A Different Nature: The Paradoxical World of Zoos and Their Uncertain Future

Book Description

Humanity has had an enduring desire for close contact with exotic animals--from the Egyptian kings who kept thousands of animals, including monkeys, wild cats, hyenas, giraffes, and oryx, to the enormously popular zoological parks of today. This book, the most extensive history of zoos yet published, is a fascinating look at the origins, evolution, and--most importantly--the future of zoos.
David Hancocks, an architect and zoo director for thirty years, is passionately opposed to the poor standards that have prevailed and still exist in many zoos. He reviews the history of zoos in light of their failures and successes and points the way toward a more humane approach, one that will benefit both the animals and the humans who visit them. This book, replete with illustrations and full of moving stories about wild animals in captivity, shows that we have only just begun to realize zoos' enormous potential for good.
Hancocks singles out and discusses the better zoos, exploring such places as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Bronx Zoo with its dedication to worldwide conservation programs, Emmen Zoo in Holland with its astonishingly diverse education programs, Wildscreen in England, and Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, where the concept of "landscape immersion"--exhibits that surround people and animals in carefully replicated natural habitats--was pioneered.
Calling for us to reinvent zoos, Hancocks advocates the creation of a new type of institution: one that reveals the interconnections among all living things and celebrates their beauty, inspires us to develop greater compassion for wild animals great and small, and elicits our support for preserving their wild habitats.

Download Description

A history of zoos and a fascinating and articulate plea to re-invent zoos by a noted zoo director and designer.

Customer Reviews:

Superb! Knowledge, scope, logic, and honesty is excellent, clear & concise........2005-08-05

When I first opened up this book, I skipped to the last couple of chapters as I had read a couple of other books on zoos recently, I didn't think I would want to read the first few chapters as it would be repetitive information from the others - I ended up going to the start and reading the whole book, in < 2 days. The writing style is clear,logic good, and author's knowledge of zoos (And newer concepts) - all over the world is extensive, detailed, and impressive. He has a sharp eye for how a zoo is an alteration of reality.

I realized early on that the author knows his stuff when I read a single paragraph in one of the later chapters where he identified quite possibly the best zoo in the world - The Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. A zoo I visited in late 2003 - which surprised me as being quite innovative, and impressively landscaped, and designed. (Author also highlights the Costa Rica ZooAve, Belize Zoo, and Tuxtle Guiterrez, Mexico zoo - I haven't been to any of these)

As an extensive traveler and scuba diver, I dislike zoos intensely, aquariums less so. The difference between making the effort to see an animal in the wild versus at a zoo like a checklist is to put it mildly - like night and day. This author understands it. (Though I was quite impressed by Singapore's night safari concept - also heard of a night one in Malaysia - though not been yet. Many animals are more active at night.)

I've been to a handful of zoos and aquariums, most of them recently in support of a project - but they are "among the best" - San Diego, Seattle's Woodland Park, and aquariums - Monterey Bay, Seattle, and Osaka, Japan and a couple of others that are shameful - Tacoma Zoo, Monte Carlo aquarium. I hope I never visit one again - save for a few, countable on one hand, that the author highlights.

Mr. Hancocks gives a short, but concise overview on the history of zoos / animal keeping - starting from Egypt to the present day - how they evolved and how they are changing / "improving." His detailed knowledge of specific exhibits types globally, and the fallacy of zoo "conservation" efforts is impressive to say the least. He also talks about what zoos, bioparks, or museums might look like in the future, and what their future role should / can be, and even why they fall short of better examples today. He does offer both praise and criticism. He notes the irony of many zoo initiatives. I can't recommend this book any higher. This easily vaults into one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

Instead of zoos, how about building cities of harmony? In Nara, Japan, a modern town of 365k, 1,200 deer roam freely. There is a yearly ceremony where the antlers are cut off, otherwise they roam around in a large central park, unfenced. Accidents with cars are few due to walkable streets and low speed car traffic.

Additional books I recommend:

Life at the Zoo - perspective from a zoo veterinarian - though his logic is not quite as sound as Mr. Hancocks, nor is his knowledge of zoos around the world. Good writing style though, attentive to details, and easy to read bibliography (Which is how I found - A Different Nature).

Keepers of the Kingdom:New American Zoo - Coffee table style book with lots of large colorful photographs on the newest "innovations" of American Zoos (By a reknown NG wildlife photographer)

Zoo: A History of Zoological Gardens in the West - Quite detailed history, but easy to get lost in the writing. LOTS of wondeful historical photographs / pictures from the past. Many from Europe.

...read A Different Nature for intellectual honesty and a global perspective, Life At the Zoo for some more details and perspective from a zoo doctor, and check out the other two for the wonderful photographs!

from the Science review.......2001-07-10

See the excellent review of this book in the journal, Science (Vol. 292, page 1304, 18 May 2001), by Michalel H. Robinson, the former director of the US National Zoo. The role of zoos is normally conceived of as fourfold: to promote recreation, education, research and conservation. He concludes that, in fact, only the very best zoos realize this potential. How many visitors, for example, leave a zoo knowing more about animal needs or their native habitats than when they entered? This reflects a failure of zoological parks to promote "biological literacy." Part of the problem is the frequent catering of zoological parks to show off charismatic vertebrates to humans desiring to see them. Yet it is increasingly recognized that effective conservation must be ecological in scope and based on large-scale "in situ" preservation of habitats. This book calls for a new vision of Zoological Gardens, to help save the world around us.

If You Like Animals Even a Little, Read This Book.......2001-06-18

David Hancocks has a lot of bad things to say about zoos - but he doesn't come at it from a wing-nut "zoos are evil" perspective. He criticizes them, justifiably and intelligently, for doing a poor job. As he sees it, zoos should be able to help animals and truly educate people about nature (of which fauna are just one part), but most often they don't do so well enough.

He goes through the history of zoos, from ancient menageries to Disney's Animal Kingdom, and shows how that history relates to political, religious and scientific trends. He explains lucidly how zoos should (and sometimes do) interlock zoology with conservation, botany, geology, architecture and other fields. He doles out praise to various institutions when merrited - which is in several cases, but sadly, far outweighed by the times when zoos have failed. It's time to start doing a better job, while there's still time.

This book will give you a lot of food for thought, and make you see animals and nature and zoos in a new light. It will makes you see zoos' flaws, but also their potential.

Customer Reviews:

Good, not great.......2001-02-11

Great historical and park activity information. I just wish it would have been more specfic ie; which sites are good, maps of park layouts etc. Still good guide.

a good guidebook.......2000-05-04

I live 2 miles from one of the State parks reviewed - Bald Mountain. I have to say I learned more from this guidebook than I knew from living here and asking the locals. It contains maps and layouts of the parks, and gives lots of good information. If you live in MI or are planning to visit, it's worth it.

Michigan State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide for Campers, Boaters, Anglers, Hikers, and Skiers

Average customer rating:

This book is a winner.

Michigan State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide for Campers, Boaters, Anglers, Hikers, and Skiers
Jim Dufresne
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Essays | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0898861985

Customer Reviews:

This book is a winner........1998-07-29

I take this book on camping trips. This is a list of just some of the things you can find in this book: number of sites, amenities available, size of lakes, fish found there, number of visitors per year, acreage of the park, likely times to be full, address, directions to, phone number, winter activities, description of aesthetics, maps of most parks. Mr. Dufresne's opinions of what beaches are beautiful, or what lakes are good fisheries, etcetera are accurate. The only drawback to this book is that it was published before the new phone reservation system was implemented and does not have that information. This book is great for planning your trip whether you use the reservation system or not.

Michigan State Parks : A Complete Recreation Guide for Campers, Boaters, Anglers, Hikers & Skiers

Average customer rating:

Michigan State Parks : A Complete Recreation Guide for Campers, Boaters, Anglers, Hikers & Skiers
Jim DuFresne
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books, The
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPAF5A

Average customer rating:
THE (4th) FOURTH GALAXY READER: I Am a Nucleus; Name Your Symptom; Horrer Howce; Man of Distinction; The Bomb in the Bathtub; You Were Right Joe; What's He Doing in There; The Gentlest Unpeople; The Hated; Kill Me with Kindness; All the Seas with Oysters
H. L. (editor) (Stephen Barr; Jim Harmon; Margaret St. Clair; Michael Shaara; Thomas Scotia; J. T. McIntosh; Fritz Leiber; Frederik Pohl; Paul Flehr; Richard Wilson; Avram Davidson; Finn O'Donnevan; L. J. Stecher; Arthur Sellings; Robert Sheckley) Gold
Manufacturer: Perma Books (Permabooks)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BN9D36

Average customer rating:
Is your name Richard? (A Famous first name book)
Brenda-Lu Forman
Manufacturer: A. Frommer; distributed by Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006BLQF6

Average customer rating:

It's all about first use.

Good reference book for the rest of us.

Good Introduction for the Non-Professional

A VERY HANDY REFRENCE AND OVERVIEW A GOOD STARTING POINT.

Very useful background information for laymen

Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name
Stephen Elias , and Richard Stim
Manufacturer: NOLO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Intellectual Property | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Administrative Law | Law | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Patent, Copyright & Trademark: An Intellectual Property Desk Reference

The Entrepreneur's Guide to Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Trade Secrets & Licensing

Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know

Patents, Copyrights & Trademarks for Dummies

Patent It Yourself

ASIN: 1413306993

Amazon.com

Names, logos, and other unique corporate identifying marks are the true calling cards of any business, and the third edition of Trademark: Legal Care for Your Business & Product Name, by attorneys Kate McGrath and Stephen Elias, explains in an easy-to-understand fashion how to choose these vital assets properly and then protect them diligently. Revised to reflect changes that have come about because of the advent of cyberspace, it offers clear instructions on initial selections, searches to ensure availability, state and federal registration procedures, correct use, and adjudication of any disputes that result.

Book Description

Protect the marks that mean everything to your business.

Trademarks -- the names and symbols that identify your business, brand and products in the marketplace --are important assets that you need to choose carefully, then vigilantly defend. You can protect:

business names

product names

product packaging

logos

slogans

domain names

anything that identifies your company, product or service!

With Trademark, you get the most up-to-date information you need to defend your creations. Learn how to:

choose marks that competitors can't copy

search for other marks that might conflict with yours

protect and maintain your marks' legal strength

understand and resolve disputes outside the courtroom

Thoroughly updated, the 8th edition of Trademark provides the most current information on domain names, changes to trademark statutes and case law, and the latest registration processes.

Download Description

"Protect the marks that mean everything to your business. Trademarks -- the names and symbols that identify your business, brand and products in the marketplace -- are important assets that you need to choose carefully, then vigilantly defend. You can protect: business names product names product packaging logos slogans domain names anything that identifies your company, product or service! With Trademark, you get the most up-to-date information you need to defend your creations. Learn how to: choose marks that competitors can't copy search for other marks that might conflict with yours register a name or other mark protect and maintain your marks' legal strength understand and resolve disputes outside the courtroom Thoroughly updated, the 7th edition of Trademark provides the most current information on domain names, changes to trademark statutes and case law, and the latest registration processes. "

Customer Reviews:

It's all about first use........2007-08-20

The book helped me learn several key things about marks [names]. (1) Be the very first one to use your mark. If you don't know that you are the first one then the book will help you get started with your research. If you aren't the first one to use your mark then someone else may have superior rights and sue the heck out of you. Federal or State registration is fairly important to protect your mark but is secondary in the big scheme of things because it's all about first use. (2) Fighting somebody who is using your mark that has a lot more money than you is probably a losing deal in the long run. (3) You don't need a lawyer to register your mark. (4) If your mark has the look of or sounds a lot like another person's mark you may be in big trouble.

The book is more about how to find and keep a valid mark than about "legal care for your business and product name." The book is very helpful about the Federal registration process, especially about the proper use of disclaimers. The book falls a little short in exactly how to register your mark internationally, before or after registering in the U.S.

Good reference book for the rest of us........2007-01-12

Nolo Press once again did not disappoint me. I was looking for basic information about the Trademark process and they provided a description in "plain-English" that walked me through the process, defined terms, even offered some advice on how to handle disputes.

Good reference for us non-lawyers!

Good Introduction for the Non-Professional.......2005-11-10

This book is an excellent introduction to the concepts of trademarks. It's in its seventh edition, so it's been around long enough to get errors worked out and up to date enough to reflect the latest legal changes.

This book is a good introduction to trademark law. It seems to fit into two categories. If you're working for a big company (or a company that wants to grow big) use this for its information value and then go get professional trademark help from a specialist attorney.

If you're a little company like me, this is probably all that you need. For a dozen years I've owned the domain name [...]. I got a nasty letter from the attorney for Doubleday Book Clubs saying that I was infringing on their domain name of [...] and that they wanted me to stop. I wrote back to them and said that I wasn't infringing because I didn't run a book club, my pages didn't look at all like theirs, etc. I never heard from them again.

Mr. Elias, if you happen to read this, in your next edition, I'd like to see you expand Chapter 2 on domain names. They haven't replaced trademarks, but are becomming more and more important.

A VERY HANDY REFRENCE AND OVERVIEW A GOOD STARTING POINT........2005-10-16

To my knowledge, the best, simple, handy reference for Trademark available.

It's very useful in planning and getting an overview.

I give the book a 4 because anyone who can take the complexities and vagaries of legalese and make a useful book deserves it. I can not give them a 5 because they did not (and to be fair perhaps could not) address more of the vagaries of conflicting use and claims of trademark - perhaps that is another book.

Very good overall, you won't be dissatisfied especially if used in conjunction with further state and web research.

Very useful background information for laymen.......2003-12-25

This is a great resource for marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, and non-trademark attorneys to understand the basics of trademark law. However, this book is no substitute for professional legal advice from an experienced trademark attorney when it comes to protection a property that is becoming scarce and more valuable as business migrates into the online world.

Average customer rating:

Your Secret Admirer
Carl Laymon (pen name) , and Richard Laymon (copyright)
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Similar Items:

ASIN: 059030352X

How to do your own name change: Written by Van O'Steen and John Richard Bates

Average customer rating:

How to do your own name change: Written by Van O'Steen and John Richard Bates
Van O'Steen
Manufacturer: Legal Aid Forms Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006YI5HA

Average customer rating:

I Bless Your Name
Richard Kingsmore
Manufacturer: Lillenas Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

When Jesus Calls Your Name...
Richard Exley
Manufacturer: RiverOak Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Biblical | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1589199715

Book Description

Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation surveys recent advances in the study of adaptive radiation by bringing together a set of international experts investigating a wide range of organisms in a variety of geographic settings. Givnish and Sytsma show how family trees derived from molecular characters can be used to analyze the origin and pattern of ecological and morphological diversification within a lineage in a noncircular fashion. They synthesize the recent explosion of research in this area, involving organisms as diverse as epiphytic and terrestrial orchids, water hyacinths, African cichlids, New World monkeys, tropical fruit bats, carnivorous bromeliads, Hawaiian silverswords and fruit flies, North American Daphnia, Caribbean anoles, Canadian sticklebacks, and Australian marsupials. This volume will be of interest to graduate students and professional scientists in ecology, evolutionary biology, systematics, and biogeography.

Book Description

Interpenetrating polymer networks, IPNs, are combinations of two polymers in network form, synthesized and/or crosslinked in the immediate presence of each other. Different kinds of IPNs include the sequential, simultaneous, latex, thermoplastic and gradient types, each with a specific mode. IPNs have been in use since 1914 but have only been researched as a well-defined subject area since the early 1970's. Today, they are researched and used worldwide. This book is a collection of papers from around the world covering the broad areas of basic and applied research on IPNs with several mentions of applications.

Book Description

Mathematics for science and engineering undergraduates. Demonstrates basic numerical algorithms by comparison with analytic results. Explains applied mathematics in terms of elementary arithmetic. Teaches elementary programming by means of MATLAB. The MATLAB student editions are sufficient.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Practical Mathematics Using MATLAB (2nd edn).......2002-02-08

Several years ago, I reviewed the first edition of this book, so it was interesting to see how the text has developed in its new edition. As its name suggests, the book provides a guide to using the MATLAB software package to aid an exploration of "areas of mathematics that are of particular interest to scientists and engineers." Those seeking an exhaustive description of the full functionality of the MATLAB package should look elsewhere, for here MATLAB is used as "a tool, to convince ourselves that mathematics really works." Furthermore, the author states that the book should be "regarded as a complement, rather than an alternative, to your ordinary textbooks in the various branches of mathematics."

The text is divided into 25 short, well-focused chapters. This should be appreciated by students and makes it easy to navigate the book and, if desired at a later stage, return to a particular subject in isolation. Taking a leisurely tour through the contents, as usual, the starting point is basic use of MATLAB as a scientific calculator; some useful elementary functions are introduced in chapter 1 and illustrated in the new chapter on geometric applications that follows. Continuing with the use of geometry as a motivator, vectors in two- and three-dimensions are covered next. This is a useful way of gently introducing one of MATLAB's most fundamental and powerful features, its matrix and vector handling capabilities. This material is further discussed in the following two chapters on general vectors and systems of linear equations and also underpins the subsequent coverage of graph plotting.

Much of the MATLAB "basics" material is covered in a more extensive fashion than was the case in the first edition of the text. This is particularly the case with the chapters on script and function files and means that at the end of this first section of the book, the previously inexperienced reader should have developed a thorough grasp of MATLAB fundamentals. At the same time, some essential mathematical basics will have been revised and consolidated.

The text now turns to more overtly mathematical subject matter. The introductory material is gradually built upon and developed as we begin to look at some topics in algebra and calculus. Indeed, the next several chapters, on the solution of non-linear equations, limits, derivatives, sums and integrals, hang together in a particularly coherent way. More generally, mathematical ideas and basic numerical methods are illustrated by making extensive use of example script and function files, usually involving graphical output. This is an approach that works well. The example files are fairly short and are presented clearly and explained in detail. Furthermore, the reader can easily tackle problems of their own by making relatively minor changes to the script or function provided. Another nice touch is that where appropriate, the reader is also introduced to powerful in-built MATLAB commands for carrying out advanced numerical methods for root finding, definite integration and, later, the numerical solution of differential equations. In the main, the learning curve is fairly shallow, and as a result the book is comforting to work through. As they do so, most students should be regularly reminded of material covered elsewhere in their course and have their learning enhanced as a result.

Of the later content, much of the material on statistics and differential equations is fairly similar to that which appeared in the first edition. Having said this, the three chapters on differential equations, which form a particularly homogeneous section of the book, are worthy of special mention. New additions to the second edition include: (a) more extensive chapters on complex numbers and functions, and on fitting a function to data, (b) a new chapter on functions of two variables, (c) two major new chapters on Fourier Series and Fourier Transforms. The material on eigenvalues and eigenvectors has been expanded and moved into an appendix.

Some of the new additions do take the content of the book a little away from what could be described as "introductory mathematics". In particular, from both a computational and a mathematical perspective, the chapter on fitting functions to data contains some quite technical material. Likewise, the new chapters on Fourier series and transforms could prove quite a challenge, especially as they contain a couple of typographical/notational errors.

A couple of criticisms of the first edition are still valid. Firstly, the motivating examples are still drawn almost exclusively from physical applications and secondly, I still think the Exercises exhibit some scope for improvement. Having said this, many of my overall conclusions are also still valid and I make no apology for reproducing these below, largely unchanged, from my earlier review.

Conclusions

MATLAB is such a sophisticated package that it is hard to know what to leave out of a book like this. Everyone could make a case for some of his or her favourite functions, subjects or applications to be included. However, it is to the author's credit that he has managed to cover plenty of useful mathematics, while requiring that the use of the package be kept largely at an introductory level.

There is a reasonably wide choice of textbooks in this area, but I feel that students will find this to be one of the more accessible. The dual emphasis on (a) reinforcing useful mathematics and (b), teaching MATLAB make this an ideal text for undergraduate engineering, science or mathematics students having access to MATLAB. I would also not hesitate to recommend the text as valuable background reading for mathematics students embarking upon courses in Numerical Analysis, where much of the subject matter discussed here is directly relevant and MATLAB is a commonly used teaching tool.

Book Description

When the only library in Bramble, Cape Cod, announces it's in danger of closing its doors, the town residents have got to raise BIG money and FAST. Thirteen-year-old Willa Havisham must put her crush on Joey Kennelly on the back burner to save the library, but the question is: How?

Willa's best friend, Tina, is positive that her compatibility test, expertly designed to match up every girl in school with her "perfect match," will raise the money and get everyone paired up for the Midwinter Night's Ball. Willa, an old-fashioned romantic, is not so sure. But with a little help from Shakespeare, a Southern beauty queen, and Cupid himself, romance is striking all over Bramble.

Readers will be swooning until the stroke of midnight with this delightful sequel to The Wedding Planner's Daughter.

Customer Reviews:

Keep Willa Coming!.......2007-07-06

C.M.P. is such a gifted writer. What a gift to see a child as a child should be! I love Willa (I celebrate the real way you chose to characterize our Willa).

Talk about a book that makes you feel. You do not just read it, you feel it. You feel Willa, you feel her mother, you feel her grandmother...you feel!

I tell you...these "little novels" are appropriate for their audience; however, they are mature enough to capture the attention of a light-hearted and loving adult (such as me)! I am so greatful to have something that my daughter and I can read (and love) together. I cannot wait for the 3rd book!

Thank you for sharing Willa with us (and all the other characters, which we also love)!

Great Summer Reading.......2007-04-23

Again, Ms. Paratore has written a fun adventure set in a great summer time place. If you can't go to the Cape, reading this will take you there. If you're there, what fun to read about the very place you are in! The best part about this series (well, it's the second book about the character, we can only hope it's a series) is the wonderful literature referenced throughout the story. It's a great way to find some meatier books to indulge in over the summer!

Rose Kent.......2007-02-19

A Feel Good Page Turner for Optimistic Tweens -- Willa has a zesty Everyday Gal style that makes the reader whistle and cheer for her, whether it's in her quest to save the library, snag the school hearthrob, or cleverly manage her glam-mom Stella. Coleen Paratore does a terrific job of subtly weaving in themes like community activism, antimaterialism and staying true to oneself without cranking up the preach factor. And it's a laugh-out-loud journey with some tearjerker moments packed in its 207 pages as well.

Sequels can be ho-hum recycled or brand-new adventures with old friend-characters, and this one is definitely the ladder.

If you believe in goodness prevailing -- read this book.
If you love books and want to relate with a loveabe bookie character -- read this book.
And if you love how story sweeps you out of your own world for a while and into a special place (this one's called Bramble), THE CUPID CHRONICLES is waiting.

As colorful and sweet as the saltwater taffy Willa loves so much.......2006-12-15

Thirteen-year-old Willafred "Willa" Havisham is on cloud nine ever since she did the impossible, and matched her "unsure about love" mother, Stella, up with the handsome English teacher, Sam Gracemore, living right next door. Since then, Willa's wedding planner mother has ditched her old career, and begun running an Inn with her new hubby, and Willa's spanking new step-father, Sam. But now Willa, someone who has always believed strongly in love and fate, finds her beliefs wavering, as Joey (JFK to Willa) - her sort-of-first-kiss - heads back to Bramble, but finds himself falling for none other than rich, glamorous Ruby Sivler. Now Willa doesn't know whether she can trust Cupid or not. Luckily, she's got other things on her mind. Like the fact that Ruby Sivler's father is trying to close down the Bramble library. Now, Willa (being the book lover that she is), has decided to try her luck at rallying her ninth grade class together to save the library, and the memories it holds. Now they just need to raise enough money to keep its doors open. But when a computer compatibility test is the hit of the fundraising season, Willa doesn't know just what, exactly, will dictate her adventures at the Midwinter's Night Ball - Cupid, or a computer.

I couldn't resist Willa in Coleen Murtagh Paratore's THE WEDDING PLANNER'S DAUGHTER, and I had an even tougher time resisting her character in THE CUPID CHRONICLES. Willa is the ideal character for any book-loving girl, what with her extensive knowledge of the classics, and her passion for saving the local library. Her good-natured, fun-loving personality is like a breath of fresh air in a sea of fiction overwhelmed with backstabbing, self-obsessed characters; while her various adventures in love give readers an inside look at the makings of a true romance. Paratore's descriptions of the Cape are absolutely breathtaking, and make the reader feel as if they were right there on the sandy shores, strolling the shops and searching for sea glass; while the sights and sounds are so magnificently described that they paint a perfect picture of the scenery for a reader who has never experienced a trip to the Cape first-hand. As colorful and sweet as the saltwater taffy Willa loves so much.

Erika Sorocco

Average customer rating:

Luke warm on this one
sam is the man
Not a major work but it fascinates
Excellent
Very moving

Motel Chronicles
Sam Shepard
Manufacturer: City Lights Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0872861430

Book Description

Motel Chronicles reveals the fast-moving and sometimes surprising world of the man behind the plays that have made Sam Shepard a live legend in the theater. Shepard chronicles his own life birth in Illinois, childhood memories of Guam, Pasadena and rural Southern California, adventures as ranch hand, waiter, rock musician, dramatist, and film actor. Scenes from this book form the basis of his play Superstitions, and of the film (directed by Wim Wenders) Paris, Texas, winner of the Golden Palm Award at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

Customer Reviews:

Luke warm on this one.......2007-09-27

I never finished this book. Perhaps my expectations were too high as I like Shepard. Perhaps I'll give it another go later. Maybe not.

sam is the man.......2006-05-13

i'm so glad there are sam shepherds populating our little planet earth...

Not a major work but it fascinates.......2003-12-02

MOTEL CHRONICLES was recommended on a website devoted to journal writing. It is non-sequential and many of the entries have the shape of honed work but all the same it is a good example of a writer's sketchbook, one used for practice and inspiration. More importantly, it is a window on Shepard's frame of mind in the years immediately following the Pulitzer Prize for BURIED CHILD. The seeds of later works can be found in this book.

The entries swim back and forth from 1978 -1982, mapping the writer's peripatetic movement around the country, mostly in California and the west. It captures bits of his early identities, military childhood on the move, waiter, cowboy, actor, writer, friend, lover, husband, father. It is framed by portraits of being a child, the first entry is one of his earliest childhood memories in his mother's arms; the last is the adult caring for a mother felled by a brain aneurysm. This is no confessional or revealing autobiographical piece, however, just a writer at work pulling out inspiration from experience. Shepard is highly articulate, his portrayal of the contemporary west is priceless, and his poetry is not bad at all. The writing has an honest, non-star-turn quality to it.

Excellent.......2002-08-17

One of my favorite collections of playwright-actor Sam Shepard (the others being CRUISING PARADISE and HAWK MOON). This is a collection of short stories, poetry, rants, observations, etc., from Shepard's own life. Each section is separated by date and city (though NOT in any particular order, as sections skip from the '70s to the '80s and back again to the '70s); my favorite is "9/24/80, San Francisco, Ca." (in my edition, pp. 43-46), a short story detailing a boy's train ride to his grandparents' home in Chicago, during which he meet a beautiful barefoot girl who looks like Tuesday Weld.

Some of the other stories in this collection formed the basis of Wim Wenders' 1984 film PARIS, TEXAS, which Shepard wrote, and which happens to be one of my all-time favorite films. MOTEL CHRONICLES would be a wonderful introduction to Sam Shepard; I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered about the desert, the road, and America (the beautiful & the ugly).

Very moving.......2001-04-25

I knew of Sam Shepard from seeing him act in movies, and was aware of his plays. Deciding to read some of his work, I picked up Motel Chronicles and found it deeply moving. His writing is very calming and free...just straight-forward without artifice. This collection of poems, short stories, observations and vignettes was published in 1982 and reminds of simpler times and places--but with hard-edged realities (as Shepard offers reminiscences of his childhood as well as his adult travels and experiences). Read this for its serenity and down to earth prose.

Average customer rating:

Cronicas De Motel/Motel Chronicles
Sam Shepard
Manufacturer: Editorial Anagrama
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Motel Chronicles
Sam Shepard
Manufacturer: City Lights, 1982
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXTI5W

Average customer rating:

Motel Chronicles Lune Faucon
Sam Shepard
Manufacturer: French
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 2264010339

Average customer rating:

Cheap Sleeps in Paris (Cheap Sleeps)
Chronicle Books LLC Staff
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Cheap Eats & Sleeps | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

Budget Travel | Specialty Travel | Travel | Subjects | Books

Directories | Catalogs & Directories | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000H2MJZA

Average customer rating:

Very entertaining, for both kids and adults
Cutest Ever!
Concur with the reader from Boca Raton
Recommended!

No Cats Allowed
Chronicle Books LLC Staff , Lois Simmie , and Cynthia Nugent
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000H2MTDM

Customer Reviews:

Very entertaining, for both kids and adults.......2005-06-14

Anyone who has been adopted by a stray cat can relate to Mr. Foster as he tries to deal with a feline determined not to be a stray anymore. Slowly but surely, the cat imbeds himself in the hotel, and before you know, it's 7 years later and the cat has become a hotel institution. The cat's self-assuredness reminds me of many our own pets, past and present. It is always what has made cats so fascinating, and that characteristic is captured perfectly here.

The story is well-constructed & well-paced, and the illustrations are a lot of fun. The fight between the cat & the raccoon is classic, and not to be missed. Even if you don't have kids, you may very well find yourself enjoying this.

Cutest Ever!.......2004-10-06

this is just the cutest book! its creative and well written, one to be shared with everyone .

Concur with the reader from Boca Raton.......2004-07-09

I love this book, and my kids do too. It's a great story with exceptional illustrations. I have happily passed it on to many friends' children until I could no longer find it in print.

Recommended!.......2000-06-01

We stumbled across this book by accident at the library. Considering myself a connoisseur of children's books, and given that I had never heard of this one, my expectations were not high. Well, it exceeded my expectations considerably! It's a sweet story, beautifully illustrated, that my kids and I all enjoyed. It deserves to be reprinted.

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