Reference Books - Page 2

Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived

Ralph Helfer

List Price: $23.00 By: HarperCollins Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $3.95

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Performing Arts -> Theater -> Circus
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 135 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

On a quiet morning in 1896, in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant were born. The boy was named Bram, the elephant was named Modoc. Bram was the son of a local elephant handler, and even as a child he showed signs of becoming a master handler. Modoc grew impressively beyond anyone's imagination--exceptional intelligence, massive size, and a gentleness surpassing that of even the kindest elephants. The two were raised as siblings, and when news came that the circus was being sold, thirteen-year-old Bram did the only thing he could imagine: He stowed away to be with Modoc.

Weeks into their voyage to the United States, they were caught in a catastrophic storm at sea, and Modoc single-handedly saved the lives of Bram and thirty sailors. Taken to shore in India, Modoc and Bram were heroes to the elephant-loving Indian people. Their unexpected detour lasted many years, as Bram studied under the legendary mahout elephant trainers of the Far East while Modoc--fully grown and with Bram at her side--became a master harvester in the remote teak forests of rural India.

In the 1930s they finally arrived in New York, where for the next two decades Modoc rose to great performing fame in the center ring of the world's most popular circus. Known as "The Golden Elephant," she was the only elephant of her time who could dance and perform without a trainer. Modoc was a major American celebrity.

Then a tragedy stuck, and the lives of Modoc and Bram were forever changed. On a routine stopover between circus towns, Modoc vanished from under Bram's protective watch. Weeks of searching turned into years, but he never lost hope that he would see Modoc again...

Modoc is an epic for the ages, destined to be a classic, and sure to be cherished by readers young and old.

The Greatest elephant story ever told, lovingly recreated by Modoc's owner during the last twenty years of her seventy-eight-year life, Modoc spans eight decades and three continents. It is a tale of love, loss, and the deep spiritual bond between a man and his extraordinary nine-thousand pound companion.

Wild Animals I Have Known

Ernest Thompson Seton

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 9 to 14 days By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $3.83

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

Wild Animals I Have Known 2 out of 5 stars.
24 of 25 people found this review helpful.

This is a reprinting of a book of wonderful stories by Ernest Thompson Seton. But buyer beware. The publisher has excluded all 200 of the author's sketches and drawings that help the stories come alive for both younger and older readers. In addition, the design of the book is amateurish. Type is spread across the page, with extra spaces between paragraphs, nothing like the pleasing style of the original editions. This is a lifeless shadow of an American classic.

must read book to raise compassionate kids 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I've read this book way back when I was a kid growing up in Russia. I cried while reading about the pidgeon's fate, was happy when the rabbit was released, filled with respect for Lobo the wolf... It was one of the books that I'll always remember as being one of the greatest collection of stories. The language is simple yet exquisite, and the story flows so smoothly, you can read past midnight and not notice.
Not only that, that book gave me a better understanding of animals - not as we humans tend to humanize animal emotions and actions, but as real animals think and feel. It definitely made me change my perspective on many subjects - my treatment of nature, of animals, even human relationships.
All that when I was in my early teens. All that without any grownup having to "have a talk" with me or me even noticing that I got a "better understanding" of things.

Now that my son is growing up here, I'm getting him his copy of the book, and I'm quite hopeful that it will bring him a lot of enjoyment as well as food for thought.

Editorial Review:

Engrossing collection of 8 stories by a noted Canadian naturalist, illustrator, and painter masterfully blends scientific observation and romanticism. Memorable characters include Old Lobo, the leader of a wolfpack; Silverspot, a wise old crow; Raggylug, a young cottontail; Bingo, an errant hound; and other remarkable creatures. 200 engaging black-and-white illustrations by the author.

Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before

Alastair Fothergill

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University of California Press Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $13.80

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 41 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A visual odyssey that will change the way we see our planet, this remarkable book, companion to the acclaimed Discovery Channel/ BBC series, is an enduring and awe-inspiring record of one of the most ambitious natural history projects ever undertaken. Using the latest aerial surveillance, state-of-the-art cameras, and high definition technology, the creators of Planet Earth have assembled more than 400 stunning photographs of wondrous natural landscapes from around the globe, including incredible footage of the rarely spotted, almost mythical creatures that live in these habitats. Many of the images reveal inaccessible places that few have seen and record animal behavior that has never been filmed or photographed before. With the help of this highly advanced technology and the world's premier wildlife photographers, the book takes us on a spectacular journey from the world's greatest rivers and impressive gorges, to its mightiest mountains, hidden caves and caverns, and vast deserts. Planet Earth captures breathtaking sequences of predators and their prey, lush vistas of forests viewed from the tops of towering trees, the oceans and their mysterious creatures viewed from beneath the surface, and much more--in a magnificent adventure that brings unknown wonders of the natural world into our living rooms.
Copub: BBC Worldwide Americas

All Creatures Great and Small

James Herriot

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: St. Martin's Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 73 new & used starting at $0.94

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 110 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Likely the most delightful novel I've ever read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Mr. James Herriot is an uncommon writer, possessed of extraordinary skill and a mastery of the English language. When speaking of works of fiction, he is my favorite writer. His ability to choose perfectly appropriate and descriptive words, phrases, and metaphors to verbally illustrate unique characteristics, landscapes, feelings, and situations still has me mesmerized.

"All Creatures Great and Small" is autobiographical in that Mr. Herriot is the central character of the book, though James Herriot is the pen name of the real author, Jim Wight. However, since the work is defined as a novel, then one may assume that Mr. Herriot took certain liberties in relating many of the tales he unfolds. Mr. Herriot is a veterinary surgeon, and much of his novel specifically involves dealing with particular cases of sick livestock and ailing house pets. One should not quickly conclude, however, that this story is merely about the ramblings of a country animal doctor who at times finds himself in interesting situations, as some reviewers would suggest.

Instead, my feeling is that Mr. Herriot utilized his visits to multiple and varied farms and residences in the British countryside to highlight the individual conditions, attitudes, and distinctive persons he discovered at each location. The book becomes absolutely delightful and poignant, for instance, when Mr. Herriot kindly sits at an aging woman's bedside and tenderly comforts her with his voiced belief that her devoted, loving dogs and cats are indeed possessed of souls and that she need not fear that they will again be her companions in the afterlife.

And I do not believe I have laughed out loud so frequently while reading one book. Some of my personal favorites are when his brakes go out on his car and he must navigate a steep and winding descent to the bottom of a low valley, where his next veterinary visit is scheduled, and when he finds himself on his first date with the woman he is destined to marry and the only respectable dress suit he owns is several years out of fashion and far too tight-fitting, which is partly why he becomes far too nervous and a bout of awkward conversation and actions follow. Additionally, much might be said here about the quirky relationship Mr. Herriot has with his unpredictable and explosive yet perfectly harmless and generous employer, a Mr. Siegfried Farnon, and Siegfried's younger brother, Tristan. Farnon's demanding attitude regarding his veterinary business affairs, especially in the face of Tristan's irresponsibility in mishandling assignments and responsibilities, is often the basis for much of the hilarity in the book.

In speaking of his relationships with those to whom he is closest on a personal level and the frequently visited owners of his animal patients, Mr. Herriot has an especially profound gift when it comes to praising the best characteristics that are found in the human race. He speaks with eloquent fondness when describing the beautiful traits he sees in his lovely Helen, his soon-to-be wife. And when he stumbles upon a man or woman who he feels is in ownership of certain admirable exceptionality, such as industry or thrift or honesty or discipline or gentleness, his written accolades of such persons is heartwarming and deeply inspiring.

Thus I would say that this book has everything. It touches upon the topics of death, faith, humor, love, devotion, stewardship, human strengths and frailties, prosperity and poverty, work and idleness, occupation, and the list goes on. Given that these interesting topics are handled so capably by Mr. Herriot's writing talent, I doubt that any sensitive reader would find this book to be anything but delightful and praiseworthy.

Editorial Review:

Take an unforgettable journey through the English countryside and into the homes of its inhabitants-- four-legged and otherwise-- with the world's best-loved animal doctor.For over 25 years-- since All Creatures Great and Small was first published-- readers have delighted to the storytelling genius of James Herriot, the Yorkshire veterinarian whose fascinating vignettes brim with the wonder of life, animal and human.Whether struggling mightily to position a calf for birthing, or comforting a lonely old man whose beloved dog and only companion has died, Herriot's heartwarming and often hilarious stories of his first years as a country vet perfectly depict the wonderful relationship between man and animal-- and they intimately portray a man whose humor, compassion , and love of life are truly inspiring.

Isaac's Storm: The Drowning of Galveston, 8 September 1900

Erik Larson

List Price: $27.00 By: Diane Pub Co Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $15.84

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Subjects -> Science -> Earth Sciences -> Natural Disasters

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Total reviews: 258 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Read by the author
3 cassettes, approx. 5 hours

Now a New York Times bestseller, Isaac's Storm is the superb narrative of the extreme hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, on a late summer day in 1900, leaving at least 8,000 people dead.  On that day, a wall of water surged across the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into the burgeoning city of Galveston.  The nameless hurricane remains the deadliest natural dissaster in American history, its final toll greater than the combined tolls of the Johnstown Flood and the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906-- yet the event has all but dissappeared from natural memory.

Isaac Cline, one of the first professional weathermen emplyed by the government, has gone on record as declaring that no storm could damage Galveston.  Such fears, he wrote, were "an absurd delusion."  By the time the hellish event was over, Cline would see whole portions of the city scraped clean of all structures and all life, and would himself endure an unbearable loss.

The other main character is the storm itself.  Issac's Storm tracks the hurrican from its birth as a small plume of warm air over Africa, through its journey across the ocean as it drinks in vast amounts of energy, to its arrival at the unsuspecting city.  The audiobook describes how the city, especially its children, welcomed the storm and the great deep-ocean swells that it cast upon their beach--until extraordinary things began to happen.

Isaac's Storm is based on our latest understanding of the physics and meteorology of hurricanes, on Cline's own formal reports and detailed personal account of the storm, as well as the recollections of scores of other witnesses.  It is an unforgettable and timely story of the conflict between human hubris and the last great uncontrollable force--a cautionary tale for the millennium.

A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats

Spike Carlsen

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Collins Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $13.80

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Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Woodworking
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In a world without wood, we might not be here at all. Without wood, we wouldn't have had the fire, heat, and shelter that allowed us to expand into the colder regions of the planet. If civilization somehow did develop, our daily lives still would be vastly different: there would be no violins, baseball bats, chopsticks, or wine corks. The book you are now holding wouldn't exist.

At the same time, many of us are removed from the world where wood is shaped and celebrated every day. That world is inhabited by a unique assortment of eccentric craftsmen and passionate enthusiasts who have created some of the world's most beloved musical instruments, feared weapons, dazzling architecture, sacred relics, and bizarre forms of transportation. In A Splintered History of Wood, Spike Carlsen has uncovered the most outlandish characters and examples, from world-champion chainsaw carvers to blind woodworkers, the Miraculous Staircase to the Lindbergh kidnapping case, and many more, in a passionate and personal exploration of nature's greatest gift.

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))

Roger Tory Peterson

Amazon Price: $17.68 List Price: $26.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Co Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $5.27

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Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Product Description
In celebration of the centennial of Roger Tory Peterson's birth comes a historic collaboration among renowned birding experts and artists to preserve and enhance the Peterson legacy. This new book combines the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds and Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds into one volume, filled with accessible, concise information and including almost three hours of video podcasts to make bird watching even easier.

• 40 new paintings
• Digital updates to Peterson's original paintings, reflecting the latest knowledge of bird identification
• All new maps for the most up-to-date range information available
• Text rewritten to cover the U.S. and Canada in one guide
• Larger trim size accommodates range maps on every spread
• Contributors include: Michael DiGiorgio, Jeff Gordon, Paul Lehman, Michael O'Brien, Larry Rosche, and Bill Thompson III
• Includes URL to register for access to video podcasts

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Excerpts from Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America
Click on each image below to see a larger view

Colorful songbirds with heavy, seed-crushing bills, cardinals and grosbeaks are popular at feeders.

In North America, the Orchard and Baltimore Orioles are fairly widespread in the East; Bullock's is widespread in the West; and the Spot-breasted Oriole is limited to South Florida.

Peterson sometimes painted over figures on a plate and sometimes even cut them out. Canyon Wren was missing from the original art. Michael O'Brien painted a new Canyon Wren for inclusion in the new field guide.

The Orange Bishop is native to Africa but has been introduced in California. Peterson had not painted this bird for his field guides, so Michael O’Brien painted this one.

Thumbnail maps help you determine at a glance if a bird is likely to be in your region.

Large maps in back give detailed range information.

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National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition

Jon L. Dunn, Jonathan Alderfer

Amazon Price: $16.32 List Price: $24.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House - Model: RH0792253140 Amazon Marketplace: 61 new & used starting at $10.80

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Total reviews: 47 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Birding is the fastest growing wildlife-related activity in the U.S., and even conservative estimates put the current number of U.S. birders at 50 million. According to the New York Times, some authorities predict that by 2050 there will be more than 100 million—and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America will be the essential reference for field identification and the cornerstone of any birder's library. This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guide—comprehensive, authoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use.

Among the the new edition's key elements and practical improvements: Every North American species—more than 960, including a new section on accidental birds—classified according to the latest official American Ornithologists' Union checklist 4,000 full-color illustrations by the foremost bird artists at work todayand newly updated range maps that draw on the latest data New durable cover for added protection against adverse weather, plus informative quick-reference flaps that double as placemarkers New reader-friendly features like thumbtabs that make locating key sections faster and easier, and a quick-find index to direct users straight to the information they need.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Edwin Abbott Abbott

By: Dover Pubns Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $6.00

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Total reviews: 160 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A 2D and 4D Classic Text 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Originally written with a Victorian theme, it is now a must-read classic for anyone who enjoys reading about the fourth dimension. The story is about a two-dimensional being (called A Square) living in a two-dimensional world (hence the title, Flatland). As a three-dimensional being imagining this two-dimensional world, you come to realize that you can understand higher-dimensional space through lower-dimensional analogies. In fact, A Square meets a three-dimensional being (A Sphere), and takes a journey beyond the second dimension. Although some readers may enjoy the book for its historical and Victorian period merits, math lovers can enjoy the book for its geometric insight.

If you are curious about the fourth dimension, you should also read:

- Spaceland: A Novel of the Fourth Dimension, Rudy Rucker's novel of the fourth dimension
- Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So, a continuation of the geometric idea from Flatland
- The 4th Dimension: Toward a Geometry of Higher Reality, Rudy Rucker's classic introduction to the fourth dimension
- The Visual Guide to Extra Dimensions: Volume 1: Visualizing the Fourth Dimension, Higher-Dimensional Polytopes, and Curved Hypersurfaces, a modern geometric introduction to the fourth dimension

Silent Spring (Edition 001)

Rachel Carson

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Mariner Books Amazon Marketplace: 175 new & used starting at $1.00

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Total reviews: 137 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Spring alerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers of indiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring became a runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . [It is] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had not inspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one of the greatest nature writers in American letters" (Peter Matthiessen, for Time"s 100 Most Influential People of the Century). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates Rachel Carson"s watershed book with a new introduction by the author and activist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by the acclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the story of Carson"s courageous defense of her truths in the face of ruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year following the publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in 1964.