Orchids of Tropical Africa

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Orchids of Tropical Africa
Joyce Stewart
Manufacturer: W.H. Allen / Virgin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0491001436

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Icones orchidearum austro-africanarum extra-tropicarum;: Or, Figures, with descriptions, of extra-tropical South African orchids
Harry Bolus
Manufacturer: W. Wesley & Son
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00086JCAK

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Orchidaceae in Flora of Tropical Africa
R. A Rolfe
Manufacturer: Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007B3INI

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

France had wood, water and stone. To its early inhabitants these were the essential raw materials, and the land offered them in abundance. Less rich in mineral resources, it proved in time to have scattered deposits of coal, iron ore and bauxite. More important, its mixture of soils, climatic zones and different kinds of landscape provided the basis for a variety of agriculture that has been the mainstay of its economy. In shape a rough hexagon about a thousand kilometres long and the same across, France stretches from the North Sea to the Mediterranean, giving it a blend of northern and southern characteristics that can sometimes disconcert its neighbours. For centuries, the more stolid English have looked across the Channel with alternating envy and disapproval at this unpredictable, seductive country, with its flair for style, its dubious taste for the speculative and theoretical, its alarming penchant for revolutions.

Where does its history begin? Popular tradition long ago fixed on Clovis. It was he who dispatched the last representative of Roman power in Gaul and went on to piece together a Frankish kingdom that had at least the rough outlines of what later became France. But only after five ragged centuries of Merovingian and Carolingian rule do we really begin to see the emergence of modern France. Once the Capetian monarchs have established their sovereignty, we can talk with more assurance about the history of a nation. The Hundred Years' War against England left it drained but intact, and before long it was looking towards Italy for foreign conquests. At the end of the 16th century, after decades of religious civil war, the Bourbon dynasty came to the throne. Within a generation, it had set France on a course of expansion abroad and absolutism at home which led at last to the financial chaos, political exclusion and social inequity that precipitated the Revolution. Napoléon's rapidly acquired empire was as rapidly dismantled, leaving France to weave its way through a chequered century of restoration, revolution, empire and republic towards the cataclysm of 1914. In spite of the trauma of two devastating world wars and bitter colonial troubles, the end of the 20th century saw France in confident mood. Its millennium celebrations, by common consent among the best in the world, reflected a country that was still, as it had been for centuries, at the forefront of European powers.

For those living at the time, it is the political history of a nation that looms largest - the wars, the laws, the governments, the national triumphs and disasters. For those who come after, the perspective changes. In the middle of the bloody horrors of the Seven Years' War, Voltaire published Candide. Its words of provocation still ripple across the world; but who cares now about the victories and defeats that in 1759 seemed so much more important? In truth, the impact of a nation's history often has less to do with battles than with books. Measured in terms of the unspectacular events that create a cultural heritage, the significance of France's history is immense. From the poetry of the troubadours and the architecture of the great medieval cathedrals to the dominant artistic and intellectual movements of the 20th century, France has exercised a cultural influence unrivalled by any other country in Europe. If we look for the forces that shaped our way of thinking today, it is to the writers of the French Enlightenment - to Montesquieu, Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau and the rest - that we must return, and beyond them to Pascal and Descartes.

The French themselves have rarely been in doubt about their cultural pre-eminence, which is perhaps one reason why, at a time when the west has in general been eager to shelter under America's umbrella and share its culture, France has tended to stand aloof. A healthy suspicion of American influence has marked French policy on a range of issues from its attitude to NATO to its stance on the Middle East, from pursuit of nuclear weapons to protection of the national film industry. France goes its own way. And this irritating, admirable confidence in the superiority of its own arrangements comes ultimately from a pride in its past. No one demonstrated this more clearly than General de Gaulle. France, he explained at the start of his war memoirs, had always seemed to him to have a special destiny: `France could not be France without greatness.' The conviction came to him from his father in a manner that de Gaulle sums up in a single, brief sentence. Quite simply, `Il m'en a découvert l'Histoire' - He revealed to me its History.

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What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks

Manufacturer: Aladdin Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Children Just Like Me: Celebrations!

ASIN: 0689844123

Product Description

Eat up! Using forks, knives, and spoons is the polite way to eat, right? Wrong! In fact, more people eat with chopsticks or their fingers than with utensils. And that's just today. Until the Stone Age, there weren't even any utensils. Patricia Lauber's fact-filled tour of the history of how people through the ages have dealt with the basic problem of getting food to their mouths, enhanced by John Mander's lively illustrations, will have young readers clamoring for seconds.

What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks (Lauber, Patricia. Around-the-House History.)

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Taught me a thing or two!
Gave my kids a new appreciation for utensils

What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks (Lauber, Patricia. Around-the-House History.)
Patricia Lauber
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Customs & Traditions | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0689804792

Book Description

Stone Age people invented the first knives...and also the first spoons.

In the Middle Ages the first books of manners told readers to wipe their greasy fingers on the tablecloth. And in 1669 King Louis XIV ordered that table knives should have rounded ends because there'd been too many stabbings.

In What You Never Knew About Fingers, Forks, & Chopsticks, Patricia Lauber and John Manders serve up a hilarious and informative look at how ways of eating and manners have changed through the ages. This well-researched tour of social history makes the subject of how we eat more fascinating and fun than you ever imagined it could be.

Customer Reviews:

Taught me a thing or two!.......2001-12-28

I did not realize the history of eating utensils was so interesting. I did become intrigued when I lived in Thailand and learned to eat their way with a fork and spoon or watched Europeans with their forks and knives. I am still not good at eating sticky rice and accompanying dishes with my hand. My favorite situation was watching Thais describe the way Chinese eat with chopsticks. The Thai think that the way Chinese eat is barbaric. Little do they know that most Americans think they eat with chopsticks too!

Gave my kids a new appreciation for utensils.......2001-08-19

This book takes a humorous, illustrated look at the history of eating habits. It educates, while simultaneously poking fun at ancient and modern affectations associated with the dinner table. It starts and ends with a primitive family who are just beginning to make use of fire.

It gives brief descriptions of eating customs and utensils in different cultures over the centuries. The evolving dining and feasting customs of medeval Europe are particularly amusing. Children will have a new appreciation for their spoons, knives and even forks after reading the author's amusing take on their introduction into our popular use.

This is a book that was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone in our family--from the six-year-old to the adults.

Customer Reviews:

I love cougars.......2007-07-31

I love cougars and Olson's writing is fabulous. "My hair was marching forward on my head . It seemed like I could smell the acrid odor of adrenaline pouring from every pore in my body. ...It was above me on the slope, and slightly behind, the classic stalk position of the cougar. I knew it would rush in giant leaps...the last leap would accomplish three things - it would knock me flat, the front claws would close around my body, and the bite at the back of my neck would be powerful and instant. My neck vertebrae would separate, pithing me like an experimental frog....I almost left my skin behind when the `cougar' snorted."

The cougar transformed into a mule deer, and fear gave way to relief and musings, "From far back in my own genetic mists, I had still remembered what it was like to be prey."

If this beautiful predator fascinates you, Solitary Spirit will be a good addition to your library.

Great Cougar Book.......2000-06-20

This is an excellent book. Written in a comprehensive and interesting way, it covers very well all the aspects of the cougar's life. It focuses especially, on disipating myths and misinformation surrounding this beautiful and elusive animals. Statistics, status, distribution and the human interaction are also described here. But perhaps the best part of this book are the beautiful full-color photographs that grace every page. I must recomend this book highly, indeed, because at it's price, it's also the best buy you can make.

Book Description

Riding crops, saddles, carriage lamps, etc. Over 2000 copyright-free illustrations from rare 19th-century catalog.

Customer Reviews:

Catalog Reprint.......1998-09-17

This is a reprint of Moseman's 1893 horse tack and equipment catalog. Excellent research material.

Book Description

The tranquility of water has the power to calm frazzled nerves and soothe a weary soul. As our modern world increases in complexity, the simple serenity of water becomes ever more enticing. Create a magic world all your own with glittering shadows that bounce off the kitchen walls, or build a hidden pond in a clearing in the woods as an escape from everyday pressures. Whatever style or use you choose, you'll find all you need to make the dream a reality. Go beyond just a hole in the ground, and experiment with raised ponds, waterfalls, streams, and more. For those without the know-how to design a pond, or lacking the funds to hire a builder, practical advice and inspiring photos will help you realize your fantasy garden.

Customer Reviews:

More questions than answers.......2002-05-12

I was looking for a book to help me plan a very large pond, no fish, with water plants. After thoroughly reading this book, it left me with more questions than answers. For instance, with the type of pond I was considering, what are the criteria I need to keep in mind in determining whether or not I need to use a pump and filtration system? I really did not want to have to install one, but this book did not offer any real advice in helping me decide this very important aspect. If I choose not to install a circulating system, what is the best way to maintain my pond? How will I control algae growth? How do I choose the best plants and their placement? Some of the terms used were not easily identifiable by their context as to the meaning: what exactly is a coping? concrete haunch? The drainage section was vague and very confusing--there was so little information to go with.

Like the editorial review says, it is aimed at amateurs; however, amateurs will find they'll need to reference additional sources for some very basic information before initializing any pond project. "The Complete Pond Builder" was not as COMPLETE as I would have liked.

You will find, though, beautiful, inspiring pictures to help you decide how you would like your pond to look and images of the various stages of construction that may be involved in your project.

Nice book, but it lacks some key subject information.......2001-07-19

This book explains how to build ponds of different shapes and sizes. It contains some wonderful images of ponds and pools, and it details how to place specific types of plants at different layers of a pond. It includes a section on building bog gardens as well. I think it has slightly better construction detail than Swindells' The Master Book of the Water Garden. For example, in one section, it even explains where to apply different concrete mixes to specific parts of a pond. It also includes more examples of smaller ponds. However, it is not as comprehensive as Swindell's book, and it contains very little information about three additional areas that I think are rather important for pond-building: adding fish, designing for wildlife, and performing seasonal maintenance.

Great book for ideas on various types of ponds.......2000-06-11

This is an excellent book for ideas on various types of ponds: preformed; lined; concrete; raised and semi-raised; etc. with pretty good details on constructing most styles.

The only reason I didn't give it a better rating, is because in trying to cover so many styles in limited space (144 pages total), it naturally could not offer the level of detail I was looking for when building my lined pond.

That said it was an excellent book, with great ideas and I strongly recommend it.

BTW, I completed my pond (2,500 gallons!) and it looks great!

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The Complete Pond Builder: Creating a Beautiful Water Garden
Helen Nash
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P240P4

Book Description

Through their open defiance, women like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth had a significant impact on the institution of slavery. But what of the millions of other women who did not commit public or even private acts of resistance? Are their stories worthy of our attention? While some scholars imply that only the struggle for freedom was legitimate, Jenny Sharpe complicates the linear narrative-from slavery to freedom and literacy-that emerged from the privileging of autobiographical accounts like that of Frederick Douglass. She challenges a paradigm that equates agency with resistance and self-determination, and introduces new ways to examine negotiations for power within the constraints of slavery.

In Ghosts of Slavery, Sharpe introduces a wider range of everyday practices by examining the lives of three distinctive Caribbean women: a maroon leader, a mulatto concubine, and a fugitive slave. Through them she explains how the diasporic experience of slavery enabled black women to claim an authority that they didn't possess in Africa; how concubines empowered themselves through their mimicry of white women; and how less-privileged slave women manipulated situations that they were powerless to change. Finding the highly mediated portrayal of slave women in the historical records limited and sometimes misleading, Sharpe turns to unconventional sources for investigating these women's lives. In this fascinating and historically rich account, she calls for new strategies of reading that question traditional narratives of history, and she finds alternative ways to integrate oral storytelling, slave songs, travel writing, court documents, proslavery literature, and contemporary literature into black history.

Ultimately, this layered approach not only produces a more complex picture of the slave women's agency than conventional readings, it encourages a more nuanced understanding of the roles of slaves in the history of slavery.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from African American Review, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2006. The length of the article is 792 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Jenny Sharpe. Ghosts of Slavery: A Literary Archaeology of Black Women's Lives.(Book review)
Author: Bob Fox
Publication: African American Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Page: 838(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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