Goodbye to a River: A Narrative

Book Description

In the 1950s, a series of dams was proposed along the Brazos River in north-central Texas. For John Graves, this project meant that if the stream’s regimen was thus changed, the beautiful and sometimes brutal surrounding countryside would also change, as would the lives of the people whose rugged ancestors had eked out an existence there. Graves therefore decided to visit that stretch of the river, which he had known intimately as a youth.

Goodbye to a River is his account of that farewell canoe voyage. As he braves rapids and fatigue and the fickle autumn weather, he muses upon old blood feuds of the region and violent skirmishes with native tribes, and retells wild stories of courage and cowardice and deceit that shaped both the river’s people and the land during frontier times and later. Nearly half a century after its initial publication, Goodbye to a River is a true American classic, a vivid narrative about an exciting journey and a powerful tribute to a vanishing way of life and its ever-changing natural environment.

Customer Reviews:

Steinbeckian reflections on a Texas few still know.......2006-10-23

This is one of my favorite books. I went to YMCA and Scout camp in the Palo Pinto country. Back then, the divide that exists today between the so-called "cultural elite" and rural Texas didn't exist (or at least both sides respected each other enough to be civil, as a funny episode from the book relates), and Graves lived in both worlds. His is a lost generation, and although only one or two of the dams along his route got built, the country is now part of the vast exurb of Dallas-Fort Worth, filled with rural retreats for the city folk, 5 acre ranchettes, and driveways lined with 40-thousand-dollar pickup trucks. Graves doesn't mourn its loss, but commemorates what seemed like "progress" in the 60s and has only accelerated thousandfold since. If you pass through that country, or want to know what rural Texas used to be like, read this book. It's a bit long in the telling, but if you trace the journey on a map, it was no small trip.

Unique look at a specific area and history of the Lone Star State.......2005-10-10

I was very impressed with this book. Graves does so much in this enjoyable volume. As he takes a canoe trip down the Brazos near where he grew up, he shares the history of the land--both recent and not-so-recent. Through him, we learn the reality of life for the average settler on the edge of the frontier. He also seems to be detailing a life that in his time was declining and in our age is nearly completely gone. His writing is difficult to describe and unlike anything I have ever read. It flows smoothly with a combination of regional speech and erudition. As you read you feel like you are in the canoe with an incomparable guide to this region of our state. A great book that deserves to be read much more widely than it is.

Goodbye to a River--Hello to the Past.......2005-07-28

As a native Texan, I grew up with the stories of the wild frontier and I'm sure that Graves did too. But he takes those stories and, with beautiful prose, shows the really hardscrabble life that folks overcame on the edge of the frontier. Not the stories of Texas Rangers, but of ordinary pioneers who made a life for themselves despite drought, snowstorms and other natural disasters. But the book is also a wonderful "painting" of a part of Texas that is rich in history and natural beauty. A must-read for anyone who wants to know what Texas was like before the arrival of air conditioning and the discovery of oil.

As Good as Walden.......2005-06-16

Not since I read "Walden" has a book so moved me. If you ever loved a river, or a piece of land, or ever felt at home in the presence of Nature, then you will delight in this book. But if you are a Texan, then heaven help you, this book is nothing less than magic.

As another reviewer suggested, Mr. Graves should be considered a National Treasure, or nothing less than a Texas Treasure.

A piece of Texas to carry with you.......2004-05-11

I carried a copy of this book with me while away from Texas, while in the US Army back in '71. Every time I would get terribly lonely for home and Texas, I would read this book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, Texas, nature, or rivers. I own several copies (five last count, as have given away half a dozen to good friends), and continue to re-read the book, as I always enjoy Mr. Graves' words, his history lessons, and his use of the English language. His imparting of the north Texas dialect is wonderful, as that dialect is the one in which I also was and am immersed. I have many other of Mr. Graves books, but GTAR is the first you should read!

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Goodbye to a River
John Graves
Manufacturer: Alfred A Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NPXNH4

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Goodbye, River, Goodbye.
George. Mendoza
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0385029055

Goodbye Highland Yankee: Stories of a North Country Boyhood

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Lively memoir of New England boyhood

Goodbye Highland Yankee: Stories of a North Country Boyhood
Scott E. Hastings
Manufacturer: Chelsea Green Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0930031245

Customer Reviews:

Lively memoir of New England boyhood.......2001-02-21

Perfect for reading to oneself or sharing with the whole family. Hastings manages to bring alive the past, sharing tales of a long-ago culture. My only complaint with this book is that I wished there'd been a bit more dialogue and less description. Do try the recipe for old-fashioned baked beans - it was popular in our house.

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Goodbye Nobska
Pamela Rivers Davidson
Manufacturer: Self-Publushed
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VAOHTE

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GOODBYE TO A RIVER

Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H26L8G

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Goodbye To A River
John Graves
Manufacturer: Sierra Club / Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JWKOAA

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Goodbye To A River
Graves
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JGT0BA

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Goodbye to a River

Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1HS98

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Goodbye to a River
John Graves
Manufacturer: Macmillan & Co Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H3TB14

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Pacific Northwest 2005 Insect Management Handbook (Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook)

Manufacturer: Oregon State Univ Agricultural
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Plants | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1931979065

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Pacific Northwest 2005 Insect Management Handbook (Pacific Northwest Insect Management Handbook)

Manufacturer: Oregon State Univ Agricultural
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9990895546

Book Description

CancÃºn & Cozumel Directions is full of ideas for a trip to MexicoÂ's Yucatan peninsula, richly illustrated with hundreds of specially commissioned photos. The full-colour introduction features eighteen themed spreads Â- including the best beaches, inland Mayan ruins, dive sites and cafÃ©s. The main section of the guide gives an area-by-area account of the sights, restaurants, hotels, transport, cafÃ©s and beachside nightlife Â- all supported by inspiring photographs. There are detailed maps of each chapter area and all the main resorts, in which every listing and review is pinpointed.

Customer Reviews:

great travel book.......2007-03-08

small book with lots of information about cancun and cozumel. It also comes with a CD that you can put on your laptop and read the book digitaly

pocket size gem travel guide.......2005-09-14

I just returned from a 2 week trip to the Yucatan peninsula. Starting off in Cancun and driving the cultural triangle route to the west to visit the Mayan ruins (Chichen Itza, Coba, Uxmal etc... and Spanish colonial cities (Merida, Valladolid etc...). For professional reasons I took along 4 travel guides (The Rough Guide to Cancun & Cozumel, DK's Eyewitness Top 10 Cancun & The Yucatan, Hidden Cancun & the Yucatan, and the Cadogan Yucatan & Mayan Mexico. In the past I've also used the frustrating Moon guide and weak Lonely Planet).

Each of these travel guides has a different style and focus - some are pocket-sized reference guides to help the traveler find concise lists of sights to visit, places to eat, stay and shop without much in the way of history or background. Others are much more hefty (literally and literary) serious travel guides with extensive listings and a great deal of background information. Comparing the two types of guides is like comparing apples and oranges. Instead I believe each needs to be judged on it's own merits for the purpose each was obviously designed and the degree to which it suceeds in accomplishing that job.

Personally I'm a fan of the consistent quality of Rough Guides. An intelligent, well researched and regularly updated series of generally hip orientated guides, the Rough Guide to Cancun & Cozumel is a good addition. Lots of photographs, a few very useable maps, a good simple layout of easy to access information regarding restaurants, bars, accommodations, shopping, sights along the Mayan Riviera but also covering the most famous Mayan ruins inland.

This pocket sized book is a very convenient small size and the information inside is of course, a decent selection of recommendations with accompanying maps to find them. A small disc of directions and an ebook copy of the book is included but I didn't use it. For the general visitor relaxing in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel or Tulum who also wants a bit of extra information on interesting places to visit, it's ideal and very handy.

Of course this guide is short on lengthy histories, more extensive recommendations and coverage of a wider area of the Yucatan peninsula. But the vast majority of North American or European visitors to this part of Mexico limit themselves to the area covered in this guide. A great many never actually buy a travel guide or think to explore much beyond the boundaries of the hotel zone or their all-inclusive unless they take an organised trip to Chichen Itza. However both the casual tourist and more intrepid traveler will find this pocket sized guide a useful reference companion. To some this book is ideal just to open eyes to the wonders of a bit of exploring further afield but not so much so that one wants to buy and carry a large serious and more expensive travel guide. To others, it works well as a small accompanying guide to use in combination with one of those thick guide books (I recommend the Cadogan Yucatan & Mayan Mexico as perhaps the best book on the region). But to both parties I also recommend the DK Eyewitness Top 10 Cancun & the Yucatan that contains more photographs than all other travel guides covering the area combined in a fun pocket-sized format.

Book Description

Long-Eared Bats examines the biology, ecology and behavior of two European bat species which are distinctive, easily recognized, and familiar to most naturalists. These friendly bats live in close proximity tohumans and are examples of evolutionary diversity. This book gives a comprehensive review of Plecotus auritus and Plecotus austriacus and investigates their behavior and considers the full range of conservation issues relating to the species.Topics include identifying the species, foraging, reproductive biology, social organization, and the effects of man-made alterations to the environment and proposed conservation methods.

The brown and grey long-eared bats are among the best-known European bat species and are familiar to most naturalists. In Britain, the brown long-eared bat is probably the second most common bat after the Pipistrelle. They are attractive creatures which favor man-made buildings as roost sites, adding to their familiarity with humans. Bats vary in their ecology, each showing special features and behaviors that suit them to particular habitats and food supplies.The complex social systems of bats influence their choice of roost and breeding sites and have implications for their conservation as the availability of such places becomes crucial to their future.

Average customer rating:
The long eared bat,
Horace Thomas Barnaby
Manufacturer: Saalfield Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Baby-3 | Ages 4-8 | Ages 9-12 | Animals | Arts & Music | Books on Cassette | Books on CD | Authors & Illustrators, A-Z | Computers | Educational | History & Historical Fiction | Issues | Literature | Obsessions | People & Places | Popular Characters | Reference & Nonfiction | Religions | Science, Nature & How It Works | Series | Sports & Activities
ASIN: B0008875C0

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Roost tree use by maternity colonies of Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats in southern Illinois [An article from: Forest Ecology and Management]
T.C. Carter , and G.A. Feldhamer
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR69SI

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Forest Ecology and Management, published by Elsevier in . 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.

Description:
Roost trees used by female Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis), a federally endangered species, and sympatric northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) at two locations in southern Illinois greatly impacted by past flooding were located using radiotelemetry. For 30 Indiana bats, we located 49 roosts in 7 species of trees. Green ash snags (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and pin oak snags (Quercus palustris) were used more than expected and sweetgum snags (Liquidambar styraciflua) less than expected based on availability. Ten adult female northern long-eared bats were tracked to 19 different trees of 5 species. We used logistic regression to predict use of roost versus random trees for both species, and to compare roosts of Indiana bats versus northern long-eared bats. Indiana bats typically roosted in areas of low vegetative obstruction (clutter) on the forest edge (@g^2=10.28, d.f.=2, P=0.006). Compared to random trees, roosts of northern long-eared bats were within intact forests (@g^2=10.56, d.f.=1, P=0.001). Amount of obstruction and decay differed; roosts of M. sodalis typically were less cluttered and more decayed than those of M. septentrionalis (@g^2=38.63, d.f.=2, P <0.001). Indiana bats roosted almost exclusively under exfoliating bark of bottomland snags, whereas northern long-eared bats also made extensive use of cavities and crevices. Indiana bats cannot be expected to remain in an area indefinitely if snag creation is not sustained, and natural forest succession should be considered in long-term management of this endangered species.

The distinctive characters of two British species of Plecotus, supposed to have been confounded under the name of the long-eared bat

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The distinctive characters of two British species of Plecotus, supposed to have been confounded under the name of the long-eared bat
Leonard Jenyns
Manufacturer: Printed by R. Taylor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

A Nepal record of the long-eared bat (Plecotus homochrous Hodgson) (Natural history miscellanea)

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A Nepal record of the long-eared bat (Plecotus homochrous Hodgson) (Natural history miscellanea)
Colin Campbell Sanborn
Manufacturer: Chicago Academy of Sciences
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

A new long-eared (Myotis evotis) from northeastern Mexico (University of Kansas publications. Museum of Natural History)

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A new long-eared (Myotis evotis) from northeastern Mexico (University of Kansas publications. Museum of Natural History)
Rollin H Baker
Manufacturer: University of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007EV3MI

Book Description

The problem of reliably detecting explosives, whether in buried landmines or hidden in cars, aircraft cargo, baggage, or carried by suicide bombers, has not yet been solved. Explosive device detection technology can make a major contribution to collective, family and individual security. This book reviews the state of the art in a wide range of different technologies and considers whether there are alternative methods or technologies. It includes information from experts about methods and field experience.

The consensus is that current sensor technologies are inadequate for most mine action tasks and anti-terrorist activities (consider plastic mines) and no single sensor system will be able to meet all needs. Scientists must forge strong links with end users and should visit real minefields to acquire a clear understanding of the problems.

New technology required to implement U.S. anti-personnel landmine policy (USAWC strategy research project)

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New technology required to implement U.S. anti-personnel landmine policy (USAWC strategy research project)
James G May
Manufacturer: U.S. Army War College
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General & Reference | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006QWIJO

Book Description

The classical Melnikov method provides information on the behavior of deterministic planar systems that may exhibit transitions, i.e. escapes from and captures into preferred regions of phase space. This book develops a unified treatment of deterministic and stochastic systems that extends the applicability of the Melnikov method to physically realizable stochastic planar systems with additive, state-dependent, white, colored, or dichotomous noise. The extended Melnikov method yields the novel result that motions with transitions are chaotic regardless of whether the excitation is deterministic or stochastic. It explains the role in the occurrence of transitions of the characteristics of the system and its deterministic or stochastic excitation, and is a powerful modeling and identification tool.

The book is designed primarily for readers interested in applications. The level of preparation required corresponds to the equivalent of a first-year graduate course in applied mathematics. No previous exposure to dynamical systems theory or the theory of stochastic processes is required. The theoretical prerequisites and developments are presented in the first part of the book. The second part of the book is devoted to applications, ranging from physics to mechanical engineering, naval architecture, oceanography, nonlinear control, stochastic resonance, and neurophysiology.

Book Description

The father of modern drama, Henrik Ibsen shook off the stale conventions of nineteenth-century theater and made the stage play an instrument for brilliantly illuminating the dark recesses of human nature.

After writing historical plays and imaginative epic dramas in verse, such as Peer Gynt, Ibsen turned away from history and romanticism to focus instead on the problems of the individual and modern society. The plays of his middle period—A Doll’s House, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, and his most popular play, Hedda Gabler—are masterpieces of stark psychological realism. In his final plays, including The Master Builder, Ibsen mixed realism and symbolism to enrich his examination of our subconscious drives and urges.

Ibsen was criticized and denounced during his lifetime for expanding the boundaries of what is acceptable fare for the stage. Audiences were shocked when he wrote of feminist yearnings, venereal disease, and the deep emotions that underlie the sadness involved in being human. James Joyce put the criticism in perspective: “Henrik Ibsen is one of the world’s great men before whom criticism can make but feeble show. . . . When the art of a dramatist is perfect the critic is superfluous.” Ibsen has since come to be considered one of our greatest playwrights.

Six Plays By Henrik Ibsen: A Doll's House, Ghosts, an Enemy of the People, Rosmersholm, Hedda Gabler, the Master Builder

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Six Plays By Henrik Ibsen: A Doll's House, Ghosts, an Enemy of the People, Rosmersholm, Hedda Gabler, the Master Builder

Manufacturer: Random House Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BJ1DBK

Average customer rating:

Works of visionary greatness

Ibsen Plays: Six
Henrik Ibsen
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Continental European | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0413153002

Book Description

Michael Meyer's pioneering contemporary versions of Ibsen have been praised by the great British drama critic, Kenneth Tynan, as being Crisp, cobweb free, purged of verbal Victoriana.

Customer Reviews:

Works of visionary greatness.......1999-08-14

Ibsen is often regarded as a "social writer", who, in his works, highlighted contemporary social issues. This is a great misunderstanding: Ibsen was a writer of visionary greatness, to be ranked with the likes of Tolstoy or Henry James. These six volumes of plays translated by Michael Meyer (also a distinguished biographer of the great man) are mandatory reading for anyone remotely interested in great literature. The very late plays, especially - "The Master Builder", "Little Eyolf", "John Gabriel Borkman" and "When We Dead Awaken" - take us to the rarefied heights of greatness.

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Six Plays By Henrik Ibsen - A Doll's House * Ghosts * An Enemy of the People * Rosmersholm * Hedda Gabler * The Master Builder
Henrik Ibsen
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IRYN30

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Six Great Modern Plays
Anton; O'Casey, Sean; Miller, Arthur; Ibsen, Henrik; Shaw, George Bernard; Williams, Tennessee Chekhov
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Company, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MHUSCG

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Six Great Modern Plays
Anton; Ibsen, Henrik; Shaw, Bernard; O'casey, Sean; Williams, Tennessee; Miller, Arthur Chekhov
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000J1RXEG

Six Great Modern Plays: Three sisters, the master builders, Mrs. Warrens profession, Red roses for me, The glass Menagerie

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Six Great Modern Plays: Three sisters, the master builders, Mrs. Warrens profession, Red roses for me, The glass Menagerie
Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, Sean O'Casey, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams Anton Chekhov
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000VB9FE0

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Six Plays
Henrik Ibsen
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NYD6SQ

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Six Plays
Henrik Ibsen
Manufacturer: Franklin Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Leather Bound

German | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006CUSAY

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Six plays
Henrik Ibsen
Manufacturer: FRANKLIN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UDT5UI

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