Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians

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In Our Backyard

A Masterpiece of Appalachian Natural History

truly excellent book on Appalachian natural history

A lesson in natural history, ecology, and connectedness

Natural History for the head and the heart

Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians
Scott Weidensaul
Manufacturer: Fulcrum Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1555911439

Customer Reviews:

In Our Backyard.......2005-02-08

I have lived in the shadows of the Appalachians my entire life but have never really taken a close look at it. I was looking for a volume that would serve as an introduction to the Appalachians, its natural history, and how the ecology of the mountains and its human inhabitants have coexisted. This book was a perfect addition to my library.

Through a lifetime of research and experience, Weidensaul is able to describe the complexity of this ecosystem. His writing is touching but can be a bit overly poetic at times. I am looking forward to some of his other books.

A Masterpiece of Appalachian Natural History.......2003-05-08

This collection of beautifully-crafted essays should be required reading in all Appalachian Studies classes. When readers tell me that they enjoy the natural history references in my Ballad novels, I urge them to read Scott Weidensaul. This wonderful book traces the natural history of the Appalachian Mountains all the way from Alabama to New Brunswick, Canada. In clear and lyrical prose, Weidensaul describes the formation of the mountain chain, touching on plate tectonics and the configuration of the prehistoric continents. Several chapters describe the plants and animals past and present which make for the unique ecosystem that is Appalachia: the use of the mountains as a migration path for birds and monarch butterflies; the 20th century chestnut blight which destroyed a species of tree, and the extermination of the passenger pigeon. With a keen understanding of nature and an obvious love of the land, Scott Weidensaul writes a guide to the mountains that is both informative and enchanting.

truly excellent book on Appalachian natural history.......2003-01-09

Scott Weidensaul has produced with "Mountains of the Heart" one of the finest examples of popular natural history writing I have ever seen. Thorough and authoritative, yet an easy read and quite engaging, he tackles an immensense subject with enthusiasm and obvious experience. Discussing the geology, ecology, fauna, flora, and conservation of the entire Appalachian mountain chain from central Alabama to Belle Isle, Newfoundland, you will never find a better book on the subject.

In reading the book I have learned so much about the natural history of this great eastern wilderness. Unlike many other natural history books which discuss faraway, exotic lands like Antarctica, Thailand, the Amazon jungle, or the Australian Outback, Weidensaul makes an area where I live in fascinating, bringing to my attention a variety of things I never even suspected, making this book a unique treasure. An area I took for granted, had lost my sense of wonder about now seems new and interesting to me. I am sure those reading this review would be similarly enlightened.

No you say? Do you know why leaves change color in fall, and how? Or why some trees turn one colors while others don't? Do you know what effect this leaf change has on the animal community in forests (ever hear of foliar fruit flagging?)? Did you know that many Appalachian tree species can survive winter temperatures as low as 80 degrees below zero, far colder than the mountains ever get today? Do you know what tannin is, and why trees produce it, and what effects this has on the forest community? Weidensaul makes what to me was a fairly mundane subject, perhaps suitable for a grade school science book, fascinating and weird. Trees are rightly one of the stars in this book, as Weidensaul recounts the sad tale of the American chestnut, the plight of the Fraser fir, the role of oaks in modern forests (and the potential problems their predominance could cause), and the magnifence of the white pine among many other plants.

However, animals receive a great deal of attention in this book as well, as by no means it is only about botany. Almost an entire chapter is devoted to the awe-inspiring annual hawk migrations down the length of the Appalachians. The many unique and highly local species of the mountains salamander fauna, one of the richest in the world, are recounted in great detail. Another unique fauna, the mussel fauna, again one of the world's richest, is also discussed, a subject not much to the lay naturalist. Weidensaul discusses some of the chain's fauna winners - such as black bears, successfully co-exisiting with people in crowded Pennsylvania, moose, which are rebounding in the northern Appalachians, and the raven, formerly a bird of deep wilderness but that one that is increasingly adapting to disturbed habitat - and its losers as well - such as brook trout, a species in decline in all but the most pristine streams, the red wolf, long gone from most of the range and yet to be successfully reintroduced, and the passenger pigeon, once a the most common land bird in the world, thriving on the vast crop of acorns in the Appalachians, now extinct.

A truly excellent book with nice illustrations in it, this will please any lover of natural history.

A lesson in natural history, ecology, and connectedness.......2002-07-21

If someone assigned you the task of writing a history of the Appalachian Mountains, how would you organize it? Keep the information in its separate realms of geology, botany, zoology, and anthropology? Start in Alabama and work northward? Go state by state, province by province, and look at the smaller specific mountain ranges? Well, Scott Weidensaul has taken none of those approaches, thank goodness. His is an education by general themes: basic geology (for it must start there), bird migrations, habitat specialization, forestry, mammalian zoology, archaeology, pollination, extinction, survival. Each chapter has a pure focus; and yet all of the chapters somehow touch on all of these topics. Weidensaul's conversational style has the reader walking through the woods with him, chatting seemingly aimlessly, all the time seeing and learning about the life that abounds. Gems of detail sneak up on us while we read. If you travel 1000 feet up, the habitat and ecosystems change as if you had traveled 100 miles north. Wow. And then there are the interspecies connections, some well-known and some new to us: squirrels and oaks, oaks and gypsy moths, migratory birds and fatty fruits, white pines and ship masts, bears and wetlands, fishers and porcupines, crossbills and spruces. The natural world makes sense after reading this book. Highly recommended for naturalists everywhere and mandatory reading for residents of the Appalachian states and provinces.

Natural History for the head and the heart.......2000-11-02

Natural history writing is often like porridge. Sometimes it is too hot, and we see nothing but the author's passion for the place he/she is describing. Other times it is too cold, and the writing is merely a dull list of species descriptions and scientific concepts. Weidensaul's book strides that narrow middle ground of being just right. His chapters span the length of the Appalachians, covering topics as diverse as soil science and hawk migrations. However, he never becomes bogged down in dry scientific writing: his love of the Appalachians resonates throughout the book. In a country where most natural history writers turn their eyes west, Weidensaul's book is a much needed overview of an underappreciated mountain range.

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Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of South-east Australia
Jean Galbraith
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0002192462

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Collins Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of South-East Australia
Jean Galbraith
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8IOGA

Book Description

Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock!" at your Door guides equip you for daily life in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. And "Culture Shock!" Success Secrets guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure.

Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and each book is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.

Customer Reviews:

Info is right on, but the info is in tourist brochures at the airport.......2005-12-13

I bought this intending to read it prior to getting to Laos. I'm lazy and didn't read it, but did bring it. After being in country for a week, I dug it out of my bag and went through it. I thought the information was well presented, accurate, and had good pictures. But, I had seen a lot of that information already captured in different maps, brochures, museums, etc. during my week in Laos.

Best used as a cultural scene-setter rather than as a practical travel guide. Definitely buy used because it looks and feels like a library 101 kind of book.

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A book about names: In which custom, tradition, law, myth, history, folklore, foolery, legend, fashion, nonsense, symbol, taboo help explain how we got our names and what they mean
Milton Meltzer
Manufacturer: Crowell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Genealogy | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0690043805

Book Description

Countries around the world are engaged in health reform, which places great demands on health care providers and systems managers. From the managed care revolution in the United States to the rebuilding of health systems in postcommunist Russia, these reforms impact millions of health care workers, government officials, patients, and the public alike.

The New Public Health will help students and practitioners understand factors affecting the reform process of health care organization and delivery. It links the classic public health issues such as environmental sanitation, health education, and epidemiology with the new issues of universal health care, economics, and management of health systems for the new century.

Key Features:
* Provides a comprehensive overview of public health from a global perspective
* Assesses health systems models of the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Scandinavian countries, and developing countries including China, Nigeria, and Colombia
* Analyzes critical issues of health economics, including forces associated with escalating costs and the strategies to control those costs
* Discusses strategies for dealing with the many ramifications of managed care
* Links medicine with the social sciences, technology, and health management issues as they evolve

Customer Reviews:

An essential resource for the public health student.......2000-10-26

As a student in a combined MD/MPH degree program, the New Public Health is exactly the kind of book I have been looking for. Drs. Tulchinsky and Varavikova have assembled a text that touches on all aspects of public health, from populations at risk to how we pay for health care.

The international perspective of their work comes through in discussions of health problems and the struggle for solutions in Russia and Israel. It offers unique insight as well as a fresh and challenging perspective for those who are concerned about the state of the health care delivery system in the US today and in the future.

The New Public Health is an essentilal addtion to the collection of any public health student, both as an outstanding quick reference for a specific topic and as a textbook to read cover to cover. Well written, easy to read and understand, it satisfies the need for a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the state of public health worldwide.

Necessary resource for the public health student.......2000-10-26

THE ALL-COMPREHENSIVE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH.......2000-10-08

Tulchinsky's and Varavikova's "New Public Health" provides an all-encompassing overview of the major health problems in society. While a book of this size cannot go into depth into every disease/risk factor, it provides the reader with not only the inditial references to carry out an in-depth search, but also with succint basic arguments that take account the clinical, epidemiological, economic, planning and administative aspects of public health issues. By having the same two authors for the 16 chapters, the book is able to acheive an integration and cohesion of themes that would be lost if more authors were involved (as is usually the case for a book of this size). The 45 pages on my specialist area "health economics", whilst obviously not acheiving the depth or covering the ground of a 250 page textbook, manages to convey the crux of most of the major concepts and issues to the "non-specialist" reader. Overall, the book is clearly written and is amply illustated with tables and sidebars that act to clarify concepts. While not sacrificing scientific rigor, the book is a tremendous guide as to how to practically manage and improve the health systems and hence the health of a developed/developing nation.

Required reading.......2000-09-21

The New Public Health: An Introduction for the 21st Century by Theodore H Tulchinsky and Elena A Varavikova combines research, scholarship and experience into a delightfully readable book. It dissects complex issues into understandable concepts, making it a valuable tool for students, teachers and public health practioners. It's comprehensive coverage of the various burning public health issues, should make it required reading for all those intrested in field.

Dr Frank C S Anthony Ministry of Health Guyana.

A must-read for MPH students and Public Health practitioners.......2000-08-22

My first contact with a draft copy of "The New Public Health" by Tulchinsky & Varavikova occurred when I was a young MPH student. Now, as an epidemiologist (still young!), I appreciate it as the most comprehensive and up-to-date critical review of the main topics that any Public Health practicioner should be familiar with, from a scholar comparison of health systems in various settings, through the many "classical" aspects of public health practice, including maternal and child health, nutrition, environmental issues and infectious diseases.

In addition to Public Health specialists, students and practitioners of all health disciplines will also benefit from "The New Public Health", by acquiring the foundations of what the relationship between the individual and the population's health represents.

The book is an invitation to Public Health ACTION, through the judicious analysis of historic trends in health and health management, and current epidemiological facts.

Book Description

The Dechema Corrosion Handbook describes the corrosion behavior of technically important and frequently used materials and shows possible ways to prevent and fight corrosion.

The handbook is a comprehensive, reliable and up-to-date reference work for construction and process engineers and material scientists in research and teaching.

Book Description

Every physical actuator is subject to saturation. When the actuator saturates, the performance of the control system designed will seriously deteriorate. Currently there is a surge of interest in increasing the practical applicability of control theory by incorporating the effect of saturation into the design of a control system.

Control Systems with Actuator Saturation: Analysis and Design examines the problem of actuator saturation in depth. The overall approach takes into account the saturation nonlinearities at the outset of the control design. In the case that a control law is designed a priori to meet either the performance or stability requirement, it analyzes the closed-loop system under actuator saturation systematically and redesigns the controller in such a way that the preformance is retained while stability is improved. It also presents some related results on systems with state saturation or sensor saturation.

Features and topics:

* Results apply to general open-loop systems, including exponentially unstable ones. Thus, they are widely applicable to practical systems
* Problems such as controllability, stabilizability, transience performance, distribute rejection, and output regulation are treated in a systematic manner.
* Analytic description of the null controllable region is first obtained. Various feedback laws are designed that work on the entire null controllable region or an arbitrarily large portion of it.
* Analysis tools are developed for performance assessment of existing control systems under actuator saturation.
* Examples are worked out in detail to demonstrate the usefulness of the results.

This book is an excellent resource for professionals, researchers, practitioners and graduate students in control, electrical, and mechanical engineering. All scientists and engineers interested in control systems with actuator saturation will find this book an essential resource. Some first--year graduate courses in linear systems and multivariable control or some background in nonlinear control systems would greatly facilitate the reading of this book.

Book Description

This selection of De Quincey's writings includes the title piece--his most famous work--as well as "On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth," "The English Mail-Coach," and the Suspiria de Profundis.

Customer Reviews:

This is the DeQuincey you want.......2001-01-11

If you are choosing between several editions of the -Opium Eater-, this one is the one you want.

True, it does not have Alethea Hayter's introduction, like the Penguin edition has; that being a point in that one's favour. But here you -also- get the entire -Suspiria de Profundis-, which is in many ways more beautiful and interesting than the Opium Eater itself. -Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow- must surely be the single greatest prose poem ever written in English.

The -Suspiria- was intended as a sequel to the -Opium Eater-, and those who enjoy the one will want them both.

A masterpiece from a brilliant yet ignored philosopher.......1998-12-17

This masterpiece of literature is a fascinating account of the pains and pleasures of opium as well as an autobiographical account of his youth. This books illustrates that sometimes moral or other world issues are not always in black and white. A sensitive and beautiful man, de Quincy's great book is a treasure!!!!

CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER AND OTHER WRITINGS

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CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER AND OTHER WRITINGS
THOMAS DE QUINCEY (THE PEOPLE\'S LIBRARY)
Manufacturer: CASSELL & CO LTD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SD85ME

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Confessions of an English Opium Eater and Other Writings
Thomas De Quincy
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KWH5K6

The Confessions of an English Opium Eater and Other Writings

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The Confessions of an English Opium Eater and Other Writings

Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HEGY22

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CONFESSIONS OF AN ENGLISH OPIUM EATER AND OTHER WRITINGS.

Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HLVRFY

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Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings

Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GRQ91G

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Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings
Thomas DeQuincey
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000K7C056

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings (Worlds Classics)

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Confessions of an English Opium-Eater and Other Writings (Worlds Classics)
Thomas De Quincey
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK46CO

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Confessions of an English Opium-Eater: and Other Writings
Thomas De Quincey
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKISCS

Suspiria De Profundis, Being a Sequel to the Confessions of an English Opium-eater and Other Miscellaneous Writings

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Suspiria De Profundis, Being a Sequel to the Confessions of an English Opium-eater and Other Miscellaneous Writings
Thomas de Quincey
Manufacturer: Shepard & Gill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JGNOAS

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