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The 1990s have not been kind to Los Angeles. As Mike Davis writes, "The destructive February 1992, January 1993, and January 1995 floods ($500 million in damage) were mere brackets around the April 1992 insurrection ($1 billion), the October-November 1993 firestorms ($1 billion) and the January 1994 earthquake ($42 billion)." But, he argues, the increasing fear about nature's reign of terror in Southern California reflected in Hollywood's preoccupation with apocalypse--L.A. has been destroyed on screen by everything from lava (Volcano) to nukes (Miracle Mile) to alien death rays (Independence Day)--is in reality a strong case of denial. Again, Davis himself says it best: "For generations, market-driven urbanization has transgressed environmental common sense. Historic wildfire corridors have been turned into view-lot suburbs, wetland liquefaction zones into marinas, and floodplains into industrial districts and housing tracts. Monolithic public works have been substituted for regional planning and a responsible land ethic. As a result, Southern California has reaped flood, fire, and earthquake tragedies that were as avoidable, as unnatural, as the beating of Rodney King and the ensuing explosion in the streets."
As in City of Quartz, his earlier book about Los Angeles, Davis reveals the deeper ideological narratives behind historical events. Whether he's explaining the motivations behind the persistent refusal of civic leaders to admit that a tornado alley runs down the middle of the region, from Long Beach to Pasadena, or discussing, as one chapter refers to it, "the case for letting Malibu burn," he outlines his arguments with a fascinating amount of detail and a subtle sense of irony. There are wonderful chapters here, such as "Maneaters of the Sierra Madre," a zoology of the wild beasts Angelenos fear, including mountain lions that descend from the hills to eat joggers and small children, swarms of Africanized killer bees making their way across the deserts, and El Chupacabra, the "goat-sucking vampire" that joined L.A.'s roster of faddish icons in 1996.
Although this book is specifically about Los Angeles, its lessons about the relationship between urban developments and natural ecosystems and about the dangerous influence of class politics on environmental safety policy are applicable to any city. Anyone with a serious interest in natural history or urban policy should make a point of reading this book. --Ron Hogan
Book Description
"Graced with a bold political and environmental vision, much splendid phrasemaking and a multitude of facts. . . . A truly eccentric contribution."--The New York Times Book Review
Earthquakes. Wildfires. Floods. Drought. Tornadoes. Snakes in the sea, mountain lions, and a plague of bees. In this controversial tour de force of scholarship, unsparing vision, and inspired writing, Mike Davis, the author of City of Quartz, revisits Los Angeles as a Book of the Apocalypse theme park. By brilliantly juxtaposing L.A.'s fragile natural ecology with its disastrous environmental and social history, he compellingly shows a city deliberately put in harm's way by land developers, builders, and politicians, even as the incalculable toll of inevitable future catas-trophe continues to accumulate.
Counterpointing L.A.'s central role in America's fantasy life--the city has been destroyed no less than 138 times in novels and films since 1909--with its wanton denial of its own real history, Davis creates a revelatory kaleidoscope of American fact, imagery, and sensibility. Drawing upon a vast array of sources, Ecology of Fear meticulously captures the nation's violent malaise and desperate social unease at the millennial end of "the American century." With savagely entertaining wit and compassionate rage, this book conducts a devastating reconnaissance of our all-too-likely urban future.
"Dizzying. . . . In Mr. Davis's account, the world ends in fire, and the next time is now."--The New York Times
Customer Reviews:
Modern America as a Place and Myth.......2006-11-09
This is a very, very fine book that looks at the archetype of Modern America, Los Angles and Southern California. Looking at the interaction of population growth, individualism (greed!), urban growth without planning, and the nature of the environment, this book shows how we are unwilling to acknowledge the normalcy of earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, and wild animal encounters. It is extremely well-written and researched -- and hard to put down! It is social criticism that is "grounded", literally.
Great for Residents of Los Angeles.......2004-12-07
As a resident of Los Angeles I found Ecology of Fear a great and informative read. I understand those who review it and find things to quibble with. Nothing is perfect. But for someone like me, possessed before reading this with a feeling that so many things in LA were just wrong, but not having a good understanding how how and why things got to be so messed up in so many ways, Ecology of Fear is an indispensible book. Perhaps the greatest thing I took away from this book was an abiding sense of the "alternate reality" LA that perhaps exists in some other dimension-- an LA where greenbelts line the rivers, where the foothills are left undeveloped and able to burn seasonally as meant to, and where resources are more equitably distributed.
trademark Mike Davis material.......2004-03-13
Not a sequel to City of Quartz, but a look at current and historical LA from an environmental perspective instead of Quartz's sociological view. Famous for its criticism as much as its content, Ecology Of Fear compiles a staggering amount of information into an informative and compelling story. LA's dynamism is a product of its people, land, water, air, wildlife, history, and future. This is the book that can tell you what life has been and will be like, for those who choose to live in the wilderness of Los Angeles.
You'll like parts and be bored by others..........2004-02-15
"Ecology of Fear" is unfortunately a necessary book in which Mike Davis once again denounces how the United States has managed to create a completely Apartheid-like society, but has done such a good job at it that people hardly perceive that they are living in a divided world (in this book, the divisions most commonly pointed out is the one between natural areas and inhabited areas, but we are also shown how a city is divided between poor and wealthy, and nature's role in this division). Nowhere is this more acute than in Los Angeles, the epitome of social division and exploitation of every natural resource. Davis convincingly shows how the natural world is utterly obliterated, with bogus re-creations made in its place where necessary, as a blind eye is turned to all of the destruction and the special interests of the wealthy are always put before those of the have-nots.
This is the aspect of the book that I found most interesting (more sociological and political), but there are chapters for people with different tastes and interests. For movie buffs or sci-fi novel readers, there are very well-documented sections on the portrayal of disasters in the Los Angeles area (I personally found this part less fascinating, because that is not my area of interest, but to many it may be). For environmentalists the book is a must-read on how NOT to manage an urban area. For local historians, there are some great anecdotes on LA history that I had never seen or read anywhere, and my family has lived in the LA area for decades. The saddest part of the book is discovering just how short-sighted people can be when making policy decisions and that capitalism's solution of allowing the power of money and majority opinion to solve everything does not lead those who possess power and wealth to make the soundest decisions in many, if not most, cases.
And who knew that there are tornadoes in Los Angeles?!
Public Gem.......2003-09-21
Ecology of Fear is a public gem, if just, for its inquiry into fire prevention and policy in two differing socioeconomic enclaves of Los Angeles,Ca affluent Malibu and densely immigrant Pico-Union Westlake District. Why a public gem in this respect?? It is a broadly appealing insight into the intersection of 'fire' policy and human welfare. The fire related inquiries alone perhaps will equally interest busy professionals, students, politicians, et.al with a keen interest in policy awareness, yet left with little time or resources for conquering the wealth of information disseminated by Mike Davis. It is likely that a casual read of this book will land the reader into perhaps a fit of rage, or maybe a touch of shame, and possibly even numbness.
Ecology of Fear will likely capture the reader's attention and generate much deliberation.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of the American Planning Association, published by American Planning Association on March 22, 1999. The length of the article is 1027 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster.(Review)
Author: William Fulton
Publication:
Journal of the American Planning Association (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 1999
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: 65
Issue: 2
Page: 234(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of the Southwest, published by University of Arizona on December 22, 2001. The length of the article is 2822 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Mike Davis, Ecology of Fear: Los Angeles and the imagination of disaster (New York: Metropolitan Books, 1998).
Author: Theodore Hamm
Publication:
Journal of the Southwest (Refereed)
Date: December 22, 2001
Publisher: University of Arizona
Volume: 43
Issue: 4
Page: 747(7)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Amaranth Biology Chemistry and Technology
Octavio Paredes-Lopez
Manufacturer: CRC-Press
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ASIN: 0849353742 |
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Berkeley Guides: San Francisco '97: On the Loose, On the Cheap, Off the Beaten Path (Berkeley Guides)
Fodor's
Manufacturer: Fodor's
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0679031855
Release Date: 1996-11-26 |
Book Description
· A critically acclaimed budget travel guide with attitude, mixing an irreverent look at culture and politics with brutally honest dining, lodging, and sightseeing reviews; original, socially aware.
· Covers San Francisco from the Mission District to Chinatown.
· Researched, written, and edited by University of California at Berkeley students.
· Packed with sidebars full of trivia and fascinating facts on everything from conservationist John Muir to the inspiration behind cable cars.
· Up-to-date information on politics and culture.
· Hundreds of recommended cheap eats and sleeps plus suggested splurges.
· What's low-cost or free.
· Loaded with outdoor activities.
· Travel information for gays, women, people with disabilities.
· 18 pages of maps.
· Complete destination/topic indexes.
Book Description
One of the most popular series ever published for young Americas, these classics have been praised alike by parents, teachers, and librarians. With these lively, inspiring, fictionalized biographies -- easily ready by children of eight and up -- today's youngster is swept right into history.
Customer Reviews:
Mr. Rogers.......2005-02-11
MR. ROGERS is a great biography on Mr. Rogers. It tells some very important events though out Fred McFeely Rogers's life. From when he was born March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania to when he died from cancer on February 27, 2003. When Freddie Rogers was in the hospital as a baby they found out that Freddie had respiratory problems and was sick most of his life. When he was sick he found a hobby of making puppets. He crated many of his friends thought pre-school and high school. Freddie wanted to be many things through out his life some of them included a writer and a preacher. I liked this book because it had a lot of information on Mr. Rogers and his life. Mr. Rogers enjoyed everyone company.
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Oprah Winfrey: Television Star (Library of Famous Women)
Steven Otfinoski
Manufacturer: Blackbirch Press
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 1567110150 |
From the Publisher
Queen of the talk-show hosts, Oprah has had a varied career as an actress and a TV anchorperson. Her intelligence and compassion have made her one of television's most successful women.
Slowly but surely, the accomplishments of women are being recognized and appreciated by the world at large. In our schools and in the media, more emphasis is being placed on the meaningful roles women play.
The Library of Famous Women features an international collection of courageous and determined individuals who have overcome both personal adversity and societal prejudice to achieve their goals. Many of these important stories have previously gone untold, but now
The Library of Famous Women brings the life stories of these powerful and eloquent role models to your young readers.
Grades 3-7; 7 x 9; 64 pages; Sturdy library binding; Glossary; Further Reading; Index; More than 30 color and black-and-white illustrations
Average customer rating:
- Oprah Winfrey: Talk Show Legend
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Oprah Winfrey: Talk Show Legend (African-American Biographies)
Sara McIntosh Wooten
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0766012077 |
Customer Reviews:
Oprah Winfrey: Talk Show Legend.......2000-04-15
Oprah Winfrey is a subject with whom the author appears to feel well acquainted. The tone of the book almost suggests that they could be good friends, although that is not stated. The author includes seven pages of sources arranged as chapter notes. This section is at the end of the book, and does not interfere with the story. These sources include videos, television interviews, magazine articles, personal interviews and Internet sites. Photographs are also included to validate the accuracy of some of the information about setting and character, such as Oprah's father's barbershop and home, the church and highschool she attended, her Chicago studio, and numerous photographs of Oprah in her various roles. The author has developed a central theme about Oprah's character: Oprah wants to use her influence to make a difference in the lives of people. She documents the many instances in which Oprah has done that by funding scholarships to promote education, recommending good reading to further literacy, and getting people involved in the lives of underprivileged children. According to Wooten, things did not just happen to Oprah. Oprah has taken control of her life in countless ways. She finished her degree, accepted every opportunity to further her career, bought her own studio, and got involved in many community projects to further the interests of others. The use of language was appropriate to the historical period and literary style of the book. There was more than adequate information showing what Oprah's contemporaries thought about her. Phil Donahue's remarks about Oprah are recorded along with those of other professional people as well as the thoughts of some of Oprah's employees. This work escapes an adulatory tone by showing Oprah's mistakes and shortcomings; however, in spite of that, Wooten makes Oprah sound like a pretty terrific person.
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American Personalities, Grades 4-6
Kathy Zaun , and
Claire Norman
Manufacturer: Instructional Fair
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0880128925 |
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- Terrible example for young children!
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Cristina Saralegui: A Real-Life Reader Biography
Valerie Menard
Manufacturer: Mitchell Lane Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 1883845602 |
Book Description
The life story of Cuban-American journalist and talk-show host, Cristina Saralegui.
Customer Reviews:
Terrible example for young children!.......1999-08-18
This arrogant, self-serving and badly written bio is not a role for children, instead it sets an egocentric, uneducated, uncompassionate, prejudiced, self-centered example!
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Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals (Interspecific Interactions)
Tim Caro
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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ASIN: 0226094367 |
Book Description
In nature, the ability to defend against predators is fundamental to an animal's survival. From the giraffes that rely on their spotted coats to blend into the patchy light of their woodland habitats to the South American sea lions that pile themselves in heaps to ward off the killer whales that prey on them in the shallow surf, defense strategies in the animal kingdom are seemingly innumerable.
In Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals, Tim Caro ambitiously synthesizes predator defenses in birds and mammals and integrates all functional and evolutionary perspectives on antipredator defenses that have developed over the last century. Structured chronologically along a hypothetical sequence of predation—Caro evokes a gazelle fawn desperate to survive a cheetah attack to illustrate the continuum of the evolution of antipredator defenses—Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals considers the defenses that prey use to avoid detection by predators; the benefits of living in groups; morphological and behavioral defenses in individuals and groups; and, finally, flight and adaptations of last resort.
Antipredator Defenses in Birds and Mammals will be of interest to both specialists and general readers interested in ecological issues.
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2006. 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.
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Product Description
This book provides a perspective on the current status of bioimaging technologies developed to assess the quality of musculoskeletal tissue with an emphasis on bone and cartilage. It offers evaluations of scaffold biomaterials developed for enhancing the repair of musculoskeletal tissues. These bioimaging techniques include micro-CT, nano-CT, pQCT/QCT, MRI, and ultrasound, which provide not only 2-D and 3-D images of the related organs or tissues, but also quantifications of the relevant parameters. The advance bioimaging technologies developed for the above applications are also extended by incorporating imaging contrast-enhancement materials. Thus, this book will provide a unique platform for multidisciplinary collaborations in education and joint R&D among various professions, including biomedical engineering, biomaterials, and basic and clinical medicine.
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Advanced Biomaterials for Medical Applications
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1402029071 |
Book Description
Biomaterials science has advanced dramatically in the past 50 years with the increased cooperation between engineers chemists and biologists. Whilst previously biomaterials may have been erroneously thought to encompass dressing materials or implant structures designed to replace damaged or diseased tissue, the range of clinical applications of these materials is immense. Truly "Smart" biomaterials, which have the ability to recognise, respond to and even record their environment, now exist. The presentations in this volume reflect the true inter-disciplinary nature of biomaterials science; with contributions from polymer chemists, engineers, biologists and clinicians. The presentations show the potential of these collaborations and describe how advanced biomaterials have and are being employed not only in theraputic applications, but also increasingly in diagnosis and treatment in medical science.
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Advances in Commutative Ring Theory (Lecture Notes in Pure and Applied Mathematics)
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0824771478 |
Book Description
"Presents the proceedings of the recently held Third International Conference on Commutative Ring Theory in Fez, Morocco. Details the latest developments in commutative algebra and related areas-featuring 26 original research articles and six survey articles on fundamental topics of current interest. Examines wide-ranging developments in commutative algebra, together with connections to algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry."
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- Brilliant
- The First From Blandings Castle
- The Company You Keep
- Blandings Castle is never bland nor dull!
- All the intrigue of Sherlock Holmes...minus the dead bodies
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Something Fresh
P.G. Wodehouse
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Jill the Reckless (The Collector's Wodehouse)
ASIN: 0140284613
Release Date: 2000-10-03 |
Book Description
In a moment of absentmindedness, Lord Emsworth helps himself to a priceless relic, leaving its owner to offer a thousand pounds for its return. Pretty soon, Blandings is a madhouse with people tripping over one another to claim the prize.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2006-07-14
Very funny book. One of the Wodehouse series I have truly and thoroughly enjoyed.
It's worth it for that one scene at night with Emsworth wandering with a revolver and the "Efficient Baxter" stumbling into some surprises.
I read that portion and had tears running down my cheeks and an aching belly for the next two weeks from laughing so hard! The visualisation of that scene isn't hard to do, since Wodehouse is an amazing artist with words.... and it's rewarding.
Too funny!
You won't regret it!
The First From Blandings Castle.......2006-02-19
This book was first published as "Something New" in the U.S. on September 3rd, 1915 by D. Appleton and Company, and then in the U.K. on September 16th, 1915 by Methuen & Co., and this is the first of the Blandings Castle stories. As far as Wodehouse stories go this is not his best, but it does introduce characters which appear in many of his later works.
The main two characters of the story are Ashe Marson, a writer of cheap detective novels, and Joan Valentine, a woman who lives in his apartment building who laughs at his morning exercises which results in their meeting. Neither of them is satisfied with what they are doing in life, and both are in the need for money.
The story moves to different characters from time to time, in typical Wodehouse fashion. Important characters include Aline Peters, Jane's friend who is engaged to Frederick Threepwood, who is the son of the Earl of Emsworth who is the lord of Blandings Castle, and is a very absent minded individual. Jane's father is J. Preston Peters, an American business man who collects scarabs and suffers from digestion problems.
Other characters included are Baxter, the Earl's secretary, and R. Jones, a less than honest man whom Frederick has hired to recover love letters he wrote to an actress (Joan Valentine) in the past which might contain evidence for a breach of promises suit. There are also the many guests and servants of Blandings Castle.
It would be impossible to cover all the twists in a Wodehouse plot, but many of his usual devices are here. Characters pretending to be someone they are not, misunderstandings galore, and love, of course. Some of the scenes which I liked the best included Baxter's attempts to catch someone trying to steal the Scarab, and the servant scenes where the hierarchy of servants comes into play. I have yet to read a Wodehouse book which wasn't enjoyable, and this one is no exception. However, there are many of his stories which are better than this one.
This edition is part of "The Collector's Wodehouse" series being published by The Overlook Press in the U.S. (in the U.K. it is "The Everyman's Wodehouse" series being published by Everyman's Library).
The Company You Keep.......2005-02-05
In P.G. Wodehouse (Thames and Hudson Literary Lives Series), James Connolly offers this advice: "Relax and reread Wodehouse; he's the boy to restore a sense of proportion." Absolutely good advice. I find rereading Wodehouse is more enjoyable than most first reads of other authors, and he's quite easy to reread, even if you don't intend to, because his stories appear in various collections and his novels were often published under various titles.
Something Fresh, officially the first book in the Blandings Castle saga, was published as "Something New" as a serial in The Saturday Evening Post in 1915, and then as a book with the same title in an American edition. "Something Fresh" is a slightly altered British edition of that book. Ashe Marson, the unknown author of the hard-boiled Gridley Quayle, Investigator series of paperback pulps, answers an ad: "WANTED--Young Man of Good Appearance, who is poor and reckless, to undertake delicate and dangerous enterprise. Good pay for the right man." Poor and reckless is a formula in Wodehouse for a good-hearted, down on his luck guy, about to be smiled upon by a beneficent Providence. It's a carry-over from his work in musical comedy and as a struggling writer, but he is one of the few authors who make his leading characters writers, and one of the very few who throws them any of the good parts.
This book is a double bonus, with not only Ashe, but a female writer, Joan Valentine, who knows even more of the hard-bitten life of the streets, and is therefore even poorer and more reckless, as a stellar second in the personnel. Throw in all sorts of millionaires and mix-ups, maids and butlers, a loveable, old, potty Earl, and the beginning of the crime wave at Blandings, and you have the makings of either a rollicking musical comedy or a long series of delightful novels. With Wodehouse it was both. He alternated between the two worlds and if Something Fresh were a film or a musical, Ashe and Joan would no doubt break into song and start dancing about the parlour, as do Gracie Allen, George Burns and Fred Astaire in the Gershwin Brothers' film adaption of Wodehouse's novel, A Damsel in Distress. Why four stars? You can't give everything five, and in my view, as good as Something Fresh is, some of the later Wodehouse novels (such as the Jeeves, Mulliner and Drones Stories) are even better.
Blandings Castle is never bland nor dull!.......2002-10-24
This is the first Blandings Castle novel, and the first novel in what we now think as the true P.G. Wodehouse style. For the first time, the interplay between absent-minded peers, quick-to-anger relatives and friends, and those amazing good-natured yet good-for-nothing younger sons come together in a comic dance of quick assumptions, identity switches, flirts with embarrassment, and, oh yes, love.
If Wodehouse wasn't so widely admired by the critics, I would have to claim him as a guilty pleasure. Although I can quote style and form with the best of them, the real truth is that I read Wodehouse because he amuses. In Wodehouse's hands, the sly wink equals the over-the-top exaggeration, and only one will work in the place that he puts it.
I tried to slow my reading speed down on this book, to gain an understanding of the flow and the way the language worked. I failed miserably--before I realized it, I was caught up once again in the action of the story and I wasn't observing but enjoying. I'm thinking that to truly study a novel, I am going to have to force myself to retype it.
All the intrigue of Sherlock Holmes...minus the dead bodies.......2002-10-23
If your acquaintance with the wonderful world of Wodehouse begins and ends with Jeeves and that bit of a thick-o, Bertram Wilburforce W. then it's high time you came to Blandings Castle to meet Lord Emsworth and his idiot son Freddie,what?And "something fresh" is exactly where you'd want to start.Structured like a detective or spy novel and woven ever so tightly,it leaves you wondering....could all this bally intrigue be about something so incredibly silly? (and I'm far and away from meaning silly as an insult).Lighthearted and romantic without ever being lightweight, beautifully written and zanily paced, you'll want to spend a holiday as a guest at Blandings castle as soon as possible.Go ahead,satisfy your anglophilic urges...read some Wodehouse!
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- Ecology of Infectious Diseases in Natural Populations (Publications of the Newton Institute)
- Everest: The West Ridge
- Experimental Ecology: Issues and Perspectives
- Exploring the Yukon River
- Extremes: Surviving the World's Harshest Environments
- Fathoming the Ocean: The Discovery and Exploration of the Deep Sea
- Fire on the Rim: A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon
- Gales of November: The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
- Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping With His Daughter: Coyote Builds North America
- Guide to Marine Mammals of Alaska, Second Edition
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