African Wildlife: A Portrait of the Animal World

Customer Reviews:

Africa is the place to be!.......2005-08-13

This is a pretty cool book. It has many great photographs, and of course lots of good information on many different animals. Also, it shows many good and bad things that have happened in the history of Africa from the 1960s on. I think anyone who likes lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, hyenas, cheetahs, hippos, or any other cool and beautiful animals that nature offers should buy this book. It is so worth the money you'll spend on it. Plus, it's not all that pricy.

Magic and Inspiration from the Dark Continent.......2000-08-17

Joe and Mary Ann McDonald seem to have some kind of personal relationship with the wildlife of Africa. I swear they are all part of the same family. The incredible images they bring back from Africa tell a story of the incredible strength and diversity of the wildlife of Africa. I felt like I was sitting right in the herds and laying down with the lions.

If you are debating a visit to Africa, or need inspiration for your own photography from two of the wildlife photographers on the planet, get this book right now.

The McDonalds take photo tours to Africa several times a year, usually sold out. If these are the images people come home with from their trips, it's no wonder they are sold out. It is obvious though that their repeated trips there, spending lots of time with the animals, has paid off. They have truly captured a rarely seen intimacy in the wildlife. Top of my list!

Book Description

From nights dancing the tango in Buenos Aires to gaucho riding in the grasslands of the Pampas to celebrity spotting on the ski slopes of Bariloche, Argentina offers visitors a vast array of entertainment and adventure. Footprint Argentina covers all the basics with current, critical listings of where to eat, stay, and play. Loaded with information on feasts and festivals, food, fashion, fads, and folklore, it details the history, politics, and culture of Argentina - the birthplace of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, stomping ground of Madonna, and source of Evita worship. Redesigned for accessibility and easy navigation, this edition includes a double-page color highlight map, basic Spanish for visitors, a planning guide, and detailed information on Patagonia and the adventure travel scene.

Customer Reviews:

This 2007 / 4th Edition is a great guide for Argentina and an excellent guide for Patagonia. .......2007-02-27

There was a day when Rough Guide and Lonely Planet were the best guides for travelers that sought to leave the tour groups behind and explore on their own. But slowly, year by year, Footprint has improved, and now this 4th edition is one of the best guides for Argentina that you can buy. *Note that this review is for the the 4th edition, other reviews below are probably refering to the 3rd Edition.

I took five travel guides with me to explore Argentina/Patagonia, and I found myself consistently reaching for Footprint first. It is the most current (2006) and the guide consistently listed quality accommodations and good restaurants, some of which were exemplary. The city maps in the guide are excellent. All the restaurants and hotels are well marked on each map. Kudos.

Footprint Argentina's background section (history, religion, culture etc.) is well written, brief, yet informative. There is an abundance of website references throughout the text and a website listing for almost every accommodation = excellent.

I spent five weeks exploring Patagonia and found Footprint to be the best single guide to have. More than 200 pages in this Argentinean guide are devoted to this region, including a section on Chilean Patagonia. If you purchase "Time Out Patagonia" (see my review) you will have the best two guides possible for Patagonia.

On the downside Footprint uses a cumbersome letter system instead of just telling you the price for accommodations (i.e., LL=$200 plus, L=$150-$200, AL=$101-$150, A,B,C,D,E,F etc. -- putting the legend at the back of the book - a serious hassle). It also fails to tell you what is the price range for the restaurants; so at one eatery you could pay $10 for your meal, then have a $35 bill at another. Not good. The descriptions of the restaurants are insipid and verge on being meaningless: "tasty food", "cosy", "very popular", "delicious food". Whereas, other good guides (Rough Guide - also highly recommended - see my review) give you pointers: "best grilled shrimp ever" / "the steaks here are the best in town" etc.

Bottom line: this is a very good guide for Argentina and the best guide for those that are going to Patagonia. Highly recommended

Totally useless!.......2006-05-26

Everything about this book, from phone numbers to accommodation reviews, has been almost laughably wrong. I've never felt compelled to write a review on amazon before, but this book has been so inaccurate I think I should warn people. The only reason anyone should buy this book is to do the exact OPPOSITE of whatever it says. I doubt this author has even been to the places she writes about, that's how consistently wrong this book is. It is impossible to locate a copyright date, and they probably did that on purpose, considering many places have closed and info is obviously outdated. I understand that some places change over time, but I've given this book a chance in 10 different places throughout Argentina and the advice here has failed miserably.

Not bad, but...........2005-12-25

I returned from Argentina just two weeks ago, and I used this book exclusively. I usually use the "Let's Go" guides when I travel, and I didn't like this one nearly as much. Too many superlatives throughout the book - unfortunately not everything can be amazing or fantastic - so after a while there was really no way to differenciate the truly fantastic (the falls or Perito Moreno Glacier), from the just so so things. And regardless of what the book says, unless you love to eat beef and pork every meal, the food is terrible. Very mediocre pasta and pizzas everywhere, and vegetarians are highly restricted. The food was definitely the lowlight of our trip. If interested in hiking and the outdoors - plan on spending the majority of your time way down south. El Calafate, El Chalten, and Ushuaia are all truly amazing areas. And if you can fit the Falls in, they are definitely worth the trip. The prices in the book were pretty accurate, although things tended to be a bit higher. But it is still quite inexpensive. We thought the book did a poor job of letting you know just how difficult it would be to get to many of the wilderness areas without your own car or hiring an expensive guide. Another thing to remember when planning your trip is that it is much cheaper in the North, and the buses are nicer and more plentiful. Overall, I thought it was a good book, but the authors could have been a bit more honest about the shortcomings of the country.

Highly recommended -.......2004-12-03

We travelled around Argentina out of season using this guide and the Rough Guide, and found that we turned time and again to the Footprint Guide for reliable and up-to-date information. I broke my ankle in Salta, but thanks to this guide, we were booked into a fantastic hotel, and later spent a few nights luxuriating in a gorgeous and fantastic value for money estancia in Pumamarca, which went some way towards saving the holiday from disaster. If you're thinking of going to Argentina, go now, and take this guide with you!

A fantastic book.......2004-12-03

We travelled to Argentina recently and used this as our only guide. The information was accurate, well presented and current. My wife particularly enjoyed the writer's excellent and as she herself said, elegant descriptive prose. We had a marvellous time on the strength of some of her recommendations, most particularly the Lake district and Mendoza where we ate enough meat to see us both through to our pensions. Many thanks Ms Dilks!

Book Description

The name of Rene Lalique (1860-1945) is familiar throughout the world and is synonymous with one of the most extraordinary decorative vocabularies of this century. Known primarily as a master craftsman of objects in glass, he was also the designer of exquisite jewelry that attained the highest expression of the Art Nouveau style. This book, published to coincide with a major retrospective of the artist's early work, brings together a dazzling array of jewels, many from private collections shown here for the first time, and presents them in the context of Lalique's contemporary work in glass. Authoritative texts by an International team of scholars examine a broad range of themes and influences on the artist's career from fashion and photography to literature and jeweler's techniques.

Customer Reviews:

lalique jewellery.......2003-09-05

This book is a great resource for anyone interested in not just art nouveau jewellery but master jewellers of this period.I had not seen lalique's work before and was completely besotted with the pictures in this book,it includes intial design sketches alongside the finished pieces and discusses his work in great length.Great book when I need inspiration.

Great photography!.......2002-11-27

For lovers of the Art Nouveau movement, this book is a must! Lalique was an amazing artist/jeweler, and this book covers the jewelry portion of his career well.

Jewels of Lalique.......2000-04-22

So you missed the exhibit in Dallas? True, this exhibit is possibly the only time these items from private collections will be on display. But do not despair. There is still a wonderful catalog out there to be had.

When my friends and I went to see this exhibit, we were so enamoured by the beauty of the jewelry, we wanted to carry it all home with us. The catalog was the best we could do.

The items in this exhibit that were designed and made by Rene' Lalique moved classicism to modernism. Although the luminosity of the jewelry is certainly lost in the book's photographs, like the sheen of the perfectly matched opals and the glow of the glass enamels, the level of detail is not.

The exhibit was set up to light the plique-a'-jour from the rear of the pieces as well as from the front. Plique-a'-jour is similar to cloisonné. Both techniques use glass enamels separated by cells created from metal, but cloisonné is applied onto a metal surface, whereas plique-a'-jour is openwork, more like a stained glass window. The difference in effect is that plique-a'-jour has a glow that lights up the jewelry, whereas cloisonné receives its shine from the metal behind it.

The plique-a'-jour technique was not new, having been used during the Renaissance but had been virtually forgotten. The influence of the relatively new trade with Japan opened up the eyes of those artists who were participants in the new arts & Crafts movement centered in London. In fact, Lalique studied in London and picked up on the Japanese influences. In addition, there was also a religious movement centered in Germany at this time that centered more upon appreciation of nature than a single deity.

These influences combined in Lalique's jewelry that stunned the world when he unveiled over a hundred pieces of bijou at the Exposition Universalle in Paris in 1900. Critics of his work charged that he was merely trying to provoke the public. The public crowded around the exhibit during its run nonetheless, although not all of the items in the exhibit sold during the Exposition. The opal necklace that all of us loved when we saw this exhibit in Dallas was one that did not sell, surprisingly enough.

So, if you simply could not get to Dallas, then the catalog rates a good look so that you can study Lalique's breathtaking style. He was never matched and, in fact, abandoned making jewelry for glass when cheap, shoddily made knock-offs began to appear. Lalique felt he had gone as far as he could go with jewelry and became a direct Tiffany competitor.

The Jewels of Lalique
Average customer rating:
The Jewels of Lalique
Yvonne, ed. BRUNHAMMER
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MXEOY8

Customer Reviews:

The Inspiration of a Dolphin.......2000-06-30

This is perhaps one of the most compelling and life altering stories reflecting the influences and inspirations of an extraordinary friendship with a dolphin. The reflections made on humankind are humbling when compared to that of a dolphin's...and this story inspires a person to learn to be as free and truly altruistic to his own kind just as the dolphins are in their own world! Donald the Dolphin is a friend that only the few and precious were so fortunate to have had!

Follow a Wild Dolphin. The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship

Average customer rating:

Follow a Wild Dolphin. The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship
Horace E. Dobbs
Manufacturer: Souvenir Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORR10G

Average customer rating:

FOLLOW A WILD DOLPHIN: THE STORY OF AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIENDSHIP
Horace E. Dobbs
Manufacturer: Souvenir Press London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M8SSHM

Average customer rating:

Follow a Wild Dolphin: The Story of an Extraordinary Friendship
Horace E. Dobbs
Manufacturer: Souvenir Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORDWBS

Book Description

A unique guide to an internationally outstanding collection of French bronzes.

The Perfect Florida Lawn: Attaining and Maintaining the Lawn You Want
Average customer rating:
The Perfect Florida Lawn: Attaining and Maintaining the Lawn You Want
Tom MacCubbin
Manufacturer: Cool Springs Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Lawns | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
South | Regional | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Florida Gardener's Guide, 2nd Edition

ASIN: 1591860644

Book Description

Offers valuable advice on how to plan and properly maintain a perfect lawn in Florida. Written by Tom MacCubbin, author/co-author of two Cool Springs Press Florida gardening titles.

Lawn care is a popular and time-consuming aspect of gardening in the home landscape. It is also the area where a majority of landscape dollars are spent, considering the cost of mowing equipment and maintenance, plus fertilizer and pest controls.

The Perfect Florida Lawn gives readers the information tools to create and properly maintain the lawn they desire-whether a pristine manicured lawn or one with low-maintenance areas.

Describes the appropriate lawn varieties for Florida with straightforward information on the advantages and disadvantages of each. Full color photographs illustrate the differences between varieties.

Includes color illustrations of typical lawn pests found in Florida and information on how to control them. Also includes photographs of lawn diseases encountered in Florida and straightforward advice on management practices.

Customer Reviews:

Much To Chew On!.......2003-01-18

Tierney is quite the scholar. I have to say, however, that the reviewer who sees a few flaws in the book is correct, although I wouldnt say that the thesis is undermined.

For those of us who are seeking to overcome the east-west division in Christianity (note that I did not say "Church") and who find the role of the papacy as a crucial element to that union, I recommend: Brian Tierney's "Origins of Papal Infallibility" and "Foundations of the Conciliar Theory"; Heft's "John xxii and Papal Teaching Authority"; "THeir Lord and OUrs" ed by Santer; "The Unity of the Churches of God" ed by Sherwood; "Byzantium and the Roman Primacy" by Francis Dvornik; "WHat Will Doctor Newman Do?" by John Page; "Towards Christian REunion" by Bermejo; "Ecumenism" ed by Cunningham; "Catholicity and the Church" by John Meyendorff (everything he writes is insightful and scholarly); COngar's "Diversity and Communion" (read everything he writes!); "Peter and Paul in teh CHurch of Rome" by Farmer and Kereszty; and "Rome and the Eastern Churches" by that great scholar Aidan Nichols. There are, of course, so many others, so if you know of any that I need to read, email me via the "about me" page! Thanks!

Much To Chew On!.......2003-01-18

Tierney is quite the scholar. I have to say, however, that the reviewer who sees a few flaws in the book is correct, although I wouldn't say that the thesis is totally undermined at all.

Good but flawed work.......2001-09-30

The other on-line reviewer seems unaware of scholarly rebuttals to Tierney's book. Tierney's book is indeed a scholarly work and has many merits. However, his central thesis about Pope John XXII
has been refuted in James Heft's "John XXII and Papal Teaching
Authority" (1986). I strongly recommend that all readers of Tierney's book also read the critical reviews of it by A.M. Stickler (and the exchange between Stickler and Tierney) in the Catholic Historical Review (Oct.,1974 and April, 1975) along with J.A. Watt's insightful comments in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History (Jan., 1974). Both Stickler and Watt are
renowned scholars. As you will see Tierney is hardly the last
word on this issue.

Good but flawed work.......2001-09-30

Incredible Scholarship.......2000-04-11

Brian Tierney has produced an outstanding piece of historical scholarship in "Origins of Papal Infallibility." The work is an exhaustive and meticulous examination of the origins of the modern Roman Catholic doctrine of papal infallibility.

Tierney leaves no stone unturned in his research. He demonstrates conclusively that this doctrine originated in the 12th-14th century controversies between the Popes and the Franciscans. Ironically, it was opponents of the Pope who first suggested the idea and it was immediately condemned by the Pope. Later when it was realized that the doctrine could serve the purposes of the pope the papal opinion of the doctrine changed.

This book is not an easy read, but it is a fascinating study for those willing to invest the time and effort.

(...)The second edition of his book (the one available here) includes an appendix discussing the handful of published critiques and demonstrating why they all fail. As the Jesuit scholar Luis Bermejo said in his 1992 book, INFALLIBILITY ON TRIAL, no Roman Catholic scholar (...) has really adequately responded to Tierney yet.

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