Reference Books - Page 12

The Rural Life

Verlyn Klinkenborg

Amazon Price: $11.19 List Price: $13.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Back Bay Books Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $2.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Nature Writing
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A very pleasurable read! 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

To read this delightful little book was to be carried into his space and more fully into my own. It made me breathe slower. I know of no higher praise to give. Once, right in the middle of reading, I stopped, called a friend on the phone and asked for a moment to read a passage. She, too, was delighted.

Rural Life 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This book was very interesting to me. I just love the way the author seems to make the animals that are in the book such as the horses, birds, bees etc... have so much life. The country life seems to be fun and adventurous for someone like myself because things happen in the country that I would have never expected.the funniest part in the book was when the author is explaining to the readers how they had early birds singing get up songs. I also really enjoy the entire chapters being broken down into months because it was easier for me to coprehend what happened and when. This book is so inspiring and full of details.

Editorial Review:

With an eloquence unmatched by any living writer, Verlyn Klinkenborg observes the juncture at which our lives and the natural world intersect. His yearlong meditation on the rigors and wonders of country life--encompassing memories of his family's Iowa homestead, time spent in the wide open spaces of the American West, and his experiences on the small farm in upstate New York where he lives with his wife--abounds with vicarious pleasures for the reader as it indelibly records and celebrates the everyday beauty of the world we inhabit.

The Lord God Made Them All

James Herriot

List Price: $7.50 By: Bantam Amazon Marketplace: 105 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Professionals & Academics -> Medical
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Nature Writing
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

very satisfied 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was verey satisfied with the whole process of ordering
on-line and I will continue buying books this way.

James Herriot 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As an animal lover, if I were to be restricted to a single author on my bookshelves, it would be James Herriot, hands down. All four books by James Herriot, The English Country Veterinarian, comprise a collection of stories that remain unsurpassed in all animal literature.

Good reading 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read his books as a teen and loved them. Bought the whole set for my grandsons, [teens]. They laughed until they cried. [so did I].

Classic Herriot -- need I say more? 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I think we've all heard of ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL. The book was brilliantly written in every way, and I thought that was that. But then he wrote a sequel, and I marveled that it was at least as great as the original. Then he did it to me again with a third book. The titles come from a famous poem or hymn, by the way. He used the second verse, for the creatures, then the first, then the third, and now we're at the fourth.

I'm going to say it again. I believe I'm enjoying this one most of all. All the humor, all the spot-on accurate observation of animals, of both the four-legged and the two-legged variety. And, I'm feeling this time, a maturity in the veterinarian, the author, and the person. He still has the ability to write a chapter so touching or sad that I stop and wipe my eyes, and then read a few more so I can laugh before I put the book away for the evening.

So I've read four in a row by this guy, and they all get five stars. I ordered all of mine from Amazon, but you in "the west" can probably just swing by your local library. Do so.

Editorial Review:

In 38 moving chapters, Herriot once again captures the magical beauty of the Yorkshire dales, the joys and sorrows of its inhabitants, and the richly rewarding experiences of a country veterinarian.

The Owl and the Woodpecker: Encounters With North America's Most Iconic Birds

Paul Bannick

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Mountaineers Books Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $13.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Birdwatching -> General
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Birdwatching -> General AAS
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Every wild place and urban area in North America hosts an owl or a woodpecker species, while healthy natural places often boast representatives of both. The diversity of these two families of birds, and the ways in which they define and enrich the ecosystems they inhabit, are the subject of this vivid new book by photographer and naturalist Paul Bannick.

The Owl and the Woodpecker showcases a sense of these birds' natural rhythms, as well as the integral spirit of our wild places. Based on hundreds of hours in the field photographing these fascinating and wily birds, Bannick evokes all 41 North American species of owls and woodpeckers, across 11 key habitats. And by revealing the impact of two of our most iconic birds, Bannick has created a wholly unique approach to birding and conservation. * Perfect holiday book for all bird-watchers * An in-depth look at two of our most iconic--and important--bird species * Great for photography lovers, conservationists, and backyard enthusiasts alike * Includes a foreword by award-winning artist and writer Tony Angell

Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Revised and Updated (Golden Field Guide from St. Martin's Press)

C. Frank Brockman

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $5.59

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Botany -> General
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Botany -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Poor Choice for Tree Identification 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Despite the excellent illustrations and detailed information, this is a POOR book for actually identifying an unknown tree from its foliage, bark, or other characteristics.

The book divides trees into their families. Unfortunately, this requires that you have some idea of what you are looking for before you start. There is no cross-reference to bark to reinforce a choice. Also, since it includes both Eastern and Western North American trees, one can easily make a false choice.

However, its handbook size is convenient for a carry along.

Editorial Review:

Smell the bark of the aromatic Sassafras. Wonder at the Lodgepole Pine, whose heat-activated cones reseed forests destroyed by fire. Search for the Sugar Maple, whose foliage blazes red and yellow in autumn. North America's trees rank among nature's most awesome creations. This premier field guide features all characteristics-tree shape, bark, leaf, flower, fruit and twig-for quick identification, making it a superior choice for trail walks, creating displays, and scientific or commercial needs.-All of North America in one volume-Over 730 species in 76 families and 160 range maps-Native species and important introduced foreign varieties-Text, range maps, and illustrations seen together at a glance-Common and scientific names-Convenient measuring rules

Alex & Me LP: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process

Irene Pepperberg

Amazon Price: $16.29 List Price: $23.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperLuxe Amazon Marketplace: 12 new & used starting at $14.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Animal Care & Pets -> Birds
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Animal Care & Pets -> Essays
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Birdwatching -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were "You be good. I love you."

What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous—two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. He could add. He could sound out words. He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. He was capable of thought and intention. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.

The fame that resulted was extraordinary. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. They were emotionally connected to one another. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. Alex missed Irene when she was away. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. He liked to show her who was boss. He loved to dance. He sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. Sometimes they sniped at each other. Yet nearly every day, they each said, "I love you."

Alex and Irene stayed together through thick and thin—despite sneers from experts, extraordinary financial sacrifices, and a nomadic existence from one univer­sity to another. The story of their thirty-year adventure is equally a landmark of scientific achievement and of an unforgettable human-animal bond.

Grayson

Lynne Cox

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Knopf Amazon Marketplace: 107 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Women
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Grayson is Lynne Cox’s first book since Swimming to Antarctica (“Riveting”—Sports Illustrated; “Pitch-perfect”—Outside). In it she tells the story of a miraculous ocean encounter that happened to her when she was seventeen and in training for a big swim (she had already swum the English Channel, twice, and the Catalina Channel).

It was the dark of early morning; Lynne was in 55-degree water as smooth as black ice, two hundred yards offshore, outside the wave break. She was swimming her last half-mile back to the pier before heading home for breakfast when she became aware that something was swimming with her. The ocean was charged with energy as if a squall was moving in; thousands of baby anchovy darted through the water like lit sparklers, trying to evade something larger. Whatever it was, it felt large enough to be a white shark coursing beneath her body.

It wasn’t a shark. It became clear that it was a baby gray whale—following alongside Lynne for a mile or so. Lynne had been swimming for more than an hour; she needed to get out of the water to rest, but she realized that if she did, the young calf would follow her onto shore and die from collapsed lungs.

The baby whale—eighteen feet long!—was migrating on a three-month trek to its feeding grounds in the Bering Sea, an eight-thousand-mile journey. It would have to be carried on its mother’s back for much of that distance, and was dependent on its mother’s milk for food—baby whales drink up to fifty gallons of milk a day. If Lynne didn’t find the mother whale, the baby would suffer from dehydration and starve to death.

Something so enormous—the mother whale was fifty feet long—suddenly seemed very small in the vast Pacific Ocean. How could Lynne possibly find her?

This is the story—part mystery, part magical tale—of what happened . . .

Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Global Update

Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Donella Meadows

List Price: $35.00 By: Chelsea Green Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $80.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Natural Resources
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Political Science -> Public Policy
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Conservation -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

this book is a joke, right? 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 12 people found this review helpful.

30 years ago these same people predicted devastation and havoc by today. They got teachers and professors to buy the book in bulk, making the authors wildly successful. But the conclusions proved hilariously wrong.

Now they want another generation of students to be forced to buy this joke of a book to make the authors even wealthier as they predict--yet again!--planetary doom.

This is a disgrace and should give pause to all those well-meaning people who tend to believe 'climate change' alarmists. They lied 30 years ago. Why believe them now?

Supplies of vital resources today are NOT adequate for sustainability 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I read today yet another reassuring news article saying that supplies of crude oil and other vital resources are just fine, no reason to worry. "Limits to Growth" shows that's just not true. Supplies may be adequate for today's needs--but with human population growing all the time, pollution adding up, and soil fertility declining, that can change very fast. In fact, a serious economic collapse is very likely in the next twenty years unless humanity changes course.

Environmental economics has been an interest of mine for years. I didn't bother to read this book when it came out, figuring that it would have little that I didn't already know. Reading it now, I found that "Limits to Growth" is a fantastic book explaining the economics of sustainability. I recommend it to everyone. Mainstream economists in particular--even if you disagree, you owe it to society to read this book. If you think the authors got it wrong, please explain what variables their computer model missed and why. I actually felt that for many of their variables, the authors' assumptions were, if anything, overly optimistic.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"In most World3 runs . . . the world system does not totally run out of land or food or resources or pollution absorption capability. What it runs out of is the ability to cope. . . .[Problem-solving capabilities] can process and handle just so much. when problems arise exponentially and in multiples, problems that could theoretically be dealt with one by one can overwhelm the ability to cope."

"To be materially and energetically sustainable, the economy's throughputs would have to meet Herman Daly's three conditions: Its rates of use of renewable resources do not exceed their rates of regeneration. Its rates of use of nonrenewable resources do not exceed the rate at which sustainable renewable substitues are developed. Its rates of pollution emission do not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment."

"Because of delays in the feedback from limits, the global economic system is likely to overshoot its sustainable levels. Indeed, for many sources and sinks important to the world economy, overshoot has already occurred. Technology and markets operate only on imperfect information and with delay. Thus, they can enhance the economy's tendency to overshoot."

The book does have a few things I don't agree with. The authors describe nitrogen pollution from fertilizer drainage off agricultural land as too dispersed to be reduced by ordinary pollution controls. This is simply not the case. Fertilizer is as much a point source pollution as any. The point is simply the nozzle filling the fertilizer container at the factory. This is the point at which fertilizer releases must be controlled. Fertilizer releases should be considered under law as if they are released into the environment at the nozzle point, because in effect they are.

Editorial Review:

Written in refreshingly accessible prose, Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update is a long anticipated revival of some of the original voices in the growing chorus of sustainability. Limits to Growth: The 30 Year Update is a work of stunning intelligence that will expose for humanity the hazy but critical line between human growth and human development.

Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living

Annie Berthold-Bond

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Three Rivers Press Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $9.93

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> How-to & Home Improvements -> Household Hints

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

These days, more and more people are saying no to "better living through chemistry" and yes to a lifestyle that is less toxic and more environmentally friendly. This trend toward a more natural lifestyle has become something of a crusade for Annie Berthold-Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home. After developing hypersensitivity to even very low concentrations of chemicals, Berthold-Bond was forced to rid her life of as many toxins as possible. "It wasn't until I had to be away from chemicals that I began to realize how many we lived with. The extent of the contamination is startling--from hair spray and floor wax to dandelion killers and plastic shower curtains and other products that line our hardware stores and supermarket shelves."

This book represents the culmination of her search for a more sustainable lifestyle. Taking her cue from an earlier time, Berthold-Bond, former editor in chief of Green Alternatives for Health and Environment, offers more than 800 simple and practical alternatives to common household toxins, covering everything from skin care to gardening. And the good news is that adopting her suggestions and formulas isn't hard at all. "Mixing up face creams or wood stain isn't much different than cleaning the windows with vinegar, soap, and water instead of using Brand Name X, or making a cake with flour, eggs and milk instead of buying a mix," see asserts. "With a few simple staples we can clean our houses, wash our hair, rid the dog's bed of fleas, and do many other things as well." If you have your doubts, here is her formula for metal polish:

3 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon flour, and enough white distilled vinegar to make a paste. Scoop the paste onto a clean sponge, and polish the metal clean. Rinse with hot water and buff dry.

Sure, these days it's literally impossible to lead a life that is completely toxin-free. But you can significantly reduce your exposure, and picking up a copy Better Basics for the Home is a great way to get started.

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies (National Audubon Society Field Guides)

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Knopf Amazon Marketplace: 78 new & used starting at $5.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Animals -> Butterflies

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

We are so pleased 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The book is a wealth of information that we wanted, the ordering and delivery could not of been better.

Great field guide! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Though it took a bit longer than expected to arrive, i am very pleased. The color photos are great. Some times I wish it had the little map of the US to show the range of the butterflies, but this is not a big deal. Over all a great field guide.

Editorial Review:

Butterflies are among the natural world's most colorful and intriguing creatures, so what could be more useful than a handy field guide with more than 1,000 photographs of all the butterflies of North America north of Mexico, including all true butterflies, the most common skippers, and many migrants and strays. The color plates are visually arranged by shape and color, and thumb-tab silhouettes provide a convenient index to identification of butterflies in the field. The species account for each butterfly provides measurements, descriptions of each stage of the life cycle, and information on coloring or distinguishing markings, flight period, habitat, and range.

Horse

Kelly Klein

Amazon Price: $94.50 List Price: $150.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rizzoli Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $91.62

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Fashion

Editorial Review:

Powerful, beautiful, wild, fragile, and elegant, horses are as diverse and as enigmatic as people. This oversized luxuriously illustrated book, designed by Sam Shahid, is a celebration of the physical beauty of the animal, of what horses can do, and the sense of wonder and awe that the horse evokes. A competitive amateur show-jumper since childhood, Kelly Klein is a highly respected horsewoman, as well as a renowned fashion stylist. In this stunning collection of more than 250 selected photographs, including many previously unpublished, she conveys her very intimate and personal fascination with horses, and the intense vulnerability that counters their natural power and majesty. Mingling high fashion images with vintage shots of races and rodeos, fine art with amateur photography, this anthology is as provocative as it is beautiful, and reveals the extraordinary spectrum of emotions horses inspire in us. With photographs by Helmut Newton, Annie Leibowitz, Bruce Weber, Robert Mapplethorpe, Chris Makos, Richard Prince, Bob Richardson, and Ellen von Unwerth, among many others, Horse is a definitive reflection of an indefinable love and a passionate tribute to a uniquely beautiful animal. Horse is also available in a deluxe slipcased edition limited to 500 copies, each signed by Kelly Klein.