Amazon.com

California natives and visitors alike will appreciate this compact, photo-filled overview of the Golden State's natural history. Along with a summary of geography, geology, weather, and wildlife, there is a field guide to the identification of 1,000 of the state's unique inhabitants, including the smallest butterfly in the world (the Western Pygmy Blue), the largest animal (the Blue Whale), and one of the largest living single organisms (the Giant Sequoia). What's more, some of the best places to see this diversity of flora and fauna--the many parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries--are listed with detailed information. To flip through the guide's pages is to envision endless possibilities for scenic and educational field trips, from fog-shrouded Point Reyes National Seashore to the barren salt pan of Death Valley National Park. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great Companion on those long Journeys in the Wild
Whether you are an outdoor enthusiast or a weekend warrior, the Audobon's guide to California will instill an appreciation of the natural wonders of California. This easy to use guide allows even the most uninitiated to identify and learn about California's native and introduced species. The only small problem with this book is that it does not contain the small habitat maps that any of you who know Audobon Field Guides, have come to appreciate. This book along with "A Natural History of California" by Allan Schoenherr, provide a great introduction to California's diversity.

Park Ranger Approved
For all of you that are looking for an excellent field guide...this is the one for all of California. As a park ranger I carry this little book in my bag where ever I go. It offers very sharp and detailed photos, scientific names, family or class names, and a breif description of the subject. The best thing about this field guide is that it covers all kinds of animals, plants, trees, and sea life. It even has an overview of climates, seasons, sky charts, history, and areas of California. Even at the end of the book there is lots of information about some of the National and State parks within California. This is a great all-round basic field guide for anyone at any level. Enjoy!

All the flora and fauna in one book.
This is a tremendous resource for anyone who enjoys being outside in California. With pictures and descriptions of everything from plants, animals, and insects to fish and fungi, this book will help you identify what you are looking at, whatever it is. The format is excellent, with each section beginning with a primer on the language and common features used to describe the various species. There isn't room for much detail about any species, but this book is about breadth, not depth. Definitely a worthy companion for any walk anywhere in California.

Most popular book in the house
If this book is not shoved in a back pack on a trip, taken to school, carted along on the front seat of any day trip in the car, we generally try to just keep keep track of it, because if we can't locate it when we need it, it is a sure bet there will be an uproar until it is found. This is a resource book so commonly utilized in this house of kids and out doors lovers alike, it generally never seems to leave the counter in the kitchen. There it is, available to all for school projects, night star gazing verification and an instant attraction for anyone standing around waiting for dinner.

Truly, a book that has been consulted so frequently for so many reasons, that it has replaced more cumbersome references. The reference has beautiful illustrations and offers so much more than a typical field guide book. This is a book that will be relished by California outdoor lovers, and if you like the indoors more, this is the book that will definitely beckon you out of your lazy boy chair to go wandering around this incredible play ground we call California.

Audobon Society Field Guide to California
A must in the knapsack of all professional and amateur naturalists that work or volunteer in the urban or natural park facilities in CA. Should be available in all Nature Centers for visitors to use as a resource or purchase. ... Read more

Book Description

This important book relates the history of natural and human-induced changes that have occurred in the past one thousand years in New England and explores the modern ecology of this largely forested landscape. Written by leading biological, physical, and social scientists, the book uniquely demonstrates that an understanding of landscape history is essential for the study of ecology and environmental management. After a discussion of the elements that initially shaped the land, the authors describe how the New England landscape changed drastically with the arrival of European settlers nearly four hundred years ago, as they cleared the land of forest and extensively farmed it. Observed patterns of forest regrowth following a shift in agriculture to the midwest form the basis for explanations of changes in native wildlife populations and, more fundamentally, ecosystem structure and function. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

As close to a class as you can get!
This book gives the artist a special perspective from which to view and draw nature. Stanley Maltzman focuses on the basics of different seasons, weather, water, rocks, etc., but also takes the reader into specific shapes and characteristics of individual elements. For example, he shows you the differences between drawing an oak and a maple tree. This is the strength of the book over other landscape drawing books.

There are demonstrations and samples on almost every page in a variety of mediums. He even shows the student how to mock up a natural setting in the studio for practice. Having taken a class from this author, I can easily say it is like having him explain the material in person! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Dick Bass was a successful entrepreneur. Frank Wells was a Hollywood studio president. Together they set out to accomplish what no one else ever had: climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. The fact that both men had so little climbing experience turned out to be their greatest strength: since they had no idea what they were in for, they never considered their task out of reach.

Rick Ridgeway, an accomplished climber in his own right, chronicles their journey, allowing readers to decide if these adventures are the result of midlife crisis or simply about men pursuing a dream with unshakeable resolve. Whatever the case, Ridgeway's fast-paced adventure provides gripping descriptions of the world's tallest peaks. We see the logistical nightmares of Antarctica's Mt. Vinson, the unpredictable weather of McKinley, and the extreme altitude of Everest's 8,848 meters. Ridgeway continues up Aconcagua, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, and Kosciusko with lively accounts that capture the day-to-day operations of expedition life, and more intriguingly, the growing bond between two driven men. --Ben Tiffany ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Pretty good personal achievement book
I too read "Into Thin Air" and then read this book. "Seven Summits" is more about the personal achievements and personal dreams of Bass and Wells than about the details of the Everest climb of "Into Thin Air". Even though Bass and Wells were rich guys, they did give up a couple of years of their lives while their personal business futures were far from certain. In other words, I don't think Bass and Wells were a couple of spoiled boys by any means. But they did have the guts (and financial means) to leave their families and risk their lives for a once-in-a-life-time challenge.

In my opinion, the writing style is only so-so (no James Michener here), but it is easy reading.

Not inspiring
Not inspiring at all! I have to echo the sentiments of some of the previous reviewers, it reads more like what money can buy for a bunch of insufferably boring CEO's. And the author, should have got a better editor and concentrated more on the climbs rather than glorifying Bass & Wells.

For truly inspiring and touching mountaineering books, read Into Thin Air or Touching The Void.

I should have really been forewarned given that Clint Eastwood, recommends the book.(At least on the cover of my book).

Although, to Bass's credit, its extremely cool that he managed to climb these after he was 50.

This isn't a concept, its a way of life!
I was really outraged by a reader's comment where he said that it was a cool concept to climb the 7S.
This isn't a concept it's an ultimate rush to mountain heads, like me. Everyone knows that you can't rush into doing the the 7S, you need to work your way up through smaller peaks and various different levels of difficulty.
The so called "concept" is more of a death sentence, it takes years to build adequate strength to muster and challenge most of the 7S.

A stunning book of bravery and determintation!
This is a great book! It's definetly a MUST-READ for beinning climbers or climbing enthusiasts! I loved this book, even though it is not as well-written as some books are. It's easy reading. It's a great book!

DAWN OF ADVENTURE TOURISM
I came across an interesting description reading while Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air: It mentioned a certain socialite mountaineer who threw a party before climbing Mt. Everest to which she showed up in her climbing gear. Krakauer also mentioned in passing that she was on a coveted Seven Summits quest to climb the tallest mountain on each continent. Later on I came across a memoir by one of the guides on the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster, titled My Seven Summits. Having seen this quest mentioned on several occasions, my curiosity was piqued when I saw this book about Wells' and Bass' exploits.

This book is straightforward and simply written. Positive in tone, it portrays two classic type-A entrepreneurs, in a style with which Donald Trump was once lionized, before he had to let the bankers take over his holdings, before the S&L crises and the Enron debacle. The two men are portrayed with all of the bravado and the flair of Kipling-toting prep school boys that the two men once might have been, reliving their youth in the adventure. The book does not dwell on the technicalities or insights of the Inner Game of Mountain Conquest, and self-serving though it may be, it is basically honest and it illustrates several truths, perhaps unintentionally. The theme of danger, of climbers dying or coming close to it is prevalent throughout the book, with several fatal accidents taking place during the course of the book. There is no dwelling on why or if the deaths were preventable, but along with the book about sailing called the Proving Ground, this book underscores a point that most money buys the best expertise, best sailboat, and avoids the disaster that befalls other climbing parties, with less technical expertise. The book touches on, but does not address the negative impact a paying expedition member has on the rest of the expedition, which sees the patron as a free loader and is best seen in the hostile reception that Dick Bass received when he tried to hitch his way up the Mt. Everest with other climbing parties that had obtained the coveted permits.

This book is also a good account of the genesis of modern adventure travel. The two could honestly claim to have started it, and in the early nineties adventure tourism became a marketable commodity. What one must understand is that in our society Expensive sports like mountaineering usually attract two sorts of people: Those, who seriously get into it, but have no money and people with bucks who want to do it. People, who have no money work whatever labor they can get paid for, climbing as much as they could, much like Krakauer and Marty Hoey, mentioned in this book. If they get lucky, they eventually become professional guides or journalists or something else on the periphery that would allow them to take part in climbing expeditions. The other half are people like Bass and Wells, who can afford the $60,000 climbing fees and other expenses related to mountain climbing. In the old days of exploration, these wealthy patrons were themselves amateur scientists who took active parts in the expeditions they sponsored and received accolades in various geographic societies for their scholarly endeavors. Nowadays, we get a glimpse of another type of explorer - one who has no interest in climbing other than as a thrill and recreation. These outsiders pay a lot of money to spend their vacation skydiving or ocean kayaking or climbing Mt. Everest and whose money, spent on expensive equipment, guides, lessons and other fees, basically support the pros and the scene of whatever extreme sport they engage in. In time, there emerged a whole genre of magazines dedicated to marketing various extreme sports to so-called adventure tourists.

This book is a very good glimpse into the genesis of the adventure tourist industry. Amazingly, the seven summits were reached by Bass in 1984-1985 and the worst excesses of this trend started by Bass and Wells ended up in disaster in 1996, when 12 people lost their lives in a blizzard on Mt. Everest. Most of the victims were paying clients; some of them should have never been on the mountain. It took a little over a decade for some of the themes touched in the Seven Summits to reach the disastrous proportions on Everest. In a way, this book written in 1986, was prophetic of things to come. ... Read more

Book Description

"Full of surprises and unusual revelations . . . an informed and disturbing portrait of the new American badlands."--Chicago Tribune

"[Kaplan is] tireless, curious, and smart. . . . I cannot imagine anyone will concoct a more convincing scenario for the American future." --Thurston Clarke, The New York Times

With the same prescience and eye for telling detail that distinguished his bestselling Balkan Ghosts, Robert Kaplan now explores his native country, the United States of America. His starting point: the conviction that America is a country not in decline but in transition, slowly but inexorably shedding its identity as a monolithic nation-state and assuming a radically new one.
        Everywhere Kaplan travels--from St. Louis, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, from the forty-ninth parallel to the banks of the Rio Grande--he finds an America ever more fragmented along lines of race, class, education, and geography. An America whose wealthy communities become wealthier and more fortress-like as they become more closely linked to the world's business capitals than to the desolate ghettoes next door. An America where the political boundaries between the states--and between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico--are becoming increasingly blurred, betokening a vast open zone for trade, commerce, and cultural interaction, the nexus of tomorrow's transnational world. Never nostalgic or falsely optimistic, bracingly unafraid of change and its consequences, Kaplan paints a startling portrait of post-Cold War America--a great nation entering the final, most uncertain phase of its history. Here is travel writing with the force of prophecy.

"Lively . . . Kaplan has a sharp eye for social truth, and his encounters with a chorus of eloquent citizens of the West keeps the narrative humming." --Outside ... Read more

Reviews (41)

American Travel Writing from an Alternate Dimension
While Kaplan keeps to his usual winning combination of travel writing and social science in "Empire Wilderness," he cannot avoid falling prey to the very same flaws that marred his last book, "Ends of the Earth"; namely, a tendency to over-emphasize pervailing social trends until he begins to sound like some kind of prophet of doom, forecasting a world out of control. When writing about the Third World, this is somewhat more forgiveable approach, but when applied to the United States, the reader begins to wonder how Kaplan can, in good conscience, hype and sensationalize some of the trends on which he chooses to focus. In his writings for the "Atlantic Monthly," Kaplan has admitted to a Hobbesian, conservative view of human nature, and this, at times, makes him sound like a rabid elitist frightened by the dark, deprived "mob" seething beneath the shining surface of America. This is a somewhat unfair characterization, however, as most of Kaplan's social observations demonstrate a stunning ability to forecast history and cut to the heart of the most salient political and economic trends facing our nation. The extra hype and generalization are probably just to sell more books, so we can let Kaplan off the hook on this one. Just be prepared to read this book skeptically, and you are in for one hell of a journey.

Bitter pill to swallow. But the pill seems working.
The poverty of American inland states described in this book shows that, contrary to many Asian people's belief, America is also one of victims of globalization. Benefactors of globalization tend to live in suburban pods. And the pod will be, according to Robert Kaplan, protected by private security guards. About those who are excluded, Kaplan's solution is simple: Forget the poor (though he borrowed other person's mouth). It's too cruel, isn't it?

The issues of border dissolution between U.S. and Mexico and between Pacific North West and British Columbia are empathized very much in this book. These issues are closely related with immigration and decline of nation state. The phenomena of border dissolution is not peculiar to North American continent. For example, the border line between North Korea and China is also being dissolved because of N.K.'s famine. (As a South Korean man, I'm very much concerned about future N.K.'s absorption into either China or South Korea. No small, rich country wants to share border line with a big, strong but poor country. South Korean government is helping North Korea despite political grievances to prevent such an outcome, or so I guess.) Anyway, the strict control of immigration is not universal through human history. I guess it was strengthened because of Cold War.

Positive Reviewers are so Naive
Just because one never experiences racism or does not practice it or because a few CEO's are "minorities" does not mean we can say "problem solved". Why do we still claim racism and race are a factor in the US? because if it wasnt, all minority groups would be equal or at least encroaching upon the same level of economic reality most whites experience; the question is will we be allowed to share it???? So in response to "negative reviewers are so hilarious" think about this...nothing will be solved until "minorities" are at the same socio-economic level as whites, in other words we want the majority of people of color to share the same economic status and cultural priveleges as light skinned people do within every aspect of US culture...can you handle that?

Negative reviewers are hilarious
Kaplan writes what he sees and hears. He directly quotes the people he meets. Accusing him of racist and bigotry is like blaming the TV weatherman for an oncoming hurricane.

Veiled Issues
Kaplan's piece in the Atlantic Monthly "The Coming Anarchy" should give you a sense of what this book, An Enpire Wilderness, will offer. Like the romatic buffonery of Urban and Surburban critics like James Howard Kunstler, Kaplan has a subtle, veiled racism inherit in his travels. This is not new, it is typical of all the historical accounts of Anglo-Americans or European (i.e. light skinned) writers describing the "Third World"--- an offensive and dehumanizing label.
The future is bleak for U.S.-"minorities" indeed if we allow people like kaplan to speak for us. Not only do we suffer their avarice, genocide and lingering neo-colonialism all over the various nations we or our families derive from, now we must be the examples and first victims of the deterioration of Kaplan's euro-centric "Civilization". Kaplan's vision doesnt include "minorities" and it is time to protect ourselves when oil and other natural resources are depleted because like his own accounts abroad prove, who will suffer the most? In the U.S. it makes total sense that those who lack political and economical power, let alone competent and brave voices of dissent within our communities, will be the first to be subjected to the majority's so called "reforms". For me as a U.S. Latino, the future is grim but I dont need Kaplan to show me why. It is time to bypass this veiled racist and xenophobia promoted by impotent neo-liberal "progressives". ... Read more

Book Description

With more than 500 species described and more than 400 illustrations, this guide provides quick and easy visual identification of fishes, mollusks, sponges, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and much more of the fauna found on the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Florida. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

lacking color photos
I like most peterson books, however this one is just as knowledgable, but I bought the book hopeing to see color plates of corals, which it did not have. It had mostly color plates of starfish, sponges, sea buscuits, other animal life. I was disappointed in that, but as most of their books have, a nice description on how to identify it. It does seperate out the different types of corals, such as brain coral, then different subspecies (depressed, common, sharp hilled) but NO good pictures. It tells depth circumferance and valley, color, nice descriptions. It does have some black & white photos of coral, but it really does not help much.

It's a hard guide to write
I would feel confident recommending any of Peterson's field guides including "Coral Reefs." Many field guides simply discuss a single group of animals or plants. However Kaplan has succeeded in producing a pocket book explaining the most diverse habitats on earth. He writes from a broad knowledge base covering many topics important to coral reef watchers or biologists. Frequently he injects wit and humor into what might have been a dry text. He manages to hit on most groups of animals and uses many types of illustrations to allow the reader to identify and sort out the great number and types of animals that they will see on any coral reef within the area discussed.

I am new to this book but have used quite a few field guides in my day. Now I can't wait to visit the reefs again, armed with my new education. ... Read more

Book Description

"Do Maine Coon cats have snowshoe feet?"
"What ever happened to rust-colored Coon cats?"
"Are Coon cats related to raccoons?"
"But really, what is a Maine Coon cat?"

With humor and wisdom, Marilis Hornidge has answered these and other oddly difficult questions in That Yankee Cat, the best reference guide to the first truly American breed--the Maine Coon cat. This newest revised edition includes up-to-date breeding facts, new stories, old legends, color photos, and other information essential to anyone who has fawned over a cat with ear tufts, a neck ruff, "britches," or a glorious banner-like tail. You'll also find an updated appendix listing a variety of additional resources about the Maine Coon, and a comprehensive manual of cat care helpful to any cat owner, no matter what breed they fancy. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

That Yankee Cat: The Maine Coon
A thorough definition of this spectacular breed, is brilliantly explained by this author. This book confirms for me, what I already believed. The Maine Coon breed is SMART SMART SMART (but not snobbish)!

More General Cat Info Than Maine Coom Info
A very fine book for generalized cat information and care, there is little specific about the Maine Coon that is not in any breed book. As a new Maine Coon breeder, I had hoped for in depth information on problems and care, grooming, birth, genetics, etc, specific to the breed.

That Yankee Cat
Once again Marilis Hornidge has created one of the best books ever written about the Maine Coon Cat. This newly updated edition has many interesting facts about this wonderful breed and dispels many of the myths. And, you'll soon understand why a true Yankee cares for his Maine Coon as carefully as he cares for his last dollar!

That Yankee Cat is an excellent choice for cat lovers of all ages.

Another EXCELLENT Edition!!
A fine book by a fine lady. This is a must have for any Maine Coon owner, breeder or fancier.

Robert Call
Catcall Maine Coons
Summerville, SC

The Cat with 'Boondocker' Paws
"That Yankee Cat" is 'the' complete reference guide to the Maine Coon cat, and well-written to boot. I also read "Maine Coon Cats" by Carol Himsel Daly, and "Guide to Owning a Maine Coon Cat" by Abigail Greene (et al) and "That Yankee Cat" is by far the most interesting and the most specific to the breed. The author, Marilis Hornidge even spends some print on the characteristics of Maine Coon owners (although, for some reason she leaves out the fact that we are all totally loveable):

"Maine Coon people, more than any other group in the fancy, seem to enjoy word games in naming organizations, catteries, and their cats."

In Chapter 5, "Tales of the Cat", Hornidge gives full rein to Maine Coon-related word play, although she doesn't explain why some owners chose the names they inflicted on these big, shaggy beauties, e.g. Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines, Absorbine Jr., Commodore Perry, and Surfer Dude. ...

Breed characteristics are discussed in terms of 'boondocker paws', 'Elizabethan ruff', 'rectangularness', "SMART, SMART, SMART (but not stuck up about it)", 'a dry sense of humor', and 'the Medium-sized Cat in the Large Fur Coat' - not quite CFA-standard language, but easy to visualize! The photographs in this book demonstrate the great variety of the breed, not just your typical big, brown tabby. There are pictures of red mackerel tabbies, cameo tabbies, and splotched tabbies, and even a Black Smoke and a 'tuxedo cat' or two. I only wish more of the photographs could have been in color. It's very difficult to distinguish a brown mackerel from a red mackerel in a black-and-white photograph.

The book also has clearly written sections on genetics and coat color, 'peaceful coexistence' (if you own any cat at all, you'll know what that means), grooming, and first-aid.

The author has even composed a sub-chapter called 'Pot Purry' which I will leave to your imagination.

And speaking of word games and Maine Coon owners, shouldn't a Maine Coon Cattery be called a 'Coonery'?

Read "That Yankee Cat" if you're even thinking about getting a kitten. Or not. It's a hundred-and-one pages of sheer delight for those of us who are actually lucky enough to be owned by one of these gentle, shaggy down-Easterners. ... Read more

Book Description

This important new work--the first of its kind--focuses on the distribution patterns of landscape elements or ecosystems; the flows of animals, plants, energy, mineral nutrients and water; and the ecological changes in the landscape over time. Includes over 1,200 references from current ecology, geography, forestry, and wildlife biologcy literature. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (7)

Great for novice or old timers
We have raised laying hens since the early 80's and have read and owned many a book on chickens, and this one is one of the best. It deals with everything from how to get started, equipment needs, controlling disease and managing ones flock. From egg stage and broody hens (those who sit on the nest and hatch eggs) to feed and water issues and housing and breeds. It is an all around fact book that I think any beginner chicken person should read. And I even learned some new things from the book as well.

ABC of Poultry Raising
The book is good for the beginers and also for reviewed by the amature poultry keepers.

Great Reference Material
A great book to use as a reference for the new poultry fancier. This book is a little outdated, but the basic principles are accurately discussed and presented in an easy to read formate. It is a good read and should be in any poultry fanciers library.

Did you say asbestos?
Informative, inexpensive book for the beginner, however, be aware that it was written in 1944, with the last revised edition printed in 1977, so there are some out of date suggestions like using asbestos tiles for your chicken coop. Other than that, the book is helpful, a quick read, and provides some plans for simple coops.

Best I've Found
Of the three volumes I purchased when starting my family chicken flock this has been by far the most useful. I highly recommend it for the beginning through intermediate chicken farmer! ... Read more

Book Description

An Abrams favorite, now available in a new, fun format!

When Yann Arthus-Bertrand's astonishing book of photographs of domestic livestock and their breeders first appeared in 1999, The New York Times Book Review hailed this remarkable treasure as "a curiously appealing blend of art with kitsch...drama tinged with comedy." Now this wonderfully whimsical book is being rereleased in a fun new format. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Marvelous photographs of magnificent animals!
Arthus-Bertrand displays the most amazing photographs of breeding quality livestock that I have ever seen. Anyone who appreciates animal husbandry, agronomy, or farm animals in general will love this book. The photographs of bulls are exceptional!

A compelling book of portraits -- animals and their keepers.
This is the only photography book I've ever purchased, simply because I couldn't put it down in the bookstore. Since buying the book, I've passed it around to several friends -- some who are familiar with livestock -- and some who are not. Makes no difference. It's impossible to look at this book without going through the whole thing, page by beautiful page. The animals look strangely like their owners (or is it the other way around?). Each portrait is stark and simple, drawing your eye to the relationship between animal and handler. Buy this book. You won't regret it. Outstanding gift! ... Read more

Amazon.com

When we depend less on industrially produced consumer goods, we can live in quiet places. Our bodies become vigorous; we discover the serenity of living with the rhythms of the earth. We cease oppressing one another.

Oppression hasn't quite disappeared in the 30 years since Alicia Bay Laurel wrote these words, but, thanks to the enduring legacy of the back-to-the-land movement and the possibilities of telecommuting alike, more and more people are living in the "quiet places" Laurel celebrates. Living on the Earth was a well-worn (and bestselling) bible for the urban hipsters who fled the city and took up such pursuits as organic farming and leather tanning in the early 1970s; its author, a musician and artist who now makes her home in Hawaii, made their acclimation to country life just a little bit easier with her user-friendly instructions on such matters as how to keep gophers from invading the veggie patch and how to get rid of those nasty lice that once served as the mascots of bohemian existence.

Lice or no, the countryside still has its undeniable charms. The reissue of Laurel's handwritten, simply illustrated manual will appeal to anyone contemplating a new life beyond the city--or merely seeking pointers on how to simplify daily life. Things have changed, of course, since Laurel first self-published her zeitgeist-drenched book in 1970. Where the original edition had seed-to-bud instructions for growing marijuana, the reissue now comes with a modest disclaimer in which Laurel admits to having lost her taste for the stuff decades ago--but it also comes with a ringing endorsement for the use of hemp fiber and paper as a planet-friendly measure of economy. Laurel also juxtaposes her folk remedies for common ailments with a friendly reminder to head to the doctor if the pain is really bad, the kind of advice once shunned by the proudly self-sufficient barefoot medics, manuals in hand. Still, though updated here and there, Living on the Earth retains its recipes for everything from making Moroccan djellabas to molding scented candles to delivering a baby in the privacy of one's tipi, all good things to know.

More than a blast from the past--although it certainly is that--Laurel's book is still highly useful. And it's just plain fun. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (6)

beautiful!
What an amazing book. I found it at a used book store a few years ago. The line drawings are beautiful,and the recipes and crafts on each page are easy to make. This book makes me want to go live in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere every time i read it! It's a definite YES for anyone who is into making their own "stuff".

my manual for living
i found this book as a young teenager up on a shelf. it was my mother's, left over from HER hippie days. i took up the reading as well as practicing of the book and have become a better person for it. this book should be read by all. it is so simple and yet beautiful and eloquent. i highly recommend it.

if first you read secondly
I was on my way into Toronto and my car over heated leaving me stranded for some time to look at secondhand bookstores, i started looking for the bell jar, they didnt have it so i went to the occult section i found a book called Being of the sun, by Alicia as well... very interesting, talking about appreciating foods, choowing your food, i bought it and found that it was a sequal, so the same day i headed to the store to get Living on the Earth,,,, i am sure that this is a great bible for the earth! a must read if interrested in bohemian life, wicca, or just hippy sensations,

Remembering a time this innocent.....
While the 60's are often represented as a time of turbulence and decadence, there are glimmerings of peaceful co-habitation that rise to the surface like cream on an old fashioned bottle of milk. "Living on the Earth" is one of the positive representations. This book is FULL of information; from ways of worship to dealing with your fellow man - and in an era when politics and religion are taboo subjects! I am deeply reminded of Henry David Thoreau's "Walden", with one exception. Philoshophy aside, Alicia Bay Laurel"s book puts it all into practice! For God's sake: somebody reprint this book!

This book was before it's time, could be very useful for Y2K
I read, and used, this book in the mid-70's. It contains very useful information about surviving without electricity,plumbing,or nearby medical treatment. It even tells youhow to make your own clothes, without a machine or pattern! I definately hope it gets reprinted- we may all really need it for the year 2000. And everyone thought hippies were freaks! They, too, were just ahead of their time! ... Read more

Book Description

When her thirty-year marriage broke up, Sue Hubbell found herself alone and broke on a small Ozarks farm. Keeping bees, she found solace in the natural world. She began to write, challenging herself to tell the absolute truth about her life and the things that she cared about. The result is one of the best-loved books ever written about life on the land, about a woman finding her way in middle age. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

An artistically-written first-hand account of a natural life
I found this book by accident after remembering her articles on bee-keeping in The New Yorker some years ago. What is startling about this writer is that she lives her very full life, and yet has managed to perfect the craft of writing to tell us all about that life. She has made me re-think my definition of art. While I have always seen art as communication (some may disagree with this), I have grown to be less impressed with people who are artists first and livers of life second. Sue Hubbell reminds us that you have to have something to communicate first and foremost. It's just wonderful that she has the ability to give us insight into something prosaic as beekeeping (others have written of the country life) and show us the magic that lives within.

A COUNTRY YEAR
This book was an inspiration to me before I moved to the Ozarks. The frankness in which Sue Hubbell writes is very much the way she is in real life. I have had the pleasure of meeting Sue since I lived in the same small town as she did. It saddens me that she has since moved away and her cabin has been torn down and the land reverted back to nature. A small piece of history has left the area and is hidden in the woods forever. I miss her and her lifestyle. As far as her voice being monotonous, I was thrilled to see the audio book on sale since she is such a good story teller. I will buy that selection for my own mother who moved to this area 10 years ago and is a real country woman.

A pleasant visit to the Ozarks
I am not sure what in my life is drawing me towards books about women and beekeeping, but here is another wonderful book about both.

Sue Hubbell has an easy style of writing that drew me through this book in just over a day. While she talks about her time as a commercial beekeeper, she also writes about the simple qualities and hard realities of living close to the land and close to poverty in rural Missouri. Her observant style brings back memories of my own small town upbringing. This is just the right book for curling up on a cold Winter day or lounging in the hammock trying to escape the heat of Summer.

A Country Year: Living the Questions
A poetic collection of prose about living in the Ozarks. The author manages to capture how it feels to live in such a magical place--makes one feel that this is still one of our national treasures--the book taps into the enjoyment of small things, of every day life, of some of the cultural nuances of the region, and of Nature's rhythms. The book is a real feel good read.

Bee Keeping is Much More Than I Thought
This book is one of the few I have a great appreciation for. Sue Hubbell has great patience in the process of making honey and watching the world around her. Her style seems easy going but really you learn she is always on the move.
Hubbell's story is a very easy, simple read but it is a very enjoyable experience. I now have taken an interest in bee keeping. Although I might never pick up the career, her story has me thinking about things that never crossed my mind before, even though I've been exposed to it. Her description makes anything transform to something beautiful. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Ants are monsters..
Hundreds of analytical pictures of ants. Perfect reference for texture and form. All electron microscope imagry, very clear b\w.. If you know of comparable refrence material on anything let me know!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being. In it, Hrdy reveals the motivations behind some of our most primal and hotly contested behavioral patterns--those concerning gender roles, mate choice, sex, reproduction, and parenting--and the ideas and institutions that have grown up around them. She unblinkingly examines and illuminates such difficult subjects as control of reproductive rights, infanticide, "mother love," and maternal ambition with its ever-contested companions: child care and the limits of maternal responsibility. Without ever denying personal accountability, she points out that many of the patterns of abuse and neglect that we see in cultures around the world (including, of course, our own) are neither unpredictable nor maladaptive in evolutionary terms. "Mother" Nature, as she points out, is not particularly concerned with what we call "morality." The philosophical and political implications of our own deeply-rooted behaviors are for us to determine--which can be done all the better with the kind of understanding gleaned from this exhaustive work.

Hrdy's passion for this material is evident, and she is deeply aware of the personal stake she has here as a woman, a mother, and a professional. This highly accomplished author relies on her own extensive research background as well as the works of others in multiple disciplines (anthropology, primatology, sociobiology, psychology, and even literature). Despite the exhaustive documentation given to her conclusions (as witness the 140-plus-page notes and bibliography sections), the book unfolds in an exceptionally lucid, readable, and often humorous manner. It is a truly compelling read, highly recommended. --Katherine Ferguson ... Read more

Reviews (32)

A Mother's Day Book for Thinking Moms
This is a wonderfully written book about the nature of the maternal investment in offspring (in humans). Hrdy extends the concept of sexual selection into the realm of parenting and that is an extremely powerful and brilliant insight. Most books about mate choice end with pregnancy. This book doesn't because that is not the end for females. This particular insight is one that I think only a woman could have--let's have more women working in this field!. Any evolutionary psychology or biology that proceeds from here will have to consider Hrdy's contribution!

This book is also a bit of a shock--it explores how moms ruthlessly cut their losses and why--not a pretty story at all. I was especially undone by Hrdy's account of all the "Espositos" in Italy. The number of children left in foundling hospitals throughout is staggering. It's even worse than the 46K plus in Florida's foster care system in 2002 (with 1000+ missing!).

Hrdy also explores connections between the erotic and the maternal, something that will no doubt freak some people out. But she does this with a cool scientists gaze and a warm human voice. She seems very generous toward readers and their potential discomfort with the more startling phemomena she wants to account for.

Hrdy is a primalogist and a mom. The book is not entirely distrubing--it also accounts for intense feelings of love moms have for their children.

I was also excited to read in her book about Darwin's French translator, Clemance Royer! This book will delight anyone interested in women's intellectual history, parenting, evolutionary biology, or primatology.
Thank You Dr.Hrdy!

I have been recommending this book to everyone
As a wildlife biologist by training, I have often been leery of sociobiologists and the analogies they draw between human behavior and that of, say, ducks. With this in mind, I devoured this book until I had to return it to the library. I then haunted the library until it had gone through all 13 holds before I could get it back, several months later. Sarah Blaffer Hrdy takes a cross-cultural, historical and biological look at human and primate mothers. She makes it very clear that humans have used many, many ways to solve problems of childcare and the conflicts for resources between mothers and their infants and other older children. She uses other primate species not as proof of human ways so much as to re-evaluate and reflect on those human ways. She is a biologist, and she is very clear about not confusing what some primates do as proof for what humans do, whether closely or distantly related. "Mother Nature" gave me great insight into my relationship with my mother, my two younger brothers, my male partner, and my decision to delay reproduction. I enjoy my designation as an "allo-mother" (someone other than the mother who helps with childcare), and am pleased to learn that the level of protectiveness that I feel for the girls and young women in my Girl Scout troops have been biologically based: those who care for children, beyond the birth mothers, will have elevated levels of the hormone prolactin. I find it fascinating that my enjoyment of environmental education has a biological base!

This book also elevated my concern for the girls I work with who are teens, coming from teen mothers (who also came from teen mothers), who seem to be fast careening towards motherhood without the resources and the patience that are critical to successful rearing of children. I liked her discussion of how girls change from pre-adolescence to adolesence in foraging societies: The pre-adolescents are the girls who are more interested in learning childcare, as opposed to the adolescents, who are more interested in dating. Anecdotally, I would confirm this! In foraging societies, girls do not gain enough fat until their late adolescence to their early twenties, and thus they do not reproduce as early as their well-fed American counterparts. For me, this is all the more reason to take measures to mentor kids, so that they have children when they will it and are ready, rather than simply because they may be biologically capable of it.

A must read for any evolutionary psychologist
So many great little factoids. My favorite topics include family planning (abortion, infanticide), maternal bonding, the adaptiveness of menopause, females in social structure, and lots of other tidbits I wish more authors would cover. The most fascinating thing is that these topics come up in the animal kingdom, not just with us.

Only complaint might be that it's a dense read, and doesn't have a nice "backdrop" to organize it like Robert Wright's books (which I highly recommend). For this reason, you might need to read it twice to get everything. The facts themselves are tremendous, however. This book illustrates many more complexities about females that her male contemporaries might gloss over. Hrdy offers balance to anyone who's read other books on the same topic -- albeit great ones -- by male authors. (Come on, they can't help it.)

One more interesting thing that Hrdy adds is that science in her field is limited because neither feminists nor conservatives want to explore the evolutionary basis of womanhood. For conservatives, they know they are baby machines. For feminists, all that matters is that women are now free. Hrdy takes issue with both camps.

Evolution from a female viewpoint
This is a fascinating look at evolution with particular reference to the female of the species. Packed with fascinating information about female behaviour through the ages. Descriptions of life among hunter-gatherer groups are particularly interesting. Subjects like infanticide, wetnursing, abandonment of infants, etc are gone into in great detail. I learnt a lot from this book. I particularly enjoyed the splendidly bloodthirsty lullabye from the Napoleonic era printed at the end of this book, my children love it. One small complaint, at one point in this book Ms. Hrdy compares housewives to laboratory rats. Now, I am used to the abuse routinely heaped on housewives, but this is really going a little too far. The big difference between a laboratory rat and a housewife is that I, a housewife, can leave my house any time I like (maybe it's different in America, perhaps housewives are kept locked up there, I don't know), and I frequently do. i have alot more freedom of movement than I would if I were, say, stuck in an office all day long. I quite accept Ms. Hardy' point that children do not have to be cared for full-time by their mothers, but it would be nice if she could refrain from abusing those of us who actually enjoy being full-time carers.

An Honest Search For Truth
Biology has an agenda. Squirrels, whales, and crickets do not have our language facility, thus they do not have self-help books, preachers, or legions of well-meaning advisors. Yet they are born with the genetically provided rules (feelings) that allow them to be successful squirrels, wonderful whales, and competent crickets. We too have genetically provided rules, which sociobiologists and such are trying to discover. This wonderful book is the author's attempt to explain some of the conditions of motherhood, the relations between mothers and babies, and sometimes tough choices mothers have to make. This work is, in my opinion, magnificent.

NOTE TO REVIEWERS: If one starts off a review with phrases like "goofy liberal", "ranting conservative", or "clueless libertarian", readers like me read no further. Plus my estimation of the reviewer's intelligence is halved. ... Read more

Book Description

Picking up where typical field guides leave off, this handy reference takes an ecological approach, providing complete descriptions of 85 plants found in fields, open meadows, and along roadsides--from Ailanthus to Yucca--as well as wildlife communities associated with them. Written in an engaging manner, this book helps readers identify dry-land plants, discusses what other organisms, plant and animal, might be found in the same area, and explains why. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A good observer of nature, walking, say, in an oak forest, may discern that some of the acorns on which he or she is treading are broken into little bits. After reading wildlife interpreter and photographer Paul Rezendes's guidebook to animal signs, that same observer will be able to tell which of those acorns have been split by human footsteps and deer hooves and which have been gnawed apart by squirrels--and by what species of squirrel. A wonderfully thorough, well-illustrated compendium, Rezendes's text covers a wide range of North American animal species, including rodents, hoofed animals, bears, raccoons, opossums, and members of the weasel, rabbit, dog, and cat families. He describes not only the signs these animals leave but also their ways of life throughout the year, and with an appropriately environmentalist purpose. "Ultimately," Rezendes writes, "tracking an animal makes us sensitive to it--a bond is formed, an intimacy develops. We begin to realize that what is happening to the animals and to the planet is actually happening to us." He's right, of course, but one need not take such a macrocosmic view of nature to take pleasure in, and learn from, this fine book. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Best tracking book
Detailed accounts of wildlife encounters. Personal stories put you in the shoes of the tracker. Great pictures and examples of animals and their tracks. Easy to read, loaded with information. A must have for field work.

Excellent introduction
This book provides an excellent introduction to reading animal tracks. In the first chapter the author explains why we should try to understand the tracks around us in the forest, and what we might see. He then delves into the kinds of observations we need to make, such as trail widths and trail patterns and scat. The rest of the book is divided into chapters by animal family, including chapters for rodents, rabbits, weasels, dogs, cats, bears, and hoofed animals. There is also an extensive bibliography and index.

Each chapter is comprised of short articles about the specifics of tracking the individual animals that make up the family covered in the chapter. Rezendes provides a short informative description of the animal with a color photograph. The descriptions cover behavior, range, and diet. Rezendes also includes black and white photos of the animal's feet, both front and back. The next section of the article covers tracks and trail patterns, and it includes illustrations or diagrams, photographs, and typical trail width and stride measurements, as well as a lot of information to help you sort out this critter's tracks from all the others out there. He also includes short sections on signs, such as dens, food caches, kill sites, and scat, also with photographs or illustrations.

I purchased this book after moving out into the country because I wanted to identify the critters that visited at night leaving their tracks in the snow around our house. I found Rezendes' approach captivating and easy to understand, even as a beginner. Rezendes explains how tracks can tell us much more than just the identity of an animal- -through a careful study of tracks, you can determine how fast the animal was moving, whether it was browsing, being chased, or chasing another. This book is a highly informative reference; it's also a delightful read on a blustery winter afternoon.

Best Tracking Book to Be Found
This is a truly magnificent tracking book. The book has no pseudo-spiritual dribble about tracking ants across rocks or pressure points; it is full of useful information, and it is clear that the author is as genuine of an expert naturalist as they get. He shares an incredible wealth of information on how to examine and analyze the wilderness from a microcosmic level. The photography is outstanding and the descriptions of animal signs are excellent. Being a survival instructor, I have read many fine books on tracking animals and observing their signs, but I have never read one that I learned more from than this one.

My First Choice
I do a lot of tracking, both animal and human. I have read most books on the subject in print. This book is excellent for the beginner and expert and focuses on animal tracking. Rezendez helps the tracker learn both the animals track characteristics and its living habits. If I had to recommend only one book on tracking, this would be it, hands down.

To the Korean Reader
I know the lacking of the tracking guide about Asia-region's Mammals.
This book is written for the NorthAmerican Mammals.
So, there is no information about our Asia-specific mammals.-for example,Tiger.-. A few animals is like asian species.
But, We can use this book for the same Genus Animals on our region to the American species. And if you like the world-wide Mammals, this book is recommanded very very strongly.

Genus in this book :

Peomyscus sp.;Zapus sp.;Napaeozapus sp.;Tamias sp.;Tamiasciurus sp.;Sciurus sp.;Glaucomys sp.;Marmota sp.;Erethizon sp.;Ondatra sp.;Castor sp.;Sylvilagus sp.;Lepus sp.;Mustela sp.;Martes sp.;Lutra sp.;Gulo sp.;Mephitis sp.;Spilogale sp.;Didelphis sp.
;Procyon sp.;Vulpes sp.;Urocyon sp.;Canis sp.;Felis sp.;Ursus sp.;Odocoileus sp.;Ovis sp.;Rangifer sp.;Cervus sp.;Alces sp;Bison sp.; ... Read more

Book Description

Over 2 million square miles of the United States is covered in prairie and is the largest ecosystem on the continent; the prairies are the heartland of the continent, a vast, windswept plain that flows from Alberta south to Texas and from the Rockies east to the Mississippi River. This is big sky country, and until recently, one of the richest and most magnificent natural grasslands in the world. Today, however, the North American prairies are among the most altered environments on Earth. Thorough, detailed, and scientifically up-to-date, Prairie: A Natural History provides a comprehensive nontechnical guide to the biology and ecology of this fabled environment, offering a view of the past, a vision for the future, and a clear focus on the present. Sidebars throughout highlight various grasslands species, tell fascinating natural history and conservation stories, and present the traditional Native view of the prairie and its inhabitants. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spring, California's rolling hills, green valleys, and coastal slopes are colored with wildflowers treasured by both residents and visitors to the state. First published more than forty years ago, this popular guidebook has helped thousands of amateur and intermediate wildflower enthusiasts learn the names of the flowers located in some of the state's loveliest and most accessible areas--from below the yellow pine belt in the Sierra Nevada westward to the coast. Thoroughly revised and updated throughout, it is now easier to use and more accurate--the perfect guide to take along on outdoor excursions in California and surrounding regions.

* Includes 244 new color photographs and 102 detailed drawings

* Now describes more than 400 wildflowers emphasizing the species most likely to be encountered in the state today

* Plant descriptions now include more detail, helpful identifying tips, and locales where flowers are likely to be seen ... Read more

Book Description

The American horseshoe crab that comes ashore on the East Coast in vast numbers to mate and nest is much the same creature that haunted the coast before the time of the dinosaurs. It is among the world's most intensely studied marine invertebrates, critical to our understanding of many groups of organisms, both modern and extinct, and crucial to the ecology of large estuaries such as the Delaware Bay. Some stocks of this great survivor, whose ancestors made it through the mass extinction some 286 million years ago, have been severely depleted today because of overfishing and habitat destruction.

Carl N. Shuster, Jr., H. Jane Brockmann, and Robert B. Barlow are at the forefront of research on Limulus polyphemus, and in this book they bring together twenty scientists who have worked on all aspects of horseshoe crab biology to compile the first fully detailed, comprehensive view of the species. An indispensable resource, the volume describes the horseshoe crab's behavior, natural history, and ecology; its anatomy, physiology, distribution, development, and life cycle; the puzzle of its immune system; and its present management and future conservation.

Book Description

In 1845 Henry David Thoreau left his pencil-manufacturing business and began building a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. This lyrical yet practical-minded book is at once a record of the 26 months Thoreau spent in withdrawal from society -- an account of the daily minutiae of building, planting, hunting, cooking, and, always, observing nature -- and a declaration of independence from the oppressive mores of the world he left behind. Elegant, witty, and quietly searching, Walden remains the most persuasive American argument for simplicity of life clarity of conscience.

For the first time, the authoritative editions of works by major American novelists, poets, scholars, and essayists collected in the hardcover volumes of The Library of America are being published singly in a series of handsome paperback books. A distinguished writer has contributed an introduction for each volume, which also includes a chronology of the author's life and career, an essay on the text, and notes.


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more