Human Geography Books - Page 12

Born Fi' Dead: A Journey Through the Jamaican Posse Underworld

Laurie Gunst

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

the naked truth 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Miss gunst is to be commended. This is a book that no Jamaican had the gutz to write. Mr. Seaga is indeed one of (by no means the only) the worst tragedies in Jamaica's history. He is evidence that mental slavery, of which Marcus Garvey speaks, is still rampant among negroes in this country. Apart from bulldozing squatters and replacing them with his serfs, arming them with the help of the CIA, creating the Shower Posse the most notorious drug gang, and selling out Jamaica to white capitalists by trying to turn it into an offshore sweatshop factory, what has this Lebanese done for black people in this country? Burning Spear was right, Marcus Garvey words really come to pass.

Editorial Review:

Of the ethnic gangs that rule America’s inner cities, none has had the impact of the Jamaican posses. Spawned in the ghettos of Kingston as mercenary street-fighters for the island’s politicians, the posses began migrating to the United States in the early 1980s, just in time to catch and ride the crack wave as it engulfed the country. Feared and honored for being “harder than the rest,” they would lay claim to their new American territory with outlaw bravura, and the raw dancehall music born of their world would define “gangsta” culture for a generation of angry sufferers in Jamaica, American, and England. Laurie Gunst spent a decade moving with the possemen, and Born Fi’ Dead is her unique account of this netherworld, the first to bring to life Jamaica’s international gangs.

Migrations And Cultures: A World View

Thomas Sowell

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Thoughtful, Persuasive Examination of Migrants Across the Globe 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Distinguished Stanford University economist Thomas Sowell's "Migrations and Cultures: A World View" is the most thoughtful, articulate examination of immigration across the globe which I've encountered (Though, I might add, that I am not surprised that this book is truly exceptional, given Sowell's keen interest in - and superb scholarship on - this very subject, which I came across for the first time years ago in his earlier book "Ethnic America: A History".). Sowell traces the immigration histories of six Eurasian peoples: Germans, Japanese, Italians, Chinese, Jews and Indians (from the Indian subcontinent, NOT the Americas). He contends that the relative success of these peoples as migrants owes more to their cultural capital (the set of beliefs and practices taken from their ancestral homelands) than to the economic capital of their new countries. It is a compelling argument which he demonstrates repeatedly, tracing the migration patterns of each of these peoples across the globe. Furthermore, it is an argument which is well-reasoned, fully supported by ample data, noting for example, the degree to which Indian migrants from different parts of India have been able to accrue wealth for themselves and their descendants in far-flung regions such as East Africa, Caribbean islands, and the United States (For example, he observes that Guajaratis, migrants from the Indian state of Guajarat, are far more likely to become successful entrepreneurs than those from other Indian states, since Guajarat has had a long history of successful entrepreneurship; in a similar vein, he compares and contrasts the relative economic fortunes of Western European Jews with those from Eastern Europe, noting that the former were more likely to become successful, due to a much stronger entrepreneurial tradition in Western Europe.).

I believe "Migrants and Cultures: A World View" should be read here in the United States by a wide readership, since Sowell's arguments deserve to be considered seriously in the ongoing debate over illegal immigration. Furthermore, much to his credit, Sowell suceeds in presenting an objective view of immigration, especially here in the United States, in which he notes that the relative cultural capital of emigrant peoples has had a more important influence on their relative success than our liberal, fairly progressive laws on economic and personal freedom. Sowell concludes his book with an intriguing observation on the effectiveness of educating foreign-born "sojourners" here in the United States and other Western democracies in the hope that they would return to their home countries with our knowledge, skills and attitudes on economic and political freedom; he contends that the rise of what he regards as managerial and technological capital via multinational corporations, has lessened the need for human capital transfers via "sojourners" (Written just as the internet was rapidly emerging, I suspect that Sowell in an updated edition of this book, might make a more persuasive argument by citing the successful existence of the internet.). If my interpretation of Sowell's closing arguments is correct, then I predict that he would not share such an optimistic view of contemporary and future American immigration presented in journalist Michele Wucker's recently published book "Lockout: Why America Keeps Getting Immigration Wrong When Our Prosperity Depends on Getting It Right".

Editorial Review:

Most commentators look at the issue of immigration from the viewpoint of immediate politics. In doing so, they focus on only a piece of the issue and lose touch with the larger picture. Now Thomas Sowell offers a sweeping historical and global look at a large number of migrations over a long period of time.Migrations and Cultures: shows the persistence of cultural traits, in particular racial and ethnic groups, and the role these groups’ relocations play in redistributing skills, knowledge, and other forms of “human capital.” answers the question: What are the effects of disseminating the patterns of the particular set of skills, attitudes, and lifestyles each ethnic group has carried forth—both for the immigrants and for the host countries, in social as well as economic terms?

Space, Place, and Gender

Doreen Massey

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Key Thinkers on Space and Place

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

`It is a safe bet that Key Thinkers will emerge as something of a 'hit' within the undergraduate community and will rise to prominance as a 'must buy'

-Environment and Planning

`Key Thinkers on Space and Place is an engagingly written, well-researched and very accessible book. It will surely prove an invaluable tool for students, whom I would strongly encourage to purchase this edited collection as one of the best guides to recent geographical thought'

-Claudio Minca, University of Newcastle

`Key Thinkers is the best encyclopedic tool for human geographers since the Dictionary of Human Geography. It takes into its orbit discussions of the lives and work of the last three decades' major thinkers on space and place. It is hugely useful for students who want an easy way to access the roots of where some major themes and debates in contemporary geography. It is organized so that each chapter details the scholar's biography, their contribution to spatial and place-based theory and the controversies that arise through their work'

- Stuart Aitken, San Diego State University

Key Thinkers on Space and Place is a comprehensive guide to the latest work on space. Each entry is a short interpretative essay of 2,500 words, outlining the contributions made by the key theorists, and comprises:

· a concise biography, indicating disciplinary background, career trajectory and collaboration with others

· an outline of the key theoretical, conceptual and methodological ideas each has introduced to human geography

· an explanation of the reaction to, and uptake of, how these ideas has changed and evolved over time

· an explanation of how these theories have been used and critiqued by human geographers

· a selective bibliography of each thinker's key publications (and key secondary publications)

The text is introduced by a contextual essay which outlines in general terms the shifting ways in which space and place have been theorised and which explains how Key Thinkers on Space and Place can be used. A glossary that defines key traditions, with cross-links to key theorists and a timeline of key article/book publication date is also included.

Topophilia: A Study of Environmental Perceptions, Attitudes, and Values

Yi-Fu Tuan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The seeds of Tuan's "humanistic geography" 4 out of 5 stars.
25 of 25 people found this review helpful.

After reading Yi-Fu Tuan's "Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience," delving into "Topophilia" is a bit like stepping backward in the philosopher's evolution of thought. There are astounding passages of wisdom here, about the nature of human experience as it relates to the environment -- interspersed, sometimes jarringly, with related histories and descriptions. The seeds of Tuan's "humanistic geography" are here, but are not as philosophically compelling as the mature synthesis found in "Space and Place."

It would be a mistake, however, to view Tuan's more mature work as superceding this volume. "Topophilia" is full of amazing sensitivity and insight, and key to gaining a deep and useful understanding of the author's philosophy. This book's emphasis on the conventional 'environment' is also significantly different from the broader notions 'space and place' explored in the later work of that name. Both works are seminal.

To the philosopher, artist, and psychologist, I would recommend reading "Space and Place" before this book. To the geographer and especially the environmentalist, however, Topophilia's particular focus may be a more enticing place to start.

Editorial Review:

What are the links between environment and world view? Topophilia, the affective bond between people and place, is the primary theme of this book that examines environmental perceptions and values at different levels: the species, the group, and the individual.

Yi-Fu Tuan holds culture and environment and topophilia and environment as distinct in order to show how they mutually contribute to the formation of values. Topophilia examines the search for environment in the city, suburb, countryside, and wilderness from a dialectical perspective, distinguishes different types of environmental experience, and describes their character.

Gentrification

Loretta Lees, Tom Slater, Elvin Wyly

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Editorial Review:

This first textbook on the topic of gentrification is written for upper-level undergraduates in geography, sociology, and planning. The gentrification of urban areas has accelerated across the globe to become a central engine of urban development, and it is a topic that has attracted a great deal of interest in both academia and the popular press. Gentrification presents major theoretical ideas and concepts with case studies, and summaries of the ideas in the book as well as offering ideas for future research.

Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World

Lester Rowntree, Martin Lewis, Marie Price, William Wyckoff

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Globalization and Diversity is an exciting contemporary approach to World Regional Geography that explicitly acknowledges the geographic changes that accompany today's rapid rate of globalization. Organizes each regional chapter into five thematic sections: Environmental Geography; Population and Settlement; Cultural Coherence and Diversity; Geopolitical Framework; Economic and Social Development. Features approximately 15 standardized maps in each regional chapter, including a chapter-opening map with countries and place names; a physical map, showing landforms hydrology, and tectonic boundaries; a climate map, with climograph call-outs giving temperature and precipitation data for specific cities; a "transformation of the Earth" map with call-outs to environmental issues and solutions within the region; a population map for the region; a map of regional languages; a geopolitical map with call-outs to current issues and tensions. For anyone interested in learning more about world geography.

The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life: Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live

Nell Newman, Joseph D'Agnese

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It’s fairly obvious that one can’t be a ‘perfect’ environmentalist. But that’s okay. Perfection isn’t the goal. A good life is. And a good life has as much to do with your intent as with the end result.” —from the Introduction

The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life is the essential book for those of us who can’t live in an organic hemp tepee but do care about our quality of life, global warming, clean water, and disappearing resources.

Nell Newman shows you how to do what is within easy reach. Along with realistic, practical advice, she shows how and why living a more environmentally conscious life benefits you and your immediate surroundings. In addition to recycling and reusing, the book covers consumer-related steps such as

• how buying and eating organic food supports small farms (and tastes better, too)
• how you can buy clean power through your regular power company
• which long-distance telephone companies offer competitive pricing and service while returning a portion of their profits to environmental and educational organizations
• where to buy everything—from pots and pans to pet food—so that you can “vote with your dollar” and feel good about your purchases

Packed with profiles of fascinating—and sometimes zany—people and a heavy dose of sanity, this book is organized according to the way you really live, making it easy to identify what areas of change are viable for you. A resource directory of publications, retailers, groups, and associations is included in the back of the book.

Consider a Spherical Cow: A Course in Environmental Problem Solving

John Harte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Everybody should read this book 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This book provides an excellent viewpoint on physical problem solving by "thinking outside the box". I provides great approach to setting up all types of physical problems. I found the book very useful to all types of science. You don't have to be an environmental scientist to benefit from this text. The example problems are very good and the examples stand out in my memory for a long time -- very helpful for future challenges.

Great 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book does an excellent job of teaching quantitative thinking skills and posing interesting problems. Also, it has a terrific appendix with all sorts of interesting data related to biogeochemistry.

Editorial Review:

"This book should be read and used by all students of environmental studies, and should be an important acquisition for any research, teaching, or general academic library." Choice

Geography and Vision: Seeing, Imagining and Representing the World (International Library of Human Geography)

Denis Cosgrove

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Editorial Review:

Geography and Vision is a series of personal reflections by leading cultural geographer, Denis Cosgrove, on the complex connections between seeing, imagining and representing the world geographically.  Ranging historically from the sixteenth century to the present day, the essays include reflections upon discovery and the role of imagination in giving it meaning; colonisation and sixteenth century gardening; the shaping of American landscapes; wilderness, imperial mappings and masculinity; urban cartography and utopian visions; conceptions of the Pacific; the cartography of John Ruskin; and the imaginative grip of the Equator. Extensively illustrated, this engaging work reveals the richness and complexity of the geographical imagination as expressed over the past five centuries.