Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • COIN
  • Terrific Research and Analysis!
  • Counterinsurgency Mandatory Reading
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Insightful Book for military buff
 Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
John A. Nagl
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226567702

Book Description

Invariably, armies are accused of preparing to fight the previous war. In Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife, Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl—a veteran of both Operation Desert Storm and the current conflict in Iraq—considers the now-crucial question of how armies adapt to changing circumstances during the course of conflicts for which they are initially unprepared. Through the use of archival sources and interviews with participants in both engagements, Nagl compares the development of counterinsurgency doctrine and practice in the Malayan Emergency from 1948 to 1960 with what developed in the Vietnam War from 1950 to 1975.

In examining these two events, Nagl—the subject of a recent New York Times Magazine cover story by Peter Maass—argues that organizational culture is key to the ability to learn from unanticipated conditions, a variable which explains why the British army successfully conducted counterinsurgency in Malaya but why the American army failed to do so in Vietnam, treating the war instead as a conventional conflict. Nagl concludes that the British army, because of its role as a colonial police force and the organizational characteristics created by its history and national culture, was better able to quickly learn and apply the lessons of counterinsurgency during the course of the Malayan Emergency.

With a new preface reflecting on the author's combat experience in Iraq, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife is a timely examination of the lessons of previous counterinsurgency campaigns that will be hailed by both military leaders and interested civilians.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars COIN.......2007-09-27

Haven't read the book quite yet. I plan to get it done by the time I am to attend CCC though.

5 out of 5 stars Terrific Research and Analysis!.......2007-09-05

For this reader, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife's value centers on two main premises: 1) those who fail to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them; and, 2) a large, monolithic organization such as the U.S. Army will struggle to adapt unless it adopts a learning culture. Both relate to the U.S. Army's experience in Viet Nam. It is clear that the U.S. Army has only recently begun to learn from its earlier failures fighting a stubborn insurgency in 2004-06 and to implement strategy and tactics appropriate to the situation.

Eminently readable for an Oxford PhD thesis, what sets Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife apart from many other books attempting to explain the failures in Viet Nam is the degree to which the author supports his arguments. He combines exceedingly thorough research befitting a PhD thesis with fully developed and clearly articulated arguments. By examining the British Army of the Malay Campaign and the U.S. Army fighting in Viet Nam in terms of their organizational cultures - that is, the degree to which they promoted learning, flexibility, and adaptability - the author does a superb job of explaining why the British were successful in defeating the communist insurgency on the Malay Peninsula and why the Americans failed in South Viet Nam.

Of course, Nagl has his detractors. There are those who would suggest that the conflict in Malaya in the 1950s differed markedly from the conflict in Viet Nam in the 1960s and early 1970s. For instance, the Viet Cong were able to leverage a well-funded, well-organized, and well-trained North Vietnamese army against the U.S. Army in South Viet Nam. By contrast, the British really only had to confront a communist insurgency in Malaya. However, those readers who point to the dissimilarities in the two conflicts are really missing Nagl's point.

The author's contention that the British Army eventually succeeded in defeating a thinking, adaptive enemy is instructive. In Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife, we are told that for any institution to be successful when faced with new and decidedly different operational challenges, it must be capable of learning and adapting. This includes everything from changing strategy and tactics to completely reorganizing. In fact, it may even need to develop a whole new set of core competencies. In the context of armed warfare, this may mean viewing victory through a different lens. As members of the Bush Administration have readily pointed out, the war in Iraq will not end with a formal surrender aboard a U.S. battleship. More to the point perhaps, Nagl's work compels us to think differently about how we define success in a counterinsurgency.

For the U.S. Army currently operating in Iraq, adapting really means moving away from war fighting strategy and tactics appropriate to a linear battlefield and more toward an approach that better recognizes the nature of the threat. The current threat in Iraq is more socio-political than military. In fact, it is now an article of faith that for our counterinsurgency efforts to be successful, U.S. war fighters must win the hearts and minds of the local populace. If the local Iraqi citizens believe they are more secure and hence can live productive lives, they will be more willing to cooperate with the "occupying" Army. That cooperation will take the form of alerting nearby ground troops to the presence of Al Qaeda fighters and Sunni insurgents.

For any large military organization, adapting to an entirely different threat characterized by a highly complex and dynamic situation involving ethnosectarian conflict, religious persecution, and violent criminal activity such as we see in Iraq today requires tremendous innovation and agility. As Nagl points out, the British were able to eventually embrace change and pursue an effective counterinsurgency strategy while facing a similar set of conditions. He argues persuasively that British and Malay counterinsurgency forces eventually were structured to respond quickly to the communist insurgent threat precisely because they were quite flexible. In large part, the Brits' success can be traced to their approach to counterinsurgency warfare in that era - centralized command with decentralized control. This approach recognizes that the fight is really very different in each province and therefore strategy and tactics will need to be different to attain success.

As Nagl points out, to enjoy the kind of success the Brits had in Malaya, the U.S. Army "will have to make the ability to learn to deal with messy, uncomfortable situations an integral part" of its organizational culture. It must, per T.E. Lawrence, be comfortable "eating soup with a knife." Additionally, as a previous reviewer states quite clearly, "it must be ready to work with outside resources as well, such as the United Nations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and various religious institutions."

Overall, Nagl offers terrific analysis. This work should be required reading for all officers of all branches of the U.S. military.

5 out of 5 stars Counterinsurgency Mandatory Reading.......2007-07-21

Since the Iraq War effort collapsed into something other than a simple liberation of oppressed people, I have tried to gain insight into our problems there by studying books on Iraq's current situation, on US foreign relationships, ancient and recent Mesopotamian history, Israeli and Palestinian Middle East history, and historic counterinsurgency successes and failures in various parts of the World.

Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife is the most illuminating that I have encountered. Col. John A. Nagl very meticulously converts knowledge obtained in writing his Masters and Doctorate theses into a readable analysis of military success in Malaya and non-success in Vietnam.

You must read his preface to the paperback edition both before and after reading the book; this in fairness to our gallant folks serving in the Middle East. You must also abandon any hopes you may have for a blood-and-guts exposé of battleground behavior.

This is science, not sensationalism.

I wish that our military AND our civilian leaders had been able to study this book and to do serious, long-term advanced planning for Iraq based upon it. I am convinced that such luxury would have placed us in a vastly different position than our current one.

5 out of 5 stars Counterinsurgency.......2007-07-03

This book is an excellent review of the successful British counterinsurgency war in Malaysia and the unsuccessful US counterinsurgency in Vietnam. The author draws the correct conclusion that it is necessary to win the support of the people. The author misses the important lesson that the British war cost Britain probably 100 dead vs. the Vietnam cost to the US of 50,000. The second lesson that the author should have learned is that it is critical to keep our casualties low. It is better to take a long time (like the British did - 12 years) that to suffer higher casualties.

5 out of 5 stars Insightful Book for military buff.......2007-06-18

I bought a copy of this book for my boyfriend, serving in the US Army. He enjoys it, recommended it to his fellow officers.
Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Sociology for the masses
  • Interesting
  • A tedious 382 pages
  • The Author Needs to Prioritize
  • Fantastic
 Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor
Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0674023552

Book Description

Listen to a short interview with Sudhir Venkatesh
Host: Chris Gondek | Producer: Heron & Crane

In this revelatory book, Sudhir Venkatesh takes us into Maquis Park, a poor black neighborhood on Chicago's Southside, to explore the desperate, dangerous, and remarkable ways in which a community survives. We find there an entire world of unregulated, unreported, and untaxed work, a system of living off the books that is daily life in the ghetto. From women who clean houses and prepare lunches for the local hospital to small-scale entrepreneurs like the mechanic who works in an alley; from the preacher who provides mediation services to the salon owner who rents her store out for gambling parties; and from street vendors hawking socks and incense to the drug dealing and extortion of the local gang, we come to see how these activities form the backbone of the ghetto economy.

What emerges are the innumerable ways that these men and women, immersed in their shadowy economic pursuits, are connected to and reliant upon one another. The underground economy, as Venkatesh's subtle storytelling reveals, functions as an intricate web, and in the strength of its strands lie the fates of many Maquis Park residents. The result is a dramatic narrative of individuals at work, and a rich portrait of a community. But while excavating the efforts of men and women to generate a basic livelihood for themselves and their families, Off the Books offers a devastating critique of the entrenched poverty that we so often ignore in America, and reveals how the underground economy is an inevitable response to the ghetto's appalling isolation from the rest of the country.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Sociology for the masses.......2007-08-16

Off The Books is a fine, readable description of one neighborhood in the south side if Chicago. The concentration is on the economic life of the adults, but of course ends up covering social, political, and legal aspects of the residents. There's enough gritty detail to keep up the reader's voyeuristic interest in "the baddest part of town", and enough highfalutin scholarly language to maintain academic respectability.

The author has consciously used his ethnicity, neither white nor Black, to learn the deals, the arrangements, the profits and losses of participants in the underground economy of his chosen subject area. It's an interesting subject, honorably researched and respectably presented. Minus two stars for dragging things out, and sloppy English. Definitely recommended if this is your field. Might be good for a general reader.

4 out of 5 stars Interesting.......2007-07-09

This book is an easy read and very informative. A lot of things you know already if you even grew up close to a city with an urban center, and you can relate this to a lot of cities other than Chicago. The author is a little long winded, but you'll understand why when you read the book.

2 out of 5 stars A tedious 382 pages.......2007-07-07

Mr. Venkatesh obviously immersed himself in the daily life of the urban poor, and certainly has an interesting five page journal article here, unfortunately he also has an addional382 pages of tedious, repetitive anecdotes from his time interviewing the urban poor. After reading a story about someone illegally repairing a car in an alley for the 100th time (probably not an exaggeration) you start to feel like you are not really getting the full scope of the story.

The limited use of any facts or survey data make this book less useful than it could have been if it were not so focused on anecdotes with little contextual data.

3 out of 5 stars The Author Needs to Prioritize.......2007-05-29

Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh has the potencial for a really good book here, but he mucks it up by switching back and forth between being an objective social scientist reporting his findings and a sympathetic visitor to the urban American slum. His digressions into obscure and arcane points of academic theory interrupt the narrative flow and make the book a tedious read at times.

With that minor quibble stated however, Off the Books is a very enlightening survey of the seemingly intractable problems facing the population of America's ghettos. I highly recommend it to the people who promote laissez-faire economic policies as a cure-all for urban social pathologies.

5 out of 5 stars Fantastic.......2007-05-04

I thought Off the Books was fascinating and well written. I've recommended it to many people.
Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
  • Myth, legend or history?
  • Not a shred of evidence!
  • Fakelore - absolutely no evidence to back up this story
  • Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
  • Wonderful Reading ! Highly Recommended !
 Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
Jacqueline L. Tobin , and Raymond G. Dobard
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385497679
Release Date: 2000-01-18

Amazon.com

When quiltmaker Ozella McDaniels told Jacqueline Tobin of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code, it sparked Tobin to place the tale within the history of the Underground Railroad. Hidden in Plain View documents Tobin and Raymond Dobard's journey of discovery, linking Ozella's stories to other forms of hidden communication from history books, codes, and songs. Each quilt, which could be laid out to air without arousing suspicion, gave slaves directions for their escape. Ozella tells Tobin how quilt patterns like the wagon wheel, log cabin, and shoofly signaled slaves how and when to prepare for their journey. Stitching and knots created maps, showing slaves the way to safety.

The authors construct history around Ozella's story, finding evidence in cultural artifacts like slave narratives, folk songs, spirituals, documented slave codes, and children's' stories. Tobin and Dobard write that "from the time of slavery until today, secrecy was one way the black community could protect itself. If the white man didn't know what was going on, he couldn't seek reprisals." Hidden in Plain View is a multilayered and unique piece of scholarship, oral history, and cultural exploration that reveals slaves as deliberate agents in their own quest for freedom even as it shows that history can sometimes be found where you least expect it. --Amy Wan

Book Description

The fascinating story of a friendship, a lost tradition, and an incredible discovery, revealing how enslaved men and women made encoded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad.  

"A groundbreaking work."--Emerge

In Hidden in Plain View, historian Jacqueline Tobin and scholar Raymond Dobard offer the first proof that certain quilt patterns, including a prominent one called the Charleston Code, were, in fact, essential tools for escape along the Underground Railroad. In 1993, historian Jacqueline Tobin met African American quilter Ozella Williams amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts in the Old Market Building of Charleston, South Carolina. With the admonition to "write this down," Williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But just as quickly as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn the rest when she was "ready."   During the three years it took for Williams's narrative to unfold--and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew--Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history professor and well-known African American quilter, to help unravel the mystery.

Part adventure and part history, Hidden in Plain View traces the origin of the Charleston Code from Africa to the Carolinas, from the low-country island Gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the North, and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one amazing American story.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars Myth, legend or history?.......2007-05-27

I have read pros and cons on the authenticity of this book and remain convinced it is a novel lacking authentic historical documentation. Some of the quilt patterns mentioned did not exist prior to 1900 and the story tellers are unavailable or deceased. Although several respected quilt historians believe the author's tales, I choose to accept Barbara Brackman's statement in her book "Facts and Fabrications...Unraveling the History of Quilts and Slavery." Ms. Brackman wrote on page 7 of her book "We have no historical evidence that quilts were used as signal, codes or maps. The tale of quilts and the Underground Railroad makes a good story, but not good quilt history." The book is a slow read and repetitive.

2 out of 5 stars Not a shred of evidence!.......2007-03-22

Having personally had the privilege to study with three of the Underground Railroad's top historians: David Blight, James Horton, and Lois Horton; All three said that there is not a shred of evidence supporting the idea that quilts served as maps. Quilts were however sewn and sold as fundraisers for abolitionist groups.

1 out of 5 stars Fakelore - absolutely no evidence to back up this story.......2007-03-12

Just do a search on the internet for underground railroad quilts and you will find many web sites that debunk the myths set forth in this book. Although the concept is appealing, there is absolutely no evidence other than one woman's story to back it up. Almost all underground railroad historians and quilt historians label this book as FICTION, not fact! There is so much factual material to learn about the Underground Railroad - it is an insult to the history of black Americans to perpetuate a myth.

5 out of 5 stars Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad.......2007-02-19

Very interesting book, not quite what I had expected. The book traces the story line of a particular person, along with the different perspectives of educators and their arguments of the authenticity of the patterns and their meanings.

I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys quilting, along with an interest in American History and the importance of the Underground Railroad post Civil War.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful Reading ! Highly Recommended !.......2006-09-08

I learned about this book through the drama department at my church. We are putting on a play based on the story of the quilt code presented here. I was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. I have visited this booth many times. As an African American and a descendent of survivors of slavery, I understand the concept of an unwritten oral history. So much of my family history that has been handed done orally by the elders in my family would probably be unbelievable also. But that does not mean that it did not occur. The Timeline, Glossary, and Bibliography are excellent tools. This book has helped the cast to start discussions and learn more about this era in United States history.
Neverwhere: A Novel
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • A delightful book full despite rat-eating violence
  • Original, adventurous, and completely enjoyable.
  • Great Writing, OK Story
  • A great page turner
  • Wonderful fantasy fiction
 Neverwhere: A Novel
Neil Gaiman
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  4. Coraline Coraline
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ASIN: 0060557818
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Amazon.com

Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them. Gaiman is definitely not just for graphic-novel fans anymore. --Nona Vero

Book Description

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

Download Description

"Special e-book feature: contains three stories - ""Fifteen Painted Cards From a Vampire Tarot""; ""Eaten""; ""Apple"" - not available in print edition. The distinctive storytelling genius of Neil Gaiman has been acclaimed by writers as diverse as Norman Mailer and Stephen King. Now in this new collection of stories--several of which have never before appeared in print and more than half that have never been collected--that will dazzle the senses and haunt the imagination. Miraculous inventions and unforgettable characters inhabit these pages: an elderly widow who finds the Holy Grail in a second-hand store...a frightened little boy who bargains for his life with a troll living under a bridge by the railroad tracks...a stray cat who battles nightly against a recurring evil that threatens his unsuspecting adoptive family. In these stories, Gaiman displays the power, wit, insight and outrageous originality that has made him one of the most unique literary artists of our day."

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A delightful book full despite rat-eating violence.......2007-09-25

Gaiman has this way of creating delightful stories even though they might contain less than delightful content: such as biting the heads of off live rats, bloody torture, and sifting through human sewage with a net. This is true in Neverwhere, where the story often turns violent. Somehow, though, it doesn't leave any feeling of nervousness or disgust, which is what grounds this type of story in Fantasy and out of Horror.

I'm not sure how he does it, but I believe it might the wondrous and complex worlds that he creates: in Neverwhere, this world is "London Below", a pseudo-real subterranean world in the tunnels and sewers under London. There are many interesting things happening, that the brutality of certain scenes is somehow made more palatable. Dont get me wrong - this is not a gore-fest, but there are very violent moments, as well as moments of extreme emotional distress for some of the characters... but there's no lasting sting. I associate it with a fine Single Malt: there might be a smokey or even sharp flavor to start, but the finish is pure velvety smoothness.

Another reason that Neverwhere appealed to me is the characters: each was a hard-survivalist on the surface (a requirement of living in the dangerous world below London), but they all had a depth to them that quickly revealed the heart under the hard exterior. I found myself liking every character, no matter how small their part in the story.

I highliy recommend Neverwhere, alhtough it may not be as suitable for younger readers as, say, Stardust

5 out of 5 stars Original, adventurous, and completely enjoyable........2007-09-24

I'm relatively new to Gaiman's work, but I found this novel to be quite amazing. The subterranean world he creates below London is quite strange, yet I often felt as if I were there as I read it. The characters are quite appealing and easy to relate to, and the plot takes many unexpected twists and turns, making for a very interesting and enjoyable read.

3 out of 5 stars Great Writing, OK Story.......2007-09-19

This book was highly recommended, but I found it somewhat difficult to get into. The characters are very sketchily drawn, and the story just seems to wander with no real point. There are plays on the names of several London Underground stations, but they seem randomly selected and don't really add anything to the story. There's no explanation of the talents of the various inhabitants of London Below, or any indication of the alliances/hostilities that require areas/times of safe passage. Some characters seem to move between the worlds and the main character suddenly "disappears" from the world above for no apparent reason other than to bring him below as the narrator. The book is very well written as far as the imagery, but without a compelling story to hold it together, it just doesn't mean much.

5 out of 5 stars A great page turner.......2007-08-28

I was recommended this book by my friend, and I'm not disappointed. After reading this, I also read Stardust since it was by same author, and found Neverwhere to be better (darker). I would recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction, has vivid imagination, or looking for a thriller. If you've ever been to London (I haven't), you might find this book close to home as well.

5 out of 5 stars Wonderful fantasy fiction.......2007-08-27

I've always enjoyed fantasy fiction, and thrillers. Combine both, and throw in a good sprinkling of self-deprecating humor, and you have the wonderful read: Neverwhere.

I can't tell you how much I loved this book - I didn't want it to end. The world of Door, and Islington, and Croupe and company is entertaining, inventive, and imaginative. I love books where you are actively challenged to use your imagination, but to do so as smartly and whimsically as in Neverwhere is a total joy.

Set aside a few hours to read -- this is a can't-put-it-down-read-until-you-are-dizzy thrill of a book. I can't recommend any recent fantasy book more heartedly, I loved it.
The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Charming & Inspiring
  • the best book about food I've read in 20 years, even though I don't agree with all of it
  • textbook for the revolution
  • Juicy like Omega-3
  • This guy is a treasure!
 The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements
Sandor Ellix Katz
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1933392118

Book Description

An instant classic for a new generation of monkey-wrenching food activists. Food in America is cheap and abundant, yet the vast majority of it is diminished in terms of flavor and nutrition, anonymous and mysterious after being shipped thousands of miles and passing through inscrutable supply chains, and controlled by multinational corporations. In our system of globalized food commodities, convenience replaces quality and a connection to the source of our food. Most of us know almost nothing about how our food is grown or produced, where it comes from, and what health value it really has. It is food as pure corporate commodity. We all deserve much better than that.

In The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, author Sandor Ellix Katz (Wild Fermentation, Chelsea Green 2003) profiles grassroots activists who are taking on Big Food, creating meaningful alternatives, and challenging the way many Americans think about food. From community-supported local farmers, community gardeners, and seed saving activists, to underground distribution networks of contraband foods and food resources rescued from the waste stream, this book shows how ordinary people can resist the dominant system, revive community-based food production, and take direct responsibility for their own health and nutrition.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Charming & Inspiring.......2007-09-14

Katz has a charming style of writing - frank, yet humble and highly readable. His book "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved" is a well-documented compilation of the issues we face with regard to our food, and an account of those individuals and groups who are making positive steps toward curbing an erosion of culture and nutrition. If you only read one book about food and activism, this should be the one - I wish I could afford to give a copy to everyone I know.

Along with "Wild Fermentation" Katz's books are both inspiring non-manifestos, and practical guides to revolutionary living. Katz has quickly become one of my favorite authors and persons.

5 out of 5 stars the best book about food I've read in 20 years, even though I don't agree with all of it.......2007-06-13

"What is for supper?" is a short question with a long history of many answers. "Why is it for supper?" is more recently and less frequently asked. One long answer is The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, a fresh evaluation of how the other half of America eats, that is, the other half of one-percent.

Sandor Ellix Katz, author also of Wild Fermentations, examines our food choices, challenging us as would a moral philosopher, and inspiring us as might a romantic poet. But unlike poetry and philosophy, his texts are thoroughly researched and extensively footnoted. Scholarly without being stuffy, he ponders the social, political, ethical and environmental consequences of the foods we choose to eat, of the foods we choose not to eat, and of even our very acts of choosing. Food for thought about food.

Each chapter offers a wholesome essay that can be read independently of the others. Though inexpensive for a book of nearly 400 pages, its binding is especially durable. If separated physically from the whole, the leaves of each chapter stay bound together. This reviewer speaks from experience, having extracted entire chapters in this manner to distribute among friends.

Such portability is an appealing feature precisely because the topics are so diverse that few readers could possibly find the entire book relevant to their lives. Chapters such as these: Seed saving as political statement. Seeking and drinking raw cow's milk as acts of civil disobedience. The corporate takeover of natural foods, and the USDA makeover of organic foods. Whole food as healer, and processed food as killer. Medicinal herbs, including marijuana, as not just alternatives to pharmaceuticals, but their very basis. Pure and free water as birthright, now imperiled by pollution and privatization. Gardening as a means of reclaiming Eden. Vegetarianism as an act of compassion in contrast to carnivorous cruelty.

Vegetarians will be especially sensitive to and maybe even appreciative of the author's discussion of vegetarianism. Katz, a lapsed vegetarian, weighs the significance of life as a vegetarian among omnivores. The reasons for his own vegetarian apostasy are especially edifying. The chapter "Vegetarian Ethics and Humane Meat" begins almost with a confession: "I love meat. The smell of it cooking can fill me with desire.... At the same time, everything I see, hear, or read about standard commercial factory farming and slaughtering fills me with disgust." Whether filled with desire or with disgust, the author writes with humility and clarity. And charity. He continues: "I hold great respect for the ideals that people seek to put into practice through vegetarianism."

Katz acknowledges that vegetarians will brand "humane meat" a contradiction of adjective with noun, yet he nobly and duly presents the gist of vegetarian ethics and effectively distills into a few pages what we'd expect from an entire book.

This emerging moral vocabulary is one whose etymologies can be attributed to vegetarian evangelists and animal liberationists. Their shouts of protest and their cries of lamentation have been heard. Many meat eaters grown uneasy with their own complicity now seek the lesser of several evils. Michael Pollan, the eloquent author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, too deserves credit for expanding this lexicon.

Pollan, however, is less forthright about his own omnivorism than is Katz. Instead, Pollan applies his considerable intelligence merely to rationalize and bolster his considerable decadence. For Pollan, meat's taste trumps its waste. Rather than renounce meat as a superfluity, he chooses to denounce its cruelty. So thanks to Pollan and to his readers whom he has rallied to the cause, many herds of open-pasture cows and many flocks of free-range hens are now being spared the horrors of the feedlot and the factory farm. But that is small comfort to the cows and the hens still prodded on their death march to the slaughterhouse.

Pollan hunted a feral pig to write about it. Katz slaughtered a farm-raised pig to eat it. For Katz, writing is an afterthought to eating, as when he describes in necessary detail the physical difficulties of slaughtering a pig or a chicken. And Katz's book, in contrast to Pollan's, is one of few about food in which narrative use of the first person is welcomed and warranted. This is because Katz's life experiences and his resulting perspectives both are so very unique.

For instance, Katz expresses disillusionment with the pharmaceutical industry, yet he admits to his dependence upon their pills and potions for treatment of his AIDS. He even chronicles the long struggle of his unsuccessful attempt to survive and function without those pills and potions. Such candor about being poz is rare, and a testament to the author's integrity. Let's hope that Katz copes well with AIDS, and that he lives a long and healthy life, long enough to complete his third book, and fourth and fifth and sixth.

- Mark Mathew Braunstein [[ the reviewer is the author of Sprout Garden and of Radical Vegetarianism ]]

5 out of 5 stars textbook for the revolution.......2007-01-17

in a time when spinach could be deadly, and cloned animals might be ground into that next Big Sandwich,
there is an underground revolution happening, and it's happening all over the world. folks are making possibly-unnoticed-but-radical choices about food. they choose not to let corporations and government dictate what and how they must eat, because when food choices are taken out of the hands of the people, the people lose.
in this textbook for the revolution, Sandor Ellix Katz examines the intricately interwoven web that is our food supply. from water and land rights to bake sales, "free trade," and free food, he shows the damage done when big government (big brother) and big business make our food choices for us. the book uncovers a whole lot of the story that they would prefer we not know, and shows how tied together it all is ~ history, ecology, economy, ethics, civil rights, big vs. small, corporate vs. community, seed laws and plant prohibitions, down to even the most basic right of putting in your mouth something you feel like eating, and maybe sharing it with a friend. the picture seems mighty bleak. but that's where the revolution comes in; people everywhere continue to join around the table ~ the very basis of culture itself ~ not to let the powers-that-be separate them from their food supply. for survival, for nutrition, for connection, for charity, for protest ~ for pleasure (!), folks are keeping food traditions alive, or exploring them for the first time. they're holding onto age-old agricultural practices (like seed saving), and creating new solutions to food waste (like dumpster diving and road-kill salvage!). but Katz doesn't stop there; each section (as well as including extensive resources for further study and connection) extends a personable and encouraging, do-it-yourself helping hand to guide the reader to take steps to becoming a revolutionary herself. because choosing to be aware about food at all has become an act of rebellion.
The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved is concentrated, intelligent research as well as compelling, passionate storytelling. it is manifesto, cultural catalyst and cookbook, promising a place for each of us at the revolutionary table.
a fan of Katz as soon as i opened Wild Fermentation, i highly recommend this book. if you are interested in food politics at all, or even just love to eat good food, this is a must-read textbook and reference tool for our time.

5 out of 5 stars Juicy like Omega-3.......2007-01-03

An excellent and impeccable work. Completely enriching and absolutely stuffed with references and contacts. Microwaves serve as great bookends.

5 out of 5 stars This guy is a treasure!.......2006-12-16

This book is magnificent. I love Katz's depth of knowledge, his openness in talking about his own experiences, his exuberance and enthusiasm, and his well-informed outrage at the actions of corporations and governments in disrupting the very basis of our lives.

He tells us how they now want to interrupt and insert themselves into the final life cycle domains that they had been excluded from - procreation and food growing. It's appalling and so opposite to what life and sustainability are all about. It's hard to imagine the leaders of these corporations being so short sighted and ultimately so destructive of their own well-being.

And I love the recipes in both his books - the joy he infuses into the process, his ability to impart a deeper understanding of it all, and especially how he makes room for casualness and playfulness in working with food.

We are fortunate in having Sandor sharing his wisdom with us.

Adventures from the Technology Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers, Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Garage Warriors Who Love Them
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Great Intro to Alternative Science Projects!
  • Misleading web page
  • A RATHER DISAPPOINTING PUBLICATION.
  • Adventures from the Techno;ogy Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers,Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Gar
  • A little mad scientist in all of us...
 Adventures from the Technology Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers, Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Garage Warriors Who Love Them
William Gurstelle
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0307351254
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Amazon.com

Editorial Reviews
The Age of Invention is Still Alive: Catapults, Air Cannons, and Skycars

Punkin' Chunk Catapult
Taser Air Cannon
Skycar

Watch Adventures from the Technology Underground Slideshow (requires Flash).

Book Description

The technology underground is a thriving, humming, and often literally scintillating subculture of amateur inventors and scientific envelope-pushers who dream up, design, and build machines that whoosh, rumble, fly—and occasionally hurl pumpkins across enormous distances. In the process they astonish us with what is possible when human imagination and ingenuity meet nature’s forces and materials. William Gurstelle spent two years exploring the most fascinating outposts of this world of wonders: meeting and talking to the men and women who care far more for the laws of physics than they do for mundane matters like government regulations and their own personal safety.

Adventures from the Technology Underground is Gurstelle’s lively and weirdly compelling report of his travels. In these pages we meet Frank Kosdon and others who draw the scrutiny of the FAA, ATF, and other federal agencies in their pursuit of high-power amateur rocketry, which they demonstrate to impressive—and sometimes explosive—effect at the annual LDRS gathering held in various remote and unpopulated areas (a necessary consideration since that acronym stands for Large Dangerous Rocket Ships). Here also are the underground technologists who turn up at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada high desert, including Lucy Hosking, “the engineer from Hell” and the creator of Satan’s Calliope, aka the World’s Loudest Thing, a pipe organ made from jet engines. Also at Burning Man is Austin “Dr. MegaVolt” Richard, who braves the arcing, sputtering, six-digit voltages of a giant Tesla coil in his protective metal suit. Add in a trip to see medieval-style catapults, air cannons, and supersized slingshots in action at the World Championship Punkin Chunkin competition in Sussex County, Delaware, and forays to the postapocalyptic enclaves of the flamethrower builders and the future-noir pits of the fighting robots, and you have proof positive that the age of invention is still going strong.

In the world of science and engineering, despite its buttoned-down image, there’s plenty of fun, humor, and sheer wonder to be found at the fringes. Adventures from the Technology Underground takes you there.


• Launch homemade high-power rockets.

• Catapult pumpkins the better part of a mile.

• Watch robot gladiators saw, flip, and pound one another into high-tech junk heaps.

• Dazzle the eye with electrical discharges measured in the hundreds of thousands of volts.

• Play with flamethrowers, potato guns, and other decidedly unsafe toys . . .


If this is your idea of fun, you’ll have a major good time on this wild ride through today’s Technology Underground.

From the Burning Man festival in Nevada’s high desert to the latest gathering of Large Dangerous Rocket Ship builders to Delaware’s annual Punkin Chunkin competition (a celebration of “science, radical self-expression, and beer”), you’ll meet the inspired, government-unregulated, and corporately unfettered men and women who operate at the furthest fringes of science, engineering, and wild-eyed arc welding, building the catapults, ultra-high-voltage electrical devices, incendiary artworks, fighting robots, and other machines that demonstrate what’s possible when physics meets human ingenuity.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Alternative Science Projects!.......2007-09-18

Bill Gurtelle's latest book is a great intro to several fringe science & engineering contests & hobbies. It's a good read, without getting into too much technical detail (the Further Reading section @ the end leads you to sources for more details on the topics you liked reading about). Pick it up if you're a tinkerer, a hacker, or want to find something non-frumpy to do with your engineering degree! :]

3 out of 5 stars Misleading web page.......2007-07-27

I must admit I was disappointed with one aspect of the book: the web page from which I ordered it showed a number of color photos of items that I expected to be in the book - leading me to believe these photos were excerpted from the book: but the book had no photos - only a few drawings. A large part of my motivation for purchasing the book was to see pictures of some of the items discussed.

The book was fairly interesting, but there are no photos in it.

1 out of 5 stars A RATHER DISAPPOINTING PUBLICATION........2007-05-13

Nothing technical in this book. More about the development and use of different items made by others. Lacking pictures, plans, etc.
Okay reading but not much to be learned about tinkering or making your own projects come to life.

3 out of 5 stars Adventures from the Techno;ogy Underground: Catapults, Pulsejets, Rail Guns, Flamethrowers,Tesla Coils, Air Cannons, and the Gar.......2007-03-08

I did not like this book at all. It just was not what I expected. I found it very "Verbose" and way to boring. I wished I had not bought it.

3 out of 5 stars A little mad scientist in all of us..........2007-01-16

Did you ever get the urge to go pick up some scrap metal and bang together a fighting combat robot, flamethrower or a gigantic pumpkin-chucker? This book is full of tales of backyard builders and basement scientists who have built just these machines and more. The builders are motivated by a desire to compete against other builders and the satisfaction of making something unique rather than any monetary reward. The competition gets fierce when pride is on the like at the World Championships of pumpkin chucking in Delaware where massive air cannons battle middle-ages catapults to see who can hurl a pumpkin the farthest. Homemade combat robots battle to the mechanical deaths in improvised arenas carved out of scrap metal yards. Wild performance artists use flamethrowers and mega-volt electrical generators to create wild spectacles for the audiences at the Burning Man alternative culture festival. Part Mad Max, part mad scientist, this book proves that the only limit to our creations is our imagination.
The Handbook of Groundwater Engineering
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • The Handbook of Groundwater Engineering
  • A true comprehensive resource
 The Handbook of Groundwater Engineering

Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0849326982

Book Description

Due to the increasing demand for adequate water supply caused by the augmenting global population, groundwater production has acquired a new importance. In many areas, surface waters are not available in sufficient quantity or quality. Thus, an increasing demand for groundwater has resulted.However, the residence of time of groundwater can be of the order of thousands of years while surface waters is of the order of days. Therefore, substantially more attention is warranted for transport processes and pollution remediation in groundwater than for surface waters. Similarly, pollution remediation problems in groundwater are generally complex.This excellent, timely resource covers the field of groundwater from an engineering perspective, comprehensively addressing the range of subjects related to subsurface hydrology. It provides a practical treatment of the flow of groundwater, the transport of substances, the construction of wells and well fields, the production of groundwater, and site characterization and remediation of groundwater pollution.No other reference specializes in groundwater engineering to such a broad range of subjects. Its use extends to:oThe engineer designing a well or well fieldoThe engineer designing or operating a landfill facility for municipal or hazardous wastesoThe hydrogeologist investigating a contaminant plumeoThe engineer examining the remediation of a groundwater pollution problemoThe engineer or lawyer studying the laws and regulations related to groundwater qualityoThe scientist analyzing the mechanics of solute transportoThe geohydrologist assessing the regional modeling of aquifersoThe geophysicist determining the characterization of an aquiferoThe cartographer mapping aquifer characteristicsoThe practitioner planning a monitoring network

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars The Handbook of Groundwater Engineering.......2001-05-17

A very conscientious textbook. The book covers a great deal of information including the occurrence of groundwater, groundwater flow, modeling, testing, geostatistics, solute transport, GIS, and remediation. The subject matter is complemented by tables, data, and graphs. which help explain key concepts and the mathematical equations used. I like to use this in conjunction with Handbook of Hydrology. A very good book for the practising professional.

5 out of 5 stars A true comprehensive resource.......2000-10-31

This book is aimed at the practicing groundwater professional or advanced student. It is an excellent reference and review of almost any groundwater topic. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field. Each contains a well-presented discussion of key concepts and equations. The end of the chapter lists a handful of recommended references for further information followed by a comprehensive bibliography. This is your guide to the whole ground water field. If it isn't in here, you can at least find out where to find it.
An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Enjoyed this entertaining book of Trivia
  • Juvenile, at best
  • Underground Education
  • Disappointing read
  • Enthralling Arcana
 An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human
Richard Zacks
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0385483767
Release Date: 1999-04-20

Amazon.com

Forget the history you were taught in school; Richard Zacks's version is crueler and funnier than anything you might have learned in seventh-grade civics--and much more of a gross-out, too. Described on the book jacket as an "autodidact extraordinaire," Zacks is also the author of History Laid Bare, making him something of an expert guide through history's back alleys and side streets. There's no fact too seamy or perverse for Zacks to drag out into the light of day, from matters scatological and sexual to some of history's most truly bizarre episodes. Curious about ancient nose-blowing etiquette? What about the sexual proclivities of Catherine the Great? Throughout chapters such as "The Evolution of Underwear" and "Dentistry Before Novocaine," Zacks proves a tireless debunker of popular myths as well as a muckraker par excellence.

Book Description

The best kind of knowledge is uncommon knowledge.

Okay, so maybe you know all the stuff you're supposed to know--that there are teenier things than atoms, that Remembrance of Things Past has something to do with a perfumed cookie, that the Monroe Doctrine means we get to take over small South American countries when we feel like it.  But really, is this kind of knowledge going to make you the hit of the cocktail party, or the loser spending forty-five minutes examining the host's bookshelves?

Wouldn't you rather learn things like how the invention of the bicycle affected the evolution of underwear?  Or that the 1949 Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to a doctor who performed lobotomies with a household ice pick?  Or how Catherine the Great really died?  Or that heroin was sold over the counter not too long ago?

For the truly well-rounded "intellectual," nothing fascinates so much as the subversive, the contrarian, the suppressed, and the bizarre.  Richard Zacks, auto-didact extraordinaire, has unloosed his admittedly strange mind and astonishing research abilities upon the entire spectrum of human knowledge, ferreting out endlessly fascinating facts, stories, photos, and images guaranteed to make you laugh, gasp in wonder, and occasionally shudder at the depths of human depravity.  The result of his labors is this fantastically illustrated quasi-encyclopedia that provides alternative takes on art, business, crime, science, medicine, sex (lots of that), and many other facets of human experience.

Immensely entertaining, and arguably enlightening, An Underground Education is the only book that explains the birth of motion pictures using photos of naked baseball players.


Richard Zacks is the author of History Laid Bare: Love, Sex and Perversity from the Ancient Etruscans to Warren G. Harding, which was excerpted in classy magazines like Harper's and earned the attention of the even classier New York Times, which noted that "Zacks specializes in the raunchy and perverse."  The Georgia State Legislature voted on whether to ban the book from public libraries.  He has studied Arabic, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and Hebrew, and received the Phillips Classical Greek Award at the University of Michigan.  He has also told his publisher that he made a living in Cairo cheating royalty from a certain Arab country at games of chance, although the claim remains unverified.  His writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, The Village Voice, TV Guide, and similarly diverse publications.  Zacks is married and busy warping the minds of his two children, Georgia and Ziegfield.  He resides in New York City, and can be reached via e-mail at rzacks@echonyc.com.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this entertaining book of Trivia .......2007-06-28

I enjoyed this entertaining book. This book is not a deep educational study of history, but a book filled with interesting bits of historical information, OR funny facts & trivia!

Some facts will make you laugh, and others will puzzle you. Nothing wrong with that. When I got this book I was looking for a "light reading" book to read on a plane trip. After the trip, I lent the book to a friend and my friend enjoyed it too.... (Therefore, we both give it 5-stars).

1 out of 5 stars Juvenile, at best.......2007-06-12

This could have been titled something like "One Man's Attack on the History of the Church", or "One Man's Attempt to Disparage Western Civilization", and that would've been more descriptive. Zacks spends about half the book dredging up odd and unflattering facts about the Catholic church (which doesn't exactly require a great historian) as well as blaming many of the ills of modern civilization on various popes. It is a restful page, not to mention chapter, when Zacks isn't pounding the Catholic church about something. The chapter on religion mostly beats on the Catholic church to the point where Zacks himself starts to feel guilty and points out that they are an easy target. Then without pausing to catch his breath he proceeds to go on and take some more pot shots. He spends quite a bit of the chapter talking about the crusades in such a fashion that you'd think the Muslims were just frolicking in the woods making daisy chains. And speaking of Muslims, in the entire chapter on religion there is one paragraph on Islam, and that a complimentary one from Voltaire. That was one thing I learned, I never knew Voltaire said anything complimentary about any religion.
He then goes after the Puritans and Mormons, and although by his own research the Puritans were far more tolerant than the Anglicans, he feels compelled to disparage his own conclusions. When I say "go after" I am not saying that I am disputing his facts. I am saying that it is something like reading about the Civil War as told by Jeb Stuart. You might technically be getting the facts, but you're not getting much perspective.

Zacks also keeps calling anyone who reads the Bible or talks about morality "Bible thumpers". Hilarious. He's full of little snide and juvenile comments like this that at best are whimsical, and almost always biased. He speaks of the history of political lies from most recent to oldest- and uses Nixon's "I am not a crook" as his most recent sample. I can think of one or two more recent.

A lot of the facts were not all that outrageous, either. Nobel invented dynamite? Does anyone not know that?

This isn't to say that there weren't interesting facts, or even that it was poorly written (it was not), just that it was often insulting and condescending. Imagine if he kept saying "f**got" or something like that over and over instead of "Bible thumper" and you can get the idea. As a Bible thumper I get ridiculed from time to time, and I don't usually whine about it, but I don't usually have to pay for the privilege, either. Finally, I'd say most of the same facts I got from a book I'd read earlier, "The Know it All", written with a lot more panache and without leaving me with the feeling that I had been dragged through a sewer.

4 out of 5 stars Underground Education.......2007-05-12

I already had a copy of this book; i liked it so much I got another copy as
a gift for a friend, who is also an educator. The work could do with a little
more documentation, but it's a great read overall.

2 out of 5 stars Disappointing read.......2006-12-26

It was my fault; I did not heed the warnings of some of the other evaluations of this book on-line. I thought that An Underground Education would be something akin to An Incomplete Education (4th ed), or at least Reader's Digest's Strange Stories and Amazing Facts (1976). An Incomplete Education is a terrific book full of tid bits of history, science, art, etc. which I thoroughly enjoyed. Strange Stories and Amazing Facts was also full of information ranging from Super Novas to the Loch Ness Monster, and I loved reading this book with my grandfather and still flip through today. Unlike An Incomplete Education or Strange Facts, An Underground Education was neither inciteful nor educational. It was basically a "history" of the sexual preferences and perversions of people throughout history, with some titillating pictures of hermaphrodites.

This is a book I would have enjoyed at age 14, but not as an adult.

5 out of 5 stars Enthralling Arcana.......2006-12-04

An absolutely marvelous examination of those historical tid-bits that they never teach you in school, like the indecent forgotten parts of the Bible, the sexual side of slavery, and the evolution of underwear. Ah, but we're here to discuss the morbid side of life, and there's a lot of disturbing darkness scattered throughout the book, especially in the "Crime & Punishment" and "Medicine" chapters. An immensely fascinating and enlightening book - highly, highly recommended!
Underground Cures: Edition IV
Average customer rating: Not rated
    		Underground Cures: Edition IV
    Health Sciences Institute
    Manufacturer: Agora Health Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback
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    Introductory Mining Engineering
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • BARGAIN
    • mining engineering
    		 Introductory Mining Engineering
    Howard L. Hartman , and Jan M. Mutmansky
    Manufacturer: Wiley
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    Similar Items:
    1. Mining Economics and Strategy Mining Economics and Strategy
    2. Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms
    3. Evaluating Mineral Projects: Applications and Misconceptions Evaluating Mineral Projects: Applications and Misconceptions
    4. SME Mining Reference Handbook SME Mining Reference Handbook
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    ASIN: 0471348511

    Book Description

    An introductory text and reference on mining engineering highlighting the latest in mining technology
    Introductory Mining Engineering outlines the role of the mining engineer throughout the life of a mine, including prospecting for the deposit, determining the site's value, developing the mine, extracting the mineral values, and reclaiming the land afterward. This Second Edition is written with a focus on sustainability-managing land to meet the economic and environmental needs of the present while enhancing its ability to also meet the needs of future generations. Coverage includes aboveground and underground methods of mining for a wide range of substances, including metals, nonmetals, and fuels.
    Completely up to date, this book presents the latest information on such technologies as remote sensing, GPS, geophysical surveying, and mineral deposit evaluation, as well as continuous integrated mining operations and autonomous trucks. Also included is new information on landscape restoration, regional planning, wetlands protection, subsidence mitigation, and much more.
    New chapters include coverage of:
    * Environmental responsibilities
    * Regulations
    * Health and safety issues
    Generously supplemented with more than 200 photographs, drawings, and tables, Introductory Mining Engineering, Second Edition is an indispensable book for mining engineering students and a comprehensive reference for professionals.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars BARGAIN.......2007-09-29

    I originally ordered this book over the SME website. However after doing so, I looked for the book on amazon and found it way cheaper. So I canceled the SME order and bought from Amazon. It's the same book and everything and was received via shipping in reasonable time as well. Great Bargain!

    4 out of 5 stars mining engineering.......2006-11-05

    I purchased this book for a class. It is very informative. The way they explain things can be annoying at times. There are lots of references in the middle of paragraphs that are unecessary. There are also many times where they say "go to this book to find out about this subject". It's good if you actually want to go look for other books, but annoying if you are just reading this one. The graphs and pictures are very helpful. Overall this book explains the concepts well.

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