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- Wonderful, special... they are the BEST !
- Olly and Suzi: Awesome, Display, Of, Jenius!
- pretentious twaddle
- The Ultimate Coffee Table Book
- i want to hang out with olly and suzi
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Olly and Suzi: Arctic, Desert, Ocean, Jungle
Olly Olly/Suzi , and
Suzi
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810942666 |
Book Description
In pursuit of their animal subjects, artists Olly & Suzi start by situating themselves in the subject's natural habitat--the wild. They approach as closely as possible and, working in tandem, quickly capture their prey on paper, using the day's particular combination of paints, brushes, burnt sticks, natural pigments, even blood, and then offer up the finished portrait to be paw-printed, tooth-bitten, or otherwise marked by the animal for authentication. Their collaborators have included anacondas, crocodiles, polar bears, and great white sharks. Of course, occasionally a leopard decides to rip apart its own image, or a rhino devours the canvas whole. While their art yields paintings of extraordinary beauty and power, Olly & Suzi consider it performance-based and site-specific: sometimes the only thing they come away with from an expedition is their lives.
Spare, vibrant, and lyrical, the works that have survived Olly & Suzi's 15 years of adventures in such remote locales as Siberia, the North Pole, and the Galapagos Islands fill the pages of this equally boundary-defying book. Accompanied by dazzling photographs that document the pair's unique process, these paintings take the reader on a dynamic journey to the world's remaining, though endangered, wild places.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful, special... they are the BEST !.......2004-07-24
Honestly, i never heard about Olly&Suzi when my close friend, Bryan, offered me this book one year ago after reading an article in a brit mag...
til now i still can't take my eyes out of their work... the poetry, the beauty, the nature wild, theirs ideas and thoughts, the colors, the research, the creativity... theirs intelligence (artist's intellligence).. their sensibilities... those british artists get it ALL... TO DISCOVER immediatly... once you open this book, it is an absolute NECESSITY to keep on look to it... i loooooooooove them !
Olly and Suzi: Awesome, Display, Of, Jenius!.......2004-04-20
thank goodness we don't all listen to reviews like that below.... this book is anything BUT pretentious twaddle!
how can i describe it?.... it gives you so much - amazing photography, beautiful art, fascinating stories - and leaves you feeling positively up-lifted, excited by the world we live in and inspired to travel and take an interest in activities such as conservation.
olly and suzi are true artists, clearly passionate about the subject of their work. the work itself displays raw talent, honesty and beauty. couple this with the other wonderful elements of this book and you have a truly awesome document that i defy anyone not to appreciate.
pretentious twaddle.......2004-03-12
art is always subjective and individual views such as my own should only be taken in this context but these two pair of chancers really seem to take the biscuit.
forget your damien hursts this self promoting pair and their various hangers-on just seem to continue to exist in the ongoing absence of any real interest in their work.
for completists/students only i would suggest this book, a collection of childike daubings seems to me like emptiness masquarading as 'art' by a couple of pretty talentless pretentious students with travelust and a penchant for the goodlife beyond their ability to pay for it. i might well be wrong and they may be wonderful people.
to me stuff like this remains aesthetically empty unless associated with some spurious idea of post modernism (yet another art world scam to get your money). painting wise its just rot.
unless you're some kind of USA based tree hugger with a liking for wearing t-shirts emblazoned with lone wolves (sic) and grizzly bears then this humble reader strongly suggests you keep your money in your pocket!
remember when painters used to able to actually paint as opposed to come up with a 'big concept'? or at least remember when the 'big concept' was actually heartfelt and not some careerist blag on a way to climb the art worlds social ladder and live the life you really have no ability to pay for thru through the sale of your work and demand for it from the public?
or maybe, i'm just too much of an old cynic..
The Ultimate Coffee Table Book.......2003-06-10
I have been a fan of Olly and Suzi's work for several years since their exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London. This book provides a tremendous story to accompany the amazing art and photos. Ideal for adventurers, art enthusiasts, and animal lovers. Highly Recommended!
i want to hang out with olly and suzi.......2003-06-04
Simply put, this is an extraordinary book. A friend gave it to me and I do not know whether it is more a art, travel, nature, wilderness adventure, or photography book, because it defies classification, but in any event, it is a serious page-turner. I dont know where to start...the images from all over the coolest and most exotic places on earth, of some of the funkiest and loveliest paintings ever, are captivating. These guys live most children's dreams, they travel around, hang out with rare species of animals (some dangerous, some not), paint them and then get the animals to interact with the art - so they are at one with nature, creating stunning images and at the same time living at one with nature. A perfect gift for kids, visual artists, performance artists, photographers, or people with a sense of adventure or wanderlust.
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Deserts and Jungles
Michael W. Carroll
Manufacturer: Chariot Victor Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Oceans and Rivers
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Volcanoes and Earthquakes
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Lightning and Rainbows
ASIN: 0781432758 |
Book Description
God's power over all of nature and the reinforcement of biblical wisdom teaches children a respect for science from a Christian perspective.
Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1896 edition by Macmillan and Co., New York.
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Desert jungle
Hugh Donnelly
Manufacturer: Ashley Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0879490918 |
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Desert Sand to Jungle Trail: One Man's War 1940-1946
W.J. Cooper
Manufacturer: Bookmarque Publishing
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1870519191 |
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The wondrous world of seedless plants
William Carey Grimm
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill
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ASIN: 0672517094 |
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- The coolest flip-book on ancient Rome
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Frommer's Rome Past & Present
Romolo Augusto Staccioli
Manufacturer: Frommers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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Frommer's Athens Past & Present
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Ancient Rome: Monuments Past and Present
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Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
ASIN: 0764566105 |
Book Description
A practical and unique guide, Rome Past Present appeals to the kid in all of us, with photographs of 18 of Rome's most important sites as they are today and illustrated acetate overlays showing each site in its heyday. In addition, a straight-forward text and additional photographs help bring the Eternal City to life.
Customer Reviews:
The coolest flip-book on ancient Rome.......2003-05-18
When I was in Rome I kept looking for something like this book.
Most of the ones I found in english were really disappointing.
The good ones were all too big, way too expensive, and often in Italian. Finaly a good one at a reasonable price, and available here!
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All Aboard Stage 2: Toys Now and Then (All Aboard)
Manufacturer: Heinemann Educational Books - Primary Division
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0602295033 |
Amazon.com
Nick Brown's entertaining journey into contemporary expressions of spirituality starts with bemused reports of alleged miracles in dreary North London suburbs and the appearance of Christ in the East End. The author's respect for the intensity of belief in such stories leads him to a journey along the Indian spiritual trail, where he stays among the passionate followers of the self-proclaimed deity, Sai Babi. There is a brief trip to Tennessee to witness more alleged miraculous signs, but the tone is markedly more skeptical here. The book is at its most interesting when it provides the history of the Western "prophets" of Eastern spirituality, tracing the claims of Mr. Creme in North London in the 1990s back to the story of the founding of the Theosophical Society in the 1880s by Madame Blavatsky. This hashish-smoking, circus-performing Russian occultist was condemned as an outrageous fraud in 1884, yet Theosophy has spawned an influential set of beliefs that clearly inform current New Age thinking. Mick Brown retains a healthy skepticism about some claims, but he also professes that he has "come to believe that the world is more of spirit than of matter", and so he respects rather than vilifies those he meets. The result lies somewhere between Fortean weirdness and genuine spiritual searching. --Roger Luckhurst
Book Description
On a pilgrimage to see the Dalai Lama in the foothills of the Himalayas; blissed out in Germany with a beautiful Indian girl, believed to be "the Divine Mother"; witnessing miracles in the ashram of Sai Baba; and searching for the Messiah in the back streets of London- the spiritual tourist is the Candide of the age, on a voyage of inner search and illumination. The spiritual quest- a yearning for a sense of the sacred - has become a leitmotif of 20th- century life as we head for the Millennium. In his vivid, interrogative and highly entertaining book, Mick Brown joins the holy, the lost, the wise and the foolish on the highways and backroads of spiritual tourism.
In India he encounters the miracle-working Sai Baba, and discusses reincarnation with the world's most revered spiritual figure, the Dalai Lama. In a tiny backwoods church in Tennessee he examines the "crosses of light" which are held as evidence of Christ's imminent return to earth. Mick brown, a writer of passionate engagement, reports with candor, wit and clarity.
Customer Reviews:
A great read.......2006-12-14
There are two perspectives from which spiritual questing might be approached, from the side of the seeker and from the side of the provider. In other words, there are two stories to be told, and Mick Brown's book does a good job at both. He is very forthright about his own relentless seeking after spiritual truth, meaning, and faith, and he is equally so when it comes to describing the myriad individuals and enterprises that are out to fulfill that demand. A lot of interesting adventures occur where those two things intersect, to say the very least.
I did not know that Ram Das began as Richard Alpert, a psych prof and LSD compatriot of Timothy Leary at Harvard. I didn't know that books by Rajneesh, the disgraced Bhagwan, are still being sold with the author's name changed to Osho. I didn't know that Krishnamurti began by being picked off a beach as a lice-infested kid, by a prominent Theosophist with a penchant for young boys. And lots more. Brown's travels through this world are a source of enlightenment, if not always of the sort one is hoping to find.
But this is not a hatchet job -- if anything, Brown is overly generous in giving many of these rather questionable spiritual practitioners and their operations the benefit of the doubt. He is serious in his quest, remains almost always hopeful regardless of disappointment and disillusionment, and his thoughts about what he is looking for, and why, are sophisticated and moving. The position he finally arrives at seems to be something like this: It is possible that none of these religions and systems are true in any scientific, empirical sense, but they do all seem to end up with a pretty similar understanding of what human happiness requires. If you can find one that you are able to commmit to and practice, you will live a better and more fulfilling life, and no justification beyond that is necessary.
This could be a valuable book for anyone embarking on such a search, because it contains a lot of information about the dead ends to avoid. At the end of the book, the author seems finally to have found his spiritual home in a Tibetan Buddhist enclave in Scotland. That was about ten years ago; it would be most interesting to know where he is today.
For the armchair devotee in all of us..........2005-05-12
I really enjoyed this book and most probably will enjoy reading sections of this book again. Many of the famous gurus in this book are people I have heard of and have even taken darshan from one, so it was nice to hear the perspective of this observer whose spritual development aims to be in alignment with his own sense of rational inquiry. He is open enough to recognize the beauty that many of these teachers have to offer, yet grounded enough to point out many of the inconsistencies that some devotees do not care to notice.
This book is in no way condemning of the gurus and churches it investigates, it is merely a first person account of how our culture receives the many miracles, mantras, and magick tricks it is inundated with. Whether you are a believer, a non-believer or simply wondering what there is to believe in, this book is sure to have some stories that will interest you.
I was particularly grateful for the author's summary of Krishnamurti's life and am now more open to this anti-guru's wise teachings. Mick Brown is a very polished and thorough writer who sometimes does include so much detail the reader is left gasping for breath. But, his sometimes dense paragraphs are a welcome accompaniment to the lofty topics he dares to put to paper ; East meets west, blind faith dances with healthy skepticism and the answer may, or may not be 42.
Great Book about an outer/inner journey.......2005-01-04
I happened upon The Spiritual Tourist at a used bookstore. I was impressed by the writing and the content. I have never met Mick Brown but I like him and I appreciate his objectivity and at the same time his receptivity to the possibility that there is more to life than what we may see or think. I was especially pleased with the chapter on Krishnamurti and the theosophical society. Having read several of Krishnamurti's works, I still find him the "wisest" for lack of a better word spiritual teacher I have ever encountered.
A Fascinating Tour.......2002-03-29
In this book, Mick Brown leads the reader on a series of journeys from London to India to Germany and the US in examination of different spiritual teachers and paths. Brown presents all of this in a way that is both entertaining, amusing, and at times touching. He also crams in a huge amount of information which makes some sections a little dense, and some parts of the book tend to jump around in rather unsatisfying transitions back and forth. I have to say that I learned a great deal from this book about a lot of different and interesting beliefs. This left me wanting more and I plan to use the bibliography (alas rather small) to follow up on parts of interest.
What distinguished Brown's book from many other spiritual journey books is his blend of a journalist's skepticism with a real desire for an experience of faith. This mix is one that I personally have experienced often. Is this *the* path? Is this *the* guru or teacher? It is this feeling, coupled with the occasional glimpse of peace and understanding which makes me feel a kinship with Mick Brown when I read this book. I give it five stars for content but minus one star for the awkward style in some places
Everyones esential spirtual companion.......2001-11-30
Ever wonderd who or what was at the centre of the universe? heard of gurus living gods and sweet mothers but never found anything compact enough or enjoyable enough to read ? Well then this is for you. A mystical, enlightening and down to earth account of one mans journey through the spiritual extasy and quagmire ,that is the east. you can almost smell the incence filled ashrams he descibes, giggle at the more excentric manifestations of the gods of the east and read in awe as the description of darhsan, with the lamas and sias he has met!
Amazon.com
Humankind, it turns out, is a rather fragile species, demanding temperate climates, limited atmospheric pressures, and an environment relatively free of acidity, alkalinity, and toxicity in order to survive and reproduce. Microbes are far less picky about their surroundings and, as John Postgate explains in The Outer Reaches of Life, have managed to adapt to virtually every ecological niche that our planet offers. Extremes of heat, pressure, acidity, or alkalinity are no barrier to microbial life. There are microbes that feast on sulfur, iron, nitrogen, and hydrogen--even oils, plastics, and fluoroacetate, a potent pesticide. Postgate adeptly illustrates the variety of the microbial world and explains (in a jargon-free fashion) what scientists understand of its functioning. But perhaps the strongest feature of this book is its ability to convey the intense challenges facing microbe researches who strive to unlock the secrets of microscopic life and its amazing adaptations.
Book Description
The invisible world of microbes--capable of surviving in the most harsh and inhospitable conditions on earth--reveals the remarkable potential and resilience of life itself. John Postgate's fascinating exploration of these outer reaches of life shows how understanding microbes can provide new clues to the origin and evolution of terrestrial life, and offers glimpses of how life might have established itself elsewhere in the Universe. In the process, it raises profound questions about death, sensation and individuality, and insights into the nature of scientific progress. The feats of modern biotechnology are just one manifestation of the astonishing resources of microbes illuminated in John Postgate's lucid and intriguing account.
Customer Reviews:
Microbiology at its best.......2007-01-10
Excellent overview of where microbial life can go and thrive. Great overview for any microbiologist.
These things live where?.......2002-07-17
This is the fascinating story of the many improbable conditions in which life not only manages to exist, but flourish: in boiling water and snowfields, in corrosive acids and alkaline lakes, in swamp muds and the inside of rocks.
No special background required.
Bacteria rule the world!.......1999-03-26
I found this book very enjoyable. John Postgate does an excellent job of describing the different types of environments that bacteria can occupy, from surviving in the deep-freeze arctic to boiling sulfur springs to mineral deposits buried deep within the earth. I was reminded of Stephen Jay Gould's "Full House", where he says that bacteria probably constitute the majority of the biomass of the earth. There's also an excellent chapter on flagella - and it was quite nice to see a good description at the molecular level of the flagella, along the lines of Michael Behe's description in "Darwin's Black Box".
One of the themes I found interesting in the book was that of evolution. He mentions examples of how bacteria might have evolved to digest nasty man-made organic chemicals in the environment, through natural selection of degradation pathways of similar molecules. Also presented is a "time-line", starting with the formation of the Earth and moon, about 4,500,000,000 years ago. Essentially bacteria appeared as soon as fossils could be formed - about 3,500,000,000 years ago, and for the next 2,500,000,000 years it was only bacteria, then a few small multi-cellular organisms, and it's only within the past 500,000,000 years or so that more complex organisms appeared (and really only the last 65,000,000 years saw the development of "modern" plants and animals). So essentially bacteria have "ruled the earth" for most of the history, and still occupy an amazing range of places and, as pointed out in Postgate's last chapter, the bacteria are still necessary for establishing new territory. So, for example, he says that in the future it might be possible to send bacteria to Mars or another planet to start preparing the surface, in terms of generating an atmosphere and also the beginnings of a biological ecosystem, for the eventual habitation of humans.
In summary, I would highly recommend this book!
This book examines the basic requirements for Earth life.......1996-12-27
The author, an English microbiologist, describes the extremely harsh environments in which Earth life (particularly bacteria and archaea) can be found. From this survey, he goes on to examine whether life could exist elsewhere (in the solar system or beyond) and what the minimum requirements for such life would be. Postgate is so determined to make the science accessible that he occasionally slips into a condescending tone. This is a small price to pay for some excellent basic information about bacterial lifestyles. The book could also use a bibliography (more condescension toward the non-specialist reader). In general, a first-rate science book
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Dynamics of Complex Fluids: Proceedings of the Second Royal Society-Unilever Indo-Uk Forum in Materials Science and Engineering
Royal Society-Unilever Indo-Uk Forum in Materials Science and engineer
Manufacturer: Imperial College Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1860940862 |
Book Description
This volume records the presentations and discussions at the Second Royal Society-Unilever Indo-UK Forum on "Dynamics of Complex Fluids" which was the culmination of the six-month programme on this topic organised at the Issac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University.
The authors of this important volume present an up-to-date, wide-ranging view on developments in the analysis of complex fluid behaviour. Emphasis is placed upon the relation between small-scale structure and large-scale response: this brings together the approaches of molecular physics and continuum mechanics.
Experiments, constitutive models and computer simulations are combined to yield new insights into the flow behaviour of polymer melts and solutions, colloidal and neutral particle suspensions, and pastes and soils.
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- Serious about SSA? You have to have this book
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Analysis of Time Series Structure: SSA and Related Techniques
Nina Golyandina ,
Vladimir Nekrutkin , and
Anatoly A Zhigljavsky
Manufacturer: Chapman & Hall/CRC
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1584881941 |
Book Description
Over the last 15 years, singular spectrum analysis (SSA) has proven very successful. It has already become a standard tool in climatic and meteorological time series analysis and well known in nonlinear physics and signal processing. However, despite the promise it holds for time series applications in other disciplines, SSA is not widely known among statisticians and econometrists, and although the basic SSA algorithm looks simple, understanding what it does and where its pitfalls lay is by no means simple. Analysis of Time Series Structure: SSA and Related Techniques provides a careful, lucid description of its general theory and methodology. Part I introduces the basic concepts, and sets forth the main findings and results, then presents a detailed treatment of the methodology. After introducing the basic SSA algorithm, the authors explore forecasting and apply SSA ideas to change-point detection algorithms. Part II is devoted to the theory of SSA. Here the authors formulate and prove the statements of Part I. They address the singular value decomposition (SVD) of real matrices, time series of finite rank, and SVD of trajectory matrices. Based on the authors' original work and filled with applications illustrated with real data sets, this book offers an outstanding opportunity to obtain a working knowledge of why, when, and how SSA works. It builds a strong foundation for successfully using the technique in applications ranging from mathematics and nonlinear physics to economics, biology, oceanology, social science, engineering, financial econometrics, and market research.
Customer Reviews:
Serious about SSA? You have to have this book.......2007-01-10
I really like this book. I'm interested in applying SSA in some problems i'm working and these authors write in a way that can be applied immediately. The authors have done a huge amount of orignal work in this area and it's reported in a clear, logical, straight-forward manner. the book contains proofs of the major results so the reader can get a complete picture of the strengths and limitations of the tools the authors are presenting. I highly recommend the book.
Book Description
Wislawa Szymborska's poems are admired around the world, and her unsparing vision, tireless wit, and deep sense of humanity are cherished by countless readers. Unknown to most of them, however, Szymborska also worked for several decades as a columnist, reviewing a wide variety of books under the unassuming title "Nonrequired Reading."
As readers of her poems would expect, the short prose pieces collected here are anything but ordinary. Reflecting the author's own eclectic tastes and interests, the pretexts for these ruminations range from books on wallpapering, cooking, gardening, and yoga, to more lofty volumes on opera and world literature. Unpretentious yet incisive, these charming pieces are on a par with Szymborska's finest lyrics, tackling the same large and small questions with a wonderful curiosity.
Customer Reviews:
Not Enough for this fan!.......2006-12-15
I love Wislawa Szymborska. Although I am not a fan of poetry in general, I began reading this book of her thoughts and feelings and criticisms which are never vicious, cruel, or even negative. She finds something positive about everytyhing from Ella Fitzgerald to Alfred Hitchcock and many other subjects about books. I think there is a fascination with this woman because she is a NObel Prize winner for literature in 1996 and from Poland. She is the first Polish woman to receive such an honor. She is quite humble about such honors. We know little about her life. We know she has a sister. She might be a widow and she has no children. She is a smoker and lives in a three room flat in Cracow where she has lived since her family moved there. Wislawa has now popularity because of her top honors for her services to literature. I would love to read a biography or autobiography about her. I loved her story about her relationship with another Polish Nobel prizewinner and fellow poet, Czeslaw Milosz. As long as there are writers like Wislawa around, we can be sure that she is not done yet.
required reading.......2005-07-21
I love the sweep. Szymborska can make any topic fascinating. She finds deep and homey lessons in a broad range of topics. And of course, she's a real writer.
A Box of Chocolates.......2003-02-10
This is a book of prose essays by the 1996 Nobel Prize winning author Wislawa Szymborska. They were from her newspaper column of 30+ years ago, "Nonrequired Reading". They are the musings on everyday books and subjects.
It is a wide ranging and eclectic collection. There will be one essay on a touching Korean fable. Then, the next will be on how to make a reptile aquarium. Many of these essays were book reviews. However,they are more her thoughts on the subjects than reviews.
When I say this book is like a "box of chocolates" it is in the Gumpian sense of the word. You never know what you're going to get and it will be interesting no matter what the topic. The aforementioned reptile aquarium piece was not only interesting but, philosophical as well.
That the book was from a translation was not a problem. Ms. Cavanaugh, the tranlator, was the winner of the PEN Translator prize. Reading this, it seems to have travelled without a problem.
For those buying this book: please read it! Do not put it on your coffee table to show off your erudition of having a Nobel Prize winning author's book so prominently on display. There is too much enjoyment to be had by reading this book.
The essays are from one page to a page and a half in length. Hopefully, there will be more essays to come in the future.
Books:
- One Day on Beetle Rock (California Legacy Book)
- Participating in Nature: Thomas J. Elpel's Field Guide to Primitive Living Skills
- Partner Earth
- Physical Chemistry: Prinicples and Applications in Biological Sciences
- Physiologia: Natural Philosophy in Late Aristotelian and Cartesian Thought
- Ploughing Up the Farm: Neoliberalism, Modern Technology and the State of the World's Farmers
- Pond Life, 2nd: An Introduction to Familiar Plants and Animals Living In or Near Ponds, Lakes and Wetlands
- Premeditated Man
- Principal Diseases of Marine and Shellfish, Volume 1, Second Edition (Principal Diseases of Marine Fish & Shellfish)
- Realm of Algebra.
Books Index
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