Portraits of the Rainforest

Book Description

A tiny rufous-tailed hummingbird hovers before the bright inflorescence of a heliconia. Undetected by the foraging bird a golden eyelash viper is curled motionless around the plant. An instant later, this subtle configuration of flora and fauna is shattered by the snake's sudden strike.

Portraits of the Rainforest explores the precarious contingencies that determine the nature of tropical life, and award-winning Adrian Forsyth approaches his subject with a "mixture of hope and trepidation." A biologist who has spent 20 years working in the rainforest, Forsyth has observed firsthand the ravaging effects of agricultural, economic and environmental policies on an ecosystem under siege.

Yet in this collection of essays, he has chosen to celebrate the rainforest rather than to lament its loss. The rainforest plays a variety of roles -- as a genetic reservoir, a pharmacy of natural products and a carbon dioxide exchange system -- but for Forsyth, its true value rests with something less functional. The rainforest, he argues, represents the pinnacle of biological diversity and evolutionary sophistication on this planet.

Forsyth draws on his own extensive experience in the rainforest to make this fascinating habitat tangible for his readers. The result is a creative, anecdotal text that in each chapter follows a thread of adaptive Darwinian logic through some part of the rainforest. The exquisite photography of Michael and Patricia Fogden helps to make Portraits of the Rainforest an unforgettable journey.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome book, great for kids, perfect for schools!.......2006-07-27

This is an awesome pictorial with great editorial book that is awesome to read or simply thumb through to view some of the most beautiful rainforest's the world has to offer. Perfect for schools, to show kids who may have never been to or seen a rainforest what they are & why we need to protect them.

Very young children will understand when explained the importance all rainforest's have for human survival, not to mention the survival of unique flora & fauna.

This book would be helpful to science classes of all ages and teachers should have no problem creating study guides and exercises from it.

Do not get me wrong, this book is perfect for adults too, makes a fantastic coffee table book for your guests to flip through. And would look striking on the coffee table of any home!

I do not think anyone who purchases this would be disappointed. It is such a lovely book and simply gorgeous to view!

Monteverde residents bring rain forest to life.......2000-07-04

The author and photographers are part time residents of the Monteverde area of Costa Rica. Many of the photos in this book also are displayed at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, near Santa Elena, in Central Costa Rica. Anyone who has been to a Central or South American rain forest or cloud forest will enjoy the ecological explanations -- similar to briefer explanations by guia naturalistas (guides) in the reserves -- and will especially enjoy the dramatic photos. Those who haven't visited the forest in person may be motivated to do so.

Book Description

This book critically examines the idea that the sustainability of agriculture could be improved by mimicking the structure and processes occurring in natural ecosystems. Researchers from around the world present comparative studies of multi-species farming systems, natural ecosystems and conventional agriculture. Case studies from Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North and South America examine the implications of increasing the complexity of farming systems on water and nutrient cycling, productivity and resilience. Theoretical issues discussed include the role of biodiversity in agriculture, the trade-off between perenniality and productivity, the choice to integrate or segregate production and conservation in an agricultural landscape, and the social and economic challenges to adopting complex farming systems. One section is devoted to the application of this concept in southern Australia, where 15 million hectares of land are expected to be affected by salinity by the middle of the next century unless there is a significant change in agricultural practice.

Book Description

Written for both the experienced practitioner and the newcomer, this book provides essential guidance to the practical aspects of free radical chain reactions. The book presents tried and tested synthetic schemes as well as a selection of recently developed methods describing rationally designed, highly efficient syntheses giving high yield interconversions of functional groups and carbon*b1carbon bond formation under mild, neutral conditions.
Written by two experienced practitioners in the field, this volume explodes the myth that free radicals are highly reactive, non-selective intermediates.

Key Features
* Contains an extensive introduction discussing principles, advantages, and disadvantages of radical chain reactions
* Demonstrates functional group interconversions by radical chain reactions
* Lists carbon*b1carbon bond formations
* Presents inter- and intramolecular radical chain reactions
* Includes many examples and experimental details selected by experienced practitioners in this field

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FREE RADICAL CHAIN REACTIONS I
W. B. Motherwell
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OH79GW

Free Radical Chain Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Best Synthetic Methods)

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Free Radical Chain Reactions in Organic Synthesis (Best Synthetic Methods)
William B. Motherwell
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU8WBC

Synthesis of polyfunctionalized long chain carboxylic acids and esters via free radical addition reactions

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Synthesis of polyfunctionalized long chain carboxylic acids and esters via free radical addition reactions
Brian B Filippini
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007BMDNY

Book Description

Many phenomena of interest for applications are represented by differential equations which are defined in a domain whose boundary is a priori unknown, and is accordingly named a "free boundary". A further quantitative condition is then provided in order to exclude indeterminacy. Free boundary problems thus encompass a broad spectrum which is represented in this state-of-the-art volume by a variety of contributions of researchers in mathematics and applied fields like physics, biology and material sciences. Special emphasis has been reserved for mathematical modelling and for the formulation of new problems.

Free Boundary Problems Theory and Applications

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Free Boundary Problems Theory and Applications
Fasano A and Primicerio M Editing
Manufacturer: Pitman Advanced Pub. Program
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORH8PO

Free Boundary Problems, Theory and Applications (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics)

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Free Boundary Problems, Theory and Applications (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics)
Marek Niezgodka , and Pawel Strzelecki
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall/CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0582305934

Book Description

Addressing various aspects of nonlinear partial differential equations, this volume contains papers and lectures presented at the Congress on Free boundary Problems, Theory and Application held in Zakopane, Poland in 1995. Topics include existence, uniqueness, asymptotic behavior, and regularity of solutions and interfaces.

Free Boundary Problems: Applications and Theory (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics, No 120-121)

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Free Boundary Problems: Applications and Theory (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics, No 120-121)
A. Bossavit , A. Damlamian , and M. Fremond
Manufacturer: Longman Science & Technology
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0470206462

Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics Series,)

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Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications (Pitman Research Notes in Mathematics Series,)
J I Diaz , Juan Luis Vazquez , M A Herrero , and Amable Linan
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall/CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Loose Leaf

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ASIN: 0582256453

Book Description

This research note consists of selected contributions from the 1993 International Conference on "Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications." These represent coherent and high-level research in the field of free boundary problems. Topics include mean curvature flows, phase transitions and material sciences, fluid mechanics and combustion problems.

Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications (Research Notes in Mathematics Series)

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Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications (Research Notes in Mathematics Series)
Ioannis Athanasopoulos , Jose Francisco Rodrigues , and George Makrakis
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall/CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 158488018X

Book Description

Free boundary problems arise in an enormous number of situations in nature and technology. They hold a strategic position in pure and applied sciences and thus have been the focus of considerable research over the last three decades. Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications presents the work and results of experts at the forefront of current research in mathematics, material sciences, chemical engineering, biology, and physics. It contains the plenary lectures and contributed papers of the 1997 International Interdisciplinary Congress proceedings held in Crete. The main topics addressed include free boundary problems in fluid and solid mechanics, combustion, the theory of filtration, and glaciology. Contributors also discuss material science modeling, recent mathematical developments, and numerical analysis advances within their presentations of more specific topics, such as singularities of interfaces, cusp cavitation and fracture, capillary fluid dynamics of film coating, dynamics of surface growth, phase transition kinetics, and phase field models. With the implications of free boundary problems so far reaching, it becomes important for researchers from all of these fields to stay abreast of new developments. Free Boundary Problems: Theory and Applications provides the opportunity to do just that, presenting recent advances from more than 50 researchers at the frontiers of science, mathematics, and technology.

Free boundary problems: Theory and applications (Research notes in mathematics)

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Free boundary problems: Theory and applications (Research notes in mathematics)

Manufacturer: Pitman Advanced Pub. Program
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0273085891

A Variational Inequality Approach to free Boundary Problems with Applications in Mould Filling (International Series of Numerical Mathematics)

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A Variational Inequality Approach to free Boundary Problems with Applications in Mould Filling (International Series of Numerical Mathematics)
Jörg Steinbach
Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Basel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 376436582X

Book Description

This monograph is devoted to the study of an evolutionary variational inequality approach to a degenerate moving free boundary problem. The inequality approach of obstacle type results from the application of an integral transformation. It takes an intermediate position between elliptic and parabolic inequalities and comprises an elliptic differential operator, a memory term and time-dependent convex constraint sets. The study of such inequality problems is motivated by applications to injection and compression moulding, to electro-chemical machining and other quasi-stationary Stefan type problems.
The mathematical analysis of the problem covers existence, uniqueness, regularity and time evolution of the solution. This is carried out in the framework of the variational inequality theory. The numerical solution in two and three space dimensions is discussed using both finite element and finite volume approximations. Finally, a description of injection and compression moulding is presented in terms of different mathematical models, a generalized Hele-Shaw flow, a distance concept and Navier-Stokes flow.
This volume is primarily addressed to applied mathematicians working in the field of nonlinear partial differential equations and their applications, especially those concerned with numerical aspects. However, the book will also be useful for scientists from the application areas, in particular, applied scientists from engineering and physics.

Free Boundary Problems : Theory & Applications (Vol. 2) (Research Notes in Mathematics, No. 79)

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Free Boundary Problems : Theory & Applications (Vol. 2) (Research Notes in Mathematics, No. 79)
M. (editor); Fasano, A. (editor) Primcerio
Manufacturer: Longman Higher Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORBS0A

FREE BOUNDARY PROBLEMS, THEORY AND APPLICATIONS: PROCEEDINGSOF THE ZAKOPANE CONGRESS '95

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FREE BOUNDARY PROBLEMS, THEORY AND APPLICATIONS: PROCEEDINGSOF THE ZAKOPANE CONGRESS '95
Marek (Editor) Niezgodka
Manufacturer: Essex: Longman, 1996
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KNTIA0

Amazon.com

Selected Crônicas gathers the newspaper columns of the Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. This collection captures Lispector's gifted voice and supplies a view of Brazil from her childhood, after her Ukrainian parents emigrated there, until the last of her columns in 1973. The stories in this volume are colored with childhood memories and a belief in the redemptive promise of justice. Brazilian newspapers have a history of intellectual journalism, although the period during which Lispector wrote these crônicas was defined by military dictatorship, censorship of the press, and political repression. It was also a time of rapid economic growth, and amid these varied pressures, she played the role of conscience, reminding her readers of unshakeable memories and unmovable truths. What Lispector had to say could only be conveyed in a literary manner for the most pragmatic of reasons, but her delightful stories suggest it was the best means no matter what she had been permitted.

Customer Reviews:

Who am I?.......2007-07-19

This book is crazy, but is also very interesting and somewhat insightful. This book is just a composite of short stories ranging from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages. The stories (I believe) show insight into the mind of Clarice Lispector and into things we think about or may not want to think about in everyday life. Before getting or reading this book, I would recommend reading up on Clarice Lispector it will help out when reading some of the stories. However, some of the stories will have you thinking "what the hell does that mean, then you'll say "meh" and keep reading. Check it out.

The chicken is the egg's disguise........2006-10-07

Clarice Lispector, Selected Cronicas, New Directions, 1984

I've recommended this book to several people; they didn't like it. "But what IS it?" a friend asked me. Not exactly stories or essays or prose poems--this odd form allows Lispector enormous intimacy with the reader. 'Sketches' are what writing like this gets called in English--but there's nothing sketchy about them. Almost no one digs as deep as Clarice Lispector.

In the late Sixties an inspired newspaper editor turned to Lispector, Brazil's great experimental novelist, and said, essentially, "You're our genius. I'm gonna give you some space in the paper and you can do whatever the hell you want." She filled that space with these cronicas, a form peculiar to Brazil that includes intimate monologues, conversations, complaints, aphorisms and meditations.

Lispector digs for truth with fierce determination--truths of relationship, of suffering, of love--and even deeper bedrock truths. Reading "The Egg and the Chicken" I feel like I'm drawing extraordinarily close to what can never be said in words so that when she says something as simple and playful as "the chicken is the egg's disguise" I want to hoot and cheer.

This book is one of my all-time favorite train companions, perfect to dive into in spare moments and let Lispector's intimate voice jolt me into being more entirely alive.

from Selected Cronicas, page 9

YES

I said to a friend:
-- Life has always asked too much of me.
She replied:
-- But don't forget that you also ask too much of life.
That is true.

Intimations of a Savage Heart.......2000-03-17

This book is a revelation. Imagine a context in which one could sit down and listen to the intimate ruminations of a much admired writer. Reading this book is like being invited to a private sphere where the author shares herself in the act of writing. One need not be acquainted with Lispector's work in order to get something out of this text. Cutting to the quick, her simple yet agile prose reveals a serious mind at work, a mind that works likes a pair of scissors to cut away the excess of life. What is left is the essential, which is also the inexpressible. Her short vignettes will leave one speechless, with the feeling that what she is writing is exactly what one was thinking.

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Cronicas Escogidas/selected Chronicals
Guillermo Prieto
Manufacturer: Oceano De Mexico
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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