Simon & Schuster Children's Guide to Insects and Spiders

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book for children.......2007-08-15

I bought this book for my 8-year-old niece, who loves bugs. She adores this book, everything about it. She loves the BIG pictures of the insects, as she can really study their anatomy. She loves the very informative descriptions given and also the variety of insects covered. I would highly recommend this book for any child who loves bugs. I, however, being a bit squeamish, got a little nauseous seeing such huge pictures of insects but it didn't bother my brave, curious niece at all.

Children's Guide.......2007-01-11

Very easy book for an 8 yr old to read. Much info and pictures.

Great "bug book".......2005-09-16

My 3-year-old grandson is a big Spider-man fan, and he told me he wanted a book about spiders and "bugs." I bought this book because I liked the illustrations. They were clear and accurate, but not frightening. My grandson loves it. He actually goes to bed with it. He and I alternate pointing to the pictures and asking each other, "What is this?" Even though the text is for much older children, the pictures are ageless.

Great bug stuff for kids.......2001-07-16

Our kids loved this book! Not only was it written well enough to keep their interest but it left them wanting more! The descriptions were detailed enough for young minds but did not become a lecture so that they "glazed over". It made our kids enjoy their learning time. The illustrations were large, detailed and numerous. This book was great for the ages it was written for and even younger; as our three and five year olds loved the pictures and started asking questions right away! This was an over all great book to help get a kid's thirst for learning started!

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects (Fireside Book)

Average customer rating:

Guide to Insects (Fireside Book)
An Exercise in Frustration
Excellent insect field guide
Great for the Casual Nature Fan
An invaluable quick reference guide for organic gardeners!

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects (Fireside Book)
Dr. Ross H. Arnett , and Dr. Richard L. Jr. Jacques
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0671250140

Book Description

Whether you are a novice or experienced collector, student, farmer, or weekend gardener, you will find Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects a highly authoritative, startlingly beautiful field guide to 350 insect species commonly found throughout North America.

The introduction to the text explains the anatomy and behaviors of these amazingly diverse creatures, as well as the easiest, most efficient manner in which to preserve and mount your insect collection. Each entry is stunningly complemented by one or more color photographs and contains information about the habitat, distribution, length, recognition marks, and other pertinent details concerning the particular species. A three-part visual key provides instantaneous identification of the insect's primary activity, its habitat, and its ecological significance. This is an indispensable reference tool for anyone fascinated by the insect world.

Customer Reviews:

Guide to Insects (Fireside Book).......2006-11-04

This has been an excellent source to identily insects for us.

An Exercise in Frustration.......2004-11-23

Consider the lucky birders. In North America there are less than 900 species of birds. While some may be only 3 or four inches long, others are measured in feet. New birding guides are issued every year. And while a few species, like the empidonax flycatchers may be difficult to tell apart, all of the species are illustrated in most guides, and 90% are identifiable if the birder gets a good look at them.

Now consider the amateur entomologist. There are over 80,000 species of insects in North America. Most insects are relatively small. Telling the difference between species may require examining the vein pattern in wings. The field guides to insects illustrate at most 700 insects. No wonder there are more bird watchers than insect watchers. And no wonder there hasn't been a major insect field guide published since 1981!

A field guide to insects then probably can't help you identify most specific species. The authors feel they have done their job if they can help you identify the family. Unfortunately most, including the Simon & Schuster guide, may not even do that.

To test insect guides I took a series of pictures of each of three insects and then tried to identify them with the help of the guides. They were pictures of a butterfly-like insect, a bee and a fly. Simon and Schuster helped me identify the insect order with a table that provided common features of an order and gave its name. I then was required to flip through the pages describing the orders, which are arranged taxonomicaly, to find a description of the order and the entry numbers of the pictures and descriptions of that order. (It would have been convenient if the table had listed the page where I could find the order description and the pages where I could have found the initial entries.) Next I had to flip through the entries, examining each photograph to find an insect that most closely resembled my specimen.

I should note that some guides use drawings while others, like Simon and Schuster use photographs. My experience is that either method may be more advantageous in a specific case.

For my butterfly-like insect, I immediately identified it as a Brown Skipper. My bee looked most like a Carpenter Bee, an identification I felt more comfortable with after consulting other guides. But I could not identify my fly at any level lower than order.

Of the field guides I examined, I found this to be the least satisfactory, both as to convenience, and as to the number of insects shown. And since one is unlikely to make a precise identification unless on finds exactly the species on is looking for, the more insects the better.

Even though they are only a little better, most people trying to identify insects will probably be happier with the Peterson Guide, "A Field Guide to Insects" by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White or the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders" by Loris and Margery Milne.

Excellent insect field guide.......2002-01-14

This guide is awesome, pictures and illustrations are from very high quality, I found this guide comparable to those guides from Audubon.

Two illustration of insects come on left page, and on the right page you have the theorical info, so It easy to read and look at the picture at the same time. Insects are very easy to find, theyre grouped in orders, and by similitudes of course.

This is a must have for any insect enthusiast, no mether if a begginer or if an expert on this field.

It is very complete.

Great for the Casual Nature Fan.......2000-05-18

Great general reference guide with photos by renowned insect photographer Dr. Edward Ross. A well done eighty-three page introduction covers such topics as classification, anatomy, behavior and collecting. Not for real die hards as the number of species is limited. Great though for students, naturalists, nature photographers and others interested in a good general introduction that uses top quality photography.

An invaluable quick reference guide for organic gardeners!.......1998-03-12

It would be impossible for any single book to be a total guide (and I have many!), but this book has EXCELLENT photographs - which is especially helpful with hemiptera (true bugs), since there is a shortage of identifying guides for them. I not only found photos of insects that I (and my county ag agent) had been unable to identify, this book is wonderfully keyed to indicate whether insects are beneficials, pests, neutral, etc. This "at a glance" keying (by color, symbols and single alpha's) is very helpful for gardeners since most books do not give good information on what insects eat (a predator can develop into a pest as an adult, and vice versa), etc., but rather only provide physical identification information. Organic gardeners can frequently find information only on the worst (most common) pests, and may live in areas where they have worst pests that are not indigenous elsewhere, or identification of the most common predators, that may not be universally common. The author give life histories and other valuable information frequently lacking in "identification" books. Scientific names are provided for the more serious reader - and to help in identifying similiar insects in more complete but poorly illustrated books. Because of the beautiful photos, it would be a good "beginner book" for a budding entomologist too! This book is a real bargain!

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects & Spiders

Average customer rating:

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects & Spiders
Jinny Johnson
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Insects & Spiders | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0614290724

Book Description

For thousands of slaves--whose exact number will never be known--the North Star marked the way to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The stories of the brave "passengers" on the escape route whose extraordinary fortitude broke their own chains, and of the "conductors" who risked their lives to help others, are a testament to the human spirit.

In this fascinating and thorough account, Gena K. Gorrell movingly describes the history of the Underground Railroad, from the origins of slavery through the Civil War and beyond. She depicts the passage from Africa on desperately crowded slave ships, the station-by-station development of the powerful Railroad routes to the northern United States and Canada, and the immense challenges runaways faced once they reached freedom. Throughout the narrative, Gorrell highlights the pivotal roles played by various people of the era, those who became famous and those who remain too little known.

The immediacy of the writing is complemented by period posters, photographs, and paintings, making North Star to Freedom a living history so gripping that it will be impossible to forget.

Customer Reviews:

The American Underground Railroad from the Promised Land.......1997-03-13

"North Star to Freedom" is a matter of fact Canadian view of the American Underground Railroad and the historical periods it existed written for children. Considering that Canaan and the Promised Land were used as code words for Canada in spirituals used in the Underground Railroad it is an intriguing viewpoint. People weren't happy as slaves but being a fugitive slave in another state or country was a tough situation. People risked recapture, started out poor, and struggled against racial prejudice. The Underground railroad is portrayed as varying from kind people acting on impulse to help a runaway to highly organized conductors and stations. Slavery is honestly shown as existing throughout Canada and the United States in different degrees. Occasional freedom from slavery through manumission and self-purchase through savings are mentioned. The only problem I have with the book is that it covers freedom earned by slaves fighting for the Loyalist Cause and emigrating to Canada but not the Patriotic slaves earning their freedom on the American side in regiments such the First Rhode Island during the Revolutionary War. The result was a stable population of free African -Americans in Canada and New England sometimes assisting others to freedom and often camouflaging them. The 1793, Canada legislated the eventual freeing of all its slaves and declared any American slaves crossing the border were free. In contrast, The United States of America passed the first Fugitive Slave Law in 1793 to give slave catchers the right of search and seizure in any state. The Underground Railroad became organized around that time. Some slaves went all the way to Canada but many disappeared into the communities of free African-Americans in the North. Some became active in the Underground Railroad to help others escape, some became well-known abolitionists, some struggled to create a new life for themselves. The Second Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 put all fugitive slaves and some free African-Americans at risk of being captured and sent into slavery on the word of a slave hunter and any white person claiming to be their owner. Active abolitionists who had escaped slavery years previously were especially at risk. Roughly forty thousand fugitive slaves went to Canada. Some returned to fight for the North in the Civil War. After the American Civil War, about two thirds of the fugitive slaves returned to the United States. "North Star to Freedom" describes succinctly how and why the Underground Railroad existed. I would recommend it as a reference book for elementary and middle schools that could also be read for pleasure. The historical treatment of slavery and the Underground Railroad is excellent for the age group. The period illustrations create a parallel story to capture readers.

North Star Country: Upstate New York and the Crusade for African American Freedom (New York State History & Culture)

Average customer rating:

North Star Country: Upstate New York and the Crusade for African American Freedom (New York State History & Culture)
Milton C. Sernett
Manufacturer: Syracuse University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Slavery & Emancipation | World | History | Subjects | Books

State & Local Government | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

U.S. | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 081562915X

Book Description

There are two major classes of Transposable Elements: Class I elements that are mobilized with an RNA intermediate (retrotransposons), and Class II elements that lack such an intermediate. This book provides a historical background and fully describes all known transposable elements, the modes of their transposition and the utilization of these elements in medicine, genetics, and crop improvement. It is the only text that is targeted at a wide range of readers and can be comprehended also by the novice in this field.

Book Description

Citation Details

Distributed by ProQuest Information and Learning

Liquid Crystal Dispersions (Liquid Crystals Series,V0l 1)

Average customer rating:

Liquid Crystal Dispersions (Liquid Crystals Series,V0l 1)

Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Crystallography | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Optics | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Crystallography | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9810217455

Spectroscopy With Polarized Light: Solute Alignment by Photoselection, in Liquid Crystals, Polymers, and Membranes

Average customer rating:

Spectroscopy With Polarized Light: Solute Alignment by Photoselection, in Liquid Crystals, Polymers, and Membranes
Josef Michl , and Erik W. Thulstrup
Manufacturer: Vch Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Analytic | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

Solutions & Colloids | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This book deals with polarized optical spectroscopy of partially oriented fluid or rigid solutions. Starting from elementary concepts and relying on numerous illustrations, it provides an introduction to those interested in the measurement of the anisotropy of molecular optical properties in the UV, visible or IR regions (one- and two- photon absorption, simultaneous or sequential, luminescence, Raman scattering, natural and magnetic potical activity), or in the determination of uniaxial order and organization in supermolecular assemblies (liquid crystals, stretched polymers, membranes). The orienting effects of radiation (photoselection) are covered as well.

A large number of examples of research applications within chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, and polymer science are given together with examples of practical application.

Holographically formed polymer dispersed liquid crystal displays [An article from: Displays]

Average customer rating:

Holographically formed polymer dispersed liquid crystal displays [An article from: Displays]
J. Qi , and G.P. Crawford
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR32JM

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Displays, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Bragg gratings are holographically recorded in polymer dispersed liquid crystal materials to create a stratified composite material known as holographically formed polymer dispersed liquid crystals (H-PDLCs). Through a photo-induced diffusion-counter diffusion process, a refractive index modulation is permanently created. By choosing proper pitches of gratings and geometry, the gratings can be utilized for reflective displays with high color-purity. By applying a sufficient voltage, the reflective displays can be turned on and off in sub-milliseconds. In this contribution, we review H-PDLC technology in the context of reflective display applications.

Book Description

Convex polytopes are the analogues in space of any dimension of convex plane polygons and of convex polyhedra in ordinary space. This book describes a fresh approach to the classification of these objects according to their symmetry properties, based on ideas of topology and transformation group theory. Although there is considerable agreement with traditional treatments, a number of new concepts emerge that present classical ideas in a quite new way. For example, the family of regular convex polytopes is extended to the family of ‘perfect polytopes’. Thus the familiar set of five Platonic polyhedra is replaced by the less familiar set of nine perfect polyhedra. Among the many unsolved problems that arise, that of finding all perfect polytopes, and more generally all perfect convex bodies, is perhaps the most attractive. This book will be of value to specialists and graduate students in pure mathematics, especially those studying symmetry theory, convex bodies, and polytopes.

Book Description

By some strange arts, Isabel's wonderful story might have been, some way, and for some cause, forged for her, in her childhood, and craftily impressed upon her youthful mind; which so--like a slight mark in a young tree--and now enlargingly grown with her growth, till it had become this immense staring marvel. Tested by any thing real, practical, and reasonable, what less probable, for instance, than that fancied crossing of the sea in her childhood, when upon Pierre's subsequent questioning of her, she did not even know that the sea was salt.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Rich Chocolaty Goodness.......2006-11-17

The thing about Bartleby, the Scrivener is that it makes you want to read everything else Melville wrote. Right now I'm about half way through Pierre; or, The Ambiguities and think it an immensely satisfying layer cake so far. When I'm finished I hope to go fishing. Apropos of which, great bolshy yarblockos to Clifton Fadiman, who wrote the following paragraph in an introduction to Moby Dick round about 1941:

"A pessimism as profound as Melville's, if not pathological--and his was not--can exist only in a man who, whatever his gifts, does not posess that of humor. There is much pessimism in Shakespeare but with it goes a certain sweetness, a kind of radiance. His bad men--Macbeth, Iago--may be irretrievable, but the world itself is not irretrievable. This sense of balance comes from the fact that Shakespeare has humor, even in the plays of the later period. Melville had none. For proof, reread Chapter 100, a labored, shrill, and inept attempt at laughter. Perhaps I should qualify these strictures, for there is a kind of vast, grinning, unjolly, sardonic humor in him at times--Ishmael's first encounter with Queequeg is an example. But this humor is bilious, not sanguine, and has no power to uplift the heart."

Is it me or is this just a bit too saucy and overbold? Fadiman was a noted intellectual but was obviously unafraid of making a right eejit of himself--can you beat the blinkered quality of his indictment? Talk about a blind spot! That's the trouble with introductions to novels, they're right there in front, always getting in your way, distracting you with their gibberish. Luckily there's no introduction in my copy of Pierre so I was able to proceed directly to the first page unmolested. The story of Pierre Glendinning is straightforward enough but it unfolds amid a vast and stunningly considered narration that is for me the novel's chief delight. Here's what strikes me at this point: Melville swallowed with obvious relish the Classics, the King James Version of the Bible and most of Shakespeare and then brung them all back up again in a glorious nineteenth-century American amalgam. I'm practically certain that this is some of the most capaciously vivid and readable English I have ever encountered, the type of prose D. H. Lawrence wished he could type but was too blotto with hormones to actually type coherently on his typewriter. Forget everything you've ever read or heard about this novel--the critical response since its first appearance in 1852 has been for the most part laughably inept and spineless--and just start right in. Believe me, if you're a certain type of reader you will be well pleased. Would it help if I told you that the manservant in Saddle-Meadows is named Dates? Or the local clergyman Falsgrave? Perhaps not. Getting back to Bartleby though for a minute, what a peach that is. Funny and poignant and mysterious. When I finished it a couple of weeks ago I went out on my bicycle and did a victory lap round the neighbourhood, sealing my exultant passage with a cigarette which I actually smoked while awheel. Bliss that was. When you smoke on a bicycle the whole world is your ashtray! Try it sometime and tell those Lance Spandexes out there speeding down the byways to bugger off for a change.

Adultery, incest, madness, murder, and suicide--all in "a narrative nervous breakdown".......2006-04-30

"Pierre" is perhaps Melville's most difficult and challenging novel--and that's saying something. Despairing over his inability to support his family, Melville began writing a book designed to be popular--a counterpoint to the sensational novels written and read by contemporary women, using inspiration from French romances and even from Hawthorne's novels. Wavering between psychological melodrama and social satire, Melville ultimately increased the book's length by half again, incorporating his rage against the literary world by adding a subplot about a young man's desperate struggle to become a writer.

The stumbling point for most readers is the novel's opaque prose, the "thees and thous" of its antiquated dialogue, and the labyrinthine hodgepodge of a plot. But the density is broken by colloquial asides, sparkling sarcasm, and an occasional passage that approaches Dickensian mirth, such as Melville's description of the "Preposterous Mrs. Tartan!" and her undercover attempts to play matchmaker between Pierre and her daughter: "Once, and only once, had a dim suspicion passed through Pierre's mind, that Mrs. Tartan was a lady thimble-rigger, and slyly rolled the pea."

Behind the mask of the prose, however, is a modernist--even scandalous--story of a young, somewhat deluded man whose nihilistic descent leads to his destruction. Engaged to Lucy Tartan, Pierre adores his mother (their make-believe brother-sister relationship is almost creepy in its amorous undertones) and worships the memory of his long-dead father. This idyllic world is shattered by a missive from a woman, Isabel, who claims to be his half-sister--a claim supported by a more-than-passing resemblance to a portrait of his father. Complicating matters are his romantic feelings for this alleged half-sister.

Convincing himself that he is choosing honor over duty, he breaks off his engagement and flees to Manhattan with Isabel, taking along a local woman who had been disgraced by an out-of-wedlock tryst. Disowned by his mother and cut off from his family fortune, Pierre finds shelter for this odd trio among bohemian neighbors in a dilapidated part of town. His finances slowly evaporating, Pierre struggles to support them by writing a novel. And then, just when the plot can barely handle another twist, his estranged fiancee Lucy shows up at their doorstep.

To go any further would spoil the fun for the reader. Yet even such a basic plot summary omits some memorable and extraordinary scenes and sketches: his first meeting with Isabel, the near-riot that greets them during their first night in Manhattan, the eccentric philosopher who refuses to put his scholarly brilliance into written form.

Adultery, incest, madness, murder, and suicide--all the ingredients of a bleak nineteenth-century melodrama are wrapped in archaic language and modern themes. In her life of Melville, Robertson-Lorant calls "Pierre" "a narrative nervous breakdown" that is a "minefield" for biographers. It's also a goldmine; in no other work does Melville more clearly ridicule his critics, his friends and family, and even himself. The weird universe of "Pierre" is not the place to start if you've never read Melville, but it's certainly where you should go if you want better to understand his life and works.

A mild disclaimer " I didn't get it" .......2005-11-03

This complicated,work so full of ambiguity and difficulty in language and style is one I have found almost unreadable. The broad spaces and the great ranging adventurous mind of Melville in Moby Dick(The work which preceded this and in which all of Melville's writing climaxed) is followed by a claustrophic, domestic drama which seems to go nowhere.
My sense many other people have a more generous attitude towards this work, than I do and understand it more deeply.
As my old high- school Physics teacher Dave Levenstein ( of blessed memory) said when asked about the Theory of Relativitiy-
"I read some of that Einstein stuff and I just didn't get it." In regard to 'Pierre" I too "just didn't get it."

Melville's Wrong Turn.......2004-03-14

Ah, Pierre, you lusty Frenchman, where do you go wrong? Actually the main character Pierre is an American in the early 19th century who is well-off leading an easy life, until suddenly a mysterious woman crosses his path, who happens to be his sister, that he has rather strong feelings for, not to mention the creepy way he calls his mother sister in the early part of the book. Overly dramatic, it reads as if Melville made it up as he wrote, since so many crucial facts and events are suddenly mentioned with no foreshadowing or even hint of them. It does have a brief amusing chapter that attacks critics as people who praise medicore writers that risk nothing. Melville desperately wants Pierre to be like Shakespeare's Hamlet, butt alas, Pierre is much too flat and shallow for that. Aside from Melville Scholars, this novel isn't worth serious reading and skimming a few chapters would demonstrate it's many problems. Go for "Moby-Dick" or "Bartleby the Scrivner" for a real sense of Melville's writing.

American Heartbreak.......2002-10-11

Pierre has all the markings of an awful book--flat characters, overblown writing, shameless melodrama. So why is it such a masterpiece? Melville seems to have put all of himself into this work--his despair, his religious doubts, his understanding of human psychology--with an intensity that makes the usual standards of plot, style and character obsolete. The analysis of Pierre's mother as she turns on her husband/son and Melville's agonizing descriptions of the writing process were two of the book's highlights for me. The Beats loved Pierre--maybe they saw a model for their own art, where elegance takes a back seat to energy. The novel was a critical disaster at the time, but look where it ranks on amazon 150 years later. I hope Melville's somewhere watching.

Average customer rating:

Pierre or, The Ambiguities
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Product Description

This is a story of the downfall of a highborn young man, whose unselfish love entraps him in an incestuous passion, and whose noble actions hasten his ignoble end.

Pierre Corneille Ambiguities (Parabasis 1)

Average customer rating:

Pierre Corneille Ambiguities (Parabasis 1)

Manufacturer: Alta Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Continental European | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

French | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0921984014

Average customer rating:

Pierre Or the Ambiguities
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: GROVE PRESS INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Pierre or the Ambiguities
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: Grove Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pierre or the Ambiguities (Evergreen Book, E-55)

Average customer rating:

Pierre or the Ambiguities (Evergreen Book, E-55)

Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Pierre Or the Ambiguities the Kraken Edition

Average customer rating:

Pierre Or the Ambiguities the Kraken Edition
Melville/sendak
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS @ PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TXJYKK

Average customer rating:

Pierre Or the Ambiguities the Kraken Edition
Melville/sendak
Manufacturer: HARPERCOLLINS @ PUBLISHERS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SNKIM4

Average customer rating:

Pierre or the Ambiguities. The Kraken Edition.
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

Pierre Or, The Ambiguities
Herman Melville
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books