3 comments about The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography (8th Edition).

1. Currently I am taking an AP Human Geography class in my high school and this is the book we were assigned to buy. This book has wonderful charts and pictures along with descriptions. This book goes into depth and doesn't only touch the surface. I recomend this book to AP Human Geography teachers and students!



2. I realized after placing the order that I wasn't quite ready to buy the book and my money was refunded instantly.
   
   Great customer service and quick response time.



3. Although I recognize the intelligence of the author, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not assigned to have it. The book does very little to help the reader comprehend the information beyond the "Key Terms." I, too, am taking an AP/IB Human Geography Course, and I found this textbook utterly useless. Please, save your money and time and buy a better book. Of course, if you are in college and like to waste your time reading tedious books, then this is your ticket!

1 comments about Introducing Physical Geography (Wse).

1. I bought this for an online class. I have taken other online classes and found the books hard to follow when studying on my own. This book, though,was not hard to follow. The diagrams in the book are the most valuable because they give a good visual image that makes the information easier to remember. I took this 4 hour course in 4 weeks and with a different book, I would have had trouble.

5 comments about Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems.

1. This is an absolutely beautiful book. For the coffee table or for the serious sea glass hunter. It is informative yet it is not just a book for adults..............it was a gift for my daughter's 11th birthday as she has showed a great interest in this "hobby". The book was delivered in no time!



2. My wife and I collect sea glass daily on the Oregon coast. This book did give us a good explaination of what types and the possible origin of glass we've found. Lots of pictures to compare the various colors of sea glass which indicates rare to common. A good reference book for sea glass collectors.



3. Nice book with nice pictures. Haven't had time to actually sit and read thru it.



4. Everything you would ever need to know about seaglass is in this book! VERY interesting!!! I love it & could read my copy over & over!



5. I have recently became interested in sea glass after finding a few beautiful peices when I ordered this book. I was not dissappointed! This book is very informational and beautifully illustrated. I found a match for a peice I had found in the book, allowing me to date the peice.
   
   I love this book and will keep in on my coffee table along with my display of my precious finds! It's a joy just to flip through and just look at the pictures.

5 comments about Mastering ArcGIS with Video Clips CD-ROM.

1. We used this is an dual level college GIS practicum course. There is much to be said both good and bad. The CD's are useful,and the exercises work through some important lessions in analysis. Unfortunately, there are many errors in the book. In one exercise the question asks you to use the data to make a map showing areas that are closer to streams than to roads. There are 2 road files. Logically, I put in both files and couldn't get the same answer as the answer in the back of the book. Finally, I forgot to load one of the files and loaded only the forest service road file. Then it worked. The question neglected to state that it was only forest service roads that were being considered.
   We did 2 chapters a week, including all the exercise questions. It took me a long time to figure out how to do the exercises because the chapter did not address all parts of what was necessary to do the problem.
   
   I recommend that students use the GIS Tutorial (ESRI) book as an introduction, then use this book. The Mastering ArcGIS book is much better in teaching how to solve actual problems encountered in research. The tutorial book (ESRI) addresses simple software issues and demonstrates how to perform necessary tasks to actually use the software.
   
   If the many errors are corrected, this will be a major improvement.



2. If you want to learn ESRI's ArcGIS 9.2 on your own, this is your best option outside of taking Intro. to ArcGIS I and II from ESRI (which would be my first choice). We use this workbook & CD in the beginning GIS course at the undergrad and grad level. Price is an ESRI-authorized instructor and a professor at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The spiral-bound workbook -- which you are encouraged to write in -- is set up with short chapters providing the basics of GIS theory, a hands-on tutorial (for which the CD has videos for you to follow along if you prefer), multiple exercises -- some simple, some challenging -- and brief chapter reviews. Answers to all of the tutorial questions are in the back of the book along with screenshots and answers for the exercises. In the 3rd edition Price has expanded the tutorials and exercises beyond South Dakota and updated the text and exercises for ArcGIS 9.2. In the last chapters you are introduced to basic network analysis and working with rasters. The color diagrams of specific tool boxes and screen shots are very helpful. Many people find this book to be a good basic reference when working on more advanced GIS projects.



3. This was the book for an online GIS class I took. If you're doing one of the online GIS Master's and this isn't the book for your class in ArcGIS, I suggest you consider adding this to your personal collection. It has great step-by-step tutorials and is great at teaching the basics.



4. I am commenting on the version of this text for ArcGIS 9.1, which I think the author updates with newer versions of the software. Quite simply, I feel it is the best introduction you can get to the field of GIS. It gives a conceptual understanding of GIS, without getting too theoretical. Then provides excellent step-by-step tutorials that are easy to follow but very informative. Along the way many of the quirks and tricks of the software are mentioned. Going through this book alone will better prepare you for most entry-level GIS jobs than the majority of candidates out there. The chapters on spatial references, editing, symbology, geodatabases, and Spatial Analyst are great. The only drawback of the book for 9.1 was a few errors in the answers to the chapter questions.



5. This book is a good manual for using ArcGIS, and the tutorials are excellent at teaching the user the content of each chapter. As the book progresses, it builds on knowledge gained in previous chapters. I really like how the book uses methods learned from other chapters and does not reteach the reader the method each time it is required in later chapters. This forces the reader to really think about what he/she has learned or to go back and relearn it from the earlier chapter. I think that this actually teaches the ArcGIS user rather than just have him/her follow instructions each time.
   
   My major complaint about the book is with the editing. Each chapter has an answer key/help section at the back of the book for the questions/exercises in each chapter. In each chapter I have used to date I have found errors with the answer key/help section. These errors have been confirmed by my lab instructor at my university. While these are minor errors and the content of the book, overall, is good, I do think that a book costing between $70 and $80 should have a better editing staff. That said, these minor errors do not get in the way of learning the ArcGIS software. I would recommend this book.

1 comments about Introduction to Geography: People, Places and Environment (4th Edition).

1. I have used this text for approximately a year and found that the students are able to comprehend geography better with a systematic approach than a regional one. One of the things that sold me on this text was the auxillary material, particularly the webpage. The book is very easy to read and has excellent illustrations and photos. Needless to say, I highly recommend this text.

No comments about Annual Editions: Global Issues 08/09 (Annual Editions : Global Issues).

5 comments about The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift.

1. Another reviewer called the book a "primer" on sustainability, and I would like to emphasize this quality. If you know very little about sustainability, this is a book for you. If you have been following the news in this area, this book will not enlighten you further. Another comment I had was that the author compares the "Sustainability Revolution" to the Industrial Revolution, and I don't believe the sustainability movement is at a revolutionary caliber yet - not that I don't want it to be.



2. I bought this book along with a more reputable book "For the Common Good" for a sustainability class I am taking. This book is poorly written and repetitive of other environmental books. The author uses the same arguments, poorly I might add, as every other environmentalst wanting to publish a book. The bok is filled with facts easily found on the internet. His conclusions are repetitive from every conlusion concerning environmetalism. The author has no real concept of economics and uses the suggestion of intergenerational justice as if it were true. Not worth even the recycled paper it is printed on.



3. This book is perfect way to grasp what has happened and why in the sustainability movement. Andres Edwards introduces all of the right resources and contacts for anyone who is vested in our sustainability on this planet. He covers business, community and governmental approaches. In this book he simply introduces all the major themes a very broad field. It can be a little text book, but is also a very interesting read. I am the director for Sustainable Fairfax and Andres has also been a wonderful speaker for our volunteer trainings.



4. I good overview of the various different positions and definitions of what is sustainability. It's a little dry, but as a reference book this can't be beat.



5. The Sustainability Revolution provides a broad portrait of a paradigm shift, as the sub title claims. Although I checked this out of the library, this is a book to own and refer to especially if you are interested in furthering sustainable best practices or even wondering what they are. Sustainability can be a challenge to get understanding and organized around and this book neatly categorizes it in 7 chapters and concludes with a substantial resource section; it is well referenced throughout for additional follow-up.
   
   First we read about how sustainability's environmental roots were expanded to include consideration of the 3 E's, ecology, economy and equity; sustainability therefore looks at the interdependencies of the 3E's and engages a diversity of stakeholders when we broaden the undeniable scope of impact. Ecology is the environmental consideration in which we shift to a long term perspective, acknowledge and respond in turn to our dependence on our life support systems. Looking at economy we see a healthy environment and a healthy economy coexisting, not the opposition of these as is often still purported. The human well being requirement of the sustainability triangle is referred to herein as equity or equality as it acknowledges that the well being of the individual is dependant on the well being of the community and calls us toward a spirit of cooperation and ethics within the distribution of basic resources such as food, shelter and water and a greater emphasis on the value of education. The author then proceeds to describe sustainability principles in 5 basic categories, Community, Commerce, Natural Resources, Ecological Design, and the Biosphere with education as a key component of each as we weave our way into the sustainable path. Each of the respective principles are presented in a separate highlighted box within each chapter and then commented on by the author.
   
   Sustainability and Community describes tools created by task forces and working groups to tackle the challenges of bringing the 3E's into balance by implementing long term systematic approaches at all levels, local, regional, national and international communities. These include the Ontario Roundtable on Environment and Economy (local initiative,) the Minnesota Planning Environmental Quality Board Principles of Sustainable Development for Minnesota (regional,) The Netherlands National Environmental Policy (national,) and the Earth Charter's Commission and ICLEI (international.) All told these community based principles integrate a diversity of perspectives and interests toward defining and working toward a shared vision for a sustainable future.
   
   Sustainability and Commerce reveals how business practices and the long term health of our planet and all its life forms are advantaged when business mimics natural systems rather than destroys them. The precautionary principle is presented as an ethical standard wherein the company realizes that it must consider its investors and the community as a whole, igniting the conscience of business activity; if the best way for an individual to live is to do no harm, the same standard, already prevalent in other countries, must apply to the organization that has more power to do harm if precaution were not taken. The precautionary principle for example is about placing responsibility to avoid harm onto the manufacturer. It was implemented in 2003 in San Francisco at the municipal level. The Natural Step can be used by a company to assess its impact with respect to the laws of nature as it combines science and management best practices. The Houston principles links labor with environmental movements and offers the power of creative cooperation to bolster communities through jobs and healthy ecosystems. The CERES principles offer a voluntary approach to organizations that seek a conscience by providing a framework in which sustainability practices can be adopted in a supportive manner, and includes a risk reduction clause; in a sense the CERES principles leverage peer pressure and provide sharing of sustainable successes among its participants.
   
   Sustainability and Natural Resources describes the challenge for industries directly benefiting from resource extraction, the fuel from the former industrial revolution, and our shared need for survival such that even the American Petroleum Institute calls for conservation and investment in renewables but continues to ignore equity in resource usage. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood is widely available and promotes sustainable forest usage while calling on each of us to consider where and how the products we consume are appropriated as does the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) that requires sustainable fishery. The Asilomar Declaration for Sustainable Agriculture practices speaks to the need to make our food systems sustainable; our broken system is witnessed in recent outbreaks of food contamination and the cost of food rising with the cost of energy as we grow our food large distances from the eating populations. Sustainable agriculture requires ethics for land usage and animal treatment and calls for a shift toward local food production, a recognition for the value of rural and farming lifestyles, heightened awareness regarding the true cost of unsustainable methods for growing food and the need to reduce government subsides that allow the mega corporate farm to continue in a manner that most would find unconscionable when its impacts are understood.
   
   Sustainability and Ecological Design shows that nature holds the key to how we can design the new way of producing, living and working in balance as it considers the interaction of architecture, people and nature. The Hannover Principles require that decisions are made within the context of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit; considering these essential elements reveals humans as being a part of and interdependent with nature and requires responsibility for the consequences of design. A waste free holistic life cycle approach to manufacturing is described in detail by the Hannover founders in "Cradle to Cradle Remaking The Way we Make Things." The Todds' Principles of Ecological Design place nature at the center of the design process and incorporate energy, architecture, food production and waste management with "bio-regional" approaches. The Sanborn Principles further include the needs of communities bringing beauty and practicality into our living environments in the form of parks, culture and healthy buildings. The USGBC promotes its LEED standards to create and assure healthy and energy effective buildings a rising major area of focus in building and renovation because of the magnitude of long term benefits with minimal increase in short term costs.
   
   Sustainability and the Biosphere calls each of us to reconsider our relationship with nature and each other, the crux of sustainability. Deep Ecology requires self realization to connect all human and non human life forms with the force that pulses through all life and cites diversity as a key value characteristic to remind us that we must act in line with the inherent value that promoting the well being of all life brings. The Charter for Rights and Responsibilities for the Environment extends Deep Ecology to all species further emphasizing interdependence with the natural world. The Biomimicy Principles as described in detail by Janine Benyus' book Biomimicry, reveal the lessons we can learn from nature such as the fact that nature recycles everything, nature runs on sunlight and nature uses only the energy it needs. I especially like the principle that nature taps the power of limits because it looks at nature's ability to leverage limits to its advantage such as seasonality instead of the 20th century human response to dare these limits into submission while breeding sickness. Permaculture Principles expands Biomimicry toward the integration of sustainability within economic, social and even political systems as these systems interact and can be designed to work with nature.
   
   The final chapter, Future Pathways charts and links all these principles herein that I took the time lay out in as sense to honor the importance of this body of work and the contributors to the sustainable revolution many included in the "advance praise" intro. These principles in total call for stewardship, an intergenerational perspective and offer nature as our teacher and require that we reach far beyond `green,' as we forge the sustainable path. Concluding with a robust Resource section further affirms that you can read this book to get started or to keep going. After reading this book you will be able to answer the question "If the industrial revolution is over what's next?" and be able to describe, explore and embrace the opportunities and challenges that "the sustainability revolution" offers.

4 comments about Principles of Conservation Biology, Third Edition.

1. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject. It has a lot of great case studies and examples. Some conservation biologists call this one "the Concervation biology bible".



2. The book was sent fairly quickly and packaged very well. The book is new as it was advertized. Would buy from seller again.



3. Excellent book, either for the serious student or for someone just interested in the subject. However most of the graphics are in black and white, so it takes some getting used to, but there are some nice color plates in the middle of the book. It is generally written well and seldom assumes you know what they are talking about without an explanation of some of the concepts.



4. Individual chapters are done well. Case studies and essays are a nice touch and make great reading assignments for students. However, I find the redundancy of information a bit frustrating. To make matters worse, there are many times when the same information (e.g., population dynamics) is presented using different terminology. There is another issue in having to wade through pages of examples in the text to distill out a generalization. It would also be nice for the authors to address some of the more public issues directly with references. For example, in the Global Warming chapter, I would have liked to have "common misconceptions" and then the studies that support the scientific consensus. I think this is a valuable text but the next iteration should aim to cut down on redundancy, standardize terms, and have the major points of each chapter at the beginning of each chapter. Just to make life easier, it would be nice if there was a CD to accompany the text with figures and graphs from the text.

5 comments about Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years, Updated and Expanded Edition.

1. The releasing of methane gas from the perma-frost, lakes, and ocean can happen within the next couple of yrs due to the rapid warming of the ocean. Check this out for more detail.
   youtube. com/user/StopClimateCrisis



2. In his excellent book, "Heat - How to stop the Planet from Burning," author George Monbiot unmasks Fred Singer as the paid puppet that he is. The website www.exxonsecrets.org lists over 100 organizations which have taken money from Exxon to spread the illusion that the science on climate change is contradictory, the scientists are split, environmentalists are charlatans. My question to Singer, his co-author, and Exxon executives is this: Don't you want to see your children live, too? Do you have some alternate planet where they're going to be able to spend all that money you're hoarding? Executives who fund public misinformation campaigns should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. That this book is the first to come up when you put in a search for "global warming" should be exhibit A. After the Exxon execs have been strung up, the Philip Morris sociopaths should be next, for their underwriting of the website junkscience, created as a pretzel logic means of casting doubt on the link between smoking and cancer by also questioning global warming.
   As an intercepted memo from the tobacco company Brown & Williamson stated, "Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the 'body of fact' that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy."



3. When the ice in your drink melts, does the glass overflow?
   In fact when ice melts it contracts so there is LESS water volume.
   Yes, I know, there's always Antartica (which is actually growing) and glaciers and........whatever.
   The point being that we, as puny, self-rightous humans, have absolutely nothing to do with the geophysical rhythms of our planet. It's going to do what it wants to do regardless of what mental-defectives like ALGORE think.
   Cripes, the clown thinks he invented the internet!
   
   Try shutting off the electric service to your house and lock it up for a year.
   What you'll find upon returning will be a disaster.
   
   
   ALGORE: "I can't get over losing the election even though I ran an inept campaign so I'll create an 'I told you so....' hysteria for people even dumber than I am."
   
   Don't fret.... we'll all be dust by the time "it" happens anyway.
   Enjoy life. It'll be over before you know it.
   Don't be a dummy all your short life...... vote Republican.



4. I cannot yet rate this, but since I must give a rating, will give it a 5 as I do believe I will find I agree with the materials presented. I have had no time to even scan it.



5. I am a solar physicist, who has also studied climate change, and atmospheric dynamics. I do not find such books to be anything more than bunk. The author is a well known bunk writer. If you wish to believe in the tooth fairy, you will like this book. Otherwise, read less uplifting books, such as an "inconvenient truth", or the technical writings of the GISS (goddard institute for space science) group (without governmental whitewash), or the NAS (national academy of science ) reports on global change.
   
   Although a natural variability (from the Sun) exists, they totally support the view that the current variability is associated with manmade greenhouse warming..

5 comments about Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.

1. I had no need for it in my class so I did not use it.



2. I am an engineer by training and an amateur naturalist by vocation so this book proved to be a reflection on many of my thoughts and then some. I am convinced that engineers can learn a lot from biology and how design problems have been solved elegantly by evolution and natural selection. Watching nature can return a sense of wonder to the arrogant worldview of the technologist and I think Biomimicry addresses this beautifully.
   However, at times I find the author a bit too enthusiastic about technology. This is understandable as she is a self-confessed technophyle.



3. I'm still reading through, but I was expecting less theory and more practical features/examples. I already had the general background and needed a methodology to put into practice. So far I haven't found it.



4. This book is an exellent read that provides insightful commentary on the work of several leading scientists and communities. Our understanding of current industralized communities is explored, and the effects on nature are considered. Alternative solutions in various fields are investigated that allow people from all walks of life to connect with the messages in the book. The topics are structured in a easy to read and logical fashion that leads you through the discussion of redesigning our solutions for food, energy, materials, computing, bio-diversity, recycling, industry and co-habitation with nature in educative and highly engaging tone.
   
   I love Janine's prose as it engenders a rich connection with nature, and the hope that we can change our systems towards a sustainable future. This book is an essential read for each one of us, and we can all learn to appreciate the true value of bio-diversity, and of conserving as much of it as we can, in its truest, unmaligned form.
   
   I've been able to consider how I lead my life and the materials I am dependent upon. I hope to change my habits to better conserve the precious gifts that Nature has provided. I've come to appreciate the roots of our immense knowledge and lessons continually being learnt from Nature, and hope that we can continue to utilise this to create a happier future for generations to come.



5. have as yet not read the book but will within the next few weeks as I travel abroad and have some quality time while traveling. Thank you for asking, Jan