5 comments about Small Dogs, Big Hearts: A Guide to Caring for Your Little Dog , Revised Edition.

1. This well researched book covers all of the information that is needed before acquiring a small dog. Darlene Arden covers all of the breed specific information, including temperament, challenges and attributes for all of the small and toy dog breeds.
   
   It is well written, fun to read and very thorough. And... it is a must read for choosing the right breed of dog.
   Marilyn Krieger, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant



2. What a wonderful book! This book explains every concern imaginable for the small dog owner. From basic socialization, to common health problems, to reproductive issues; this book has it all. To top it off, is it loaded with some of the most heart-warming photographs I've seen in a while. You are doing yourself as well as your pint-sized buddy a huge disservice if this reference book is not the most read book in your collection. Reading this book allows you to feel the passion of the author. Feel the passion...read this book.



3. I purchased this book as an expectant toy breed mother. It is a light hearted but informative book on the joys and pitfalls of having a toy breed in your house. I was a little disappointed in the lack of information on my particular puppy, a Chinese Crested, but then I didn't expect a lot of info on the Cresteds since most people know little about them. For more breed specific information, it's advisable to get a breed specific book. However this is a great reference for those who are looking at the toy breeds and don't know a lot about them. It's an easy read and the general information is great. The breed specific information is just enough to perhaps help someone choose which breed is a good fit for their family.



4. As the owner of 4 small dog rescues, I have found all of Darlene Arden's books extremely helpful and "small dogs, big hearts" is certainly no exception. It is filled with valuable information and should be a must read for anyone who has or is even remotely thinking about getting a small dog. Like all her books, this one is well written in Ms. Arden's easy to follow and understand style. I especially like the fact that this book contains mixed breeds and all the pictures are a wonderful addition.
   I applaud Darlene Arden for emphasizing that these small breeds are not toys to be played with, but real dogs with real dog issues and needs.



5. I was very anxious to get this book. In fact by the time I realized there was a second edition of the Irrepressible Toy Dog, I had been waiting several months. This lead me to several other small dog/ breed specific books. This book is definitely top notch However, I was a little biased having read similar information in several other books before reading this book. This made me less excited about its content, however I have to say that it is extremely well compiled, lots of good information and has the best health section on small breed specific disease that I have seen to date. The picture sections are cute, however it could have included more breeds instead of the same breeds over and over. It however was not as much fun as other books, and lacks in the training section when compared to other books. It is a great overall guide on toy dogs and every toy dog owner should keep a copy for a reference guide.

No comments about Paw Prints in the Stars: A Farewell and Journal for a Beloved Pet.

5 comments about Dog Heroes of September 11th: A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs.

1. This is a must read for all dog lovers. A heart grabbing tribute to all the wonderful "hero" rescue dogs who did their jobs in a gut wrenching time for us all.



2. Each story touches the heart of the reader. The true dedication between man and man best friends shines a bright light in the darkest day in US history.



3. I bought this book for my boyfriend to accompy his birthday gift and he loved it. The stories are heartwarming and really remind you of the other heroes of 9/11.



4. I purchased this book as a Christmas present for my Sister. She absolutely loves it. I visited the Ground Zero Museum in NYC in October 2007 and was first introducted to this book. I highly recommend it!



5. A beautiful book about some unknown hero's of Setpember 11.
   
   A must read for all.

5 comments about The 10-Minute Retriever: How to Make an Obedient and Enthusiastic Gun Dog in 10 Minutes a Day.

1. this is prolly the 3rd best book ive read on hunting dog training, quick and easy, give it a try



2. I was pleased with the book until I realized that one chapter was missing. I ordered a second one and had the same problem. I also had to take the time to return the first one and kept the second one, which is still missing a chapter. Perhaps your books should be scanned after printing to avoid misprints being mailed out.



3. How B. Blazer's review was determined to be Spotlight material baffles me. His review makes it patently obvious that he knows precisely nothing about training dogs, has never spent time with professional trainers and has never run a dog in a field trial or hunt test.
   
   Force fetch is an essential part of training retrievers. It is the foundation upon which advanced training is based and all competitive retrievers undergo force fetch training. Yes, you create stress in the dog through the ear pinch or toe hitch because competing and hunting yield stressful situations for the dog as he works through terrain, challenging wind conditions, cold and dozens of other factors that come into play during a retrieve. A dog not trained to handle that stress will exhibit major performance issues when the going gets tough, from popping, ignoring handling or, worse, a total no-go.
   
   To address B. Blazer's little numbered list:
   
   1.) At no point do the authors of Ten Minute Retriever call for the use of a whip. The tool is called a heeling stick. It is never suggested that the heeling stick be used to abuse the dog. It is merely a way to extend your reach to deliver taps and swats for immediate correction of issues like breaking.
   
   2.) At no point do the authors suggest "tying the dog's mouth shut around a dummy". For a dog who chronically spits the dummy during hold training, the authors suggest that a lead may be looped about the dogs muzzle while you reinforce the hold command verbally.
   
   3.) I just explained ear pinch, which is one of the most common practices in retriever training, only slightly less common than...
   
   4.) ... the electronic collar. B. Blazer seems to take exception with the verb "burn" but then goes on to claim that he is not against the "proper" use of the e-collar. The ONLY purpose of the electronic collar is to deliver an electric shock or burn unless Tri-Tronics has a new Rainbows and Unicorn Ponies model I am unaware of.
   
   B. Blazer's conclusion that the training methods outlines in this book serve only to break a dog's spirit is one of the most pathetically laughable statements I have ever seen in an Amazon review. This books methods are straightforward, basic retriever training of the type one can find from top trainers like Danny Farmer or Mike Lardy. There is a logical progression from puppy yard drills and basic obedience through refinement of line manners, multiple marks and basic handling. The information in here will yield a solid field dog or provide a foundation for Derby work in field trials.
   
   Like any training program, steady progression, intense repetition and, most importantly, PATIENCE are what is required. If it were impossible, as B. Blazer foolishly suggests, to both instill desire and passion for retrieving in a dog while also applying direct and indirect pressure during training, every competitive retriever in the world would be an empty husk of a dog - an assertion so baseless and without merit as to be laughable.



4. I highly recommend this book as it breaks the training down to what is most successfully. 10 minutes a day is one of the best ways to train a dog, especially for retrieving. I enjoyed how this book was broken up with true stories about the authors experience with their own dogs and it brought a lot of life into the reading of this book. The photos and diagrams were very helpful as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone working on training any type of dog for retrieving.



5. This is a very helpful book. It really works on our lab pup!

3 comments about Natural Horsemanship Explained: From Heart to Hands.

1. I'm a recent horse owner, and I want to relate to and bond with my horse - because I believe that such bonding will improve our relationship. I was looking for specific techniques..for example, what specifically could I do to help my horse with three known problems - shying at running water - even if you reach into a trough and splash it, he shies. Also, panicking when tied, and panicking when taken to a rodeo area. Generally the horse, over 20 and a bit swaybacked, is not going to be ridden much, and he has scars from an ill fitting saddle. I'm mostly worried about ground handling.
   
   Based on the title of this book, I was hoping that it would explain some techniques. It actually explains more techniques of so-called traditional horsemanship - as a negative exposition.
   
   The book was well written in a conversational style. I'm actually convinced of the utility of natural horsemanship. After reading this book, were I in the horse business, I'd seriously want to reevaluate my methods to add more (or switch to) natural horsemanship, as I would believe that Natural horsemanship would create horses that would be easier to handle and would sell for more money or rent for more money or would be more likely to win me a ribbon...the point is that the book advocates for natural horsemanship both sensibly and effectively. My tendency, even before reading this book, was to handle my horse calmly, and with easy quiet methods, but this book laid out why clearly - and told me that I need to do even more things calmly.
   
   What it did not explain was how. I still want to know how to do those things. I've had dog training books before, and they told me, "Hold your hands this way, correct the dog this way, offer praise when you see this cue, withhold praise when you see this cue." Sometimes you want more why from a book like that. This book was all why and no "how".
   
   Maybe that is just not available - I have not found the book that does that for me yet. Maybe I did not recognize it. I still count this as a good book, worth reading. But not the book I needed at this point in my horsemanship education.
   
   I've been negative, but I've still rated the book 4 stars. Excellent, well written. The only issue I have with it is the word "Explained" in the title. If it had been "Natural Horsemanship: The whys explained, from heart to hands" I would have rated the book five stars, despite my needs.



2. Dr. Miller's and Rick Lamb's book is absolutely precious. High editing quality, precise information and brief and clear historical review on horsemanship. The shift in paradigm in what refers to man-horse relation could not be better described. This "Revolution" is indispensable to all those who need/want to research about horsemanship.



3. Dr. Miller has done it again with this book on the insight of why this training works. Excellent read.

5 comments about Search and Rescue Dogs: Training the K-9 Hero, Second Edition.

1. Excellent book on the training of all breeds for a difficult task of search and rescue. Easy to read and follow with many diagrams and pictures. Many of the suggestions are still use today by trainers in obedience classes. Well written



2. In training any dog, the biggest challenge always is how to 'connect the dots' in the dogs mind for what you want to see repeated and ignore what you don't want repeated. You then move on to giving the dog space to make his own choices based on what you taught him. This book fits perfectly into the philosophy.
   
   I have owned two purebred dogs. Field Springers and Border Collies. Both breeds I had to trust to make their own decisions at one point as both had to ultimately operate off a lead. Establishing that connection is key with any dog to keep them safe, and to keep the enjoyment factor high. I give high marks to this book for making this point.
   
   I disagree with a previous reviewer that this is only about German Shepherds. Certainly the pictures are, but anyone who has ever trained a dog should know that personality, drive, and disposition are all factors in training and that trumps breed every time. If the dog is interested he/she is limited only by his ability to smell.
   
   The strongest part of this book is that it begins with simple puzzles for the dog, then offers more complex puzzles as they gain confidence. Like the writers, I agree that the dog has to want to do this. For my border collie it is now a passion. What I used to call 'hide and seek' with my dog has now jumped to a different level thanks to this book.
   
   I'm grateful to the reviewers of this book who gave this such high marks. It made all the difference in choosing the right one. AND, I chose the right one.



3. An excellent book on the role of dogs in rescue. Differentiates tracking dogs from the wider term rescue. Very well written.



4. This is a really good book. But, if you don't have a German Shepherd than you still might want to look elsewhere. The book can absolutely teach you a lot but the concentration on GSDs will likely grate on you. The bias is such that there is no mention of the fact that the public tends to be frightened of German Shepherds, and that Labradors and Goldens can do the work just as well without the unfair but widespread stigma of Shepherds. Or that Retrievers excel at this work BECAUSE they are retrievers and because they genuinely adore people! Anyway, it REALLY does have a lot of good information, I just can't give it five stars because there are lots of great breeds in the world, many of which are suitable for SAR work. Why discount and ignore them?



5. This book was great, it helped me be able to learn how to trian my dog to track using the air scenting method. It gives step by step instructions on how to succeed in training you dog to become certified in Search and Rescue. Published by the ARDA you know that the material it contains is up to date and current. The other great feature in this book is that is specializes in ground tracking, air scent tracking, disaster search, avalance search, cadaver search, and water search and rescues. Can't speak more highly of this book, the only book that compares with this book is Search Dog Training by Sandy Bryson.

5 comments about Three Dog Bakery Cookbook: Over 50 Recipes for All-Natural Treats for Your Dog.

1. I have a different version of this book, but its got great recipes and all kind of useful tips, tricks, and ideas. I feel this book is great for kids who want to start out cooking for their dogs. Very colorful and illustrated, with recipes that make your dog drool and beg for more!



2. I have an aged pet that has cancer. I bought this book to make homemade treats for her in an effort to help her overall health. I found the recipes to be easy to make and found most all the ingredients at my local grocery story. She loved the treats and ate them up fast.
   
   If you are a pet owner that is concerned about the type of products used in petfood and pet treats and want to do something about it, this is the book for you.



3. The recipes were good but not great and there was a lack of real variety.



4. Me and my wife bought this book for our two dogs. We enjoyed making several of the treats. Although, our pets don't know the difference between the treats we made vs. store bought treats, it doesn't matter. It's a fun activity for the family to enjoy either way -- if you have the time.



5. I think a lot of the recipes in this book are great, as do my dogs. But there is one very important problem with this book. There are some ingredients that dogs should not ingest, and some of those are included in these recipes! Raisins being one of them. :(

5 comments about Dog Tricks for Dummies.

1. Nothing new here, lots of talk very little instruction. No new ways of
   teaching and no basics, just assumming you know



2. I bought this book about 2 months ago. My female dog already knows some triks, but in this book i also found some new that are interesting for my dog. She is really learning fast and i didn't have any idea what else could i learn her.
   
   Regards,
   Petra



3. I have learned so much about teaching a pup easy tricks with this book. My dog learned to ring the bell to go potty. It was easy for this dummy to pick up the concepts and pick the ones I was willing to commit to (cuz it does take practice). The pups love the attention and the stimulation. I wish my mom had a book like this to train me....Really..the book gives great tips on training tricks, but also gives information on understanding and managing dog behavior in general. I highly recommend it.



4. I'm teaching my dog some of the tricks from this book. The book helps you understand how dogs learn and develops the tricks quicker than I thought my dog was willing to learn. The only disagreement I have is the author uses a clicker, but nothing in the book says you really have to have one



5. Sarah Hodgson does a great job of giving step-by-step instructions for training tricks, something that is harder to do than it looks! Everything in here is dog friendly and fun. I taught my dogs several of these tricks, and we made up a few new ones based on what we'd learned.

   I wish that there was more content to the book, though. Perhaps 75% of it is filler. There are whole chapters on feeding, medical care and basics like sit, down and stay. Certainly, all of these topics are important, but they have only tangential relevance to trick training.

   There are several other filler chapters about dog sports. Why fill 50-odd pages with brief overviews of skijoring, carting and flyball? Each of these sports has more than a few good books that readers can refer to if they're interested. Being a Border Collie owner in Texas, I have no use for info on the Iditarod!

   I would much rather have a smaller volume filled with stuff that I want to read. All of this filler dilutes the book, and makes it harder to pick out the valuable info.

5 comments about Rabbits for Dummies.

1. If it is the forst time you have a rabbit or if you plan to get one home, Istrongly recommend this book as a reference to get the best years of your bunnies. As many people has certain misconceptions about rabbits, which they could be considered as cats or dogs in they way we look after them, this book is a real source of knowledge to start undertanding your long ears friends. Here you will find all the needed information about health, food, housing, what to do in case something is wrong, playing with them and their personalities. A good refenrence to know if by certains symptoms you need to get help from the vet, how to biuld your own hutch, how to interact with your rabbits, when to breed, travel with them and so other matters that would make you undetandyour rabbit as avery unique and singular pet. When having the right reference, you and your rabbit will live long years enjoying your time together.



2. This book is just terrible. Absolutely dreadful. It is the Touchy Feely Bunny Book. However, it will make good firewood for the winter.



3. Perfect for someone who has never had a rabbit. We have learned much!



4. As with all of the "Dummies" publication, this book provides very thorough, elementary information for would-be rabbit families. The imformation is broken down into chapters for ease of use. It offers insight into these amazingly complex animals, their care and distinct personalities.



5. This book covers every aspect of bunny care. Very thorough. I recommend it.

5 comments about The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird.

1. "At times the earth's fate seems so dire and inexorable that I'm tempted to throw up my hands and say to hell with it." The words are by Bruce Barcott, and they reflect what a lot of people feel when faced with global warming, the current destruction of species that many biologists think is a "sixth extinction crisis" (a previous one wiped out the dinosaurs), or the ruin of natural regions for profit. And yet, Barcott found a story of optimism and hope (even if they might have been eventually misplaced) when he heard about Sharon Matola, better known in her adopted country Belize as the "Zoo Lady". She has become an authority on the scarlet macaw, and led a remarkable effort against strong odds to keep the macaw's only known habitat in Belize from being flooded behind the proposed Chalillo Dam on the Macal River. Barcott tells Matola's amazing story in _The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird_ (Random House). It's a story that might have remained obscure, but it becomes an epic in the way it is told, and it is also a legal thriller as Matola and her cohorts pursue one effort after another within the Byzantine Belize legal and political system.
   
   Matola has quite a history. After leaving a marriage by running away to the circus, she wound up in the early eighties helping to film a nature documentary in Belize. The movie featured orphaned animals, and when it was over, she had a jaguar, an ocelot, a puma, and some exotic birds, little money, and no job. What to do besides paint a sign on scrap wood saying "BELIZE ZOO"? As the nationally-known Zoo Lady, Matola has gotten the populace of Belize interested in its natural resources. There are only two hundred macaws on the Macal River where they make their nests, and a dam would not only destroy the macaws, of course, but drive out other animals like tapirs, pumas, river otters, and howler monkeys. Close evaluation of the economics of the dam indicate that it would result in higher energy rates, not lower. The geological analysis that preceded the dam's construction was full of lies. It claimed that there was granite upon which to build the dam, and there was none. The engineers even arranged to have a map of the site lose by eraser a geologic fault line that could endanger it. In Barcott's words, "the dam was a fiasco: environmentally devastating, economically unsound, geologically suspect and stinking of monopoly profiteering." In the middle of the campaign, the government released its vengeful plan to place a garbage dump adjacent to Matola's zoo, another battle she had to fight. She got the help of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the powerful environmental legal team in Washington, and the battle ranged through the local courts and even to the mysterious Privy Council in London. Barcott takes in each legal battle and financial tomfoolery, producing a book that has a great deal of suspense to it.
   
   I won't spoil the suspense by telling the outcome. "The odds are against us", Matola says late in the book, and gets the answer from an environmental-law solicitor, "The odds are always against us." Matola continues at her zoo, and has taken up, among other battles, the protection and reinstatement into the wild of the endangered harpy eagle. Dams continue to be planned and built, many financed outside the nations that will hold them, and placed in third-world areas containing poor people who won't benefit, and politicians who will. Concentrating the story on Matola makes for a brilliant narrative, spangled with instructive thoughts on matters ecological, financial, and political. In summing up at the end, Barcott writes, "People like Sharon are rare and strange and sometimes aggravating... These people aren't perfect. They aren't simple heroes. They are complex human beings. And we need them. Because without them the world would be lost." Barcott's fine book gives us a deep portrait of Sharon Matola, and she gives us one more reason not to give up on humans and their interactions with their planet just yet.



2. THE BEST FIELD GUIDE TO BELIZE.
   EVER.
   
   
   You probably won't find Bruce Barcott's The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw in the travel book or nature guide sections of your local bookstore or of Amazon.com, but it just may be the best field guide to Belize you'll ever read.
   
   Ostensibly the story of Sharon Matola, founder of the amazing Belize Zoo, and her campaign to defeat the Chalillo Dam on the Macal River in Western Belize and to save the nesting ground of what are believed to be the last 200 Scarlet Macaws in Belize, it's actually a 313-page crash course on Belizean culture, society and politics.
   
   It's also the most riveting, gossipy and entertaining book on the country since Richard Timothy Conroy's 1997 memoir of British Honduras in the 1950s, Our Man in Belize.
   
   Barcott names names. He pulls no punches. As an American writer - he's a contributing editor to Outside Magazine and the author of a book on Mount Rainier, among other things - he doesn't have to worry about making a living in Belize or raising a family there. He points to the high-level corruption that Lord Michael Ashcroft, the British-Belizean politician and entrepreneur, helped introduce in Belize and who "turned the sovereign nation of Belize into his own tax-free holding company," to the fast-buck shenanigans of the second generation of People's United Party politicians, to the seamy Dark Side of the PUP's "Minister of Everything" Ralph Fonseca, to the shrill shilling of party spokesman Norris Hall, to the fellow-traveling of the Belize Audubon Society and even to the bumbling efforts of some well-intended but barely competent Belizeans.
   
   I've been banging around Belize for more than 17 years, but Barcott's book is full of insights I've missed or didn't understand. It took Barcott to tell to me why so many Belizean politicians wear guayaberas and other open-neck shirts (to set themselves apart from their English colonial masters who slaved in the heat in coats and ties). Barcott explained why and how the Belize Audubon Society, which one would think would be on the side of the at-risk Scarlet Macao, helped get the Chalillo Dam approved (the Belize Audubon Society, under President José Pepe Garcia, at that time a quasi-arm of the Belize government, claimed the Scarlet Macao subspecies wasn't really endangered in Belize and that the habitat of the Macal River Valley was duplicated elsewhere in Belize.)
   
   If there's a fault to Barcott's approach, it's that he relies heavily on the gringo side of the outsider-local divide so common in post-colonial countries, including Belize. Many of his primary sources - Matola, ex-Fleet Street newspaperman Meb Cutlack, Lodge at Chaa Creek co-owner Mick Fleming, butterfly expert Jan Meerman, geologist/dolomite miner Brian Holland and others -while long-time residents of Belize and in many cases Belize citizens -- will always be viewed by some Belizeans as expat, white perpetual tourists. Barcott tried twice to interview George Price, Belize's ascetic, incorruptible George Washington, but was turned away: "He's too busy," the retired Price's sister told him. We hear little or nothing directly from Said Musa, King Ralph or Lord Ashcroft.
   
   It also bugs me that Barcott's publisher, Random House, didn't do a bloody index.
   
   Sharon Matola comes across as a complex and sometimes exasperating woman, neither Joan of Arc nor Wangari Maathai. A fluent Russian speaker, a fungi expert, a former bikini-clad circus tiger trainer, the founder and miracle worker of "the best little zoo in the world," Matola, at the height of the anti-dam, pro-Scarlet Macao effort, almost forsake the battle. She became depressed and for a while, as a long-time Rolling Stones fan, turned her focus to a new campaign to get the city fathers of Dartford, a small working class town near London, to build a shrine to native sons Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
   
   Even with Matola at her passionate best, the campaign to stop the dam failed, of course. With most of the economic and political power structures of Belize supporting the pork project, and the giant Canadian utility Fortis dead set on damming as much of the world as possible, there was never much chance it would succeed.
   
   Tellingly, however, Matola did win the Battle of the Garbage Dump. Vindictive members of the government allegedly planned to put Matola in her place by building a dump at Mile 27 of the Western Highway, virtually next door to the Belize Zoo. After some clever maneuvering, some of it involving Britain's Princess Anne, the government backed down and decided to locate the egregious dump elsewhere.
   
   One irony came too late for Barcott to include in his book. The environmental consulting company, Tunich-Nah Consultants, headed by José Pepe Garcia, the former Belize Audubon Society president, conducted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Ara Macao, the overblown planned development on the Placencia peninsula. Ara Macao, Spanish for Scarlet Macaw, received approval to build nearly 800 condos and villas, a marina, casino, 18-hole golf course and 400,000 sq. ft. commercial center, all this on a peninsula with no paved road access and a population of about 2,000. The beautiful, smart red parrots must have shuddered, as they searched for new nesting grounds in their fast-disappearing habitat.
   
   In the end, though, Belize is Belize.
   
   With a population of just 315,000, about that of a small provincial Canadian, U.S. or British city, everybody who is anybody knows everybody else, and it's hard to stay mad. As Barcott visits Belize for the last time in researching this book, in 2005, Matola is getting ready to attend a party at Beer Baron Barry Bowen's Belikin headquarters. Bowen, one of Belize's wealthiest men and the country's political check writer extraordinaire, had helped kick Matola's butt. Now, Barcott learned, it was time to kiss-kiss and make up. That's Belize for you.
   
   ..............
   
   Review and Opinion by Lan Sluder
   
   
   



3. Well written and highly informative, especially regarding the politics of the delightful new country that is Belize. Great background reading if you're planning a trip there - and while there, be sure in include a visit to the Belize Zoo - absolutely amazing!



4. First, a disclaimer -- I'm related to Bruce Barcott, and so was preinclined to like this book because of family and locale references I would recognize. However, this book was much much more than I expected. I'll mention just two things I especially liked about this book. First, it is a true page-turner. I didn't know how the dam project would end, and Bruce's non-fiction story-telling kept me on the edge of my couch throughout. Secondly, I really liked the amount of somewhat tangential information Bruce wove into the main story. He would veer off on some interesting and helpful side road, but always bring the reader back quickly to the fascinating main story and players in the drama. I look forward to the next explanatory journalism that Bruce undertakes.



5. Barcott does a marvelous job of weaving the diverse elements and characters involved in this story into a comprehensive narrative. Better than that, he makes what could be very tedious legal proceedings a stimulating read. Well, the reading is stimulating, as is the subject matter. The situation itself, an instance of convergence on Belize of global forces enacting the doom of another unique wildlife habitat, is less than edifying.
   
   Barcott obviously sides with the environmental forces that ally themselves to fight the erection of a dam that will flood the nesting site of the largest scarlet macaw population in Central America, estimated at less than 200 birds. At times his partiality causes blindness to perspectives he does not share, but overall he does an excellent job of presenting the reasoning of all major stake holders.
   
   Barcott chose his subject well. The story is almost like a novel, with corrupt colonialism-playing politicians, heroic but flawed ex-patriot Americans, big international environmental players and corporations, local businessmen caught in the middle, and even the Law Lords of the British Privy Council. The combatants on both sides are committed, highly motivated, and adept at working the system.
   
   All told, this is a very well-written and enlightening telling of one of many current battles being waged over our planet's last remaining wild lands - what's at risk and what's being done to both exploit and to preserve the remaining pockets of natural diversity.