A Field Guide to Tropical Plants of Asia

Book Description

A Field Guide to Tropical Plants of Asia is an indispensable companion for the traveler, backpacker, plant hobbyist, or botanist interested in learning about tropical plants, whether studying them in Indonesian rain forests or the glass houses of an American botanical garden. Using his own experience as a New Jersey native trying to familiarize himself with the local Thai flora, Engel has organized this book for ultimate ease of use. More than 300 color photos - both close-ups and habitat shots - accompany the listings and provide a key piece of the identification process.

Customer Reviews:

Full-color photographs on every page of high-quality paper.......2003-06-17

The collaborative effort of American landscape architect David H. Engel and naturalist Suchart Phummai, A Field Guide To Tropical Plants Of Asia is a gorgeously illustrated guide featuring full-color photographs on every page of high-quality paper. Basic identification information for some 300 species of trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers and more, easily looked up by flower, leaf, or fruit, fill this 280 page, first-rate reference for professional landscapers and horticulturalists, and which is a simple joy and splendor to simply to page through for the non-specialist garden and gardening enthusiast.

Quick check.......2003-06-06

Among the good points of this book are that it is well printed, with a sturdy cover (for a paperback). It is very accessible with a good size of pictures, and some of these pictures are very good. The idea is that if one sees a brightly flowering roadside woody plant one whips out this guide, looks under the appropriate flower color and will find the popular ornamental it belongs to. This goes with a brief description of habit and a list of names (for several countries in Asia). In the back of the book one can find a brief entry with some further detail such as where the plant came from. The botanical names appear to be remarkably free from typos (although not quite).

The bad points are that among the pictures more than a few are a little overexposed (too much sun!). The selection of species illustrates quite clearly that tropical ornamentals (in Asia and elswhere) have become a universal and standard mix that ubiquitously accompanies Man wherever he goes.

For those who are in need of a guide (as described above) this will be a great, perhaps even invaluable resource. Good value for money! For those expecting to learn something of the tropical plants of Asia this will be a letdown, and not really worth taking up shelf space.

Average customer rating:
What's that tree ?: A field guide to tropical plants of Asia

Manufacturer: Times Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 9812049177

Book Description

Independent Travellers New Zealand is an original and practical guide to traveling around this spectacular, faraway country on a budget. Revised annually, it is describes plenty of recommended routes to travel, cities and areas to visit, and offers budget options for accommodations, transportation, eating out, and sightseeing. The guide comes with its own tailored free mini weblinks CD.

Customer Reviews:

handy size, full of info.......2005-09-28

I have the big name guides like Lonely Planet, and they are very informative, but they seem to be pointing me toward where to find every other American tourist in the country. This book is different- It tells me how to get around- breaks it down into method of travel: car rental, rail, fairy, public transportation and backpacking (tramping). This book has schedules and routs for excursions which I have confirmed are current, and even includes walking route tours around towns. I find lots of information in each of the guide books I have picked. I am feeling well prepared for my trip and once I get back I can tell you for sure which guide was most helpful, but based on the information I have gotten from this book I am sure it will be something I rely on to live out my dream for this trip to New Zealand! If not your ONLY guide, it's a great compliment to any guide.

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Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Medieval Africa

Good introduction to West African history

Great place to start ...

Mali and Soghani Timbooktu was real

A Sad Disappointment

The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa
Patricia McKissack , and Frederick McKissack
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Africa | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Mali: Land of Gold and Glory

Sundiata: Lion King of Mali

Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali

African Beginnings

Traveling Man: The Journey of Ibn Battuta 1325-1354

ASIN: 0805042598

Book Description

For more than a thousand years, from A.D. 500 to 1700, the medieval kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay grew rich on the gold, salt, and slave trade that stretched across Africa. Scraping away hundreds of years of ignorance, prejudice, and mythology, award-winnnig authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack reveal the glory of these forgotten empires while inviting us to share in the inspiring process of historical recovery that is taking place today.

Customer Reviews:

Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Medieval Africa.......2007-07-17

This is an awesome book. I had purchased this book many years ago at a homeschool curriculum fair because I have a friend who is from Ghana. I did not know, at the time, that medieval Ghana is not the same as present day Ghana.

I student taught 7th grade social studies and science this past fall semester and I relied on this book quite a bit to teach the origins of sub-Saharan trading. The few textbooks we had in class gave very little detail about this critical time in Africa's history and I wanted to expand the students' knowledge about Africa's trading routes and slave trading.

I would highly recommend this book as a classroom reference or as an informative book on the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Sonhay.

Good introduction to West African history.......2007-02-02

I find that the book is a good introduction to the study of the history of the West African kingdoms. However, it does not give much more than that; little is told about the daily lives of the people, which is what really interests me about any period in history. In addition, I found that the book focuses a bit too much on the mythology, which, let's face it, sounds strange to modern American children, reinforcing the notion that Africans are primitive. The book also does not give enough pictures of what anything or anyone from the kingdoms looked like, forcing the reader to imagine the visuals, which are bound to look more like modern cartoon depictions of Africa than the actual kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay.

That being said, if you have children who are interested in learning a little bit about African history, this book is a good start. It gives bits of information that you don't get in your history classes, even those that teach world history. I learned about these kingdoms way back in the 7th grade, but even then I did not learn that there were Europeans who went to African universities in the Middle Ages, which is quite a switch from today's world. That little fact is powerful, because it forces the question of what happened to Africa that resulted in the widespread poverty, disease, malnutrition, and war we hear about so much in the news today.

Since I am not African-American and do not know many people who are, I am unable to judge with any certainty whether the book is good for enhancing the self-esteem of African-American children (which seems to be one of the purposes of this book). However, I can say that the book is a good introduction to West African history for anyone, regardless of race or age.

Great place to start ..........2003-04-26

This book is short and relatively simplistic in its explanations. You would not want to use it as the pillar to your dissertation on Malian history. Nevertheless, it does give a good general introduction to West African history and the great kingdoms that once flourished by the Niger River.

It starts with the creation myths, and then chronologically, explains very simply the beginnings and endings of the kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhaim. It addresses the mingling of the native religion with Islam, and ends with the downfall of the kingdoms. It also briefly addresses the issue of slavery.

I bought this about a month before visiting a friend who is doing research in Bamako (the Capital of Mali). I vaguely recollected learning about a chapter's worth in seventh grade about the Saharan trade routes and something about Ghana and Songhai and Timbuktu, but could not remember much more than the names of the kingdoms.

This book was excellent, in giving me enough background to be able to appreciate the depth of the history and the people when I visited. That being said, this is an excellent place to START learning about West African history - but hopefully, it is not where you will end your learning, as there are other resources out there that give much deeper and more thorough information about this great region.

Mali and Soghani Timbooktu was real.......2001-06-29

OK I am sick and tired of europeans thinking Africans never had a rich culture of their own. The mali dynasty was a great one that grew out of trade with saharan tribes and over the course of history grew into a sucessful and prosperous kingdom. When Europe was in the dark ages scholars like Ahmed baba was writting books,in fact over 3500 of them. I dsiagree with the contact of the meso american cultures,but there is proof in arabic manuscrips that africans was able to sail to the new word. The evidence shows that their is a genous of plantains that grow in brazil called musa x. The name of a king in Mali was musa,and ibn battua an norther african scholar traveled all around the islamic worls and told about the wealth of the african people here. By the way my friend from australia have you been to mali i have I am also white by the way

A Sad Disappointment.......2000-08-08

If you're after a balanced, scholarly history of these fascinating kingdoms, regrettably this is not it.

This authors intent appears principally to raise the esteem and consciousness of pubescent Afro-Americans

Despite falling well outside the scope indicated by the title, the book includes sections on the European Atlantic slave trade as well as wild speculation that fleets of explorers from Mali may have been in contact with Meso-America.

The book is nearly saved from total uselessness by the inclusion of a bibliography, though Time-Life picture book publications feature heavily, so even this fails to do much other than disappoint.

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The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa
Pat; McKissack, Patricia; McKissack, Fredrick Jr.; McKissack, Fredrick McKissack
Manufacturer: Henry Holt & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K4XSN2

Book Description

The story of Little Big Dog

The history of the Yorkshire Terrier is truly a rags to riches saga. Originally bred as a ratter, the earliest Yorkies were considerably larger than the glamorous little dogs we are familiar with today, but they were working terriers that provided both sanitation and sport for the Scottish weavers who bred them in England's industrial north. Now a world authority on the breed traces her favorite from its humble beginnings to its emergence as the canine epitome of style. In fourteen chapters, the whole story of the Yorkshire is charmingly told. Chapters on origin, history and standard join discussions of puppies, rearing, showing and breeding. Of particular excellence is the chapter on grooming, so essential to the health and beauty of the Yorkie.

Customer Reviews:

Today's Yorkie, Not Just A Pretty Face.......2000-11-30

Ms. Sameja-Hilliard has captured the versatility of the yorkshire terrier. The book covers everything from your new puppy, to showing and training your yorkie in conformation, obedience, and performance events. History of the yorkie, complete with many photos of the early yorkshire terrier, shows how this breed has evolved. The breed standard is also covered, as well as grooming and health issues. Although this is a Britsh author, American yorkie breeder/judge Betty Dullinger also discusses the American yorkies today in the final chapter. A good book for any yorkie enthusiast. Easy reading, nice layout, and lots of pictures to correlate with the text.

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Modern Landscape Architecture: Redefining the Garden
Jory Johnson , and Felice Frankel
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Landscape | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1558590234

Average customer rating:
Modern Landscape Architecture: Redefining the Garden
Felice & JOHNSON,Jory FRANKEL
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RJJZN2

Average customer rating:
MODERN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Redefining the Garden
Felice and Jory Johnson Frankel
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JV9TN4

Book Description

Both beginners and advanced users will get professional results fast by following Church's step-by-step instructions.

Customer Reviews:

Truly an Essential Guide by the Master Instructor.......2001-04-23

Jim Church has done it again. This concise reference to underwater video goes through the basics of using the camera to extensive help in setting up scenes, in-camera editing, and story production. The use of illustrations and demonstating photographs is most helpful. The book is very "technical" in areas where Jim feels that knowledge of the way the camera, lenses, and lighting interact will help the videographer improve his outcome. To my knowledge this is the best book available for the beginning to intermediate level underwater video photographer.

Useful, but technical.......2001-03-12

Maybe I'm too much of a novice, but this book (which is now in it's second edition) is a bit too technical for me. Certainly the techniques for video taping are helpful, and all is explained clearly with solid illustrations. But the sections on lenses, focal lengths, etc, gets to be a bit much.

Overall, I think for a beginner (and maybe more experienced) this is worth getting . . . I just wish some parts were a bit easier to comprehend.

Book Description

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Here–for the first time in one volume–are two classic, brilliantly original works on the experience of Chinese immigrants in America. In both books Maxine Hong Kingston mines her family’s past and her culture’s stories, weaving myth and memory to fashion works of enormous revelatory power.

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award, is Kingston’s disturbing and fiercely beautiful account of growing up Chinese-American in California. The young Kingston lives in two worlds: the America to which her parents have emigrated, a place inhabited by white “ghosts,” and the China of her mother’s “talk stories,” a place haunted by the ghosts of the past. Her mother, who had been a doctor in China but in the United States is reduced to running a laundry, tells her daughter traditional tales of strong, wily women warriorstales–that clash puzzlingly with the real oppression of Chinese women. Kingston learns to fill in the mystifying spaces in her mother’s stories with stories of her own, engaging her family’s past and her own present with anger, imagination, and dazzling passion.

China Men, a National Book Award winner for fiction, is Kingston’s unforgettable imaginative journey into the hearts and minds of generations of Chinese men in America, from those who worked on the transcontinental railroad in the 1840s to those who fought in Vietnam. Mixing vivid fables and legends, personal stories from her own family, and details of the historical hardships faced by Chinese immigrants in different times and places, Kingston illuminates their long, arduous search for the Gold Mountain.

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The Woman Warrior, China Men

Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BUG8SC

Maxine Hong Kingston's Broken Book of Life: An Intertextual Study of the Woman Warrior and China Men

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Maxine Hong Kingston's Broken Book of Life: An Intertextual Study of the Woman Warrior and China Men
Maureen Sabine
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Chinese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Chinese | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0824827848

Book Description

Since the publication of The Woman Warrior more than a quarter century ago, author Maxine Hong Kingston has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in popularity and literary importance, earning a place in the American canon as the living author most frequently taught at U.S. universities. The numerous studies of this touchstone work, however, fail to take into account the stories in China Men, which were largely written together with those in The Woman Warrior but later published separately. Although Hong Kingston's decision to separate the male and female narratives enabled readers to see the strength of the resulting feminist point of view in The Woman Warrior, this division also made it easier to overlook the literary and cultural significance of the material that was taken out and moved to China Men. Indeed in the face of the growing and disproportionate attention to the mother-daughter relationship in The Woman Warrior, Hong Kingston steadily maintained that to understand the book fully it was necessary to read its male companion text.

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