Amazon.com
For the untrained observer, it can be quite a challenge to sort out the many trees that make up a stand of older forest in, say, New England or the Ozarks. This well-illustrated guidebook, covering 364 species, comes to the rescue with photographs organized in several ways: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. Following one visible characteristic or another, the reader can narrow the range of possibilities, then turn to an informative text that describes a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Many of the species covered are relatively rare, such as the "stinking cedar" of the Georgia-Florida border; others are locally abundant, such as the paper birch of the boreal forest, used to make ice-cream sticks; still others, such as the smooth sumac, are widespread. The guidebook also covers ornamentals introduced from other continents, such as the Chinese privet and Mahaleb cherry. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Tree peepers everywhere will enjoy these two guides which explore the incredible environment of our country's forests-including seasonal features, habitat, range, and lore. Nearly 700 species of trees are detailed in photographs of leaf shape, bark, flowers, fruit, and fall leaves -- all can be quickly accessed making this the ideal field guide for any time of year.
Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.
Customer Reviews:
Great Guide that is ALMOST Perfect.......2007-08-18
I have always liked the Audubon Society Field Guides. This particular guide is great in the amount of color photos for sometimes easily identifying species in all seasons, whether from the fall leaves, bark, summer leaves, and the fruit it produces. Also the organization of the guide is very good. My cons below are NOT enough to prevent me from recommending this guide. Compared to other guides it's still the best.
CONS: The amount of information in the back is not always consistent. Also there still isn't always an easy way to differentiate some of the similar species (e.g. Oaks). In other words the pictures and/or the descriptions are not enough to distinguish like species.
helpful.......2007-07-03
Very much help for figuring out what trees we have and we have a lot. Pictures are very nice and cross reference if you aren't totally sure of what you are looking at. Very handy size too
Great Book.......2007-06-27
Every tree and every leaf that you can think of is in this book. Great clear pictures and the information is great. So glad I purchased this book for my husband. The equivalant to bird watching. Tree watching.
Information Packed.......2007-05-17
My new hobby is woodturning bowls so I bought this book to help me identify trees that supply my wood. Once I learned how to search the material, this book has been great fun and very useful. I take it with me when I walk my dog around the neighborhood to identify trees.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern).......2007-02-04
Product received in great condition and very useful.
Book Description
For those looking to raise a family in a storybook American town, or a change of pace from hectic city life, this book is the answer.
Customer Reviews:
A Poor Offering.......2007-08-10
This is not a very good book. 50% of the book is devoted to Mr. Crampton's less than interesting observations of life in a small town. His advice is mostly extremely basic common sense stuff that any normal person should already know. He offers very few interesting insights.
The other half of the book is his list of the 120 best small towns in America. This part of the book is even more weak. It's obvious Mr. Crampton did a lot of internet travel to gather his data as the descriptions are clearly culled from the towns' chamber of commerce websites. He offers zero insight or information gained from him (or someone else) actually visiting / living in the towns and conveying what the towns are actually like.
His ruse is painfully evident as the "more info" listing for each town is merely a link to their respective chamber of commerce website! What "more info" could there be given that the author merely copied the site? Even his internet research was exceptionally lazy.
The book should be titled "A Compilation of America's Best Small Towns' Chamber of Commerce Website Info plus Non-insightful Musings of the Armchair Travelling Author."
And how do the towns qualify as being best? By Mr. Crampton's estimation they must have a highschool, and a hospital, and at least a few other businesses that aren't Walmart. Could the bar be set any lower? With that criteria one could throw 120 darts blindfolded at a map and do just as well as this book.
The book could be fodder for a Garrison Keilor Ketchup skit, "you know June, why don't we retire to the country, find a town with a highschool and live out our days..... Dear, have you been getting enough Ketchup lately..."
A very weak text that I'll be returning to Amazon post haste!
Make that 3 1/2 stars.......2005-03-28
Actually, I would have given "Making Your Move" 4 stars had I found the descriptions of the individual towns more interesting. But, what I did find was a witty style of writing, some laugh-out-loud moments, and some very down-to-earth advice on the pearls and perils of small-town life. One might apply Norm's smart and insightful guidelines to just about any sparsely populated area in the quest for new habitation. So even though his selections failed to fire me up, they did make me realize that I may not be cut out for small-town living after all. And that, in itself, is worth far more than the price of a book. Thanks, Norm, and make that four stars.
Part of the story.......2003-03-12
This book is a good place to start if you're thinking of moving to a town of 15,000 or less. It will point you to many interesting communities. However, having used his previous book to guide my last move, and as a resident of one of the towns highlighted in this book (Grinnell), I can honestly say that data only carries you so far. Crampton could provide readers with a great benefit by lengthening the amount of description and flavor for each town. In particular, one key element missing is the 'dynamic' of a town: is it progressive? conservative? excited about education? quick to vote down taxes and bonds? These elements form the 'culture' of a small town, and believe me, the culture of a small town will be *very* important to you!
A good guide to start.......2003-01-08
As a resident of one of the 120 "best small towns" recommended by Norman Crampton, I was delighted to see Silver City on the list.
While Crampton's book is a good place to start your search for small town living, it is important to realize that each small town offers a unique personality. Some generalizations simply do not apply to Silver City. For example, it is not necessary to join a church (or country club) in order to fit in here. Even a small community like ours has diverse sub-populations: recent retirees, most of whom have some affinity for the arts; old-timers, most of whom are the conservative church-goers Crampton describes; and Hispanic families, many of whom have worked in the mines.
These groups rarely interact, although we usually get along very peacefully. We also have a number of folks who teach at the university -- and we rarely see them around town.
To learn about Silver city, you won't get much information from the Chamber of Commerce or the editor of the newspaper. You'd do better to spend some time hanging out at the AIR cafe, talking to whoever comes in. The morning and afternoon groups are quite different and everyone is friendly.
The author gives some nuts and bolts about each small town. Unfortunately, with the exception of weather, much of this information will change by the time the book is printed. And your decision may well be made by factors that can't be added up.
The best part of the book is the section on economics of small town living. Here, he's right on. You have to budget for travel to a large city now and then. Air travel will be more costly and you need time to drive to a large airport. His view of housing prices seems optimistic. If you move to a desirable city (such as Silver City) expect to pay more for a house than he allows.
And if you move to retire, your economic picture will be quite different. Many newcomers to Silver City are beginning a second career as an artist or writer. Moving without a job is scary -- and I do not recommend it unless you fit the profile I describe in my own book, Making the Big Move.
Amazon.com
Raymond Chandler is arguably the best American pulp novelist. His prose is so acutely visual, his characters so raw and intense that it is small wonder that all but one of his books have been made into movies. And his hero Philip Marlowe has graduated into American legend. Together with its companion volume (Stories and Early Novels), Later Novels and Other Writings forms the most complete Chandler collection in print. In addition to his later novels, this collection contains selected essays and letters, biographical information, and textual as well as explanatory notes. As an added bonus, the editor has included Chandler's screenplay to Double Indemnity, the classic Billy Wilder film adapted from James M. Cain's novel. You're able to compare the script to the finished movie and have the rare opportunity to see how one major crime novelist altered and interpreted another.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding in so many ways.......2007-02-24
First, let me say that there's a separate volume of Chandler's early novels. As much as I liked this volume, I actually enjoyed the earlier novels just a little bit more and suggest starting there. I started reading one story and wound up going through all of them in both volumes in the space of a few months. I also wound up reading and enjoying all the Dashiell Hammett stories, but I give Chandler a slight edge.
I won't try to list all the ways these novels are great and entertaining, but here's one thought that hasn't been mentioned in other reviews. Chandler is excellent at presenting a hero-character who has to worry about money and making a living. Indeed, Chandler makes this issue integral to the character's persona and to the plot line. Yes, the books are escapist in so many ways. Yet, in this respect at least, they are far more realistic than almost all of the fiction, and much of the non-fiction, these days.
Writing at its best - and it happens to be in detective noir.......2006-06-20
C-L-A-S-S-I=C HIGH/low notes. These stories are like a deck cards, all aces...... but there are way too few left. I finished "Little Sisters" (GREAT), "Farewell, My Lovely"- is recommended in the other half (earlier edition). The hook is Marlow. In times where many take the easy/cheap way out, I ride hard with Marlow. Marlow does it with style, humor, wit, grit, and nothing less than an all american: get the job done. But in a way that is the opposite his nemesis: the monopolies of power & money. Of course they admire and hate him. But it just doesn't get any better than Chandler. Need an excuse? Then read it for the wrting alone. The best!
The best of Raymond Chandler.......2005-12-05
This book, contaning Chandlers later works, is perhaps the best collection of Chandler you can find. Sure, does not contain the better-known novels - The Big Sleep and Farewell my Lovely - but it does contain The Long Goodbye, which is not only Chandler's finest, but a great novel by any measure.
Chandler lived a tough, hard-drinking life, and these later works came out of his mind with difficulty. But the quality of The Lady in the Lake and The Long Goodbye (The Little Sister is less memorable) make this collection essential.
In addition, the book contains some essays and letters, including Chandler's writing on the mystery genre, which will interest any budding suspense author.
In short, read this book! Read The Long Goodbye, then read it again. This is not just a great mystery, but it is also great literature.
Classic American, cynical detective stories........2005-05-12
Chandler is arguably the best detective story writer out there. If you expand this genre to all mystery writers, he would still be one of the best.
Detective stories aren't as common as they once were, but if you look at the offspring of the Pulp magazine once so popular, television, they are still as popular as ever. Chandler was one author who defined what a detective story was. This book contains four novels:The Lady in the Lake, The Little Sister, The Long Goodbye, and Playback. These are wonderfully entertaining stories that contain the archetypical hard-bitten detective, Philip Marlowe. After reading these stories you will forever see Marlowe in every detective story you see or read, from Magnum to the latest TV cop. How can you not love an author who sums up Modern American Capitalism with lines like these? "We make the finest packages in the world, Mr. Marlowe. The stuff inside is mostly junk." Or an author who in the early 50's, (50 years before the current 'Queers Dress Up' shows) so presciently wrote, "The queer is the artistic arbiter of our age, chum." Or his comment on a speech by a politician, "He did not bore us with any facts."
These books are not just riveting, fun reading, but full of thoughtful quotes like the above.
Chandler also is must-reading for his understanding of criminality, venality, human nature, Southern California, Movies, American culture and American relationship dynamics. I hate to use the word "classic" to describe stories that are just so plain fun to read, but I find it hard not to.
This volume also contains a screenplay, Double Indemnity, and a few essays and letters. The essays "The Simple Art of Murder", and "Writers in Hollywood" should be required reading for anyone interested in 20th century culture, movies, and literature. Just a few tidbits more. Chandler on English Mystery Writers - "The English may not always be the best writers in the world, but they are incomparably the best dull writers." Chandler on boredom - "There are no dull subjects, only dull minds." Chandler on critics - "The average critic never recognizes an achievement when it happens. He explains it after it has become respectable."
My only criticism is that the plots are contrived and sometimes complicated. But such criticism is like complaining that the Mona Lisa would be a fine painting if only it were of a different size.
Chandler is simply wonderful, funny, cynical, and yes, - respectable.
Priceless Solely for The Simple Art of Murder.......2005-01-18
While Hammett may very well have carried the modern hard-boiled mystery forward into the light, Chandler defined it. Of the two, I think I prefer Chandler most. Chandler better than anyone else set the standard for the genre, and laid down the rules to which all the great mystery writers of today rigorously adhere. Here, in brief, is the mystery writer's credo:
'But down these mean streets must a man go who himself is neither tarnished nor afraid.'
As Chandler remarked in his classic essay, The Simple Art of Murder, Hammett rightly deserves the title of Founder of the modern mystery because he succeeded in giving murder back to the kind of people who commit it. So what kind of person goes up against the kind of people who committ murder? Chandler responds with Exhibit A: Philip Marlowe.
Chandler's Marlowe resonates in my favorite mystery romps, the Spenser series, and the archetype also finds its way into more than a few 'Good Cop' dramas.
I enjoy the escapades of Philip Marlowe simply because the wry cynicism, coupled with the tough moral fibre to get to the bottom of any affair and see justice (or at least some sort of closure) served, makes for truly fascinating escapist reading. Each of the books in this collection, as in the collection preceding it, amply deliver on this score.
If you happen to acquire this masterpiece, never let it go. These are classic books, and will never become dated. I personally prefer The Long Goodbye to The Big Sleep, and found the former a longer and more satisfying read. In every story of both collections, there is to be found a depraved tapestry of gilded greater Los Angeles society, quite literally ripped from the headline news of the day. Most mystery fans will love the idea of an honest man in a thoroughly dishonest world, on a righteous quest for justice.
Once you get this triumph of American literature in your hands, mix your favorite drink, disappear to a quiet place with a comfortable chair (with good lighting), and enjoy the Great Master at work. If only more writers could write like this, then I would not need cable TV...
Book Description
On the morning of June 25, 1876, soldiers of the elite U.S. Seventh Cavalry led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer attacked a large Indian encampment on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. By day's end, Custer and more than two hundred of his men lay dead. It was a shocking defeat--or magnificent victory, depending on your point of view--and more than a century later it is still the object of controversy, debate, and fascination.
What really happened on that fateful day? Now, thanks to the work of Herman J. Viola, Curator Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, we are much closer to answering that question. Dr. Viola, a leader in the preservation of Native American culture and history, has collected here dozens of dramatic, never-before-published accounts by Indians who participated in the battle--accounts that have been handed down to the present day, often secretly and accompanied by oaths of silence, from one generation to the next. These remarkable eyewitness recollections provide a direct link to that day's events; together they constitute an unprecedented oral history of the battle from the Native American point of view and the most comprehensive eyewitness description of Little Bighorn we have ever had.
Here are the dramatic stories of the Cheyenne and Lakota warriors who rode into battle against Custer, the yellow-haired Son of the Morning Star, an adversary whose valor they admired--but who became a mortal enemy after breaking his peace-pipe oath, a scene described vividly in these pages. Here in their own words are the stories of the Crow scouts, allies of Custer, who advised against attacking Sitting Bull's village on the Little Bighorn. Here are tales of valor told by the Arikara scouts who fought side by side with Custer's men against the Lakota and Cheyenne; although the Great Father in Washington rewarded their heroism with silence, it is celebrated to this day in tribal stories and songs that come to us from beyond the grave with hair-raising immediacy and power.
Lavishly illustrated with more than two hundred maps, photographs, reproductions, and drawings, this remarkable book also includes:
An account of the battle, including startling descriptions of Custer's conduct, collected from the Crow scouts by the famed photographer Edward S. Curtis in 1908. Curtis never published this report--President Theodore Roosevelt advised him not to--and it remained a secret until his ninety-year-old son recently gave the material to the Smithsonian.
New archaeological evidence from the battlefield that casts fresh light on the Seventh Cavalry's movements, along with discoveries from the site of Sitting Bull's village--including the complete skeleton of a cavalry horse with its rider's well-
preserved saddlebags and personal items.
A series of illustrations made soon after the battle by Red Horse, a remarkable tableau that is reproduced here in its entirety for the first time.
Three letters written by Lieutenant William Van Wyck Reily just days before he died at Little Bighorn that provide key and potentially controversial insights into the conduct of the cavalry under Custer's command.
In short, this landmark book takes us much closer to knowing what really happened on that June day in 1876 when Custer died and a legend was born.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but. . ........2007-01-18
I wished I had known (should have read the reviews!) that this is a coffee table attempt to deal with an extremely complicated subject. The pretty pictures and artwork were fine, but the book claims to have important historical information from the Crow scouts. When I read (reread and reread) the accounts, I was no closer to understanding what happened. Indeed, one descendant of the Crow scouts admitted that the versions of the events told to him by the scouts were not the same.
The book's strength is in its modern work at the site. The articles about what items were found at both sites with metal detectors (a whole horse!) was fascinating and worth the purchase price. For instance, that bullets with the same rifling were found all over the Custer battle site is fascinating. I hope more metal detector search can be done.
The best book I've ever read!!.......2004-05-01
This book is so ground-breaking and thorough and clever that I'll read it again as soon as I get time. The narratives and recollections of native Americans combined with the most up-to-date scholarship make this book a small masterpiece. Our view of the battle was so slanted and biased, generally without intention, because of an overemphasis on the records of European participants, etc. This book gives another view, and thus B-A-L-A-N-C-E.!!
A major work........2001-05-28
In general I'm not really big on modern history (my notion of "modern" being everything after 1200 BC!), but Viola's book "Little Bighorn Remembered," featured as it was as the "untold Indian story of Custer's last stand," intrigued me. I have to admit to having had to take a second run at it before I really got into the subject. It isn't that the work is poorly written; it isn't. I think that the up front and in your face brutality of the 19th Century US government in dealing with the Native American population was just hard to deal with for me. It`s not that I am myself Native American; I just have a strong sense of fairness and fairness had no part in it. When I finally did settle into the material, however, it read rapidly. In fact it probably classifies highly with some of those I-couldn't-put-it-down novels over which people burn the midnight oil. (In my case I should have been getting a quick nap between patients while I was on-call for the OR on a night shift).
The first two chapters of the book concern the antecedents leading up to the Indian confrontation with Custer and the 7th Cavalry. These included Custer's own pre-dawn attack on a sleeping Cheyenne village under the leadership of Chief Black Kettle on the Washita River in 1868 and an earlier similar attack on Plains Tribes camping at Sand Creek in 1864. In both instances dozens of men, women, and children were hunted down and shot and their bodies butchered. In the 1868 attack even the Cheyenne pony herd, some 900 animals, was also killed, severely crippling the people's ability to pursue their traditional lifestyle. The narrative of these two chapters is filled with unfulfilled promises and broken treaties with Native Americans in the furtherance of US territorial expansion during the 19th Century. Certainly anyone familiar with the attitudes of Europeans toward technologically less advanced populations world wide in areas they wished to exploit will recognize the pattern.
The remainder of the book is divided into chapters each dealing with various perspectives on the battle of the Little Bighorn. Here is where the book rises above others on the subject, for Viola makes use of very diverse sources in his effort to thoroughly and fairly cover the subject .
Included are the oral histories passed on by the Indian participants, stories from the Cheyenne and the Dakota on one side and from the Crow and Arikara scouts with Custer on the other. Probably the most interesting part of this material is the fact that not all Plains Indians felt the same about the coming of the army into the area. In fact the imperialism of the US government was actually superimposed upon on-going events among traditional enemies within the community of local people. The long standing enmity of certain groups actually facilitated the ultimate defeat of the Plains Indians. Even allies weren't necessarily of one mind and still are not. A popular saying among the modern Cheyenne is that "The Sioux got the glory, the Crows got the land, but the Cheyennes did the fighting(p. 27)."
Also among the narratives are notes left by Edward S. Curtis who undertook the mission of creating a photographic preservation of Native American Indian lifestyles before they disappeared. During the pursuit of this work Curtis took the opportunity of covering the battle site in the company of three of Custer's Crow scouts. From information about events provided by these individuals he came to the conclusion that the battle had not proceeded as recorded thirty years previously. His intent to publish his conclusions in his project was discouraged by President Theodore Roosevelt, primarily because the latter was concerned that pro-Custer factions would ruin Curtis. The information was preserved and given over to the National Museum of American History by his son Harold just prior to Harold's death at the age of 95 in 1988.
Among the "documents" preserving the Battle at Little Bighorn are the Indian drawings of the event of which Viola includes illustrations of many. Though simple line drawings they give every bit as clear an image of the violence and carnage of the battle field as do the photo images of the Civil War. Included are drawings by the Dakota, Red Horse, and some etched drawings by an unknown artists on flattened metal from trade kettles. Also presented, many for the first time, are some of the victory memorabilia collected from the battlefield and preserved by family members of the Indian participants through the generations.
A fire across the battlefield in 1983 made an archaeological examination of the site possible and almost imperative. Application of modern techniques to the charting, recovery and analysis of the material remains on the site by professionals and trained volunteers in the decade between 1985 and 1995 have allowed a reinterpretation of what occurred and an external verification of the stories of various participants. (For a more in-depth account of which see my review of "They Died With Custer : Soldiers' Bones from the Battle of the Little Bighorn.")
Among the most amazing reports of the battle and its events is that of the contribution of suicide to the death toll. Apparently the notion of torture at the hands of Indian combatants, fostered in part by the tradition of post mortem mutilation of enemy bodies (to prevent their full enjoyment of the afterlife) produced a "save the last bullet for yourself" mentality that led to a far higher mortality than might have occurred. One Indian witness reported having seen a man "murder" a compatriot and than shoot himself. Apparently he was not the only individual to have seen this puzzling behavior either.
Probably the most arresting facets of Viola's book, and certainly the ones I found most enjoyable, were the many rotogravure/tintype portraits of the various American Indian personalities involved in the drama of the Plains. The faces are filled with dignity, composure, and intelligence. It leaves the viewer with a sense of compassion and loss. One wonders what the country might have been like had the two worlds learned to coexist more peacefully and to learn from one another.
Crow accounts are valuable.......2000-03-04
I found this book to be fascinating pictorially and in its presentation of Indian viewpoints of Little Bighorn.
Some other reviewers have criticized Herman Viola's inclusion of the accounts of Custer's Crow scouts, as if Viola is somehow doing a disservice to scholarship. However, I don't think he is necessarily presenting these accounts as gospel. Viola acknowledges the inconsistencies between witnesses' stories, but he gives the Crow a chance to speak for themselves, which seems like a good thing to me.
Perhaps by publishing these little-known testimonies, Viola will encourage other Indian sources to share their knowledge of Little Bighorn while that knowledge still exists.
A Pretty book but flawed.......2000-02-19
Read without knowledge of the other Indian based accounts available; this is an interesting book. There are other books available also which are based on Indian accounts and seem more coherent. This book is pretty and interesting but adds very little to a serious student of the event. Some of the vignettes are interesting when compared with other indian accounts and blended with them. The story of Custer sitting around at Weir point while Reno's battalion was being routed is not well placed in time or detail. In short, the book is a quick and easy read. It is an interesting contrast to the "old" accounts of the Little Big Horn saga. In light of other recent works on the subject; it is a lightweight.
Book Description
Why is America so rich and powerful? The answer lies in our genes, according to psychologist John Gartner.
Hypomania, a genetically based mild form of mania, endows many of us with unusual energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and a propensity for taking risks. America has an extraordinarily high number of hypomanics -- grandiose types who leap on every wacky idea that occurs to them, utterly convinced it will change the world. Market bubbles and ill-considered messianic crusades can be the downside. But there is an enormous upside in terms of spectacular entrepreneurial zeal, drive for innovation, and material success. Americans may have a lot of crazy ideas, but some of them lead to brilliant inventions.
Why is America so hypomanic? It is populated primarily by immigrants. This self-selection process is the boldest natural experiment ever conducted. Those who had the will, optimism, and daring to take the leap into the unknown have passed those traits on to their descendants.
Bringing his audacious and persuasive thesis to life, Gartner offers case histories of some famous Americans who represent this phenomenon of hypomania. These are the real stories you never learned in school about some of those men who made America: Columbus, who discovered the continent, thought he was the messiah. John Winthrop, who settled and defined it, believed Americans were God's new chosen people. Alexander Hamilton, the indispensable founder who envisioned America's economic future, self-destructed because of pride and impulsive behavior. Andrew Carnegie, who began America's industrial revolution, was sure that he was destined personally to speed up human evolution and bring world peace. The Mayer and Selznick families helped create the peculiarly American art form of the Hollywood film, but familial bipolar disorders led to the fall of their empires. Craig Venter decoded the human genome, yet his arrogance made him despised by most of his scientific colleagues, even as he spurred them on to make great discoveries.
While these men are extraordinary examples, Gartner argues that many Americans have inherited the genes that have made them the most successful citizens in the world.
Customer Reviews:
Creativity and Hypomania.......2007-04-23
This book discovers the link between many creative and successful people who have lived with bi polar conditions in the past with notable success.
Entertaining psycho-sociology, psycho-history.......2007-01-06
A warning about this book first; when I got it in the mail I had other work planned that evening but once I started reading I couldn't stop until the end. It's well written and entertaining but most importantly thought provoking. Rigorous science it is not and I can't comment on the historical biographies as my field is medicine, not history.
John Gartner makes a compelling case for immigrant populations being enriched in people who have bipolar traits. Given a sufficient number of them in the population, and you get places like America, Australia and Canada whose populations are almost entirely made up of immigrants. America seems to have a critical mass of bipolars which makes it even more attractive to other bipolars and, in John Gartner's view, one ends up with the positive feedback loops of energetic people making things happen at a far greater rate than anywhere else in the world. This also explains many of the down sides to America as bipolarity also has a depressive side and bipolars can be very impulsive.
Obviously this book only looks at one aspect of what makes America unique but I've found it very thought provoking. Many of John Gartner's assertions are important scientific questions that need to be answered through proper controlled studies. I had been toying with some of the same ideas over the years, but John Gartner put them all together in this book.
Excellent explanation of a confusing diagnosis - but concerned about the reviewer in VA.......2006-07-14
This is one of the only books that is devoted to this fuzzy area of psychiatry, discussing a diagnosis that is often misdiagnosed. Unfortunately it has been so by a recent reviewer who gave it one star...You've been "clinically diagnosed" wrong if you were diagnosed with hypomania - as a hypomanic I can say that your description of what you've done to yourself in your life would not be a result of hypomania. Find a new psychiatrist who will treat you properly. Best of luck.
I AM CLINICALLY DIAGNOSED. HYPOMANIA RUINED MY LIFE. THIS GUY IS FULL OF DOODOO........2006-07-14
I started experiencing hypomania in middle school. I would have rushes of energy where I spoke in my cat's language, I would suddenly run up and down our upstairs hallway a dozen times. I was also extremely estranged from my real emotions and my emerging sexuality. By junior year of high school, I had full-blown bipolar disorder that tended to stay on the severely depressed side. I went on to college, where my years there alternated between severe depression and completely disabling chronic hypomania. My freshman year I thought I was the most profound student in my class and that I should transfer to Harvard since I wasn't happy where I was. One year I went on a starvation binge and started hallucinating and being very paranoid on campus. I thought I was being persecuted by everyone else.
Four years ago I both went up too high on Effexor and began smoking again, and within two months I was so hypomanic and out of my body that I had to quit my job and move home. Over the next three years I was in and out of about five different jobs, none of them lasting more than three weeks.
At this point in my life I have zero remaining friends from high school and zero from college; in the eight years since college I have made only one acquaintance who I see about every six months. Can John D. Gartner tell me where the success is in all of this? There are thousands of people who struggle with REAL bipolar disorder that involves the crippling, embarassing (did I mention the sketchy sexual encounters over the years?), and completely misleading phenomenon of hypomania. Sure, just a week ago I thought I should become the Chancellor of Germany, but I am still a dog-walker earning $100 a week at the age of 29. With no friends and no connections anywhere.
TO DARLA'S BOY- I AM PROPERLY DIAGNOSED. You are insulting the intelligence of my five or six psychiatrists who I have seen over the years. The one I saw previous to my treatment (currently) with George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates was listed by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the top ten psychiatrists in the district. He diagnosed my hypomania.
There is a category of people who have bipolar disorder to the degree that they experience mania or hypomania, along with psychotic depression so severe that if they were not put on medication, he or she would basically kill himself. In that category is Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and myself. So these 'hypomanics'. . .where is their severe depression that makes it impossible to take care of a family, let alone get to work on time?
Now that I am on a balanced regimen of medication, I can feel a more natural 'drive' coming back to get on with my life and do good things for myself, but this is only because I know I am smart and I can be a high achiever. It may just be a personality trait that someone wants to stay up all night writing a novel. I simply resent Mr. Gartner's use of the term in a way that dismisses the more severe, socially isolating version of hypomania that I have experienced.
We ARE all crazy!.......2006-05-01
When I first heard of this book I was quite amused by the idea that Americans might be, well, Americans because we're genetically inclined to be a little crazy. The book convinced me that it's true. And by the way, ignore the Publisher's Weekly review, which is made up of bald-faced lies about the book.
The book offers fascinating insights into some of America's most influential people, all of whom were clearly hypomanic. Gartner chooses his subjects with skill among those who created the things that make America unique. He starts, suitably enough, with Christopher Columbus himself, and tells us a lot of things about him our history teachers never did. America-bashing Europeans will doubtless be gratified to know that he was certifiably loony... but it was that very craziness that made his achievement possible.
The next chapter deals with the Puritan religious fanatics who bequeathed to America two things that have remained important: faith in religion even while Europe imagines itself to be too sophisticated for religion and Communist countries (what's left of them) attack it as limiting the power of the state and implying that commissars might someday have to answer to Someone for their crimes; and religious freedom.
The next suitable choice is a Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, without whom we might not have had a Constitution. Industry is another American gift to the world, so there is a chapter about steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Movies are made the world over but the industry has always been dominated by America, and according to Gartner, early Hollywood was virtually a colony of hypomanics, which explains the frenetic behavior for which show business types are known.
Since the entire book has been contending that Americans are genetically inclined to be hypomanic, it seems fitting that he concludes with a chapter about one of the scientists engaged in mapping the human genome.
Every few years, American newspapers start fretting that our dominance of the world's economy and politics is going to be taken away by some other up-and-coming country - Japan, China, someplace. If Gartner is right, and there is little reason to doubt he is, that will never happen, because there is one natural resource here that no country can possibly reproduce: the wide distribution of the hypomanic gene.
Book Description
The gripping story of a well-known battle told from the perspective of the "other" side--the Confederates who just barely lost the fight for Little Round Top at the battle of Gettysburg.
The fight for Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, is forever etched in the annals of America's Civil War. The heroic defense of the high ground by Joshua Chamberlain and the men of the 20th Maine is one of the most famous incidents in American history, made more famous by its powerful depiction in the film Gettysburg. There are numerous written accounts of the Union defenders on Little Round Top but considerably less has been written--up to now--about the Confederate attackers who charged up the hill and faced an even more desperate challenge than those who defended it.
Unique and colorful, this new study brings to life the men and officers of the 15th Alabama who gathered that day to assault the Union flank. The lively narration of this dramatic engagement is both detailed and authoritative. Veteran Civil War author Phillip Tucker colorfully evokes the men and the times--from a description of the Alabamans' Chattahoochee River valley home to sketches of the lives and personalities of William C. Oates and other key members of the regiment.
Customer Reviews:
About as bad as a Civil War book can get.......2004-01-16
That a book purporting to be a detailed, comprehensive tactical study offers only one map pretty well reflects the carelessness, and lack of respect for the reader, with which this book apparently was produced. I've written thirteen books on the Civil War and Indian Wars myself, and I understand the importance of good maps. The prose also is sloppy, and the author repeats the same absurd premise - that a few more men in the ranks of one regiment might have changed the course of Gettysburg, and thus of the Civil War - so many times that one feels tempted to toss the book across the room. An absolute disgrace to the field of military history.
wasted words and no maps.......2003-02-21
The author, who did a good job with Burnside's Bridge, repeats himself over and over ad naseoum and fails to include maps or drawings to illustrate what he is describing. His main premise is, that had the 15 th Alabama been fully complemented with men and had it been supported by another regiment, Gettysburg would have been a Confederate victory. That is prepostorous, considering the number of reinforcements the Union had. Oates and his men deserve a lot of credit for their valor but so do the Union troops who put up one hell of a battle from prepared defensive positions. The author is capable of writing a much better product and must have been in a hurry to churn another book out.
Waste of money.......2003-02-05
I totally agree with [a negative reviewer]. I was very disappionted after waiting so long for the release. The authur constantly repeated things, trying to make the book longer. Plus Tucker seems to have a grudge against Joshua Chamberlain. In the last chapter he makes it sound like Chamberlain had nothing to do with the battle and lied about his contribution afterwards. He provdes no maps to prove his "research". He also states the 15th Alabama retired up Big Round Top after the battle. But wasn't Big Round Top in Union hands after the 2nd day? There's many things I didn't like about this book.
Expecting Much More.......2002-09-26
I had originally placed this order almost a year ago with much anticipation. After the publishing was delayed for months I had forgotten I even had it on back order. Well, I finally got my copy and I must say that it is a big disappointment.
To begin with, there are exactly two illustrations: one map and one seriously degraded photo of Col Oates. Unless you have the memory of an elephant it is very hard to get detail on timelines and troop movements/placements on text alone. This, to me, was perhaps the biggest disappointment.
Another area of concern is the, at times, seemingly lack of real research. One example of this is the claim made by the author that the hill, thus the entire battle, could have been won if the 15th ALA had had support, etc. He failed to explain where these units were supposed to come from, neglected to mention that by the time the 15th ALA had run out of steam there wasn't enough daylight left to mount another assault, any supports would have to come from over a mile away under fire, and he doesn't offer any gameplan as to how the Confederates were supposed to hold the hill once it was taken (given the fact that there were 1000s of Union troops within double quick distance). I don't mean to nitpick on one aspect but the entire book is written this way.
I was looking for a book that was going to finally explain the Confederate point of view in detail, with battle maps to accompany the text. But this reads more like a guy who is trying to defend his family's honor after someone hurled a staining insult at them. I agree that the Conf side of this legendary struggle has not been represented in enough detail and scope. I still feel that way.
Bottom line-the premise is a great idea; don't waste your money.
Book Description
Little Labels - Big Sound celebrates 10 legendary record labels, their founders and the artists they developed, who created original and enduring music on the tide of social change. From the 1920s through the 1960s, scores of small, independent record companies nurtured distinctly American music: jazz, blues, gospel, country, rhythm and blues, and rock'n'roll. These companies, run on shoestring budgets, were on the fringe of mainstream culture. Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, James Brown, Roy Orbison, and other musicians brought regional American styles to a world audience and won enduring fame for themselves. But often forgotten are the colorful owners of small record labels who first recorded these musicians and helped to popularize their sound before the dominant, more bureaucratic competitors knew what had happened.
Customer Reviews:
Little Labels, Big Impact.......2005-10-21
I bought this book after buying Mr. McNutt's "Too Hot to Handle," a thoroughly researched and fascinating book designed like a fanzine for we small-time studio fanatics. "Little Labels" did not disappoint. Like his other book, this one has many, many interviews with the label owners, engineers, and musicians. Very few writers today take the time to go to the scene and interview the people who were involved. I appreciate this book so much because Mr. McNutt and Mr. Kennedy do take the time to find the people who made the sounds. I didn't grow up on this music, but I have learned to love it. Give it five stars!
Little labels played a huge role in the evolution of Amercian popular music.......2005-07-07
O how the landscape has changed! Fifty years ago there were literally hundreds of independent record labels operating in cities and towns all across the USA. Many of these companies were fly by night operations that lasted for only a short period of time. Some managed to stick around long enough to have a hit record or two before disappearing from the scene forever. But, a fair number of these independent labels were quite successful and would leave an indelible mark on American popular music. This is what "Little Labels-Big Sound" is all about.
Whether you are a fan of the blues, rock and roll, R & B, group harmony or jazz, there is little doubt that these "little labels" made a significant contribution to the development of your kind of music. Authors Rick Kennedy and Randy McNutt have focused on 10 of these important independent labels. It is a very readable and highly entertaining book that both record collectors and history buffs are sure to enjoy.
Hoagy Carmicheal and Louis Armstrong spent their formative years in the 1920's at Gennett Records, a small indie based in Richmond, In. When a young and dynamic James Brown audtioned for King Records in the mid 1950's, label owner Syd Nathan remarked "Nobody wants to hear that noise." History would indeed prove him wrong. Most critics agree that jazz legend Charlie Parker made his finest recordings at Ross Russell's Dial records. "Little Labels-Big Sound" tells the story of how Charlie Parker wound up at Dial. There are also chapters devoted to seven other notable indies including Sun, Riverside, Monument and Duke-Peacock. I enjoyed reading about them all.
Today, a few major conglomerates dominate the music business. There is little for most of us to get excited about. "Little Labels-Big Sound" fondly recalls that time in America when small record labels flourished and creativity thrived. It is worth remembering. Recommended.
Good Book.......2002-11-27
Great insight into the workings of old independent labels. I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I hope the publisher will bring out a Vol. 2. Next time, the writers could do some even smaller ones!
Those Were the Real Record Days.......2002-11-25
The interview with Fred Foster, the Monument Records man, is worth the price of this book alone. Some good reporting and analysis and a book worthy of owning. I learned a lot about a label in my backyard, Gennett Records in Richmond.
Loved this book!.......2001-10-29
Reading this book has given me a new appreciation of the struggles of independent record company owners over the years. The chapter on King Records is worth the price of the book. The writers have carefully researched some important labels, picking their favorites--Gennett is very fascinating to me personally. I hope that a record company will release some old material based on this book. I hope the writers will consider a sequel.
Book Description
Chicago's Near West Side was and is the city's most famous Italian enclave, earning it the title of “Little Italy.” Italian immigrants came to Chicago as early as the 1850s, before the massive waves of immigration from 1874 to 1920. They settled in small pockets throughout the city, but ultimately the heaviest concentration was on or near Taylor Street, the main street of Chicago's Little Italy. At one point a third of all Chicago's Italian immigrants lived in the neighborhood. Some of their descendents remain, and although many have moved to the suburbs, their familial and emotional ties to the neighborhood cannot be broken. Taylor Street: Chicago's Little Italy is a pictorial history from the late 19th century and early 20th century, from when Jane Addams and Mother Cabrini guided the Italians on the road to Americanization, through the area's vibrant decades, and to its sad story of urban renewal in the 1960s and its rebirth 25 years later.
Customer Reviews:
Taylor Street: Chicago's Little Italy.......2007-05-10
Fantastic book, brought back great memories of growing up in Little Italy, Taylor Street.
Amazon.com
More than 300 species of trees are found in the United States and Canada west of the Rocky Mountains, some introduced from other continents but many native to the region. This handsome guidebook covers them all, with photographs that enable identification by easily discernible characteristics: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, or by the flower or cone. The photographs are linked to texts that describe a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range. Some of the trees covered in this volume are exceedingly rare, such as the Monterey pine; others are locally abundant but limited in range, such as the Joshua tree; still others, such as the quaking aspen, are widespread. This guidebook is an essential addition to any western outdoor enthusiast's collection. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
All 933 identification pictures are full-color photos of significant details of virtually all native trees and many cultivated species as you see them in their natural habitat.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book !!!.......2006-11-03
These Audubon books are the best ones for learning about the subject matter, ie: trees. Colored pictures are a MUST and these books have pictures that allow you to identify your tree easily. I have purchased a number of them over the years and will do so in the future.
North American trees, West........2004-12-14
If your going to be stuffing your field guide into your pocket, glove box, daypack or backpack, the "turtleback" binding used by Audubon is perfect. Personally, I don't use it that way. When I encounter a species I cannot identify, I take notes (usually of the mental variety) -- leaf characteristics, bark characteristics, size, form, habitat, seeds, flowers, etc. -- and identify it when I return home. The photos and drawings in this volume are generally excellent. So far as I can recall, the Audubon guide has yet to fail me. It doesn't include very many introduced (non-native) trees, that's not it's purpose, of course, so it may not help you identify the trees that have been planted in your yard. The Sunset Western Garden Book, or perhaps your local nurseryman, will fit that niche.
Could the book be better? Well, the obvious answer is always yes, I suppose, but I don't know how. Would some kind of a 'flow-chart' for identifying specimens improve this edition? Well, there is one, created quiet simply in the way the book is organized; refer to the "How to Use this Guide" section in the front. I won't claim to be a connoisseur of guidebooks, but this one has worked very nicely for me for several years and I recommend it without hesitation.
Dissappointing: Very hard to identify unknown trees.......2004-11-29
I spent $20 on this at a local bookstore (that was a mistake: it is only $14 here on Amazon) and got it home and went into my backyard. An hour later, I was only able to identify one of the three trees in the yard.
I got the book because it had the Audobon name, and it included some sharp color photos. I should have got the Peterson guide instead.
What the Audobon book is missing is an algorithm or process to identify an unknown tree (they call this "differential diagnosis" in medicine). I was expecting something like: "If it has 5 needles per cluster turn to page 45, if it has grey bark turn to page 64, etc" until you pinpoint your tree.
I would even be happy if it had some illustrations like Silbeys bird book ... with arrows pointing to the discriminating features that distinguish the tree from similar trees.
But in the Audobon book, the reader is expected to browse thru dozens of photos and try to match your tree to the photo. But SURPRISE, the photos of similar trees all look alike and what then? You are expected to browse the the dense textual (!) descriptions and flip back and forth reading minutae like "two white strips on the undersides of the needles"
How about some color illustrations? How about a list of similar trees a given tree is often confused with? How about a handful of distinguishing characteristics of each tree?
Try Petersons book instead!
Quite reliable for outdoor travellers........2004-07-11
The Audubon Guide to Western Trees will prove a long lasting reference for outdoor lovers and tree finders. This easily equals the excellent Eastern Region guide in quality, detail, number of species listed, and beautiful photographs. However, if you want a heavy duty instant identification tool, hold off on this and purchase the Peterson Guides to Trees. However, if you love to marvel at trees and identify them in any amount of time at all, buy this along with the Eastern Guide. The quality binding of this newly updated edition is nice quality, and easy to carry. The earlier, out of print, hardback Economy Press edition was bulky, but contained more species listings. Still that difference is hardly noticeable, and buy this edition at good costs. This guide, (compared to the Petersons) will please a patient outdoor searcher attempting to identify any tree they find. Though the Peterson Guide to Trees should be bought prior to this, it is still an excellent and reliable addition to your collection.
Nice guide for at home or the field........2002-03-26
This book offers excellent photographs and very extensive information on trees. I use it often and have had great success identifying trees that otherwise I wouldn't know what they were. nicely organized and easy to use. The compact size is awesome for travelling and taking it hiking. Another great Audobon guide.
Book Description
Ward Churchill has achieved an unparalleled reputation as a scholar-activist and analyst of indigenous issues in North America. Here, he explores the history of holocaust and denial in this hemisphere, beginning with the arrival of Columbus and continuing on into the present.
He frames the matter by examining both "revisionist" denial of the nazi-perpatrated Holocaust and the opposing claim of its exclusive "uniqueness," using the full scope of what happened in Europe as a backdrop against which to demonstrate that genocide is precisely what has been-and still is-carried out against the American Indians.
Churchill lays bare the means by which many of these realities have remained hidden, how public understanding of this most monstrous of crimes has been subverted not only by its perpetrators and their beneficiaries but by the institutions and individuals who perceive advantages in the confusion. In particular, he outlines the reasons underlying the United States's 40-year refusal to ratify the Genocide Convention, as well as the implications of the attempt to exempt itself from compliance when it finally offered its "endorsement."
In conclusion, Churchill proposes a more adequate and coherent definition of the crime as a basis for identifying, punishing, and preventing genocidal practices, wherever and whenever they occur.
Ward Churchill (enrolled Keetoowah Cherokee) is Professor of American Indian Studies with the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. A member of the American Indian Movement since 1972, he has been a leader of the Colorado chapter for the past fifteen years. Among his previous books have been Fantasies of a Master Race, Struggle for the Land, Since Predator Came, and From a Native Son.
Customer Reviews:
American History From the Victims' Perspective.......2006-07-03
This book is a must read for anyone seriously interested in the true historical origins of the United States. Ward Churchill wastes no time dispelling the myth that the German Nazis were the originators of the systematic extermination of a cultural group. Likewise, he demonstrates that the Jewish people were not the first nor the last to be the victims of a Holocaust. Through his meticulous research of historical records, Churchill gives us the facts surrounding the theft of this nation from its native peoples. Afterwards, you may never look at Columbus and the discovery of the "New World" with the same rose-colored glasses.
A Little Matter of Genocide review.......2006-03-05
Professor Churchill has done a magnificant job writing this very comprehensive,extremely well-researched book.This book makes people aware that the Jews are not the only victims of Genocide.This book examines the history of Genocides dating back to 1492 to the present day .This book is very important because it educates people about the many occurances of Genocide.Mankind needs to know the past so that mankind can strive to make certain that the tragedies of history will not be repeated.
States of Denial.......2006-02-15
"A Little Matter" is worth reading simply for its discussion of the term "genocide". But there's so much more. If I get started I'm going to blather on at extreme length, so I won't.
The content of this book has been well covered by the reviewers before me, so I simply want to add my 5 stars. If you're interested in the issues suggested by the title, you've found an insightful, solidly referenced, powerfully argued resource.
Ward Churchill has an axe to grind, certainly, but he also has a forest to cut through. There are so many lies abroad in the world that we are all choking on them, I think, both victors and victims. This is a book I'm grateful to have read.
Stannard's wonderful and terrible "American Holocaust" is another. As are John Pilger's "Secret Country", and "Blood on the Wattle" by Bruce Elder, both of which concern Australia, my own sad, similarly haunted homeland.
Fast and Perfect Condition.......2005-09-30
I will continue to purchase all of my texts from Amazon.com.
An Eye-Opener.......2005-06-13
This book is primarily a collection of essays that Churchill has written and published elsewhere. Churchill's main focus in this book is on the genocide perpetrated in the Americas by the Europeans against the various indigenous peoples, and documents how the livelihoods, cultures, and lives of these peoples were decimated over the course of several centuries. What makes the book most worthwhile is the extended discussion on the meaning of the term "genocide" - a term that I consider used often incorrectly, and way too narrowly - towards the beginning and end of the book. The definition of genocide that he uses can be readily applied to various other atrocities, such as the genocide that occurred in Rwanda, Israel (Israelis against Palestinians), Vietnam (first by the French, and later the US), and most recently Iraq (perpetrated by the US) and Sudan.
Recommended for social scientists attempting to understand the causes and consequences of genocide, and well-suited to an educated lay audience as well. The book is a recommended companion to Stannard's "American Holocaust."
Books:
- Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire
- Peripheral Vision: Detecting the Weak Signals That Will Make or Break Your Company
- Private Pilot Manual (JS314500)
- Redeeming Love
- Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and the Doors
- Scandal in Spring (Wallflower Quartet, Bk. 4)
- Simon's Night
- Since You Went Away (Hughes, Dean, Children of the Promise, Vol. 2.)
- Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life
- Sputnik Sweetheart
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Exploring the Americas
- Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men - One Message
- Storybook Style
- The New Bungalow Kitchen
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
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- Violets in the Snow
- Bungalow Style: Creating Classic Interiors in Your Arts and Crafts Home
- The New Ecological Home: A Complete Guide to Green Building Options
- Killer Pancake
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region - Revised Edition (National Audubon Society Field Guide)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region - Revised Edition
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (Audubon Society Field Guide)
The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals: (Revised and Expanded) (Audubon Society Field Guide)
