Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale Systems (Scope Series)

Book Description

Scientists and researchers concerned with the behavior of large ecosystems have focused in recent years on the concept of "resilience." Traditional perspectives held that ecological systems exist close to a steady state and resilience is the ability of the system to return rapidly to that state following perturbation. However beginning with the work of C. S. Holling in the early 1970s, researchers began to look at conditions far from the steady state where instabilities can cause a system to shift into an entirely different regime of behavior, and where resilience is measured by the magnitude of disturbance that can be absorbed before the system is restructured.

Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale Systems examines theories of resilience and change, offering readers a thorough understanding of how the properties of ecological resilience and human adaptability interact in complex, regional-scale systems. The book addresses the theoretical concepts of resilience and stability in large-scale ecosystems as well as the empirical application of those concepts in a diverse set of cases. In addition, it discusses the practical implications of the new theoretical approaches and their role in the sustainability of human-modified ecosystems.

The book begins with a review of key properties of complex adaptive systems that contribute to overall resilience, including multiple equlibria, complexity, self-organization at multiple scales, and order; it also presents a set of mathematical metaphors to describe and deepen the reader's understanding of the ideas being discussed. Following the introduction are case studies that explore the biophysical dimensions of resilience in both terrestrial and aquatic systems and evaluate the propositions presented in the introductory chapters. The book concludes with a synthesis section that revisits propositions in light of the case studies, while an appendix presents a detailed account of the relationship between return times for a disturbed system and its resilienc.

In addition to the editors, contributors include Stephen R. Carpenter, Carl Folke, C. S. Holling, Bengt-Owe Jansson, Donald Ludwig, Ariel Lugo, Tim R. McClanahan, Garry D. Peterson, and Brian H. Walker.

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Book Review: Resilience and the Behavior of Large-Scale System [A book review from: Ecological Economics]
J. Wilson
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PDSC3O

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Economics, published by Elsevier in 2007. 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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FLORA OF RUTLAND
GUY MESSENGER
Manufacturer: LEICESTER MUSEUMS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S5LVH8

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Flora of Rutland
Guy Messenger
Manufacturer: Leicester Museums and Art Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Botany | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0950043532

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

The New England states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine often regard themselves as the repository of all that is intrinsically American. In this version of history, the tangled streets of old Boston, the farms of Connecticut, and the villages of Vermont are the cradle of the nation. It's a picture which has some truth to it, however, and, although nostalgia plays a big part in the tourist trade here, and innumerable small towns have been dolled up to recapture a past that can occasionally be wishful thinking, the appeal of New England is undeniable. It is indeed the most historic region of the United States; its towns and villages are often rustic and pretty, with white-spired churches sitting beside tidy greens and colonial churchyards; and its landscape can get surprisingly diverse - ranging from some of its stark coastlines to its green rolling hills and mountains further inland. Like most regions that have a well-developed tourist industry, the trick is to find the unspoiled corners, and to distinguish the bogus from the authentic.

Above all, New England packs an enormous amount of variety into what is by American standards a relatively small area. There are the region's literary connections - with well-visited shrines to Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton, to name just a few New England writers. There is no shortage of inviting places to ski, hike, boat, or just watch the leaves change color and drop from the trees - which phenomenal numbers of people come to do each fall. And there are the historic sights, which manage to catalog all manner of New England architecture and design, not to mention Yankee pride and ingenuity.

Boston especially is celebrated as the birthplace of American independence - so many of the seminal events of the Revolutionary War took place here, or just outside, in Lexington or Concord; and, although the genteel seaside towns of Massachusetts and Rhode Island can seem a far cry from the first European settlements in New England, plenty of traces of those early years remain. This is, after all, the stretch of the United States where the Pilgrim Fathers and other religious sects put down their stakes, their survival aided by groups of Native Americans who themselves were eventually displaced, though their legacy remains, too, in place names throughout the region.

Later, as the European foothold on the continent became more secure, the coastline became increasingly prime real estate, lined with grand patrician homes, from the Vanderbilt mansions of Newport to the presidential compounds of the Bush and Kennedy families. Inland, the Ivy League colleges of Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and others still embody New England's strong sense of its own superiority, and contribute to accusations of provincialism and snobbishness; in fact, the region's traditional role as home to the WASP elite is due more to the vagaries of history and ideology than to economic realities. Its thin soil and harsh climate made it difficult for the first pioneers to sustain an agricultural way of life, while the industrial prosperity of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is now but a distant memory. Indeed, New England has pockets, in Vermont and the other more northerly states, that are as poor as anywhere in the US; and the southern states have all the problems that are normally associated with long-established urban conglomerations.

Despite the apparent gulf between its interior and coast - and, too, its northern and southern halves - New England is compact and well defined, and quite easy to get around; only Maine, New England's biggest and most rural state by some way, takes any real time and effort to navigate. Most of its states offer the same mix (to differing degrees) of picturesque small towns and villages, and at times dramatic landscapes, though each has its own distinctive character. When you're working out where to go, plan to include coverage of at least parts of two to three states, in order to pick up on some of that difference. The southern states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are more urban and historic and, where nature intervenes, it is usually along the region's spectacular coastline. Here, the tourist facilities are aimed as much at weekenders from the big cities as outsiders - Cape Cod, the Berkshires, Martha's Vineyard, all are convenient (and very popular) targets for moneyed locals. Further north, the lakes and mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire, and particularly Maine, offer wilderness to rival any in the nation.

Customer Reviews:

Good, Usable Guide.......2005-07-20

I just returned from a first ever visit to New England. The Rough Guide served as a very good companion for this trip. The reviews and evaluations were straightforward, and the book was very simple to use. The one complaint would be that the general prices of restaurants are not included.

The Rough Guide to Boston 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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Best travel guide to Boston

The Rough Guide to Boston 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
David Fagundes
Manufacturer: Rough Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Rough Guide | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

North America | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Boston (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

ASIN: 1843530449
Release Date: 2003-04-28

Book Description

INTRODUCTION

Boston is as close to the Old World as the New World gets, an American city that proudly trades on its colonial past, having served a crucial role in the country's development from a few wayward pilgrims right through to the Revolutionary War. It occasionally takes its past a bit too seriously - what might pass for a faded relic anywhere else becomes a plaque-covered tourist sight here - but none of that detracts from the city's overriding historic charm, nor its present-day energy.

Indeed, there are plenty of tall skyscrapers, thriving business concerns and cultural outposts in Boston that are part-and-parcel of modern urban America, not to mention excellent mergers of past and present, such as the bustling Quincy Market, a paradigm for successful urban renewal. And despite the occasional wearisome touch, no other city in America gives a better feel for the events and personas behind the nation's birth, all played out in Boston's wealth of emblematic and evocative colonial-era sights, conveniently linked by the self-guided walking tour (one of a handful in the city) known as the Freedom Trail. As well, the city's cafés and shops, its attractive public spaces and the diversity of its neighborhoods - student hives, ethnic enclaves and stately districts of preserved townhouses - are similarly alluring, going some way to answering the twin accusations of elitism and provincialism to which Boston is perennially subjected.

Boston is also at the center of the American university system - more than sixty colleges call the area home, including illustrious Harvard and MIT, in the neighbouring city of Cambridge, just across the Charles River. This academic connection has played a key part in the city's long left-leaning political tradition, which has spawned a line of ethnic mayors, and, most famously, the Kennedy family. Steeped in Puritan roots, local residents often display a slightly anachronistic Yankee pride, but it's one which has served to protect the city's identity. Indeed, the districts around Boston Common exude an almost small-town atmosphere, and, until the past decade or so, were relatively unmarred by chain stores and fast-food joints. Meanwhile, groups of Irish and Italian descent have carved out authentic and often equally unchanged communities in areas like the North End, Charlestown and South Boston.

Today, Boston's relatively small size - both physically and in terms of population (at under 600,000, it ranks well below most other similarly important US cities) - and its provincial feel actually serve to the city's advantage. Though it has expanded significantly through landfills and annexation since it was first settled in 1630, it has never lost its core, which remains a tangle of streets over old cowpaths clustered around Boston Common (which was itself originally used as cattle pasture). Delightfully, this center can really only be explored properly on foot; for even as Boston has evolved from busy port to blighted city to the rejuvenated and prosperous place it is today, it has remained, fundamentally, a city on a human scale.

Customer Reviews:

Best travel guide to Boston.......2003-09-23

So what's guy living in Brooklyn have to say about the guidebook for Boston? Well, I have homes in both, and have lived in Boston on and off for decades, so I do have some familiarity with that city, thank you very much. Now, where in Hahvahd Yahd did I pahk my cah?

Seriously, even though I've lived in Boston for a long time it's still a city I don't feel very familiar with. Its complex street system is one thing I'll never master. It's the same feeling I have about Queens, NY, where I also lived for a while but never felt comfortable with. I guess it's because I prefer organized cities. (The small city I grew up in had just one main street, how nice and easy!)

Thankfully The Rough Guide to Boston is well organized and well written. I've read through two dozen guide books on the city and this is by far the best. The Fodor guide is too wordy and confusing, the Dummies guide too shallow and pretentious, the guide put out by the Hahvahd students totally indecipherable and inaccurate. This volume has the right balance between information and entertainment. It's concise yet complete, small yet immensely useful, and it's printed on nice paper so it'll last a good long time. The "24 things not to miss" are the best "best-of-Boston" list I've seen because it goes beyond the obvious popular tourist spots.

If you plan to visit Boston or go to school there, get this high-quality book.

Book Description

A comprehensive review of the honeybees of Africa on a subspecies as well as by country basis. Includes an updated multivariate analysis of the subspecies based on the merger of the Ruttner database (Oberursel) and that of Hepburn & Radloff (Grahamstown) for nearly 20,000 bees. Special emphasis is placed on natural zones of hybridisation and introgression of different populations; seasonal cycles of development in different ecological-climatological zones of the continent; swarming, migration and absconding; and an analysis of the bee flora of the continent. The text is supplemented by tables containing quantitative data on all aspects of honeybee biology, and by continental and regional maps.

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Honeybees of Africa
H.R. Hepburn
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N667G2

Book Description

Surfactants are vital components in biological systems, are key ingredients in many formulated products and play an important role in many industrial processes. The property which makes surfactants so useful is their ability to stabilize complex colloidal and interfacial systems. It is not surprising therefore that many new surfactant materials are developed, many of which have novel properties. However because their potential is not fully appreciated they remain underutilized by industry. The main purpose of this book is to illustrate the utility of a range of novel surfactants, in particular those which have been found useful in specific areas and which seem to offer promise across a wider range of applications. The contributors are drawn from industry and academic research and provide a comprehensive account of the preparation, properties and applications of these specialist surfactants. Research chemists in industry and academia will find this book a concise and authoritative account of this important group of surfactants.

Book Description

Diese Einführung in MATHCAD ist als begleitendes Material zu Mathematikvorlesungen für Studierende und Dozenten an Universitäten, Fachhochschulen und Berufsakademien sowie als Handbuch für MATHCAD-Anwender aus Technik, Natur- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften geeignet.
Im Hauptteil des Buches werden mathematische Grund- und wichtige Spezialaufgaben aus Technik, Natur- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften mit Mathcad bearbeitet. Die gelieferten Ergebnisse werden interpretiert. Dabei wird Wert auf eine kurze Darstellung gelegt.
Die zahlreichen mit MATHCAD berechneten Beispiele illustrieren dem Anwender anschaulich die Möglichkeiten und Fähigkeiten des Programms. Installation, Aufbau und Handhabung von MATHCAD werden ausführlich erläutert, so dass auch Einsteiger ohne Schwierigkeiten mit diesem Programm arbeiten können.
Das Buch berücksichtigt die umfangreichen Änderungen der aktuellen Mathcad-Version 11.

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Very Nice

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Major Authors Edition, Vol. B (Packaged with Media Companion)

Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Criticism & Theory | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology

The Interesting Narrative in the Life of Olaudah Equiano (Norton Critical Editions)

Hard Times (Norton Critical Editions)

The Norton Anthology of English Literature

Sex, Love and You: Making the Right Decision

ASIN: 0393151050

Book Description

The acclaimed Norton Anthology of English Literature, Major Authors Edition is now available in two paperbound volumes. Volume B begins with the writings of William Blake and continues through the Romantic Period, the Victorian Age, through to the Twentieth Century. This new Major Authors edition is a library between two covers—an indispensable addition to the family bookshelf.

Customer Reviews:

Very Nice.......2005-09-30

The book was in great condition and I got it pretty quickly. I recomend the seller.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, Seventh Edition

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Norton Anthology

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, Seventh Edition

Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393961508

Book Description

Beginning with Seamus Heaney's brilliant new translation of Beowulf, and continuing through ten centuries of remarkable literature to the contemporary works of Derek Walcott, J. M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, and Salman Rushdie, the new Major Authors edition is a library between two covers--an indispensable addition to the family bookshelf.

Customer Reviews:

Norton Anthology.......2007-04-04

This is really BIG. This books weight and thin pages make reading a hassle. If you can get past that and actually open the book, you will find a very complete anthology with an excellent set of notes on each reading. I would recommend buying each text individually.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: One-Volume Edition, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)

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Consequences of a rich literature

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: One-Volume Edition, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)
M. H. Abrams
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393151034

Book Description

For close to forty years, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors, has introduced students to the principal authors of the English literary tradition by providing generous samplings of their most characteristic and brilliant work. The Seventh Edition builds on this approach in an innovative revision that offers new selections, refreshed editorial apparatus, new format and package options, and unmatched media support, both online and in the dazzling new Media Companion CD-ROM.

Customer Reviews:

Consequences of a rich literature.......2004-02-28

I had to buy this book for school and although I haven't had to read all of it (with almost 3000 pages this is no real surprise), I have some idea of the content. This is the one-volume edition, but I think it gives a good global view of English literature. Starting at the very beginning (Beowulf etc.) and ending with major contemporary authors such as Salman Rushdie, this book gives an extensive introduction to each literary period. The book doesn't only contain fragments of texts, sometimes the entire text is given. All this comes with footnotes clarifying things and other sections providing extra information.
As a foreign student of English I experienced some difficulty with the introductions; the structure wasn't always clear, but of course it could be just me. :-) As a whole I think this is a useful anthology for students, but I would still like to make a few practical remarks. This book being of considerable size and weight, it is not very handy to read for example in an easy chair or in bed; furthermore it is not self-evident to take it with you wherever you go. It also has very thin paper which makes marking certain passages (for study purposes etc.) a bit tricky if not impossible.

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The heart of English Literature
WARNING! poetry only.
Norton Anthology of English Literature by Abrams et al.
Norton is still the best
A great anthology of English Literature

The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Major Authors, Seventh Edition
M.H. Abrams
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 039397619X

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

The heart of English Literature .......2005-10-17

In graduate school I read and reread this work, studied and re- studied it.
As it contains many the major masterpieces ( or excerpts of them) of English Literature it is a work which lends itself to this kind of reading and rereading. The introductions to each individual writer are also informative and in many cases a help in reading the work.
It is probably still the best one- volume introduction to English Literature that there is.

WARNING! poetry only........2005-10-16

These authors deserve far more than two stars, but the misleading title doesn't. Buy this book only if you're looking for collections of great poetry/essays; you'll find very few novels/novel segments in here.

Norton Anthology of English Literature by Abrams et al........2004-02-22

This is an excellent reference guide for the English Literature
of the 1600s and 1700s. There is an exhaustive coverage of
the following works:
o Caedmon's Hymn
o Beowulf
o Geoffrey Chaucer
o Middle Age Lyrics
o Sir Thomas Mallory
o Medieval Attitudes Toward Life on Earth
o Christopher Marlowe
o Sir Thomas Moore
o Shakespeare
o Sir Walter Ralegh
o John Donne
o Robert Herrick
o George Herbert
o John Milton
o Richard Lovelace
o Samuel Butler
o Jonathan Swift
o Alexander Pope
o Samuel Johnson
o James Boswell
o Restoration Literature of the 18th Century

Here is a paragraph from "The Wife of Bath's Tale":
"The wise astrologen daun Ptolomce,
That saith this proverbe in his Almageste:
' Of alle men his wisdom is the hyeste
That rekketh nat who hath the world in honde.
By this proverbe thou shalt understonde."

This work is perfect for majors of English literature and
college courses in literature. A beauty of the work is that
it is written in the original English dialect of the
centuries represented. Critiques of this work alone could
fill a dozen or so academic dissertations.The book in my personal library
is an earlier version. There are many subsequent editions. In each subsequent edition, the author has made some additions/deletions.
The subject matter of my review is a late 60s/early 70s version of the book. Check on the Amazon.com for "used books for sale" to acquire the
earlier version.

Norton is still the best.......2003-04-22

This second volume of the NAEL covers the expanse of the Romantic Period, the Victorian Age and the 20th Century (or Modern Period). While I did have to get this book for a survey course, I was pleasantly suprised at the vast range of work represented in the text.

Not only does the book include "Cannonical" writers but also more obscure writers that may not be as well known now but were popular during their timeframe. The text has an equal amount of work represented from both women and men and explains the viewpoint of each in relation to what was going on at the time. An example are the women Romantic writers; they viewed things differently than their male counterparts and therefore wrote about different things, had different styles of writing, etc.

Of course, as with all Norton books, there are bios of each author before their selections, introductions to each period, apendicies, bibliographies, essays and a section of goegraphic nomenclature. The book is well formated, foot-noted (not end-noted =)), and the selections are marvelous. Anyone well versed in English literature should have this book on their shelves.

A great anthology of English Literature.......2002-12-04

I had to buy this book for two of my English Literature survey courses. I'm sure that most people who buy this volume do the same--they buy it because they have to. Still, it is an excellent volume and a very thorough survey of English Literature, from the middle ages on down to the nineteenth century.

Highlights from this volume include Seamus Heaney's exceptional translation of Beowulf (in its entirety), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, many selections from the Canterbury Tales, lots of Shakespeare, and Milton's masterpiece Paradise Lost, reprinted in full.

As I said before, many who buy this volume will do so because they have to. Still, I think most people will find this anthology to be one they will not be selling back at the end of the semester. I know I'll definitely be keeping mine. This is a great place to start a study of English Literature.

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The Norton Anthology of English Literature ~ Major Authors Edition, Revised

Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Victorian | Movements & Periods | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000F3OMM4

Product Description

The present volume is based upon the complete (two-volume) edition. This Major Authors Edition offers Beowulf complete, together with more comprehensive selections from the work of the 31 major authors whose portraits appear on the front of the jacket. This edition includes more authors than those included in previous published major authors anthologies. It contains over 600 pages of new material--from Beowulf to D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: Volume A, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)

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The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: Volume A, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)

Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393151042

Book Description

THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE MAJOR AUTHORS EDITION

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THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE MAJOR AUTHORS EDITION

Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H1U8TK

The Norton Anthology of English Literature Major Authors Edition Revised

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The Norton Anthology of English Literature Major Authors Edition Revised
E.Talbot Donaldson, H. Smith, R.M. Adams, S.H. Monk, G.H. Ford and D. Daiches M.H Abrams
Manufacturer: W.W. Norton & Co., INC.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0393097951

Product Description

2658 pages, Complete 2 volume edition in one book, contains Beowulf complete. selections from the work of 31 major authors (pictured on book cover) from Beowulf to D.H. Lawrence and T.S. Eliot.

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: Volumes A & B, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)

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The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Major Authors: Volumes A & B, Seventh Edition (with Media Companion)
Abrams , and M. H.
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc (Np)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393151085

Book Description

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The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Major Authors Edition, Revised

Manufacturer: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000F5PLJA

Product Description

From the Middle Ages through T.S. Eliot.

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