Average customer rating:
- Excelent source for aquatic entomologists
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Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera)
Glenn B. Wiggins
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0802053440 |
Customer Reviews:
Excelent source for aquatic entomologists.......2001-02-21
Excelent drawings together with a very good description of the natural history of the genera. An essencial resource for all aquatic entomologists, specially for trichopterologists. A work of art!
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Flora Hibernica: The Wild Flowers, Plants And Trees Of Ireland
Jonathan Pilcher
Manufacturer: Collins Press
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 190346451X |
Book Description
Most people see the Jersey Shore as sun, sand, and surf . . . and hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Garden State Parkway. But there's much more to the Shore! Long before the first hotel, miniature golf range, and amusement pier were built, explorers, sailors, and settlers were drawn to New Jersey's coast and left their mark upon it. In this book, Mark Di Ionno invites you to join him in discovering New Jersey's rich and varied coastal heritage. He'll take you on a personal tour to explore the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and Spermaceti Cove Station, admire offbeat collections of saltwater taffy boxes and sand art in Atlantic City, spend an afternoon at Brigantine and unravel the legend of Captain Kidd, marvel at the skills of Tuckerton's boatbuilders, discover New Jersey's own version of the Boston Tea Party in Greenwich, and find inspiration at Ocean Grove, a Methodist meeting place. Organized by county and amply illustrated with photographs and maps, the guide's entries give directions and information about hours, programs, and accessibility, and, above all, lively descriptions of the local history and cultural traditions that make each place special.
Customer Reviews:
New Jersey Coastal Heritage: A Guide.......2000-03-17
This is a wonderful, thoughtfully written book that uncovers many fabulous stories of New Jersey's small and large coastal towns and resorts. Every time I read it, I learn something new. The stories of the Morro Castle burning off Spring Lake and the local people who came to help the survivors; the death of President Grant in Long Branch and the people of that town who built a railroad over night to get the ailing president to his favorite spot; the rich histories of Atlantic City, Ocean City, Ocean Grove, and Cape May, there all here. Well researched and written in an easy conversational style that makes each page a pleasure. The author has something to share about lots of little towns along our special seashore -- makes you want to head immediately to the beach! Great photos taken by the author and his brother. Each section points out places of interest and includes hours of operation, phone numbers, costs, etc. Highly recommended!
Amazon.com
When Rita Golden Gelman traveled to Mexico during a two-month separation from her husband, she hoped to satisfy an old craving for adventure and, in the process, rejuvenate herself and her marriage. Little did she know it was the beginning of a new life, not just as a divorcée, but as a nomad of the world. Since 1986, Gelman has had no permanent address and no possessions except those she can carry. She travels without a plan, guided by instinct, serendipitous opportunities, and a remarkable ability to connect with people. At first her family and friends accused her of running away, but Gelman knew she had embarked on a journey of self-discovery and a way of life that is inspiring and enviable.
We know Gelman is not your typical middle-aged housewife from LA when, on that first trip to Mexico, she randomly picks a Zapotec village and decides to live there for a month, knowing nothing about the culture or the language. When she arrives, the villagers run away from her, terrified. By the time she leaves, there are hugs and tears. From there she travels to Guatemala and Nicaragua, Israel and the Galapagos Islands. But the heart of the book--and her 15-year journey--is Indonesia, where she lives for eight years. It is Bali that forever changes how she looks at the world, facilitated by her friendship with an aging prince. Tu Aji not only invites her to live with his family but decides that the education of Rita will be his final duty in life. Wherever she goes, Gelman has an uncanny ability to slip into other ways of life and become part of a community. And she is a person for whom doors open widely--her seatmate on the plane to Bali scrawls the prince's name on a piece of paper, she talks her way into a sojourn at Camp Leakey in Borneo where orangutans are studied, and an entire village in a remote part of Irian Jaya prays for the clouds to clear so her plane can land--and they do! Gelmen's secret is her passion for people. That being the case, the book is short on descriptions of place, but long on the rarer inside view of the peoples and customs of those places. This in itself is treat enough, but Gelman's animated and intimate story comes with a kicker--it's never too late to fulfill those dreams. --Lesley Reed
Book Description
“I move throughout the world without a plan, guided by instinct, connecting through trust, and constantly watching for serendipitous opportunities.” —From the Preface
Tales of a Female Nomad is the story of Rita Golden Gelman, an ordinary woman who is living an extraordinary existence. At the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, Rita left an elegant life in L.A. to follow her dream of connecting with people in cultures all over the world. In 1986 she sold her possessions and became a nomad, living in a Zapotec village in Mexico, sleeping with sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, and residing everywhere from thatched huts to regal palaces. She has observed orangutans in the rain forest of Borneo, visited trance healers and dens of black magic, and cooked with women on fires all over the world. Rita’s example encourages us all to dust off our dreams and rediscover the joy, the exuberance, and the hidden spirit that so many of us bury when we become adults.
Customer Reviews:
Female Courage.......2007-09-22
This is a wonderful book to learn about traveling alone throughout the world. The author's courage to wander and met people is inspiring. The book is interesting and easy to read.
A definite recommended read.
feets - don't fail me now..........2007-09-17
If you've ever wanted to grab your back pack and just head for parts unknown, this book is the kick in the *** you need. The copy I just purchased is the 11th one - I give this book to every woman I know and they all tell me they have passed it on and bought another for themselves. A gem, a treasure, a wonderful companion, Rita Gelman's delightful account of (some of!) her adventures is a tonic. It made me realize that I am not the only one who dreams - and that others make their dreams come true. Read it, savor it and pass it on. In her highly personal tale Ms. Gelman speaks for many of us. The Garden Club: An Althea Grey Mystery
Tales of a Female Nomad.......2007-09-03
Rita Golden Gelman is an inspiration to all women world travelers.I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not wanting to catch the next plane to adventure and self discovery.
Inspiring and Heart Warming.......2007-07-27
I cried when I finished Tales of a Female Nomad. I think it was because I didn't want it to be over!
I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of Rita's adventures around the globe; from her first evening in Mexico, in which she is fearful to eat alone, to her complete transformation in the last chapter in which she is living in a Thai village, unable to communicate in the local language but heartily helping to prepare meals with her hosts.
I am an experienced traveler and thought that I knew a lot about Globetrotting. But having now read Rita's book, I realize there is so much more depth to be had, not only in my travels but in my every day life.
I dispute the claims that this book is self-indulgent, self-congratulatory or dishonest. Rather, Rita makes a point of giving back at every opportunity. The one instance in which she feels she may be forcing her ideals on the locals, she promptly removes herself from the situation, recognizing that she is an observer and must not try to change others. She is completely honest about her experiences and, over time, she learns to dive in to every situation without hesitation and with all of her heart.
I have a list of women friends that I can't wait to buy additional copies for!
Tales of aFemale Nomad.......2007-07-07
Written with honesty and clarity, Tales of a Female Nomad shows that when a person is true to themselves, the world opens up. Fantastic description of cultures and the individuals within those cultures. A brave and fulfilling journey.
Amazon.com
Never mind that upon her death in 1993, the then 100-year-old Dame Freya Stark rated a three-column obit in The New York Times. Mention her name to most Americans, and it will elicit a "Freya who?" The tales and travails of this romantic traveler, who marched alone into the Middle East from Persia to Yemen, discovering lost cities and creating an anti-Nazi intelligence system along the way, are captured in this compelling biography by former New York Times reporter Jane Fletcher Geniesse.
The author unveils not the fearless wanderer whose mappings and 30 books brought Stark awards from the likes of the Royal Geographical Society and made her a darling of British society. Instead Stark is seen as humble, insecure, and forever caught in the role of perpetual alien--be it when the English-born child grows up in Italy, where her mother lives in scandal, or when she plunges alone into the East, a feat never before accomplished by a Westerner.
An unwilling iconoclast whose love of travel, she would say, began as an infant when her father carried her in a basket over the Dolomites, Stark longed for the social security of the times: marriage and children. Proposals fell through, on occasion her beloved was married, or the romantic emotions she felt went unrequited--and besides, as a friend later pointed out, marriage would have spoiled her with its confinements. Rising above depression, self-imposed ostracism, and her numerous illnesses, Stark learned Arabic and how to climb mountains, map, partake in geographical digs, and find a niche in strange cultures.
Initially ridiculed for her passionate fondness of the Middle East, her writings ultimately generated vast interest for that mysterious part of the world, where she was surprisingly embraced, made privy to political movements closed to most foreigners, and even shown precious Islamic documents. At times a nurse, a war correspondent, a negotiator, Stark was a one-woman revolution of her time. Geniesse's intoxicating documentation of her life not only serves to stir up new interest in Stark's many books; it also ensures that the name Freya Stark will live on long after her obituary is but a scrap of yellowed, crackling newsprint. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
Freya Stark—traveler, explorer, Arabist, and woman of letters—began the extraordinary adventures that would glamorize her—and would catapult her into public life for the next sixty years—in 1927. And with the publication of The Valley of the Assassins in 1934, her legend was launched.
Leaving behind a miserable family life, Freya set out, at the age of thirty-four, to explore remote and dangerous regions of the Middle East. She was captured in 1927 by the French military police after penetrating their cordon around the rebellious Druze. She explored the mountainous territory of the mysterious Assassins of Persia, became the first woman to explore Luristan in western Iran, and followed ancient frankincense routes to locate a lost city. Admired by British officialdom, her knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and culture aided the military and diplomatic corps, for whom she conceived an effective propaganda network during WWII.
But Stark’s indomitable spirit was forged by contradictions, her high-profile wanderings often masking deep insecurities. A child of privilege, she grew up in near poverty; she longed for love, but consistently focused on the wrong men. This is a brilliant and balanced biography—filled with sheikhs, diplomats, nomad warriors and chieftains, generals, would be lovers, and luminaries. Author Jane Geniesse digs beneath the mythology to uncover a complex, quixotic, and controversial woman.
Customer Reviews:
David Neel, Mallart et al.......2007-06-11
My Journey to Lhasa: The Classic Story of the Only Western Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden CityForbidden Journey (Marlboro Travel)I don't understand why other great women travellers are not mentioned in any of these reviews. If you like this author, don't forget about Alexandra David-Neel who paved the way and Annemarie Schwarzenbach and Ella Maillart who traced their own unique paths. All but Schwarzenbach have been translated into English and are available from amazon.
another "thumbs-up" vote.......2006-12-31
Having just scrolled through the other reviews, I don't have anything to add except the comment that I am another fan of this book. I think the author did a good job of bringing this complex, interesting woman to life.
Fascinating story of a complex historic figure.......2006-11-12
Freya Start was a pioneer in her day -- a remarkable and complex woman whose intellectual curiosity led her to explore a region --the Middle East-- where few Western women felt comfortable to go in company, let alone, as a solo traveler. THis book describes her character as it developed over time, headstrong, determined, and driven to compensate for her plain features and disfigured face with daring adventures. Her advise and counsel to the British foreign office proved to be amazingly prescient, though she was not always heeded. A very good book of historical and human significance.
Passionate Nomad.......2005-10-15
Another amazing book about another amazing British lady of the ealy 1900's. Gertrude Bell (Desert Queen ) and Freya Stark are two incredible women who broke all the barriers of their era. Another must read for those interested in the development of the Middle East in the early 1900's, the cultures of these people and the strength and determination of an incredible woman in a time when only men ruled the world.
A fascinating historical landmark.......2005-08-24
The book offers a well-researched and - presented insight into the life a remarkable woman who had a passion for the region we know as the Middle-East; who lived amongst the people in the region and observed their way of life and worldview with an open mind and with immense humanity, an attitude uncharacteristic of her compatriots.
Average customer rating:
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Nomads & Travelers (People on the Move)
Dave Dalton
Manufacturer: Heinemann
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1403469679 |
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In Search of Nomads: An English Obsession from Hester Stanhope to Bruce Chatwin
John Ure
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Nomads and the Outside World
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What Am I Doing Here?
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The Songlines
ASIN: 0786713208 |
Book Description
For centuries, settled peoples have contemplated nomads with fascination and envy, or with disdain and fear. Both Americans and the British have had an obsession with nomadic peoples, stemming from their own wanderlust and admiration for the unfettered life. In Search of Nomads centers on four regions that are rich in nomadic culture—the Arabian peninsula with its Bedouin, the Sahara with its Moors and Tuareg, the mountain ranges of southern Iran with its migratory pastoral tribes, and the steppes of Central Asia with its Mongol horsemen and Tartar descendants. Author John Ure has traveled with all of these peoples and provides a brief account of the special characteristics and history of each group. However, one of the most appealing aspects of the book is the insight it provides into the often eccentric British and American observers who chose to seek out and travel with nomads. Some were exiles from nineteenth-century high society, some were footloose adventurers like T. E. Lawrence; some were distinguished literary figures like Vita Sackville-West; while others were notable scholars like Gertrude Bell. In short, the visitors were often odder than the exotic peoples they visited, and John Ure brings both to life with skill and humor.
Average customer rating:
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On the Move (How People Live)
Tessa Potter
Manufacturer: Schoolhouse Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0808610651 |
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Portable Homes (Homes Around the World)
Debbie Gallagher
Manufacturer: Smart Apple Media
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Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 159920150X |
Product Description
Nomad Adventure Journals is the ultimate personal logbook for those of us who take to the outdoors for recreation. Whether your passion is Traveling or rock climbing, Nomad Adventure Journals will provide the direction and space to preserve your most memorable experiences. From driving/hiking directions to the people you met along the way, you will be able to recall every detail from your adventures. Nomad Adventure Journals come in a zippered weatherproof case to protect against the elements and the demands of outdoor activities. Once a journal is full, remove it from the case for safe keeping and replace it with your Nomad Adventure Journal of choice.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Journal for Keeping a Travel Diary.......2004-05-05
This is a tremedous journal for keeping a diary while traveling. I took this with me when I went to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos in October of 2003. The layout is great because it gives you plenty of room to write and also reminds you to write down things such as addresses, phone numbers and emails of people you meet.
I highly recommend this journal!
Average customer rating:
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Inhibition of Matrix Metalloproteinases: Therapeutic Applications (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)
Manufacturer: New York Academy of Sciences
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1573311804 |
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Inherently Parallel Algorithms in Feasibility and Optimization and their Applications (Studies in Computational Mathematics)
D. Butnariu ,
S. Reich , and
Y. Censor
Manufacturer: North Holland
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0444505954 |
Book Description
The Haifa 2000 Workshop on "Inherently Parallel Algorithms for Feasibility and Optimization and their Applications" brought together top scientists in this area. The objective of the Workshop was to discuss, analyze and compare the latest developments in this fast growing field of applied mathematics and to identify topics of research which are of special interest for industrial applications and for further theoretical study.
Inherently parallel algorithms, that is, computational methods which are, by their mathematical nature, parallel, have been studied in various contexts for more than fifty years. However, it was only during the last decade that they have mostly proved their practical usefulness because new generations of computers made their implementation possible in order to solve complex feasibility and optimization problems involving huge amounts of data via parallel processing. These led to an accumulation of computational experience and theoretical information and opened new and challenging questions concerning the behavior of inherently parallel algorithms for feasibility and optimization, their convergence in new environments and in circumstances in which they were not considered before their stability and reliability. Several research groups all over the world focused on these questions and it was the general feeling among scientists involved in this effort that the time has come to survey the latest progress and convey a perspective for further development and concerted scientific investigations. Thus, the editors of this volume, with the support of the Israeli Academy for Sciences and Humanities, took the initiative of organizing a Workshop intended to bring together the leading scientists in the field. The current volume is the Proceedings of the Workshop representing the discussions, debates and communications that took place. Having all that information collected in a single book will provide mathematicians and engineers interested in the theoretical and practical aspects of the inherently parallel algorithms for feasibility and optimization with a tool for determining when, where and which algorithms in this class are fit for solving specific problems, how reliable they are, how they behave and how efficient they were in previous applications. Such a tool will allow software creators to choose ways of better implementing these methods by learning from existing experience.
Customer Reviews:
Voinovich Masterpiece!.......2007-09-22
This book served as my introduction to Vladimir Voinovich. It has to be one of greatest Soviet satires ever written.
If you are going to read this book you MUST also read "Pretender to the Throne The Further Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin". "Pretender to the Throne" is essentially part II of this book and, in my opinion, even better than part I. Voinovich masterfully unfolds the chaos of the Soviet Union through the simple life of Ivan Chonkin, a common Russian soldier. This book will leave you laughing outloud.
I highly recommend this and other works by Voinovich. Voinovich should have a place in every Russian Literature library!
The Funniest Book I Have Ever Read by a Country Kilometer.......2007-03-06
I am a native Russian speaker and have read this is the book in its original form. I was just having a friendly argument with someone and in the process found this. I had no idea some poor SOB translated it into English (I really don't envy him).
Now I have no idea how good the translation is and to me it's practically impossible to translate Russian into English well, especially when it's something funny. However, if it's even half as funny in English as it is in Russian it'll be the funniest book you'll ever read.
While reading the book I found myself dying laughing 85% of the time to the point where I'd have to stop reading for one or more of the following reasons. I'd get terrible stomach cramps, couldn't see anymore due to the fact that I was completely teary eyed, or go into unending fits of coughing. Enjoy.
Like the "Good Soldier Woody Allen".......2006-12-19
A previous reviewer compared Chonkin to the WWI story of a Czech soldier named "Good Soldier Svejk" which is a classic of military bumbling. This is more of a statement of problems of the Soviet System as it existed just before WW2. Chonkin is a 'so-so' soldier (a misfit) who is sent to a small collective farm (a kolkhov) to guard a damaged airplane. Though he is to be there for only a week, with the German Barbarossa attack he is forgotten about. So he goes about his orders as expected.
Some one (a neighbor) reports him to the authorities, who order that Chonkin is to be arrested as a deserter. All of the rest of the story hinges on the propensity of the Soviet system never letting the right hand know what the left is doing, nor why, nor how, nor when. There are constant digs about the clumsyness and inefficiency of the system and how people go about trying to be invisible.
Keeping in mind that the book was written in the middle sixties, it is a true attack on the time of Brezhnev and his inability to be the "Stalin" that he wanted to, as the system ground slowly to oblivion. This story wasn't printed in Russia until after the fall of communism, but was widely circulated as a 'samizdat' (which is an underground printing) and famous for its' attack on the system.
Ivan Chonkin.......2005-06-14
For those who may think that Russian literature is unrelieved doom and gloom, crime and punishment, endless Slavic heaviness about the meaning of life from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, Vladimir Voinovich's The life and extraordinary adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin is a masterpiece of comic writing that you will not want to miss. Chonkin is the not quite as bright younger brother of Jaroslav Hasek's Good Soldier Svejk, with this exception: Hasek's hero wears the mask of naiveté, but after a while we can tell that it is just that, a mask, and that Josef Svejk is a lot more clever than he is letting on. Ivan Chonkin, on the other hand, really is as naïve as he seems. He is trying to do his best by Stalin, the Red Army, and the Soviet Union; it's just that the people running the Soviet Union are dangerous idiots who can't quite comprehend just how dangerously stupid they really are.
Voinovich published the novel in France in 1975, for reasons that are clear just as soon as you start reading; no Soviet censor could allow its publication inside Russia, given the subject matter-in his time Stalin had writers imprisoned and executed for less trenchant criticism of him and his rule. The targets of Voinovich's hilarious satire is Soviet society itself and all of its institutions, beginning with Stalin himself and the Communist party, the Soviet military and its officer corps, the secret police, collectivized agriculture and the crackpot genetic theories of Lysenko, party propaganda, political officers, and World War II. There is little in Soviet life that does not take a hit as the patriotic and conscientious Private Chonkin, who is not the greatest soldier in the world but is doing the best that he can, tries to do his duty and creates mayhem in the process. Read it and enjoy.
Intelligent and Hilarious.......2001-06-25
Voinovich was expelled from the Soviet Writers' Union, because of his poignant satire. The guardians of the communist order could not stand his free, humorous exposition of the follies of the Soviet society. "Private Chonkin" is his masterpiece. Voinovich shows much that plagued the Soviet society: pervasive alchoholism, bureaucratic intransingence, sychophantic officials, horrific abuse of power, and the spread of pseudo-science (much fun is made in the book of Lysenko's approach to evolution.)
Voinovich is not bitter or angry. He finds a place for good-natured humor, even amid the appalling conditions of Russian's brutal rural communism. This book is invaluable to all those who want to be acquainted with the character and spirit of communist despotism in Russia in the twentieth century. But in the end, one does not put down this book feeling discouraged and sad. Orwellian gloom does not prevail here. And why is that? Because people retain the ability to laugh at themselves and at the life around them, not taking too seriously grave doctrines and events. Chonkin survives the advent of terror, and his simplicity and good nature prove superior to dogma and repression, suggesting, at least to me, that a single human being is generally more valuable than all utopian doctrines and insane plans for implementing them.
Customer Reviews:
wit, irony and absurdity -- a great book.......2007-04-02
This was a fantastic book. A bit odd from the Western perspective at first but by the time I reached the end all of the threads of the story wove together into a wonderful picture. I was rolling on the floor laughing and making my poor husband listen to stories about various characters. I would highly recommend finding a copy of this. It is a quick read and a great insight into Russia's (SSR's) recent history.
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- Living in the Appalachian Forest: True Tales of Sustainable Forestry
- Look at the Sky and Tell the Weather
- Magnitude 8: Earthquakes and Life Along the San Andreas Fault
- Man's Origin, Man's Destiny: A Critical Survey of the Principles of Evolution and Christianity
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Waiting for God
- Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss
- Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia
- The Spirit of Christmas: Creative Holiday Ideas/Book No 3
- The Unusual Suspect: My Calling to the New Hardcore Movement of Faith
- The NURBS Book
- The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World
- The political implications of human genetic technology
- The Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858 As Reported by the California Newspapers of 1858: Was It a Humbug
- The genera of southern African flowering plants
