Lakes & Ponds Books

Walden: 150th Anniversary Illustrated Edition of the American Classic

Henry David Thoreau, Scot Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Revisiting Walden 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

On a family vacation many years ago, I visited Walden Pond and walked all around it. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Thoreau's Walden, the Walden Woods Project published, in 2004, this illustrated edition of the work with stunning color photographs by Scott Miller of Walden Pond and its environs. The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Walden Pond and to the legacy of Thoreau. I found this book a fitting memorial of my walk around Walden Pond and of my earlier readings of Walden. The lovely edition, photographs, and memories inspired me to turn again to Thoreau's book.

Henry David Thoreau (1817 -- 1862) lived at Walden Pond, Masachusetts from July, 1845 -- September, 1847, in a cabin he built himself on a tract of land owned by his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He was two miles from Concord, Massachusetts and one mile from his nearest neighbor. A railroad passed near the pond, and it was frequented regularly by farmers, hunters, picnickers, and others. During the two years, Thoreau left Walden Pond at times to visit friends in Concord, to lecture, and to visit other ponds and sites in the area. He made no pretense of being entirely isolated. In his book, Walden, published in 1854, Thoreau described the first year of his life at Walden Pond (he tells us that the second year was much the same) and his reasons for living there. Much of the book was written at Walden Pond, and Throreau also wrote other works there.

The book is short but it is written in a dense, difficult and condensed style with many long, complex sentences. It is also highly allusive and shows Thoreau's learning in classical literature and his interest in Eastern thought and religion. It is filled with many short, pithy, and provocative comments which have become proverbial in American literature.

In the opening and closing chapters of the book, Thoreau describes his motivations for living at Walden Pond and abandoning the life of commerce. For Thoreau, most people are owned by their possessions. He saw a need to live with little encubrance in order to understand himself and find inner peace. "Simplify, simplify, simplify" was his goal. In one of my favorite sentences of the book, he states (p. 67) "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Then, towards the end of the book, Thoreau recounts some of the lessons he had learned in the following passage:

"We should be blessed if we lived in the present always, and took advantage of every accident that befell us, like the grass which confesses the influence of the slightest dew that falls on it, and did not spend our time in atoning for the neglect of past opportunities, which we call doing our duty. We loiter in winter while it is already spring."(p/253)

In the middle sections of the book, Throreau describes his life in the woods, again with recognition of his substantial interactions with other people during the time. (He was not a hermit.) He describes the books he read, his activites at his cabin, Walden Pond and woods, the changes of the seasons, and the plants and animals. The pond and its creatures are described with great detail, but Thoreau gives even more attention to internalizing his experiences and explaining their significance to his readers.

Scott Miller's beatiful photographs of Walden Pond add a great deal to this edition. They are well-placed to correspond with the discussion in the text, and they illuminate Thoreau's descriptive passages. The photographs, and the book itself, brought back reading and visiting memories and made me want to see Walden Pond again.

But much as Walden is revered for its descriptions of nature, the book remains for me primarily internalized and intropsective. Thoreau has many polemical things to say which will not, and should not, appeal to all readers. But the book documents the effort of an individual to try to understand his life, to reflect, and to understand change. As I have suggested, it is not an anti-social book as Thoreau was never far removed from friends and company. But it is a book about understanding one's life and learning not to be afraid of solitude or of being with oneself.

Robin Friedman

Editorial Review:

In August 1854, Houghton Mifflin"s predecessor, Ticknor & Fields, published a book called Walden; or, Life in the Woods, by a little-known writer named Henry Thoreau. At the time the book was largely ignored, but it has gone on to become one of the most widely read and influential works ever published, not only in this country but throughout the world. In August 2004 Houghton Mifflin, in association with the Walden Woods Project, will proudly publish a special 150th anniversary edition, beautifully illustrated with Scot Miller's spectacular color photographs, which are accompanied by historic black-and-white photographs and drawings. In the spirit of Thoreau, the book will be sensibly priced at $28.12, half a cent less than he spent building his cabin at Walden Pond.

Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay

William W. Warner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beautiful Swimmers- A beautiful gem of a book. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Very well written. A medley of history, biology,vanishing resources and lifestyles. Seen through the eyes of the scientist author and through the eyes of the watermen of the Bay, it is always interesting, never dull.
A topic as relevant then as it is today.

Beautiful Swimmers 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you are interested in the Chesepeake Bay and life of the waterman this is a great read. It tells a lot about the life cycle of the blue crab and the oyster industry. Also tells a pretty good account of the history of the Maryland and Virginia seafood industry. It sadly tells of the development of the area and the life style changes. Having grown up in this environment it easy to see the author spent many years researching the area to give and accurate account. Those living in the area consider it a classic.

Wonderful book for anyone who has ever been crabbing 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I found this book fascinating. I have been driving down Route 13 through Delaware, Maryland and Virginia on our way to Nags Head NC for the past 10 years, and this book makes me want to visit Crisfield as soon as I see the sign. We are headed to Nags Head again for vacation in less than two weeks. I did not find this book technical at all. Also, the fact that it was written over 30 years ago should not deter you from reading it. It is timeless. In fact, this book makes you want to do more research on how the environmental aspects of the Chesapeake Bay have changed since this book's publishing. If you have ever eaten a crab (or caught one), you will not be disappointed.

The Marine Biology Coloring Book

Thomas M. Niesen

List Price: $20.00 By: HarperResource Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Enter the delicate, complex world of underwater life through extraordinarily detailed, hand-drawn illustrations and newly updated text. The Marine Biology Coloring Book will serve as an excellent resource and guide.

• The process of coloring will focus your attention and leave a visual imprint on your memory.

• Details on the natural coloration of the plants and animals illustrated will help you create an accurate picture of the ocean world.

• The text provides a clear introduction to major marine environments as well as an examination of the lifestyles and interactions of the organisms that inhabit them.

• This expanded edition offers vital information on ocean currents and global weather, including an explanation of El Nino, the deep-sea realm, and the newest deep-sea diving research vessels.

Enjoy the process of creating your own beautiful, full-color reference while you explore a fascinating hidden world. Both the serious student of marine biology and the weekend beachcomber will gain a better understanding of ocean life by coloring The Marine Biology Coloring Book.

The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas

Jerry Dennis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If fresh water is to be treasured, the Great Lakes are the mother lode. No bodies of water can compare to them. One of them, Superior, is the largest lake on earth, and the five lakes together contain a fifth of the world's supply of standing fresh water. Their ten thousand miles of shoreline bound seven states and a Canadian province and are longer than the entire Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. Their surface area of 95,000 square miles is greater than New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island combined. People who have never visited them -- who have never seen a squall roar across Superior or the horizon stretch unbroken across Michigan or Huron -- have no idea how big they are. They are so vast that they dominate much of the geography, climate, and history of North America. In one way or another, they affect the lives of tens of millions of people.

The Living Great Lakes is the most complete book ever written about the history, nature, and science of these remarkable lakes at the heart of North America. From the geological forces that formed them to the industrial atrocities that nearly destroyed them, to the greatest environmental success stories of our time, the lakes are portrayed in all their complexity. The book, however, is much more than just history. It is also the story of the lakes as told by biologists, fishermen, sailors, and others whom the author grew to know while traveling with them on boats and hiking with them on beaches and islands.

The book is also the story of a personal journey. It is the narrative of a six-week voyage through the lakes and beyond as a crewmember on a tallmasted schooner, and a memoir of a lifetime spent on and near the lakes. Through storms and fog, on remote shores and city waterfronts, the author explores the five Great Lakes in all seasons and moods and discovers that they and their connecting waters -- including the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, and the East Coast from New York to Maine -- offer a surprising and bountiful view of America. The result is a meditation on nature and our place in the world, a discussion and cautionary tale about the future of water resources, and a celebration of a place that is both fragile and robust, diverse, rich in history and wildlife, often misunderstood, and worthy of our attention.

Pond Life: Revised and Updated (A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press)

George K. Reid

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Loved this book so much 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I used to rent this book so much from the parochial school library that the nuns used to scold me for not sharing it to others. It is a great book for the budding natualist or the field explorer. The insights into pond evoloutions are great in explainations. The pictures are very accurate for the plants and animals represented. The insect close ups are the best. This book helped me to build a lifelong fascination into pond ecology and invertebrates.

Great price, handy size 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Price and size are what makes this guide so great. It provides a good overview of pond life - flora and fauna - in a very portable format.

The small size, however, means that the illustrations are not as large or detailed as we would prefer. It also limits the amount of specific information that can be included. We recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest and have found region-specific books (particularly from Lone Pine Publishers) to be superb.

I recommend this as a great resource at a very good price.

Editorial Review:

This guide describes and illustrates, in full color, the plants and animals that live in or near ponds, lakes, streams, and wetlands. It includes surface-dwelling creatures as well as those of open water, the bottom, and the shore and tells how various animals and plants live together in a community. Plus suggestions for:Where and when to lookObserving and collecting specimensMaking exciting discoveries

The Great Lakes Water Wars

Peter Annin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Lakes Water Wars is an excellent read 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I started out to skim Peter Annin's book, determine what to say, and decide how to write a requested review. I had no trouble becoming completely engrossed at the start of the Author's Note and Prologue, and read the whole thing. Cover to cover. I do not need to abridge all its contents in great detail, nor could I begin to accomplish that task as eloquently, chronologically, and thoroughly as does the author anyway. What's more, the stories presented are fascinating and rapidly ensnare the reader. It will be of value to active professionals, students, politicians, NGO participants, and elected officials as well as to residents of the Great Lakes Basin, and to those who think they can tap into its abundant waters. What's more, it is informative and fun to read.

Editorial Review:

The Great Lakes are the largest collection of fresh surface water on earth, and more than 40 million Americans and Canadians live in their basin. Will we divert water from the Great Lakes, causing them to end up like Central Asia's Aral Sea, which has lost 90 percent of its surface area and 75 percent of its volume since 1960? Or will we come to see that unregulated water withdrawals are ultimately catastrophic?



Peter Annin writes a fast-paced account of the people and stories behind these battles. Destined to be the definitive story for the general public as well as policymakers, The Great Lakes Water Wars is a balanced, comprehensive look behind the scenes at the conflicts and compromises that are the past-and future-of this globally significant resource.

The silent world

Jacques Yves Cousteau

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

How a showman/researcher/storyteller/philosopher defined modern diving 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

What can be said about Jacques Cousteau and his groundbreaking book that hasn't been said a thousand times? He is undoubtedly the defining figure of modern scuba diving, his books, films, and documentaries known to millions or billions. Even the name of his ship, the Calypso, is known the world over. It's a small volume, this book, just 160 pages, yet it's absolutely mandatory reading for anyone interested in what Cousteau termed "the silent world" under the surface of the water that covers 71% of our planet. The Silent World is the bible of modern scuba diving.

Jacques Cousteau himself died in 1997 at the age of 87, but the legacy of his pioneering work with diving and diving physiology lives on. It is all well documented and disseminated worldwide, thanks to this French explorer's unique combination of instinctive understanding of the world under the surface and his equally unique knack of spellbinding the world with his words and images. A total master of public relations and getting the word out, Cousteau managed to grab attention and media coverage wherever he went. Critics went so far as suggesting his media talents exceeded his actual contributions to understanding the seas.

At first it's hard to figure out why this slim volume became such a success. It's not a textbook, it doesn't cover the history of diving or even much of Cousteau's own research, and it's not an adventure book. Though Cousteau was French, he wrote The Silent World in English as he had attended American schools in his youth, widely traveled the US, and, of course, extensively lectured in his enchanting French-accented English. Yet, The Silent World clearly reveals its author's non-English origin and decidedly "non-English" thinking. The writing, while precise, often suggests that Cousteau frequently described a word or concept that existed in his native French, but did not directly translate into English. As a result, the writing at times seems a bit flowery and, well, foreign, and you need to read a sentence or paragraph two or three times to figure out what it actually means. Cousteau's liberal use of metaphors, artistic nuances, poetic concepts and words that have since fallen out of currrent language only serve to make The Silent World even more unusual of a literary treat.

Anyone looking for technical explanations, precise history, a logical flow of events, or anything one might expect from a world-famous documentary maker and researcher will not find it in this book. The Silent World is a totally unique, very compressed tale flowing from Cousteau's mind. Read half a chapter and you know the man; he's a unique combination of inspired philosophical observer and gifted researcher with uncanny intuition. While others conducted their research methodically and ploddingly, Cousteau always just seemed to know what to expect, how to behave, and what to seek and avoid to make it all seem easy. He and his close associates and friends Phillipe Tailliez and Frederic Dumas used their "aqualung" to experient liberally in sort of a "Hmmm.... this is probably what will happen, let's go check it out!" approach.

Using this, Cousteau describes the difference between "helmet divers" and the newly liberated users of their "aqualung" -- what we now know as air tanks and regulators. The book casually touches on all the principles of diving physics and physiology, the stuff we learn in our PADI and NAUI classes. He describes sea life, how it reacts, where it lives, how it behaves, and what is dangerous and what is not. They see just how deep they can go. They check how colors change. What nitrogen does and why we need recompression chambers. He offers his views on treasure hunting (not worth it; if you find real treasure authorities and hordes of lawyers will soon apprehend it). He reports on atrocities he witnessed underwater, like the needless destruction of corals and cruel killing of fish. He debunks myths of sea monsters, seeks answers to geological phenomena such as the Fountain of Vaucluse near Avignon, one that almost cost him and Dumas their lives in a pioneering effort at extreme cave diving. He describes what fish do and how they react. And sea mammals and other sea critters. Sharks remain an enigma to Cousteau as his conclusion is that you simply cannot understand or predict them.

So The Silent World relates, in 14 fascinating self-contained chapters, pretty much everything we know about diving today, 60 years after Cousteau began researching as a "manfish," all the principles we know, and it's all neatly and attractively presented in tales that always mix research with adventure. Cousteau never preaches or lectures. He just explores, pushes, interprets, and reports. Maybe Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a showman as much as a researcher. If so, good for him as otherwise we may never have had the opportunity to learn from him and enjoy his remarkable insights. -- C. H. Blickenstorfer, scubadiverinfo.com

Editorial Review:

Before becoming the man who introduced us to the wonders of the sea through his beloved television series, Jacques Cousteau was better known as an engineer and the inventor of scuba. He chronicled his early days of underwater adventure in The Silent World—a memoir that was an instant, international bestseller upon its publication in 1954. Now, National Geographic presents a 50th anniversary edition of this remarkable book, allowing readers to once again travel under the sea with Cousteau during the turbulent days of World War II.

Peterson Field Guide(R) to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean & Florida (Peterson Field Guide Series)

Eugene H. Kaplan, Roger Tory Peterson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's a hard guide to write 4 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

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.

Editorial Review:

Now available in paperback, this field guide introduces readers to a world of riotous color, magnificent beauty and fascinating animal life. It shows how to identify quickly and accurately the common inhabitants of the reefs. More than 500 species are covered. 32-page color insert.

Earth Ponds: The Country Pond Maker's Guide to Building, Maintenance and Restoration

Tim Matson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Earth Ponds 3 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I was looking for more techinical and not so wordy reading. It was interesting reading in a Walden's Pond sort of way. I want to build a pond myself and have the equipment to do it. But wanted to know How the big boys do it.

Earth Ponds: The Country Pond Maker's Guide to Building, Maintenance and Restoration 2 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

i was looking for a book to help me design and build a pond, this book was more of a story, with a few helpful idea's.

Ponds 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is applies to northern ponds more than southern ponds. We do not ice over nor do we put trout in our ponds because of the warm waters. It is a good book for what it applies to.

Serves a Purpose 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a lovely, dreamy little book with some great black and white photos. It's perfect reading for a winter's night or for fostering fantasies. It's also a pretty good place to start before you call the county agent or start knocking on the doors of pond-owning neighbors.
It's perfectly true that some of Matson's writing is way over the top ("I wake up from a nightmare of valkyries swooping down out of the sun") and the illustrations are not enough to talk you through the whole process, but this could be the book that gets you started and that's worth quite a bit.

Editorial Review:

There is nothing like a pond! What else can simultaneously increase your aesthetic pleasure, offer recreational opportunities, help the environment, and increase the value of your land? This is the recognized standard on ponds, now expanded to include a comprehensive guide to living happily with your completed pond and keeping it perpetually healthy. Here is everything you need to know about planning, digging, sculpting, and maintaining your pond.

A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America

J. Reese Voshell Jr.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Popular interest in the observation and study of freshwater invertebrates is increasing. A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America meets the needs of this growing audience of naturalists, environmentalists, anglers, teachers, students, and others by providing substantive information in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language for many groups of invertebrates commonly found in the streams, lakes, ponds, and other freshwater environments of North America.

Section I provides background information on the biology and ecology of freshwater organisms and environments and explains why and how invertebrates can be studied, simply and without complex equipment, in the field and the laboratory. Section II describes nearly 100 of the most common groups of invertebrates, and for each group a whole-body color illustration is provided along with brief text pointing out the most important features that identify members of the group. Section III contains in-depth descriptions of the life history, behavior, and ecology of the various invertebrate groups, and explains their important ecological contributions and relationships to humans.

The Guide is broad in scope, geographically and taxonomically, and it is written at a substantive yet easily accessible level that will appeal to both novices and those with more advanced knowledge of the subject. It also contains more than 100 specially commissioned color illustrations by the well-known scientific illustrator Amy Bartlett Wright that will greatly facilitate the easy and rapid identification of specimens.