Book Description
Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 is the in-depth, one-volume guide to administering Office SharePoint Server 2007direct from the experts. Get comprehensive information to plan, deploy, administer, and support Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. With this Administrators Companion, you get mission-critical information in a single volumestraight from the experts.
Customer Reviews:
A great starting point.......2007-06-26
With most new products you have to start somewhere and for those that are familiar with SP2003 but have no idea with 2007 or are new to SPS2007 then this is a great starting point to learn the architecture behind it all a reference guide to assist when you not 100% sure on doing something as an administrator.
Not for developers.......2007-05-13
Great book for pre-sales and administrators. But too much information in this book does not give crispy answers to questions
Sharepoint encyclopedia...........2007-05-05
It discusses everything you need to know with regard to MOSS 2007 but never really makes a point or stands out in any area. I read it and I feel like I am reading an infomercial about it and at times it lays out things you can do but it is not focused or useful in terms of diving into Sharepoint functionality or pointing out ways to actually get anything satisfying accomplished.
if you use MOSS 2007, you need this book!.......2007-04-11
This is the "real" documentation for MS Office sharepoint server 2007. I believe they should have included a pdf version with each licensed version of the server.
Contributing Authors Make it Worthwhile.......2007-04-11
When the "principle" author turns the writing reins over to others, the contents of this book becomes worthwhile. Unfortunately, that does not happen often enough. In reading this book I am reminded of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Hobbes asks Calvin why he is not going to school. Calvin replies that he is just going to go on talk shows and hype himself.
Don't buy into the hype. If you do, you are going to feel very lonely with this Administrator's Companion. Scot Hillier's books, although they have a developer focus, offer a lot more than this book does for the administrator.
Book Description
In 2001, the Smithsonian Institution presented the landmark photographic exhibition History Through Deaf Eyes, representing nearly 200 years of United States deaf history. Drawing heavily on the extensive archives at Gallaudet University, the curators created an exhibition that drew more than 400,000 people viewed at the Smithsonian and in 12 cities during a five-year national tour. Its popularity prompted the production of a documentary film for national broadcast on the Public Broadcasting System. Now, the photographs, quotes, and stories from this remarkable exhibit and documentary have been assembled in a book of stunning beauty and poignant images, Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History of an American Community.
Featuring more than 200 full-color photographs, Through Deaf Eyes depicts the story of Deaf America and also affords readers the opportunity to learn about the nation’s broader history. The values and judgments of society have had an impact on the education, employment, and family life of deaf people, while historical eras often can be illuminated by examination through a Deaf lens. Photographs reveal the character of Deaf people in school settings, the workplace, during wartime, and using their cultural signature, American Sign Language. For both deaf and hearing readers, the Deaf community portrayed in Through Deaf Eyes offers a unique and fascinating perspective on the value of human difference.
Customer Reviews:
A superb and appreciated contribution to personal, academic, and community American History reference collections.......2007-09-03
The combined effort of Douglas C. Baynton (Associate Professor of History, University of Iowa), Jack R. Gannon (Curator of the History Through Deaf Eyes exhibition), and Jean Lindquist Borgey (Director of the History Through Deaf Eyes Project, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC), "Through Deaf Eyes: A Photographic History Of An American Community" is the companion volume to an acclaimed PBS television documentary based on a landmark photographic exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 2001 celebrating almost 200 years of United States Deaf History. The deaf have been a cultural and linguistic minority in America almost from its inception. The more than 200 photographs, the many quotes, and compelling stories compiled in "Through Deaf Eyes" provides the reader with informed and informative insights into a fascinating and specialized aspect of American history with respect to deaf people in school settings, the workplace, during wartime, the development and impact of American Sign Language, and more. "Through Deaf Eyes" is a superb and appreciated contribution to personal, academic, and community American History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Through Deaf Eyes: .......2007-06-28
What a wonderful, well put together book about Deaf History. I am a hearing person, who is taking American sign language. I have been reading many books on Deaf culture to get a better understanding about the deaf people over time,and the opsticals that they have had/ and still have to overcome. I found this book very well put together and I enjoyed reading it very much. If you are intrested in American sign language, I would recommend others to include this book into your library collection. The photos were wonderful to look as as well.
Photographic Narrative of American Deaf History.......2007-05-18
What began as photographic exhibit at the Smithsonian from the archives of Gallaudet University evolved into the DVD by the same name as this companion book.
This is well done photo collection with written narrative of the 200 year story of deaf among us, with their accomplishments, frustrations and striving to be a part of the American mosaic.
They do pull it off, even against the obstacles of the oralism, and treatment as handicapped rather than language/cultural minority.
Worth having as companion with the DVD.
Book Description
The World Café process has been used by tens of thousands of people around the world to tackle real-life issues. Based on seven key principles, it begins with small, intimate conversations at café -style tables; these gatherings then link and build on each other as people move between groups and cross-pollinate ideas. In this way, Café learning enables even very large groups to think together creatively in a single, connected conversation. This complete resource explains the Café concept and provides readers with the tools they need to get started. Each chapter opens with stories from business, education, government, and community organizations, each a dramatic example of how leaders are using this process in the real world. Such stories underline the Café 's immediate, practical implications for meeting and conference design, strategy formation, knowledge creation, and large-scale systems change. The book includes a foreword by best-selling author Margaret J. Wheatley, an afterword by author Peter Senge, and real-world stories of the Café process in action at Hewlett-Packard, the nation of Singapore, and the University of Texas.
Customer Reviews:
World Cafe: An Introduction.......2007-05-11
This book gives a nice overview of World Cafe's. Good introductory text. This is really a book about setting the stage for good conversations that are meaningful and productive.
World Cafe: Makes Complex Conversations Easy.......2007-04-10
Full of clear and sensible information about how to manage complex conversations and consultations with large and diverse groups. A pleasantly 'unacademic' approach to achieving good results.
An excellent description of World Cafe.......2007-01-10
World Cafe is a technique or process for having large group discussions which are emerging and not too controlled. It's based on the fact that if you create the right environment that useful discussion withh be created. What is this envronment like? It's like being in a nice cafe, small round tables, candle light and people who are pasionately about their subject. How do you create an environment in which that can happen, that's what The World Cafe is all about.
World cafe is based on 7 principles and the book is structured according to these seven principles. The seven principles are "set the context", "create hospitable space", "explore questions that matter", "encourage everone's contribution", "cross-pollinate and connect diverse perspectives", "listen together for patterns, insights and deeper questions", "harvest and share collective discoveries".
Each chapter explains one principle and then is followed by one or a couple real-life stories which relate to the principle.
The book is well written, though I found the format somewhat confusing and could have used a little move overview structure in the beginning. I've loved the "creation stories" and some of the real-life examples. However, some of the real-life examples were boring to read. The structure and some of the real-life stories make me rate this book 4 stars and not 5 starts.
I love world cafe and the ideas behind it. I've personally used the world cafe with good results. However, depending on your situation, similar techniques like Open Space Technology might be better. Knowing about world cafe, joining them and facilitating them have been fun and this book has helped me in having a better understanding of and about them.
Cafe work is the most exciting work that I have done.......2006-10-21
For those of us whose practice is founded on conversation, learning and using World Cafe processes is so exciting. Participating in a cafe is just as powerful. Cafe work has the potential to bridge the gap between people who just do not understand each other. It has the potential to heal, create learning, creative change, and change the world. This book not only walks the reader through cafe work, it provides examples that bring the work to life. Cafe work is life changing and I highly recommend that even if you have never tried cafe work, go to the web site [...] and review how to use cafes and then yes, buy and read the book.
Excellent book.......2006-03-07
This book amazed me with its thorough and readable approach to a process that is at once simple and profound. Read this and you will learn how the cafe process has worked worldwide to bring people together for meaningful conversation. People who host cafes in the style explained in the book are able to create an atmosphere in which everyone can feel heard, can deeply listen to others and then halp weave the ideas together. I plan to use it for my workplace as well with community groups.
I also send copies to several friends who are facilitators in the corporate world.
Book Description
"A land of wheat and barley, of grape vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey . . . you shall eat and be satisfied." âDeut. 8:8-10
A Celebration of Classic Jewish Vegetarian Cooking from Around the World
Traditions of Jewish vegetarian cooking span three millennia and the extraordinary geographical breadth of the Jewish diasporaâfrom Persia to Ethiopia, Romania to France. Acclaimed Judaic cooking expert, chef, and rabbi Gil Marks uncovers this vibrant culinary heritage for home cooks. Olive Trees and Honey is a magnificent treasury shedding light on the truly international palette of Jewish vegetarian cooking, with 300 recipes for soups, salads, grains, pastas, legumes, vegetable stews, egg dishes, savory pastries, and more.
From Sephardic Bean Stew (Hamin) to Ashkenazic Mushroom Knishes, Italian Fried Artichokes to Hungarian Asparagus Soup, these dishes are suitable for any occasion on the Jewish calendarâfestival and everyday meal alike. Marks's insights into the origins and evolution of the recipes, suggestions for holiday menus from Yom Kippur to Passover, and culture-rich discussion of key ingredients enhance this enchanting portrait of the Jewish diaspora's global legacy of vegetarian cooking.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome recipes!.......2007-10-05
I love this book. The recipes are so good, and are quite unique and easy to make. Instructions are well explained, and some are simply amazing.
My friends recommended the book and it is great (Written by Brett's wife!).
One of my favorite cookbooks.......2007-09-12
This is essentially an international cookbook focusing on cuisines of places which have historically had significant Jewish populations (although not much on Ashkenazi cuisine). Much of the cookbook is divided by vegetable. For many recipes, variations are presented, some of which transfer the recipe from one cuisine to another. The food is delicious and this is one of the only mainstream cookbooks with Ethiopian recipes. Highly recommended. My only warning is that Marks expects you will be feeding a large group, so singles beware... my huge batch of lovely Persian rice just didn't get finished.
A beautiful cookbook that deserves to be in every kitchen.......2007-06-15
"A land of wheat and barley, of grape vines and fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey . . . you shall eat and be satisfied." Deut. 8:8-10
Tracing vegetarian Jewish Diaspora recipes is no easy task: Rabbi and chef Gil Marks has created a painstakingly researched cookbook that at times reads more like a history book. With recipes from Azerbaijan to Yemen, Olive Trees and Honey is a catalogue of the vast variety of Jewish vegetarian cuisines, including chapters on cheese and dairy spreads, pickles and relishes, soups, salads, savory pastries, cooked vegetable dishes, vegetable stews, beans and legumes, grains, dumplings and pasta, eggs, and sauces and seasonings.
Each section features fascinating information about the origins and spread of each type of cuisine, often with illustrative maps. Some examples include a map of which type of cheeses are popular in which Diaspora community, or the spread of stuffed cabbage from Persia. Each recipe contains a myriad of further variations to try. Every recipe is labeled Dairy or Pareve for those keeping kosher, and many recipes offer Pareve alternatives (which generally are vegan).
Some of the more interesting recipes that caught my eye were Moroccan Pumpkin Soup, Hungarian Wine Soup, a sangria-like cold soup (red wine and fresh/frozen fruit mixed with orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves), Middle Eastern Bulgur-Stuffed Cabbage, Sephardic Cauliflower Patties (perfect for Passover if made with matza meal), Indian Coconut Rice, Middle Eastern Wheat Berry Stew, and the classic Ashkenazic Sweet Noodle Pudding (Kugel).
Also included are suggested vegetarian menus for special occasions and holidays. This is a monumental work and one of the most beautiful vegetarian cookbooks out there, refreshing for the soul as well as body. I only have two small complaints: Rabbi Gil Marks wrote the excellent (and out-of-print) World of Jewish Desserts, with over 400 Diaspora recipes. I would have liked to see the incorporation of more of his well-researched desserts as a final sweet note (there are recipes for several pastry-based desserts included). Also, the large number of variations in addition to the core recipes (example: ten recipes for red lentil soup, many of which are minor variations of the basic Sephardic Red Lentil Soup) made this a bit overwhelming; although I enjoyed browsing through the 300+ recipes, I honestly don't see myself ever making more than a handful on a regular basis.
An excellent guide to Vegetarian Jewish Cooking.......2007-04-14
'Olive Trees and Honey' is an amazing book. Not only will you get wonderful vegetarian recipes, but just the history and traditions that are explained in this book is worth the price of the book. Don't think that it's full of "talk" though!! It contains lots of wonderful recipes. Pages 1-34 contains a brief explanation of the various countries that Jewish people come from, the traditional Jewish foods eaten in those countries, the spices used, etc. Did you know that there are Jewish people in India? Ethiopia? Yemen? The rest of the book (about 400 pages of it) contain some very interesting recipes. The beginning of each chapter includes a little section on the history of that type of food, along with recipes from various countries, and some possible variations. This book is for everyone - vegetarians, vegans, meat eaters, Jewish or non-Jewish. I promise you will learn something from this book (and not just new recipes!) It's obvious that the author took a lot of trouble to research th background of the various types of Jewish communities before he wrote this book, and I wish I could give it 10 stars!
A Great Cookboook!.......2007-01-17
What a wonderful book! As a vegetarian, I cook primarily ethnic meals involving legumes. I truly thought I'd seen just about every legume-recipe variation... until this book. The recipes are varied and delicious! Along with Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian", this is my favorite.
Book Description
The Blogging Church offers church leaders a field manual for using the social phenomenon of blogs to connect people and build communities in a whole new way. Inside you will find the why, what, and how of blogging in the local church. Filled with illustrative examples and practical advice, the authors answer key questions learned on the frontlines of ministry: Is blogging a tool or a toy? What problems will blogging solve? How does it benefit ministry? How do I build a great blog? and Who am I blogging for?
The Blogging Church is a handbook that will inspire and equip you to join the conversation.
The book includes contributions from five of the most popular bloggers in the world—Robert Scoble, Dave Winer, Kathy Sierra, Guy Kawasaki, and Merlin Mann, as well as interviews with blogging pastors such as Mark Driscoll, Craig Groeschel, Tony Morgan, Perry Noble, Greg Surratt, Mark Batterson, and many more.
Customer Reviews:
Surpassed my Excpectations.......2007-07-08
I was actually pleasantly surprised with this book. I knew going into this book that I was in for a lot of great information and disciplines in creating and maintaining a blog. I did not expect how creatively it was written. I think we have certain expectations for "how-to" books and this one surpassed my expectations.
If you have started a blog or are just thinking about it, grab this book. There is a lot of focus on churches creating and using blogs, but not to the extent that it leaves the individual out. The writers took time to teach us a little history as well as give us clear detailed info on the how, why and where of the blog world. Chapter 9 & 10 focus on starting a blog and then building a blog well. I love chapter 11 titled "Build A Really Bad Blog". It's kind of the how-to in reverse.
One of the coolest things in the book was hearing from bloggers around the country about their take on blogging and how it has affected their lives or the lives of the businesses/churches they are involved with. I enjoyed hearing the real world ideas.
This book really starts from the beginning by asking 3 questions...
-Is it a tool or a toy?
-What problem are you trying to solve?
-What is the return on ministry?
The writers go on to explain that "Blogs are tools, not toys. Blogs help solve real problems. Blogs deliver a true return on ministry."
I also appreciate the hopeful message from start to finish. As churches and Christ-followers, we have an amazing opportunity to share our story with others. The blog world is open and ready for the taking. This book consistently draws you back to intent. The writers want you to be excited about who God is in your life and they want that to burst out on your blog.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of or already in the blogging world. It's very easy to read. It is not extremely technical. And when it does get technical, they have done a great job of explaining themselves so no one gets left behind. It has real life stories and history. It is a quick read.
Good and Informative.......2007-06-13
I learned a lot that I didn't know about blogging from this book. It would have saved me a lot of problems if I had had something like this when I started blogging a year ago.
Great resource.......2007-06-08
If you are looking for some help in defining and establishing a blog for yourself or your ministry you will find this book helpful. It gives some great insight in to establishing a good blog for the right reasons.
yes...buy the book.......2007-06-02
This book is awesome. it will make you think about the various was you can reach people. It will make you take a look at yourself and motivate you to reach others in ways you havent thought of before.
The world of blogs for faith communities.......2007-05-03
The blogging church provides a clear vision and specific guidance about how the practice of blogging can have a positive impact in the life of a church. Brian Bailey and Terry Storch provide clear information for a wide range of interested readers - from someone who is curious about what a blog is to someone who is an active blogger and is looking for increased effectiveness.
After addressing the question of "why blog?" Bailey and Storch move to suggestions about how writing a blog could effectively be implemented within a congregation. Suggestions, which are addressed in respective chapters, include to: share news, cast vision, reach out, and connect your staff. In addition to announcements, Bailey and Storch recommend considering the blog as more of an open dialogue - ask and answer questions. Bailey and Storch suggest that reading as well as writing is integral to entering the world of blogs. They provide guidance for a properly balanced approach to reading blogs.
The blogging church is an excellent introduction to the practice of blogging and how it can have an impact in local congregations. I recommend this book to those exploring the possibility of beginning a blog, considering new ways of communication for a local congregation or hoping to improve a current blog.
Average customer rating:
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Paleocommunities: A Case Study from the Silurian and Lower Devonian (World and Regional Geology)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Book Description
Fossil communities, chiefly benthic, from Silurian and Devonian rocks are looked at in detail within this book. Discussion of their environmental and evolutionary significance provides a unique ecological view of this intensively studied part of the stratigraphic column. It is hoped that this case-study will illustrate a new trend for palaeontological research and synthesis that could be applied to other time intervals. Forty contributions from all parts of the world discuss and exemplify the general principles of this massive compilation and provide descriptions of many of the shelly mid-Silurian and early Devonian benthic communities in encyclopaedic form. Biostratigraphers and palaeontologists, as well as evolutionists and ecologists, concerned with fossil communities and their evolution will find this volume of interest. This book forms the final report of IGCP Project 53.
Amazon.com
Lewis Mumford's massive historical study brings together a wide array of evidence--from the earliest group habitats to medieval towns to the modern centers of commerce (as well as dozens of black-and-white illustrations)--to show how the urban form has changed throughout human civilization. His tone is ultimately somewhat pessimistic: Mumford was deeply concerned with what he viewed as the dehumanizing aspects of the metropolitan trend, which he deemed "a world of professional illusionists and their credulous victims." (In another typically unrestrained criticism, he dubbed the Pentagon a Bronze Age monument to humanity's basest impulses, as well as an "effete and worthless baroque conceit.") Mumford hoped for a rediscovery of urban principles that emphasized humanity's organic relationship to its environment. The City in History remains a powerfully influential work, one that has shaped the agendas of urban planners, sociologists, and social critics since its publication in the 1960s.
Book Description
The city’s development from ancient times to the modern age. Winner of the National Book Award. “One of the major works of scholarship of the twentieth century” (Christian Science Monitor). Index; illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Too long, too clever, both by half.......2007-05-27
This is a canonical work, and perhaps deservedly so. By that I mean that it certainly covers a lot of ground, for which he deserves credit. Unfortunately, Mumford tries too hard to shove history into Karl Marx's neat little Hegelian theory and ultimately fails to bring his analysis close to a successful conclusion. And for something that pretends to be The History of The City, it certainly lacks the non-Western perspective, as if this was the work not of a world historian but of a well-traveled American or Englishman.
As an example of the first problem, his explanation of early cities leaves much to be desired. Here we have neolithic man living in villages and tending crops. Rather than simply offering a few suggestions as to how the city and king-based government came about, he forces the dialectic into the tale by bringing paleolithic man back and putting him in the place of the brutal warlord-king. Rex ex machina. It was truly bizarre and forces all of the explanations to be backwards from what is most likely the truth. Mumford seems to imply that the savage, paleolithic hunter-gatherers came back, built cities, and then forced the farmers to move into them when I suspect a much more organic process was involved in response to ... what? Marauding bands of warriors? What is the relevant scarcity that would have caused people to gradually transfer their own sovereignty to the king? Mumsford's treatment of the subject is unsophisticated.
As another reviewer has pointed out, he does seem to hit his stride when he comes to Classical Greece, has disdain for the Romans that makes you wonder whether he had been personally impacted by their city life, and then comes back into his stride when discussing the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. I actually found this to be an enlightening section of the book; it explains what I like about cities like Rothenburg, and what I dislike about Washington D.C. In fact, I think one could skip ahead to that part, and stop reading once you hit the early 19th century.
After that, the book becomes a one-sided discussion of the evils of capitalism. Once again, Mumford stops being a historian and tries to interpret everything through a Marxist lens. For a counterpoint to this, I would recommend some of the work of T. S. Ashton.
I tend, however, to agree with Mumford on his observations about the impact of the automobile, but not the cause of it. Capitalism, the belief that government should be confined to a night watchman role, is the opposite of a system which provides government subsidization of the automobile culture the way we do in the US. Prior to the railroads, many turnpikes were privately owned and operated, but Americans loved first the idea of the railroad and then the idea of a system that freed men from dependence on the railroad ... to which they had given birth just 60 years before. The result today is a system which we keep trying to control by ever larger public projects and programs.
In the end, Mumford fails to provide any substantive suggestion as to which way we should turn to create a more livable city. The suburbs and freeways, as unpopular as they are, seem to still be dominant, but I think a generation of people exposed to Mumford's description of the livable Medieval city are starting to do something about it. Unfortunately, the people who share Mumford's politics are now the defenders of the status quo, defending their own investments, opposing building, and forcing people to spend ever more time on the concrete-and-asphault shackles that bind our cities.
Mumford had a gift for writing, but this tome gets lofty.......2004-07-31
I'd agree with some of the other reviewers who found the first 3/4 of this book interesting and insightful and who were put off by the last portion. Mumford has a dexterous command of language and weaves prosaic citations and factual listings with poetic and metamorphic digestions. Though this book is an extremely long and at times a very dry 570 pages, I was rarely bored enough to put it down for too long. Mumford has a keen intellect and his pen touches on nearly every aspect of human development and interaction, even in contexts that one would think are not directly related to city life or urban growth. Here we see that city-man has cast an inescapable cultural legacy: religion, economics, epistemology/philosophy, politics & government and even biology are and have been in constant dialog with urban forces, dramatized by symbolic manifestations of rural and urban, man and woman, individual and communal, organic and mechanical. As a repository for cultural and historical development in the west, this book should have much more attention that it does nowadays.
Mumford's analysis of the development of western cities since the inception of agriculturally-based sedentary communities is for the most part highly critical of the social and organization manifestations of the cities of the ancient world. He waxes with a somewhat fair disposition on the democracy that gripped Athens in the 5th century, yet from then until the Middle Ages, he suggests a kind of downward spiral of avarice, destruction, homogeneity and inanity (i.e. Rome) A revival of his conception of beneficent communitas arises with the guild-guided Middle Age towns, but this is ultimately usurped by the emergence and domination of mercantilism and the contemporous rise of state politics and economies. The industrial revolution saw urban cityscapes that offered a cultural vibrance below even that of Rome. Today's cities according to Mumford are a cancerous legacy of these preceding few centuries, whose doom is intertwined with their insatiable appetite for growth through ecological imbalance and resource depletion.
One might think from the title and aim of this book that it would be a survey, yet Mumford's dissection of the most heinous eras in urban culture, Rome and the Modern Era (from c.1600) play into his deconstructionist framework which he uses to villify capitalism and industry and likewise acquaint the two with greed, luxury at the cost of inhuman exploitation. While this is fine, and he does make a number of interesting observations, it glosses over any contribution whatsoever these periods made to urban culture; the reader is given an unbalanced account of each era, and leads one to wonder if there were any positive contributions whatsoever.
Finally, Mumford's exhaustive treatise on the failures of civilization, the untapped creative potential of the human mind-which is basically what this book is about- in the end offers no real solid retort or solution. The two concepts he does point to for a model of regional civic interaction - the electrical grid and the interlibrary loan system do seem to have a modern syncrete in the Internet, a network of easily availble cultural capital. Mumford is undoubtably a humanist and several times yearns for cities to allow humans to unlock their full creative and biological faculties, followed by a stream of dreamy platitudes that do little to qualify what this kind of feeling or sentiment concretely would entail. This is perhaps the biggest disappointment in this otherwise well-written book.
Good Until the Last Hundred or So Pages.......2004-04-06
After two hundred pages I wanted to give this book five stars, but after finishing it, I was almost ready to give it three stars.
This book is what it says it is, "The City in History". Starting in the neolithic era, Mumford marches through all of recorded time and place (place being limited to the Near East, Greece, Rome, Europe and America) to bring, you, the reader, his thoughts on the role and "prospects" of the city.
In the beginning, it's an exhilerating ride. Mumford is not shy about advancing bold arguments. Although the book starts with sections on the city in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, he doesn't really get excited until he gets to Ancient Greece. I'd say it's clear from the text that Mumford is a fan of Ancient Greece, particularly Athens between the 7th and 6th century B.C.
Then it's off to Rome. Mumford is a harsh critic of Roman culture. His critique of the Roman method of burial (take bodies just outside city limits, dump, bury) contrains so much righteous indigination you might think the Romans were still pottering around when he wrote this book.
After Rome, we get an equally stirring defense of the Middle (don't call them "Dark" around Mumford) Ages. Mumford is a big fan of the city in the late middle ages. As an example, Mumford uses Amsterdam. Specifically, what Mumford likes about this time period is the community involvement by the ruling elites.
Like many other social critics, Mumford is not a huge fan of the impact that capitalism and industrialization have had on the modern city. Unlike some of the other reveiwers below, I don't really hold that against him. He was writing in the sixties, people!!!
However, I do admit that by the last hundred or so pages, when Mumford starts despairing of the future of the city, the whole tirade started to get tired.
I'm not sure I would recommend this for a general reader.
tricks.......2003-10-19
this book is fine. go get it from the library and learn the origins of the city. critique civilization and its facets with other books and never mind intellectual/acedemia. educate yourself. civilizations origins are the origins of humanity's current polarized state.
"Computers serve as much more efficient storage centers for knowledge than all the libraries in any city ever could and the Internet has made the entire World into an interlocking community."
you dont know how to hunt and gather do you? i wonder why he was so hellbent on technology when you sit here rambling off all the knowledge you assimilated from a urban system that taught you how to forget your genetic roots and what kept humanity alive for millions of years. nothing a computer will ever do or help regain. you know how to survive in the city and nothing more. you are tied to machinery like he stated. this is not community. you dont consider criminals part of your community yet civilization and urban wastelandscapes create them. jails are more efficient? farming is more efficent yet destroys how much top soil? at least you have 6 billion mouths to feed now. neo-luddistic? nope. just a solid fact.
A comparative analysis of cities.......2002-07-16
Lewis Mumford deftly explores the formation and development of the city from its early Mesopotamian and Egyptian roots to its modern day manifestations. It is the logical extension of his earlier works on the subject, in particular "The Culture of Cities," which has been partially absorbed into this volume. Of particular interest to meis his analysis of the walled versus open cities, and the sharply opposing world views of the progenitors of these cities.
Mumford was particularly drawn to the early Hellenic and later medieval town planning ideals. He noted how the early cities knew their limits, and established satellite communities, rather than continually extend their boundaries. Loose-knit federations were formed, which were much more democratic than were the Roman and Baroque regimental cities.
He charts the evolution of modern city planning ideals, very critical of Le Corbusier's "Radiant City" and other megalomaniac ideas which arose in the 20th century. Mumford favored the "garden city" ideals of Ebeneezer Howard, which recognized the destructive impact of industrialization on urban centers; rather than those schemes which extolled the industrial city as the city of the future.
Mumford is careful not to over reach, or at least let you know when he is forming suppositions. His annotated bibliography is immense, and probably the single most compelling aspect of this book for those who want to read more on the subject. The new Harcourt paperback edition, which came when I ordered this volume, has a more handsome cover than that shown in this listing.
Book Description
As the leading text in urban sociology, The Urban World has maintained a complete, balanced, up-to-date, cross-cultural look at cities and suburbs around the world. It offers a twenty-first century look at the changing urban scene, covering evolving urban patterns and the changing nature of urban life, and combining current scholarship by one of America’s leading urban sociologists with a readable style that students appreciate.
Customer Reviews:
our surroundings.......2000-05-05
this is a great book if you would like to know how the city and others cities have changed . the many changes you will learn about is transportation, the economy, population and anything else ther is to do with the world changes.
Book Description
The startling story of the Plymouth Colony, from the flight to religious freedom to the war that ravaged New England, from the bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea.
Unabridged CDs - 14 CDs, 11 hours
Customer Reviews:
Mayflower.......2007-10-18
The history presented by Nathaniel Philbrick is very interesting and gives a person a more personable view of the Mayflower families and times (as well as of the Indians in New England). I found his information to be quite complete and filled in a lot of history that has not been published before that I know of.
Unraveling a Myth.......2007-10-18
" Wherever they first set foot on the American continent, it wasn't Plymouth, and it certainly wasn't Plymouth Rock. The first Thanksgiving (in 1621) was indeed attended by Indians as well as Pilgrims, but they didn't sit at the tidy table depicted in Victorian popular art; they "stood, squatted, or sat on the ground as they clustered around outdoor fires, where the deer and birds turned on wooden spits and where pottages -- stews into which varieties of meats and vegetables were thrown -- simmered invitingly."
- Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
How many of us grew up with myths about the Pilgrims and about the first Thanksgiving? We all believed that the Pilgrims and the Indians sat at a beautiful table laden with turkey, cranberries and all of the fixings. Not only was that not the case, they certainly didn't set foot on Plymouth Rock.
Philbrick puts these myths to rest. And he tells us about the beginning of our new country and what was the basis for its foundation. Our myths contained stories about Massasoit and Squanto, Bradford and Winslow and, of course, Miles Standish.
One of the major accounts in the book was that of the King Philip's War. We learned that it really did not have to be. Both sides could have developed solutions which respected the goodness in each other as well as the differences.
We learned about how the Indians were shipped off to foreign places during this war and were separated from all of their families and tribes....never to be heard from again (having been made slaves). Only a few ever made it back like Squanto, for example.
Philbrick discusses why the war occurred after so many years of peace and why the descendants of Massasoit and of Bradford and Winslow came to see things differently than their fathers; losing sight of the faith and the respect for the individual that their forefathers had long revered. They also blocked out the memory of how they all needed one another to survive.
The Mayflower Compact, we learn, is one document that laid the foundations for the country that America was to become. Yet, our forefathers had to live through a nightmare of a war (of their own making) where both sides suffered tremendously. It took many years after the war ended to ever recoup even a portion of what was lost.
Philbrick's book is a story of courage, community and war on both sides as well as a story of how our forefathers lost sight of what the Indians had done for their ancestors and their fathers and what was owed to these people. In doing so, they also lost sight of the need for diplomacy and how to work together to come up with solutions that would be good for both the settlers as well as the Indians.
MAYFLOWER has won many awards and the book deserves all of them. What I have come away with deals first with the myth. This was unraveled for me so that I could understand and gain knowledge of the facts of these early settlements. I learned what worked, what didn't work and why the peaceful compact fell apart. I also learned that we can gain a lot from understanding our past and that we do not have to make the same mistakes over again.
Nathaniel Philbrick has given us hope that our future does not always have to resemble our past. He wrote, "When violence and fear grip a society, there is an almost overpowering temptation to demonize the enemy. But some on both sides refused to succumb. They were the ones whose rambunctious and intrinsically rebellious faith in humanity finally brought the war to an end, and they are the heroes of this story."
During the times that we face now, our heroes can continue to be those leaders and citizens who strive to focus on the faith in humanity and celebrate our differences as well as our similarities finding solutions rather than reasons to turn away from each other.
Four Stars: B+ (Recommend Highly)
Bentley/2007
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Not what I was hoping for.......2007-10-13
I couldn't get into this book because it was very different from what I thought it would be. I expected "Mayflower" to be a detailed account of why the pilgrims decided to journey to America, and also a vivid description of what life aboard the Mayflower was actually like. The book did cover those things, but only for a few short pages. Most of the book is devoted to the history of Plymouth Colony and King Philip's War. Author Nataniel Philbrick does an excellent job of shooting down the myths many people believe about what the pilgrim settlement was actually like, but I was much more interested in reading about the actual Mayflower journey and was disappointed that so little information about that event was included in this 400+ page book. "Mayflower" should be called "King Philip's War" so readers know what they're getting into.
Educational book.......2007-09-26
This is a very informative, accurate writing of our history. More people should read and know the real history of our country.
Not what I expected, but.......2007-09-16
the book was still a captivating piece of literature. I read this directly after reading In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick, and was expecting the same type of story. That was not the case however. The title is a bit misleading in that one thinks they are going to be reading (or at least I did) a story of the journey. The subtitle should have cued me in. The book is about the struggle between the settlers and the natives more so than it is about the voyage to the new world. All that being said, I still loved the book. I gave the book four stars because I wish there was more about the actual voyage, and I think the title is a little misleading. All in all though, it is a superb piece of literature.
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