Book Description
Once the world's largest marsupial predator, the doglike Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) ranged across Australia and as far north as New Guinea. After humans introduced dingoes to the area 4,000 years ago, the misnamed "tiger" was driven to extinction everywhere except the island of Tasmania. With the arrival of European settlers there in the 1800s, however, its days became numbered. Unsubstantiated tales of its blood-thirst and its unnaturally savage attacks on sheep led to the creation of "extermination societies" and ultimately to the introduction of a law in 1886 that mandated the destruction of the species. Hunted indiscriminately for fifty years, Tasmanian tigers were granted a reprieve in 1936, when the government was persuaded to protect the species. But it was too late: the last specimen died in a Hobart zoo two months later.
In Tasmanian Tiger, David Owen tells the tragic story of the thylacine, from its evolutionary origins and its physical and behavioral characteristics to its ill-fated encounter with European civilization and the ongoing fascination with the "Tassie Tiger" as a potent symbol of wildlife conservation. Elegantly written and full of interesting facts and first-hand stories from those who saw the animal in the wild, Tasmanian Tiger offers a compelling account of how fear and ignorance doomed an entire species over the course of a century. And in recounting numerous recent sightings of the thylacine in Tasmania, Owen explores the power that this once-despised creature continues to hold on the imagination today. Indeed, as described in this book, serious efforts are being undertaken to bring back the Tasmanian tiger through cloning, a controversial project that raises a number of ethical questions for scientists and conservationists everywhere. For both those familiar with the thylacine and those discovering this remarkable animal for the first time, Tasmanian Tiger is a poignant cautionary tale of human folly and the fragility of the natural world.
Customer Reviews:
Helpful and well done. A great resource on Thylacines........2007-08-02
Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale of How the World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator
by David Owen is a very good book with lots of helpful information. Well written and engaging.
Everything I was looking for.......2005-03-26
If you are like me and have always wondered what happened to these fascinating mammals, then get this is a book for you. It covers everything, but in a readable approach. I particularly like the way it introduces you to the tasmanian residents, new and old. Losing the tassie tiger was a great blow to conservation, but I still hear howls in the background of history.
Dull book on an interesting creature.......2005-01-16
The last known living thylacine - the proper name for what is often popularly (and mistakenly) called the Tasmanian tiger - died in a Hobart city zoo in 1936. It was already an old beast, and the Great Depression had worsened its condition through neglectful care. Two months before it died, the Tasmanian parliament gave the species full protection - a delayed counter-response to earlier Tasmanian and Australian policies that for decades put a bounty on its head. But the change in policy came too late. In all the years since 1936, there has not been a single piece of solid evidence the species still exists.
Most experts guess that a few thylacines lived on in the wild for some years after the mid-30s before succumbing to the problems of low population numbers. But many Tasmanians, and a few experts, continue to believe the animal still survives in the wilds of Tasmania. There are a number of reasons for this. Thirty percent of the island is a wildlife preserve. There have been over a hundred reliable sightings of the animal in recent years. And the creatures were nocturnal and shy, even when populations were abundant.
If the thylacine does survive, it would be a remarkable story, for it was a remarkable beast. The largest marsupial predator in modern times, the thylacine took its popular name from the stripes that covered the back half of its elongated frame. Without those stripes, a thylacine would have had some resemblance to a long, skinny dog or wolf, except for two obvious features: its enormous jaw, which the thylacine was able to open to an angle of nearly ninety degrees, and its sloping back, which was somewhat similar to a hyena's (another dog-like creature that is not related to the canines). But whatever resemblance existed between thylacines and the family of canines was superficial -- a matter of convergent evolution, not relatedness. The thylacine was a marsupial, with its pups born and partially raised in a poach.
Most eyewitness accounts said thylacines were neither fast nor ambush predators. The creature's sloping gait, that so resembled a hyena's, was built for endurance not speed. A thylacine would give chase to its prey over long distances, tiring it out, before catching up with it and pinning it down with the enormous jaw and sharp teeth. The preferred prey seems to have been kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, and, a few years after the arrival of white settlers in 1803, sheep. The thylacine's taste for sheep, however, would end up spelling its doom as settlers - many of whom went to Tasmania to raise sheep - grew to hate the beast.
David Owen, a Tasmanian novelist, and the author of "Tasmanian Tiger", argues that the thylacine's reputation for eating sheep was probably undeserved or at least exaggerated. Feral dogs also inhabited Tasmania, and in some cases were known to attack and eat sheep. But whoever the culprit, the "tiger" - as the thylacine was known locally - was blamed by most Tasmanians and bounties were put on its head. As a result, by the early twentieth century, the writing was on the wall for the beast. From 1878 to 1896, more than 3,400 tiger skins were tanned and made into waistcoats. In 1902, 119 thylacines were presented for the bounty. In 1906, just 58. In 1909, the last year any tigers were presented for bounty, only two were given up. The population had been decimated. It was now only a matter of time.
Owen's book is fairly dry, considering the rich nature of the subject matter. David Quammen, in his "The Song of the Dodo", has a far more interesting section on the thylacine, filled with fascinating facts and a strong narrative, covering almost all the ground Owen does in much less space. Perhaps because he is a novelist, Owen has little new to add. He has read the necessary books and source material, but unlike Quammen, and many others who have studied thylacines, he has no scientific background or interest. Quammen put the extinction of the thylacine in perspective by showing its similarities to other extinctions elsewhere in the world; Owen simply portrays it as a sad story in the history of Tasmania.
Owen does add one interesting twist to the story by telling of the project to reconstruct a thylacine using the DNA from a dead fetus preserved in alcohol for several decades. Most scientists think it's an impossible scientific feat to pull off, but Owen interviews a couple of bright-eyed, true believers who think otherwise. The project has found sponsors and some small progress has been made. But with Australia still losing species, counter-arguments have been voiced that the money - which will run into the millions of dollars per thylacine, assuming they are ever successfully cloned - could be better spent saving creatures that still exist.
The same general argument can be made for the money spent on this book. "Tasmanian Tiger" is a dull study on an interesting subject. Owen is an experienced novelist, but you wouldn't know it from reading this book. The narrative never gets going. For a much better book, one with a superb section on thylacines, read David Quammen's "The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions."
Gone the way of the dodo.......2004-12-31
David Owen's "Tasmanian Tiger..." is a little gem that will delight the naturalist, the environmentalist, and just the intelligent reader. It is a poignant tale about an animal that became extinct in relatively recent times, gone the way of the dodo. The book is written unusually well by an impassioned nature-writer, and it is capable of evoking frustration and sadness by the insensitivity of man toward preserving the balance of nature. It is entertaining and richly illuminating about this strange animal, and also about a land as obscure and inaccessible as any spot on earth. I would recommend this book with unrestrained enthusiasm.
Average customer rating:
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Thylacine: The Tragic Tale of the Tasmanian Tiger
David Owen
Manufacturer: Allen & Unwin Pty., Limited (Australia)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Mammals
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
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Endangered Species
| Conservation
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
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ASIN: 1865087580 |
Book Description
A guide to all things wacky, weird, curious, and bizarre in the U.S.A.
Customer Reviews:
I thought this would have more places to see.......2007-06-08
and less festivals and such. I wanted places that I could visit any time, not just at certain times of the year. It does have some interesting things in it, but not enough of what I was looking for.
Quirky road trips.......2007-05-10
This book was helpful but didn't have the "townie" attractions so to speak but we had and are having fun with it!!!
Better then the first edition!!!.......2005-04-09
I wrote this about the 1st edition : This is really a top notch book for the guys that like to get in a car and drive down the state highways - avoiding the interstates. "Eccentric" = don't be scared off buy that - this is not a book of weird stuff - just FUN stuff. This is one of those landmark travel books that comes out every now and then. The author really did the homework to get it all down in print. ==== Now all that has changed is that it is BETTER. We sell this book in our gift shop - it is the best seller. What I like about it is that the author does not make fun of her subjects like other wacky travel guides. Also the amount of details is really handy to the traveler who likes details.
New Adventures.......2004-08-07
Eccentric America leapt off the book shelf and into my hand. Many uncontrollable chuckles and a few tears of laughter later, I exited the book shop with two copies. Within five merry, laughter-filled minutes the eleven year old son of a friend said, "Thanks, Tom," took a copy, and commenced planning his family's upcoming road trip to LA. We're all going adventuring together, thank you.
Janet has created a classic guide that has loaded my life with kinky, weird and fascinating now and in-the-future destinations of interest, erstwhile she has filled my soul with laughter, laughter and more laughter.
A bit of local adventuring initiated by Janet's cook book of weird and wacky, and I was thinking, "I've got an idea or two for you, Lady." Then I visited her website. Oh my god, the adventure bug is contageous. Just can't wait for what Janet and her team comes up with next.
Great Gift!.......2004-07-31
Whether you're traveling across America or just enjoy reading about the strange festivals and peoples across the US, this book would make a great coffee table/bathroom reading book! The map to eccentricity is fantastic, showing the spread of eccentricity isn't what you would necessarily stereotype (we're not all in California!) Anyone who wants to discover unusual facts about Americans and their odd celebrations will love this book.
Customer Reviews:
Loved it!!!.......2007-04-16
I would recommend this book to everyone.
It all started when Hattie's Uncle fell off the roof and died. When his coffen was in the wagon, it fell off into the river. Pa jumped in and tried to save it, but a steamboat came and sucked the coffin under. The captin of the steam boat felt sorry, so he said he would give Pa and the family a free ride anywhere. Pa gathered up all their belongings and headed to Oregan. Hattie and her family went through so much when traveling to oregan. Her friends died, oxen and mules died. Mrs. Kenker stole when folks weren't looking. Mrs. Biggs drowns; Mr. Kenker killed himself by jumping into the river; some boys died of poiesining, etc. In the latter part of the journey all their oxen died, therefore they had to leave all the belongings and walk the rest of the way.
Not as Good as I Expected.......2006-06-01
This book is okay - not good, and definately not perfect. Hattie is SUCH a stereotype of "headstrong, unladylike, has a well-behaved best friend" that I've seen way too many times. The action is not as good as in the Oregon Trail game, and Hattie's family is pretty stereotypical too. Still read, it's not truly terrible...
A delightfully wonderful account of crossing the Oregon Trail.......2006-03-26
I was simply looking for some day-to-day detail about emigrants crossing the Oregon Trail when I stumbled across this book. A quick read left me loving Hattie Campbell and her compelling story. It made me fully understand the hardships, heart aches, joys and successes of the Campbell family's journey. Loved it!
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prarie.......2006-02-03
I am a 6th grader from Cornwall New York. The book I read was Across the Wide and Lonesome Prarie by Kristina Gregory. This book is mainly about a girl named Hattie Campbell starting a new life in Oregon recording everything that happens. During the book Hattie goes through major struggles to get to Oregon.Some struggles Hattie goes through is going through huge dry deserts and long fierce rivers. During these journeys Hattie's friends and family pass away. For Hattie and many others this is very emotional. The whole book they are going through diffrent challenges. One of my favorite parts is when they go through the biggest rivers during a storm and the indians chasing them.I think many people would enjoy the part when they travel through the mountains. This story never stops with the action.The problems just keeps on a going and going. I think anyone who reads this book will love it. I would definetly recomend this book to anyone. If you are looking for a great book I suggest you read this amazing book. If you feel this book does not fit your style than try one of the other Dear America books in the collection.
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie.......2006-02-01
Cornwall, New York, 6th grader. The book Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie was about a girl named Hattie leaving Missouri to start a new life in Oregon with her family. During this journey Hattie goes through many struggles. I thought this was a good book because they were always having a new adventure. During the book they also had to cross rivers go and through dry deserts. I would recommend this book to someone that likes adventure. One of my favorite parts was when they had to go through the first river. Overall this was a good book.
Average customer rating:
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Mortised Cuts: 8 Black-and-White Pressure-Sensitive Stickers (Black-And-White Stickers & Seals)
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
| Criticism
| General
| Regional
| Themes
| Women in Art
Clip Art
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
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General
| Design & Decorative Arts
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General
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ASIN: 0486279189 |
Book Description
Eye-catching graphics feature lovely ladies and assorted comical characters hoisting blank banners and posing with other clever props that contain just enough space for a brief message. 8 stickers.
Book Description
Think you know everything about your feline companion?
In 1,001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Cats, trivia specialist and certified cat fancier J. Stephen Lang puts your whisker wisdom to the test with 1,001 tantalizing trivia tidbits. From myths and legends to famous cat lovers (and haters), "catty" phrases to cartoon kitties, bewildering behavioral quirks to mating and motherhood, you'll learn about:
- five U.S. presidents who adored cats . . . and one who hated them with a passion!
- why cats enjoy kneading their human companions with their paws;
- a breed of cat with webbed feet who swims for his seafood supper!
- the most popular male and female cat names today.
With these and 997 other delicious trivia morsels, you'll discover an abundance of unexpected delights on every page!
Download Description
Tantalizing trivia on furry felines
Why do cats purr? Can they swim if necessary? Why are cats associated with bad luck? This book answers these questions and more, featuring 1,001 tidbits of fascinating information on felines. From myths and legends and catty phrases to cats in history, on film, and in art, each page is filled with surprising, little-known facts.
J. Stephen Lang (Seminole, FL) is a devoted cat lover and the author of over twenty-five books. He has been interviewed on numerous radio and television programs
Customer Reviews:
Great Fun, Made Me Purr.......2005-12-12
We cat lovers can't seem to get enough of cats, even books about cats, right? I enjoyed this one immensely, got it for my birthday (Dec 3), so curled up by the fire with cat in my lap and book in hand and proceeded to learn so many facts and legends that I ended up taking the book to bed. (My husband is used to this by now.) It is fun to pick up and open just anywhere but I read it more or less straight through, utterly fascinated by some of the tidbits about cat behavior, even learned some new things about the feline body. (Did you know cats have whiskers on the backs of their front legs? Funny I'd never noticed it before, but it's true.) Some of the myths and legends are really fascinating, particularly the one about the apostle Thomas. One omission: every science fiction buff will wonder why the book made no mention of "Schrodinger's cat" or Robert Heinlein's "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls." Maybe some future edition will include it!
A Must-Have for Ailurophiles.......2005-08-08
Well, if you don't already know what an ailurophile is, you will after reading this book, plus a thousand other things about cats, present and past. My husband and I have eight cats, and I think we've owned every breed there is, but I still found lots of fascinating cat info I never knew before. The book covers all breeds (I get the feeling the author isn't wild about Siamese, but I can overlook that), plus lots of factoids about their mating habits, their appearance in myths and legends and literature, famous people who kept cats (and a few poor souls who really hated them, like the composer Brahms).
Fun and Informative.......2005-03-06
I love any book about cats, but this one is kind of special because it's written with a sort of light touch--lots of good solid information here, but handled well, often humorously. I especially like the section about all the myths and legends (and nonsense) relating to cats. My kids got into the section about cats that appear in ads, TV shows, movies, cartoons, etc. (Did you know the cartoon cat Sylvester was named 'Thomas' in his first appearances?) I won't say I love this book as much as I love cats, but it's a close second.
Almost as Much Pleasure as Holding a Purring Cat.......2005-01-31
Well, actually, you can read this while holding your purring cat. Anyway, if you love cats, this is a great book, full of one-paragraph tidbits about everything in the world related to cats--their health, different breeds, even off-the-wall things like cartoon cats, cat folklore, the whole nine yards. I liked the section about cats in history, since it added to what little I knew about cats being so popular in ancient Egypt. The book's first section, which explains a lot of mysterious cat behaviors like purring, kneading your belly, or getting high on catnip was really enjoyable. My cat Rufus gives it a 'paws up.'
Like Catnip for Humans.......2004-12-05
OK, I'll admit I always wondered what it is about catnip that gives a 'high' to cats, and now I know. This very enjoyable collection of cat tidbits explains catnip, purring, 'kneading' and other cat phenomena. The section dealing with myths and legends about cats is really fascinating. I never knew there were so many wild (and dangerous) misconceptions about cats. I also never knew that so many famous people through history were cat lovers--including Cleopatra, Winston Churchill, and Mark Twain. I'm writing this before Christmas, so I'm remembering the wonderful legend connecting the Nativity with the 'M' on the foreheads of tabby cats. I wish this book had better illustrations, frankly, but that is a minor point since it is a good read and a good stocking stuffer for any cat lover that is hard to buy for.
Average customer rating:
- Elegant, erudite historiography, with flair and wit
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The Belton Systems, 1758-84/86: America's First Repeating Firearms
Robert Held
Manufacturer: Andrew Mowbray Incorporated, Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Firearms & Weapons
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0917218256 |
Book Description
One of the most handsome and lavishly produced arms books in recent years. 93 pp., 8.5"x11".
Customer Reviews:
Elegant, erudite historiography, with flair and wit.......2003-08-26
It's not very often among studies of old arms and armour that one finds a work on this level of quality on all scores. The invention and subsequent decline into obscurity of two eighteenth-century Anglo-American repeating firearms -- the only known surviving specimens of the Belton repeating systems -- is here told with luminous erudition and an exemplary command of almost Churchillian English prose, of the mother tongue in a by-now nearly lost tradition, elegant, colourful, informative, and spiced by a good deal of iconoclastic, intelligent humour. It's a work that ought to take its place in any history-lover's library not only for the interesting story it tells but for the rare style with which it tells it.
Book Description
From dazzling eight-inch miniatures to hardy climbers, gardeners can choose, plant, and grow 150 fuss-free roses to solve nearly every landscape problem with Ortho's All About The Easiest Roses to Grow published by Meredith (R) Books.
Customer Reviews:
Mixed review.......2003-05-02
I have just about all the All About books by Otho. So let me say up front that I find these books informative both in textual content and in illustrations/photos. However, beware, once one gets hooked on one of these books, one is almost compelled to buy more and more of them--and that is not all out of love for these books. For example, I bought the All About Trees book. Upon close reading, I find several common trees missing from the book. Then I realized that there is a "All About Flowering Trees" book. I have the "All About Shrubs" book. But there is also the "All About Hedges" book. Should I get that one as well if I am thinking of planting a shrub as a hedge? See what I mean?
There is another problem. I live in the east coast of the US. Some of the plants, such as the beautiful rose "Ingrid Bergman", are simply very hard to get--last I checked, only the nurseries in the UK carry this particular cultivar. I guess this series intends to reach a broader range of readership, but I find it a bit disappointing to say the least.
Having said the above, I admit I am new to gardening, which is why I am buying all these books. So maybe in the next five years, I will be able to take better advantage of the info. offered in these series.
A Wealth of Information!.......2003-03-08
This book sets out recommended rose varieties for every situation. Categories are broken down into such topics as the best roses for hot or cold climates, fragrance, roses for cutting, and several locations, from hanging baskets to groundcovers. If you want to pick the right rose, or if you are interested in learning more about how to use roses, get this book!
Book Description
Effortless gardening for novices a snap to use, a pleasure to read.
How to design gardens with 100 easy-to-grow plants.
Full of friendly tips on how to plant, fertilize, water, and maintain flowers—the easy way.
Extensive descriptions of plants.
Garden plans and projects included.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book for the Horticulturally Challenged.......2006-07-12
The information for each plant is concise and extremely useful.
A bloom season chart within is one of the best charts I've seen in a flower book.
I like that the ultimate height and width of each plant is listed in a small diagram for each flower; this information is consistently placed throughout the listings and is easy to find quickly.
Easiest Flowers to Grow has quickly become one of my favorite gardening books, one I return to often. It's a book I can recommend without reservation
Average customer rating:
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Pagemaker 4 for the Macintosh Made Easy
Martin Matthew
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Typography
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Desktop Publishing
| Graphic Design
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Adobe PageMaker
| Graphic Design
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
Desktop Publishing
| Apple
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Software
| Computers & Internet
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Publishing & Books
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0078816505 |
Average customer rating:
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He Died Alone in Tijuana
Raymond Dayan
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ethnic & National
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Memoirs
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1401064256 |
Books:
- Textbook, Animal Life Processes
- THE AFRICAN SAFARI: THE ULTIMATE WILDLIFE AND PHOTOGRAPHIC ADVENTURE
- The Efferent Auditory System: Basic Science and Clinical Applications (Book with CD-ROM) (Singular Audiology Text,)
- The Koala: Natural History Conservation and Management (Australian Natural History Series)
- The Legacy of Cell Fusion (Oxford Science Publications)
- The Mammalian Molecular Clock (Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit)
- The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Animals
- The Natural History of Domesticated Mammals
- The Neural and Behavioural Organization of Goal-Directed Movements (Oxford Psychology Series)
- The New Wolves: The Return of the Mexican Wolf to the American Southwest
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