The Ecology of Eden: An Inquiry into the Dream of Paradise and a New Vision of Our Role in Nature

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Many nature writers choose humanity's relationship to wildness as their topic. Evan Eisenberg examines the question with an eye toward Eden, "the wild place at the center of the world from which all blessings flow."

Humans left Eden; indeed, having left Eden is a defining human characteristic in almost all cultures. Eisenberg identifies three basic before-the-fall dreams: Eden, a paradise in space and time; Arcadia, the perfect pastoral blend of city conveniences and wilderness beauty; and the Golden Age, a time when things were really good. Humans almost universally think that sometime "before" or in some "other place," we (and all other species) lived in harmony and balance. Through examples ranging from cyanobacteria poisoning the early atmosphere with oxygen to ants raising aphids like cattle, Eisenberg reveals the fallacy of this notion. What humans have done that's different from previous world changers is allied ourselves with the annual grasses--quickly using up half a billion years of soil formation. With our crops, pets, and viruses, we've nullified continental ecological boundaries. The globe has been remade before, but not this fast or this far. We'll probably have to scale back our influence--the question is how and how much. This is where humanity's environmental battles will be fought in the future. Eisenberg trips up a bit in lumping environmentalists into two camps: planet managers (conservationists) and planet fetishers (preservationists), but he definitely seems to see the ecological pivot points on which our civilization rests.

This is a witty, charming, and well-referenced book, full of scary environmental facts and comforting ecological truths. His conclusions are not new--that humans need thriving cities, not sprawling suburbs, to avoid overwhelming the wilderness that's left. But Eisenberg's insight into how we can be at peace with our world is valuable advice, if we can stop dreaming and heed it. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

"Dazzling . . . a prose epic." --The Washington Post

A mountain peak, a rolling pasture, a boulevard alive with sound and light--each of us carries, deep inside, a dream of paradise.  In this magisterial contribution to the literature of ecology and the environment, our nostalgia for the myth of paradise--the primeval, self-sufficient, nurturing garden where mankind was born--is the starting point of a brilliant inquiry into what our place in Nature has been and ought to be.

Writing in lively, imaginative prose and drawing deftly upon disciplines as varied as biology, geology, anthropology, history, physics, and music, Evan Eisenberg examines the ways in which people have envisioned and tried to re-create the earthly paradise even as they have dealt with the often disastrous effects of their increasing manipulation of the environment. An encyclopedic survey of efforts to heal the dangerous rift between culture and nature, The Ecology of Eden is a landmark work that is enormously suggestive, informative, and a joy to read.

"It's a question many writers have tackled, from Paul Ehrlich to E. O. Wilson: How can we survive while population grows, resources dwindle . . . and the threat of global climate change looms ominously? Few have explored it with more originality or historic sweep. . . . A rich harvest, filled with many kernels of wisdom about the future of our elusive Eden."
--San Francisco Chronicle

"An ambitious, thickly braided narrative that makes the clearest bid to nudge the dialectic along. . . . Eisenberg traces the story engagingly, energetically, with a remarkable breadth of learning and a metaphor-maker's eye. . . . A vision of substance and genuine insight." -Los Angeles Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Hightly recommended.......2004-10-19

This book is not your typical "ecology book". It provides a different way of looking at things.
It is clear the author has done quite a bit of research, and has synthesized his findings into a well written book.

A book too big for some readers?.......2001-03-03

I read with disbelief some of the reviews, because I thought this book a work of genius - one of the very few that bridge the gulf between a scientifc and an arts view of history. My impression is that one reviewer is a fundamentalist Christian and that the others are mostly narrow scientists unfamiliar with ideas about myth and metaphor. Each seems to slate the book because it is not written from the standpoint of the reviewer's specialist interest. My own problem with the book was the many Americanisms and analogies from baseball and other sports about which I am too narrow to be informed, but I am not willing to knock off even half a star for that. I have made it my top recommendation for students of human ecology.

cerebral and linguistic roughage with tasty nuggets.......1999-04-25

I read the whole book including the footnotes, the biological information was -to me- original and a number of ideas I found very plausible, tapping into my interest in symbiosis, why humans can't be separated from 'wilderness' and the interpretation of nature by other cultures. Some of it is hard going, the words Evans decorates his prose with requires a dictionary on hand...a large one and not just for scientific jargon. I found the mythology parts padded and overly convoluted but that is my bias, and the extrapolation of human interaction in future a weak point, though I really liked how Evan takes an idea -held belief, fleshes it out, then examines where this fail in practice or can not widely. Human population reduction was something I think he explored inadequatley, dismissing something which IMHO is inevitable.

I think every town planner and ecologist should read this book or at least browse a bookmarked group reference copy, the references alone are worth an institutional copy. Even if you don't agree with the ideas put forward, it will take your mind into some novel directions

interesting but not always true.......1999-02-08

This is an interesting book in many respecsts. It combines a vast amount of information without real evidence to connect the facts. In amny cases the book is simply not true. Eisenberg uses metaphors which are not true. For example he says that one species installed another in its gut for nutrition. It may have happened accidentally through evolution but I don't believe any creature installed another on purpose. Where is evolution. There are several examples of this sort.Eisenberg states that the human race dominates and that the bacteria(for example) have lost "market share" He should read Lewis Thomas "The Fragile Species" who makes a case (with data) that the human race is simply a small offshoot of a small branch of evolution and that the bacteria and other groups by sheer weight and numbers far outclass the human race and have survived far longer.

Bull.......1998-12-10

This book contains not one verifiable fact. It insulted My inteligence. I would spend the money on food for children. People will make up any facts to deny God.

Book Description

If you're one of the over five million people who will go on a cruise vacation this year, you may be wondering how you to choose between the many cruise lines, ships, and destinations that are available today. You may be looking for a cruise geared towards adults, one where both you and the grandkids can have fun, or a cruise on which singles are catered to as much as couples. The key to a great vacation is knowing what you want and where to find it, and author Kerry Smith has put all the information you need in one convenient place. Looking for an Alaskan cruise in an intimate, old world-style ship, or a huge ocean liner that can keep all ages happy during a Caribbean family reunion? Cruise Vacations for Mature Travelers helps you, the traveler, determine what kind of cruise experience fits your personality and then tells you how to find it, describing every cruise line and detailing its fleet, ship by ship, so you can choose the perfect vacation! The book also includes tips on budgeting your trip, all the options for booking through travel agents, directly with the company, or online, and even helps you choose the best time to travel and the most comfortable cabins. A cruise vacation is an adventure. Make the most of it with Cruise Vacations for Mature Travelers! AUTHORBIO: KERRY SMITH is the author of Walt Disney World for Mature Travelers. He is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, and the editor of Florida Retirement Lifestyles.

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A guide to cruise vacations geared to the mature traveler's perspective. Thoroughly covers all the destinations, price ranges, and styles available while helping the reader decide what he or she is looking for in a cruise.

Customer Reviews:

Don't Let the Title Turn You Off.......2001-06-17

This book is not about "old people" - it is instead an extremely well written and informative book for people who just happen to be over 50, who want to go on a cruise, and have a LOT of fun. To quote the author ... "For this book, mature travelers refers to adults who know what they want, both from a vacation and from life. Some overworked forty-year-olds want to prop up their feet and unwind for seven full days while the active retirees water-ski." You want to dance up a storm all night? He'll tell you the ships that offer that kind of nightlife. You don't want to be around children? He'll tell you that, too. The author walks you through the entire process of identifying the right type of cruise for your personality, which ships give special attention to the older person who is traveling with a spouse or alone; how to book one, how to prepare for one, what to do once on board, and finally an overview of the various cruise lines and ship profiles. I have purchased 5 books about cruising this past month from Amazon. Some I found a little bland; some were too hysterical and overwhelming in their detail. This one and the Berlitz book by Douglas Ward were the best for me. I felt Mr. Smith gave me all of the necessary details but in a writing style that was far more personal and interesting. Please don't let the title turn you off - I was worried about it too - this book is terrific!

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Cruise Vacations for Mature Travelers
Kerry Smith
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTLN94

Book Description

We are going to Hamburger-a-gogo land! We are going there so that I can follow the Luuurve God, Masimo. He has gone to visit his olds, leaving me, his new (and lurker-free) nearly girlfriend, in Billy Shakespeare land. So he thinks! Imagine how thrilled he will be when I pop up where he is and say “Howdy!” Or whatever it is they say over there.

Let the overseas snog fest begin!!!

Georgia can't wait to visit Hamburger-a-gogo land with Jas in tow so she can finally track down Masimo, the Italian-American dreamboat. But after a long week in America, Georgia only succeeds in learning importantish things -- like how to ride a bucking bronco -- before she's dragged back to England by Mutti and Vati. Will Georgia be able to reel in the Italian dreamboat, or is she destined to live forever all aloney on her owney?

Customer Reviews:

She's maaaaaaaad!.......2007-06-10

The Georgia Nicolson character IS truly MAAAAAAAAAD and this makes for some really good laughs. Actually, I laughed myself so hard I was literally crying and had to hold my belly. Boy Entrancers is hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing in a long while!

It is what it is - too funny!.......2007-02-27

Oh, how clever Louise Rennison is. This hilarious novel reminds me a bit of a stand-up comedian's routine with a plot - of sorts. English teenager, Georgia, (the main character) has her own combination of slang and made up alterations of words that take a bit of getting used to at first. But her descriptions of events, friends, her own family, and life in general are so fast, funny, and furious, I could hardly stop laughing. Of course, it's all very silly, and Georgia comes across as perhaps a little to obsessed with snogging boys, or a bit too dim-witted at times, but then maybe not. In any event, if you like novels that are clearly intended to make you laugh, and you aren't looking for any deep messages except that there is always humor to be found in the strange and sometimes unbelieveably wacky things teenagers do, then this book is for you. Highly recommended for kids over 13 and anyone else who enjoys a good laugh.

More of the good stuff.......2007-01-10

another amusing Georgia Nicholson story -- nothing too new, but hilariously funny as always

READ THIS BOOK.......2006-09-26

America and London are two different worlds. The people speak differently, eat differently, and drive on different sides of the road. So it's a big transition when someone from either country goes to visit the other one. Then He Ate my Boy Enrancers, by Louise Rennison, is the sixth in the Georgia Nicolson Series, which was kicked off by Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.. In this teen-fiction story, British 16 year-old Georgia Nicolson travels to America. She's not exactly what you call a typical teenager, as she makes up creative words, such as "hamburger-a-gogo land" (America), and loves getting into trouble. Despite her outgoing and comical personality, Georgia may have trouble keeping her wacky family in line. Vati, her loony father, has Georgia begging him not to wear his overalls in public. There is also Mutti, (her mother), and Uncle Eddie, who humiliate her at any given moment. Her 4-year old sister, Libby, is just as crazy as all the rest of them and emphatically loves to sing, er, interesting songs. Thank god Georgia's best friend, Jas, is also tagging along. She may regularly complain about missing her boyfriend and have annoying bangs, but she is the sanest person accompanying Georgia on this trip. The good news is, Masimo, gorgeous Italian-American singer of the band, The Stiff Dylans and Georgia's nearly boyfriend, is visiting his family in Manhattan. He thinks Georgia is still back in London, so imagine his expression when she pops up out of nowhere and says hello! This, however, may be a bit more difficult to achieve then Georgia pictured......

Georgia and her friends were hysterical! I couldn't stop laughing the entire time I was reading. The language and expressions used in this novel were an original blend of British slang and creatively made-up words. I also found that the characters were all well-developed, and of course, hilarious. I appreciate the way Rennison put together a diverse cast of characters. Their personalities were all varied and unique. I especially liked Georgia's cats, Angus and Gordy. They were the most psychotic animals I have ever heard of, and I loved to read about their comedic antics. They were relentlessly torturing the poodles next door and decimating Georgia's stockings. I think it was amusing how nobody had any control over them whatsoever.

Furthermore, you could always powerfully hear Georgia's voice. She sounded like an actual 16-year old. I felt like I was there with Georgia in every situation, comprehending every thought that went through her head. I recommend this book to fans of teen-fiction authors that incorporate comedy into their stories. Abstain from reading this book in public areas, as sudden explosive laughter is imminent!

Then He Ate my Boy Entrancers.......2006-05-16

One of the hilarious tales of the British teenager, Georgia Nicolson, est tres amusant. Now that the "love god" is "out of her thoughts, and never to return", there is a new man on her mind. The Itallion Stallion, Masimo. Georgia is very impatient about his return from "Hamburger-a-go-go"(America), and is extatic when her family informs her that this is their new destination for vacation.

The sixth story of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson is quite funny. I was not surprised it was though. The whole series is. I say, more prays for Louise Rennison, for creating the book that made tears stream down my face with laughter. The story is appropriate for, preferably, the "young adults" out there. The plot was brilliant and so were the characters. Bring on the next story!

Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers : More Mad, Marvy Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson)

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Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers : More Mad, Marvy Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson)
Louise Rennison
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This book offers a rich variety of thoughtful explorations on the nature of the human person especially as related to health care, medicine, and mental health. Rarely are so many different viewpoints collected in one place about the intriguing puzzle that is the concept of person, human dignity, and the special place human beings hold in the goals of healing and the social structures of medical delivery. Ramifications of the theory of personhood are presented for bioethics, genetics, individuality, uniqueness, international law, feminism, and human rights in health care. Intended for professionals in the fields of philosophy of medicine, law, and bioethics, this book will also appeal to psychologists and medical anthropologists.

Personhood redux. (life-support for anencephalic infants): An article from: The Hastings Center Report

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Personhood redux. (life-support for anencephalic infants): An article from: The Hastings Center Report
J. C. Willke , and Dave Andrusko
Manufacturer: Hastings Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Hastings Center Report, published by Hastings Center on October 1, 1988. The length of the article is 3106 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Personhood redux. (life-support for anencephalic infants)
Author: J. C. Willke
Publication: The Hastings Center Report (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 1988
Publisher: Hastings Center
Volume: v18 Issue: n5 Page: p30(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The area of inverse scattering transform method or soliton theory has evolved over the past two decades in a vast variety of exciting new algebraic and analytic directions and has found numerous new applications. Methods and applications range from quantum group theory and exactly solvable statistical models to random matrices, random permutations, and number theory. The theory of isomonodromic deformations of systems of differential equations with rational coefficents, and most notably, the related apparatus of the Riemann-Hilbert problem, underlie the analytic side of this striking development.

The contributions in this volume are based on lectures given by leading experts at the CRM workshop (Montreal, Canada). Included are both survey articles and more detailed expositions relating to the theory of isomonodromic deformations, the Riemann-Hilbert problem, and modern applications.

Book Description

With interest in the study of nonlinear systems at an all-time high, researchers are eager to explore the mysteries behind the nonlinear equations that govern various physical processes. Painléve analysis may be the only tool available that allows the analysis of both integrable and non-integrable systems. With a primary objective of introducing the uninitiated to the various techniques of the Painlevé approach, this monograph brings together the results of the extensive research performed in the field over the last few decades. For the first time in a single volume, this book offers treatment of both the theory of Painlevé analysis and its practical applications. In it, the author addresses the soliton and nonlinearity, Painlevé analysis and the integrability of ordinary and partial differential equations, Painlevé properties, different forms of expansion, and the relation of Painlevé expansion with conformal invariance. He also gives a detailed account of negative resonances, explains the connection with monodromy, and demonstrates applications to specific important equations. Painlevé Analysis and Its Applications offers a clear presentation and down-to-earth approach that includes many examples and requires only a basic understanding of complex function theory and differential equations.

Book Description

Quintilian, born in Spain about 35 CE, became a widely known and highly successful teacher of rhetoric in Rome. The Orator's Education (Institutio Oratoria), a comprehensive training program in twelve books, draws on his own rich experience. It is a work of enduring importance, not only for its insights on oratory, but for the picture it paints of education and social attitudes in the Roman world.

Quintilian offers both general and specific advice. He gives guidelines for proper schooling (beginning with the young boy); analyzes the structure of speeches; recommends devices that will engage listeners and appeal to their emotions; reviews a wide range of Greek and Latin authors of use to the orator; and counsels on memory, delivery, and gestures.

Donald Russell's new five-volume Loeb Classical Library edition of The Orator's Education, which replaces an eighty-year-old translation by H. E. Butler, provides a text and facing translation fully up to date in light of current scholarship and well tuned to today's taste. Russell also provides unusually rich explanatory notes, which enable full appreciation of this central work in the history of rhetoric.

Customer Reviews:

The New Translation.......2007-03-09

Russell's translation of Quintilian's Institution Oratoria (published in 2001) replaces Butler's edition, which was published in 1921. The translation, overall, is excellent, as we would expect from someone with Russell's credentials, but the question that most readers should ask is this: Is it better? Some will answer affirmatively owing to the fact that they (or their students) find Russell's translation easier to read: The language is generally more contemporarily colloquial, especially in terms of structure. Others will suggest that his translation is not better than Butler's, just different. Indeed, the reason classical works undergo periodic re-translation is that linguistic forms change over time, and new translations adjust texts so that they change as well, which prevents them from becoming linguistically static. Some readers, however, may question whether the changes in English from 1921 to 2001 were so significant that a new translation was warranted. (But this is an academic issue of real interest only to specialists.) Such questions aside, Russell's work is very well done, capturing the essence of the original Latin in a smooth and eloquent style that navigates carefully between the literal and the figurative.

Exhaustive Exposition on Oratory.......2004-10-08

Quintilian was not only a successful trial lawyer, he was a highly respected teacher and a writer of no mean skill. He put together a twelve book work on oratory which deals with all aspects of oratory, from the beginning of elementary education to the qualities of the polished orator. No other ancient author on rhetoric had such a prolific output of didactic material. Cicero may have published more, but the bulk of his rhetorical output was the publication of his more celebrated speeches.

The Loeb Classical Library collects Quintilian's writings into a five volume publication. Volume One contains Books 1 & 2, which deal with the beginning of the education process through a prolegomena which explores the nature of rhetoric.

Volume Two contains Books 3 through 5. Book 3 continues the prolegomena, talks about the types of rhetoric (epideictic, deliberative, and forensic), the types of issues (conjectural, definitional, and qualitative), and a discussion of how to determine the Point for Decision (in "Rhetorica ad Herennium," this is called the Point to Adjudicate). Book 4 takes up the Parts of Forensic Causes, and Book 5 deals with Proofs and Refutations. Interestingly, Quintilian gives some excellent advice on how to interrogate hostile witnesses and conduct cross examinations. Book 5 concludes with a discussion of the enthymeme and epicheireme.

Volume Three contains Books 6 - 8. Book 6 deals with emotion. Book 7 with a deeper study of the types of issues. Book 8 begins a discussion of Elocution which will continue through Books 9 - 11.

Volume Four continues the discussion of Elocution through Books 9 and 10. Book 9 concludes the theory of Elocution and Book 10 discusses practical exercises to improve Elocution.

Volume Five contains Books 11 & 12. Book 11 finishes the discussion of Elocution and then discusses Memory and Delivery. Book 12 ends the work with a discussion of "The good man skilled in speaking."

Oftentimes the star athlete makes a mediocre coach while the mediocre athlete makes a star coach. The old saw "He who can, does; he who can't teaches," does not apply to Quintilian. He reveals himself to be not only a star advocate, but an excellent coach as well.

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