic Retreats: A Build-It-Yourself Guide

ASIN: 1419615939
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Book Description

As reviewed by Kirkus Discoveries: "Step-by-step instructions on how to build a home in an economical and artistically unique way. Owning a home doesn't have to be a trying ordeal, says Madison, who reports that he built his own house with little more than his own muscle power and ingenuity. Though he claims not to be particularly handy, he managed to create a fully functional cabin complete with electricity, running water and Internet access as part of a journey that was both fulfilling and therapeutic. He takes readers through the process, from cutting down trees and laying the foundation for the floor to installing piping and electricity to detailing plans to build additional modules. Pictures and diagrams complement the text, and the author even discusses his future plans to fully automate the cabin. In addition to the down-and-dirty details, he uses quotes from a number of philosophers-Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau and others-to help explain his motivation. It was as much about testing his own abilities as it was about creating a physical shelter. One one level, this is a practical guide that contains pertinent information for people who actually want to build their own cabin. On another, it's a fascinating look inside the mind of a man who chose to go against the grain and who writes with such folksy charm and comical practicality that you can't help but applaud him for bucking the system. Those not interested in building their own homes will be bored senseless by the technical details and some of the long-winded endnotes, but entertaining anecdotes-such as how the author munches on blackberries while simultaneously trimming his beard in his yard to lay down a barrier of human scent that deters snakes-keep the pages turning. In definite need of editorial direction but makes a case for the author-whatever his name is-getting his own home-improvement show." As reviewed by New York Times best selling author Ellen Tanner Marsh: "When Henry David Thoreau tired of the city in 1845, he retreated to the country, living on the shores of Walden Pond and chronicling his experiences in the timeless work Walden or Life in the Woods. Now, in an enchanting new book, A Small Cabin that One Person can Build, readers are presented with a sort of modern-day version of Thoreau's classic. Like Thoreau, author Aristotle Locke Rousseau Hume Madison (a.k.a. Al Madison) decided to retreat from his hectic life, and although he didn't have a place to live, he had some time and money and, more importantly, some land and trees. In this amazing little book, Madison (each of the illustrations names he uses provides a famous quote at the end of it) sets out to build a log cabin-and educate readers on how to do it themselves. In a friendly, approachable style, Madison shows readers exactly how he built his cabin using easy to follow step-by-step instructions, from insulation to wiring to putting on a porch. He lists exactly what tools you need and where to get them. Lest the thought of roughing it doesn't appeal to you, be assured that this cabin is no rustic refuge. Madison added all the modern comforts, including Internet service and a flush toilet. 'There are two characteristics to my building,' he writes 'It was built efficiently and it is a deliberate work of art.' Filled with wonderful photographs and a fine, wry wit, Madison's book is not just a how-to, it's a why-to. Because Madison didn't just build a cabin; he rebuilt himself. As he takes the time to point out, his labors made him healthier, stronger, and emotionally tougher, too. Readers can live vicariously through Madison in this wise and funny book, but truthfully, after reading it you'll want to build a cabin of your own. Luckily Madison is here to show you how."

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books