Deep Storm: A Novel

Book Description

Twelve-thousand feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean . . .
scientists are excavating the most extraordinary undersea discovery ever made. But is it the greatest archaeological find in history—or the most terrifying?

Former naval doctor Peter Crane is urgently summoned to a remote oil platform in the North Atlantic to help diagnose a bizarre medical condition spreading through the rig. But when he arrives, Crane learns that the real trouble lies far below—on “Deep Storm,” a stunningly advanced science research facility built two miles beneath the surface on the ocean floor. The topsecret structure has been designed for one purpose: to excavate a recently discovered undersea site that may hold the answers to a mystery steeped in centuries of myth and speculation.

Sworn to secrecy, Dr. Crane descends to Deep Storm. A year earlier, he is told, routine drilling uncovered the remains of mankind’s most sophisticated ancient civilization: the legendary Atlantis. But now that the site is being excavated, a series of disturbing illnesses has begun to affect the operation. Scientists and technicians are experiencing a bizarre array of symptoms—from simple fatigue to violent psychotic episodes. As Crane is indoctrinated into the strange world of Deep Storm and commences his investigation, he begins to suspect that the covert facility conceals something more complicated than a medical mystery.The discovery of Atlantis might, in fact, be a cover for something far more sinister . . . and deadly.

Like Lincoln Child’s spectacular bestsellers coauthored with Douglas Preston (The Book of the Dead, Relic), Deep Storm melds scientific detail and gripping adventure in a superbly imagined, chillingly real journey into unknown territory. Child is a master of suspense, and Deep Storm is his most ambitious novel to date.

Customer Reviews:

Not a Deep Connection........2007-10-09

I just finished reading "Deep Storm". It was okay, but not great.

There was a very...clinical element in the way the story was told. We never really find out any personal details about the characters. As a result, the story ends without the reader forming a substantial emotional bond with any of the characters.

While this doesn't prevent the story from being told, it could definitely have been told better. Adding personal details about the characters is just one way this could have been accomplished. Another missed opportunity was adding more details to those characters who said they were hearing voices. It would've been interesting to eavesdrop on those [Spoiler Warning!] voices/alien transmissions.

The book was a quick read, but unfortunately nothing that I would be motivated to read a second time.

"It's all broken ..." (possible spoilers).......2007-10-04

One of the more idiotic characters of the book keeps uttering this, and boy how right he was. There were a number of just plain holes in the plot. Here's a little one. A character who's role was to just be murdered sets up a meet with a bad guy at a gas station. He has the air compressor tire pump with him. He invites the bad guy into his car. He gets into the car and shuts the door. He *still* has the compressor hose in his hand. Did he thread it through the open window before getting into the car? Who knows? Somehow it ends up being long enough for his killer to take from him, jam down his throat, and turn on.

Here's another one. The bad guy later has to insert an encoded message into an image file. All he has to work with is a dumb terminal with no hard disk. So he writes a program and, uh, *compiles* it, then runs it. First, what dumb terminal is going to have a compiler? Second, if you compile a program you have to save it somewhere. Well where do you save it if you don't have a hard disk?

The book is full of little pieces of foolishness like this. For instance, 2 miles down in the ocean, there's a flash of light, and the ocean bottom is packed with all the funny looking denizens of the deep. If you're going to write a book you should know a little about the location of your main action. Like: the deep ocean isn't just packed full of funny looking fish.

Last one: all marines are violent robots who follow their evil overlord to death without individual thought ... especially the "special ops" ones.

Anyway I could go on, but you get the idea.

His Best Yet.......2007-09-13

This is Lincoln Child's best book yet! I have read every book by Child and his co-author Preston. Loved the imagination that went along with the story, you could almost feel yourself down at the ocean floor with all the characters. The ending, I hope, leaves room for a continuing novel.

Not nearly deep enough for me.......2007-09-12

An adventure unfolds in the deep sea several miles below an oilrig in the north Atlantic in Lincoln Child's Deep Storm, where a phalanx of scientists, doctors and marines in a massive seabed complex prepare to excavate a great discovery, perhaps the greatest discovery of all time, we are told.

And thus the adventure unfolds; it unfolds and unfolds and unfolds and yet, sadly, it never really arrives anywhere special; the author's attempts at any sort of real depth flounders despite his crisply written pages. Yes they are scribed with scalpel-sharp techno description, jam-packed with medical and science fact. But in all honestly, the wealth of research packed into the novel does nothing to develop the spirit of the main character, Peter Crane a navy doctor who's been dispatched to the undersea science complex to help solve the mystery of an outbreak of mysterious illnesses. In fact, none of the characters pop to life in Deep Storm.

The narrative leads Crane and the reader into first believing that Atlantis has been discovered, but that notion is soon dispelled when further investigation reveals that the top-secret mission is actually a dig for some alien technology buried some 600 years ago just inside the Mohorovicic Discontinuity, or "Moho" as it's called, the boundary between the earth's crust and mantle, which under the sea is not as deep as in other areas. It's still deep enough to be causing all sorts of problems and mishaps. For starters, the medical outbreak, (mental disorders mostly, which, for story purposes is quite lame) might be due to the depth or the alien technology or something else. Then there's a saboteur aboard (of course there is, it's one of the elements you need in every undersea tale). There's also a mystery involving some miniature alien technology that appears to be transmitting a binary code warning: do not dig here, danger to the solar system!

Throw into this mix a caricature naval commander hell bent on carrying out the mission at all costs even if it means losing every man and woman on board or, worse, blowing up the entire solar system. But in the end, Crane saves the moment. The earth and the solar system live to see another day. Although in the final page, Child's lays down yet one more spin on the tale: perhaps it isn't over after all. This is an okay read but it's clinical and dispassionate in style. If Crane's character had been built upon, if the author had tempered his urge to reveal all that he'd researched in favor of some heart and passion, if he'd penned it with his partner (Thunder Head, Preston and child, what a ride!) it could have been great. Into the Abyss

Incredible Ride! .......2007-08-11

Ok... so I started reading this and said "been there...done that" then suddenly the story started to morph and one of the wildest and most exciting rides I've been on for a quite a while unfolded! Great read! Well written! Lincoln's best since Utopia (which I also recommend!!)

Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Rom

Average customer rating:

Loved it
Thank You, Peggy, For Writing This Book!
Fantastic: Reminds me of "Eat, Pray, Love"
Waiting for Daisy
Highly recommended for those feeling alone or isolated in their fertility journey!

Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Rom
Peggy Orenstein
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1596910178
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

Waiting for Daisy is about loss, love, anger and redemption. It’s about doing all the things you swore you’d never do to get something you hadn’t even been sure you wanted. It’s about being a woman in a confusing, contradictory time. It’s about testing the limits of a loving marriage. And it’s about trying (and trying and trying) to have a baby.
Orenstein’s story begins when she tells her new husband that she’s not sure she ever wants to be a mother; it ends six years later after she’s done almost everything humanly possible to achieve that goal, from “fertility sex” to escalating infertility treatments to New Age remedies to forays into international adoption. Her saga unfolds just as professional women are warned by the media to heed the ticking of their biological clocks, and just as fertility clinics have become a boom industry, with over two million women a year seeking them out. Buffeted by one jaw-dropping obstacle after another, Orenstein seeks answers both medical and spiritual in America and Asia, along the way visiting an old flame who’s now the father of fifteen, and discovering in Japan a ritual of surprising solace. All the while she tries to hold onto a marriage threatened by cycles, appointments, procedures and disappointments. Waiting for Daisy is an honest, wryly funny report from the front, an intimate page-turner that illuminates the ambivalence, obsession, and sacrifice that characterize so many modern women’s lives.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it.......2007-10-15

This book was exactly what I needed to read after struggling with pregnancies and feeling pretty alone in that. It is an amazing story of hope and loss that will -- sorry for the cliche -- make you laugh and make you cry. I highly recommend it!

Thank You, Peggy, For Writing This Book!.......2007-10-12

I am forever grateful to Peggy Orenstein for writing so candidly, not only about fertility issues, but about her own experience with loss. As someone who recently lost a daughter in utero I know how difficult it is to talk about miscarriage and stillbirth in this culture. Peggy's courage, honesty, and wit shine through as she shares the details of her journey into motherhood and her painful losses along the way. The writing in Waiting for Daisy is immaculate- crisp and addicting- and I appreciated every moment I spent reading it. I felt an immediate connection to Peggy because she was so real in her expressions of guilt, sadness, excitement, disappointment, and love. And her writing offered me much-needed laughter and hope. Thank you.

Fantastic: Reminds me of "Eat, Pray, Love".......2007-10-03

I thoroughly enjoyed this book-- surprisingly, because I didn't have any personal experience with infertility. I do have many friends and relatives with these experiences, so I was curious to understand more about what they're going through. The author is a brilliant and clever writer-- I loved her "voice"-- it reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love." She's funny, honest and insightful. This was actually a page-turner-- not what I would have thought for this type of memoir. I LOVED this book and I'm recommending it to all my friends.

Waiting for Daisy .......2007-09-25

This book was difficult to read. Author was cold, hard to connect with and not easy to agree with. Definitely not like-able or personable. Very selfish individual. I hope she raises Daisy to Not be like her.

Highly recommended for those feeling alone or isolated in their fertility journey!.......2007-09-24

This book was a God-send to me in my own painful infertility journey. Peggy's descriptions of her mental states expressed my own, but in ways I could not put words to. From her initial ambivalence about parenthood, to all-consuming obsessions with achieving it, her relations with her husband, and frustrations with fertility specialists, her journey affirmed that I was not alone in my journey. Her sense of humor and wit actually made me giggle a few times and, mostly, helped me feel so much less alone. I would highly recommend this book!!

Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents

Average customer rating:

global graff
A great over view of art and style.
Review For: GRAFFITI WORLD
Great reference
Good Gift

Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
Nicholas Ganz
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Folk Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0810949792

Book Description

Ever since anonymous spray-can art began appearing on city walls in New York and Philadelphia in the late 1960s, graffiti has been a ubiquitous presence in the urban landscape, its artists largely unsung heroes. As hip-hop culture spread from America, graffiti became a worldwide phenomenon, emerging in the 1980s as the symbolic artistic language of young people everywhere and one of the most potent influences on youth-oriented marketing and design. With more than 2,000 illustrations by over 150 artists from all over the world and interviews with many of them, this visually arresting book is the most comprehensive survey of graffiti art ever published.

Today's young graffiti artists incorporate a variety of mediums-including stickers, stencils, oils, acrylics, and oil-based chalk-as well as an ever-expanding range of social commentary. This evolution in style and subject matter has earned graffiti the respect of the art world and guaranteed its long-lasting influence on art, graphic design, and style around the world. Great fun for graffiti and pop-culture buffs, the book is also an essential reference work for anyone involved in the visual arts today. AUTHOR BIO: Nicholas Ganz (also known as Keinom, his pen name) is a graffiti artist who has traveled around the world to gather material for this book. He lives in Essen, Germany. Tristan Manco is a graphic artist and director of Bristol-based Tijuana Design. He is the author of Stencil Graffiti and Street Logos.

Customer Reviews:

global graff.......2007-10-08

This book is just what it says it is... Graff from everywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the different styles. Don't be upset if your favorite writer is not in here, it's not that type of book, even though plenty of writers are represented. It's about seeing the graff scene spread and how the spread has evolved in different locations.

A great over view of art and style........2007-10-08

This is a very nice book.For a gift or for your self.Some great photo's of art from around the world.They did a good job on this one.This one well be around for the history books.A+

Review For: GRAFFITI WORLD.......2007-10-06

This book is excellent if your interested in seeing real graffiti they show alot of famous such as COPE2,123CREW,ABOVE,and many other famous artist
they also show art from all over the world such as North America, Europe,Asia,China,and many other places. And another thing is that this book is HUGE! it has around 500 pages and all of them have full color pages of graffiti. This book is great I enjoyed it.

Great reference.......2007-08-06

I'm an art teacher, and I have this book in my room for ninth graders to look at during "down" time. It is so popular that I have had to repair it with book-binding tape after only two years. Many of the students just enjoy looking at the variety of impressive artwork, and some of them enjoy copying the styles of letters to create their own names or phrases. There are hundreds and hundreds of photos from around the world, showcasing a wide variety of styles. I find it hard to believe that someone could not be impressed with the artwork contained in this book.

Good Gift.......2007-07-14

I bought this book for my sister on her birthday and it's awesome... but some of the art in this book is not as spectacular as I thought it would be. The book is very enjoyable regardless.

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent

Average customer rating:

Latino History
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
A history written not by the victors.
Outdated, bias, full with prejudice and lack of analysis
Trash-book.The bible of latino moron.

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent
Eduardo Galeano
Manufacturer: Monthly Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Conditions | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spanish | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Negocios e inversiones | Libros en español | Formats | Books

ASIN: 0853459916
Release Date: 1997-01-01

Book Description

"A superbly written, excellently translated, and powerfully persuasive exposé which all students of Latin American and U.S. history must read."
--Choice

"Well written and passionately stated, this is an intellectually honest and valuable study."
--Library Journal

"A dazzling barrage of words and ideas."
--History

Customer Reviews:

Latino History.......2007-04-05

This history is told from the point of view of the oppressed people detailing the horrible conditions in Chile during the Industrial Revolution.

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.......2007-02-07

Keep the good work upp!

A history written not by the victors........2007-01-31

I am rather obsessed with history, and was given the book by a friend from Chile. The nearest book I can think of is Engels' "The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844" (which I think is fairly well-regarded as a piece of historical reportage of how horrific conditions were during the industrial revolution).

Although a depressing account of how rich peoples exploit the poor, it is a great book (IMO). It was also unusual to read a history written not by the victors, but by the oppressed. What I would really like to see is a chapter written in 2007 detailing the lot of the majority in today's Latin America.

Outdated, bias, full with prejudice and lack of analysis.......2006-09-24

This book is one of the most bias and harmful books ever written on Latin America. The only reason for his success would be it was written in the midst of the Cold War, with the support of all the comunist propoganda. The book have no depth and lacks the most basic historical, economic and social analysis. Written by a bunch of second-rate writers, it hardly scratch the surface, limiting itself to play the victim's role some leaders like Hugo Chavez are trying to play today. There're many serious books out there to waste time with this one. If you're interested with the subject, maybe you should start with a history one, like "The two empires of América".

Trash-book.The bible of latino moron........2006-06-06

I tried to read this trash-book,here in Brazil, about twenty years ago.This book is so bad, that I never finished it.The author is a marxist and knowed faker, ridiculous and Fidel Castro's friend.
The core's idea of this trash book is the fantasy that Latin America became poor, from outside exploration and capitalism.
Nonsense believe.
Before latin America be discovered, slavery, human sacrifice and canibalism were normal day life for all latin-americans.About 98% of indians were unliterate, before european discovery.For the feminists, I must tell that women were sexual's products and work's source in the fake "paradises".I won't discuss massive human sacrifice, slavery,genocides, massives extintion of animals(such as mamouth) maden by "good savages" more.I must tell you that latin American was far worse before european influence, than today.
The fact that capitalism or exploration be, the source of latin-american's poverty is also absurd.Since colonial times, government's taxes, controls, government's robbery are normal in latin America.And this happens centuries ago.
Latin American is poor not from capitalism or exploration, but the lack of them.The most socialist country in Latin America is Cuba, and this the poorest of latin american countries.At the same time, the most capitalist country in Latin America is Chile, who also has the best quality of life.
This book is one of the biggests sources of latin American moronic believes.The autho itself is an expert in ridiculous books.

Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent

Average customer rating:

Fun, Fun, Fun
Fun, Entertaining...
How do you make a how-to-hack book into a compelling read?
Nice!
Good Book

Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent
FX , Paul Craig , Joe Grand , Tim Mullen , Fyodor , Ryan Russell , and Jay Beale
Manufacturer: Syngress
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Hacking | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Security | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1931836051

Book Description

This is a book that will create enormous debate within the technical and the counter-terrorism communities. While there will be the inevitable criticism that the material contained in the book could be used maliciously, the fact is that this knowledge is already in the hands of our enemies. This book is truly designed to inform while entertaining (and scaring) the reader, and it will instantly be in demand by readers of "Stealing the Network: How to Own the Box"

* A meticulously detailed and technically accurate work of fiction that exposes the very real possibilities of such an event occurring
* An informative and scary insight into the boundries of hacking and cyber-terrorism
* Written by a team of the most accomplished cyber-security specialists in the world

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Fun, Fun, Fun.......2006-08-01

I read a lot of technical books and also a lot of spy books. This mashed both of my favorite types of books. The authors who are hackers themselves did a great job of creating a story. I would recommend, and have recommended this book to a lot of people.

Fun, Entertaining..........2005-10-26

but the writing certainly isn't the best. They're a bunch of computer geeks writing about what they know best, and they make it entertaining as heck. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys computers.

How do you make a how-to-hack book into a compelling read?.......2005-09-21

Well, you can make a novel out of it.

Which is precisely what the folks at Syngress Publishing have done. The MO here is to gather a group of experts in the 'hacking' field. Then, have them each write a chapter that focuses in on their sub-area of expertise. Finally tie all the chapters together with an overriding thread, in this case an uber-geek villian looking to make a final score.

And it works quite well. If you are going to pull this off, then there is a balance between the techno-speak portions and the traditional elements of a novel (plot, characterization, etc). Granted, given this books target audience, it can pile on plenty of the technology and be just fine. But you can't igonre the story.

Most of the contributing authors are able to hold up the 'story' side as well as the 'tech' side. Some do not, and this is why I gave it 4 stars. In particular, one chapter so muddles the character motivations, plot lines, and timeline that the novel is not quite able to recover with a wholy satisfying ending.

I never expected Dickens, though. I did hope to broaden my knowledge of hacking - the hows and whys while being entertained. And 'How to own a continent' delivers the goods in a unique and fresh way. Kudos, and thanks.

Nice!.......2005-09-08

Nice book, seemed with hacker's novel!!
Pretty good read for fun. :)

Good Book.......2005-07-19

How to Own a Continent is the first Stealing the Network book I have read and although it kept me on the edge of my seat I was displeased with the ending. The book uses real tools and real methods on how these "hacks" occur but the end just leaves you hanging with no closure. While reading the book you think there is no better book for hacking theory and what it takes to pull hard hacks. But this book does leave you with a little bit of a bad taste in your mouth. Forthe most part the book was great but the ending was lacking.

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent

Average customer rating:

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent
Finally tried some of the recipes - all turned out great!
Book of travels not recipes
Excellenet!
a few nitpicks

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent
Jeffrey Alford , and Naomi Duguid
Manufacturer: Artisan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

International | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1579652522

Book Description

For this companion volume to the award-winning Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid travel west from Southeast Asia to that vast landmass the colonial British called the Indian Subcontinent. It includes not just India, but extends north to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal and as far south as Sri Lanka, the island nation so devastated by the recent tsunami. For people who love food and cooking, this vast region is a source of infinite variety and eye-opening flavors.

Home cooks discover the Tibetan-influenced food of Nepal, the Southeast Asian tastes of Sri Lanka, the central Asian grilled meats and clay-oven breads of the northwest frontier, the vegetarian cooking of the Hindus of southern India and of the Jain people of Gujarat. It was just twenty years ago that cooks began to understand the relationships between the multifaceted cuisines of the Mediterranean; now we can begin to do the same with the foods of the Subcontinent.

Customer Reviews:

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent.......2007-09-10

A beautiful book that can be a coffee table book, cookbook, and an adventurous travel read. It has gorgeous colorful pictures with short vignettes about the recipes and people of India. It will transport you to a different world and the cooks will not be disappointed with the unique recipes.

Finally tried some of the recipes - all turned out great!.......2007-09-04

I've had this book for about three months, and have flipped through it many times, but this weekend I finally bought the staple ingredients that many of the recipes needed, and tried out three of them. They all turned out delicious! Don't be put off by strange ingredients, they were all very cheap, and easy to cook with.

Book of travels not recipes.......2007-01-29

The pictures and stories of the travels through the region are fabulous, but if you are looking for good instrutctions and pictures of the recipes, this is not the cookbook you are looking for.

Excellenet!.......2007-01-24

I just got this book yesterday and I'm already planning my week's meals based on the recipes! :)
I've made Andhra Style Scrambled Eggs so far and they are DELICIOUS, especially served with plain basmati rice, ghee and pickle.
All the recipes in here sound very interesting. The dal recipes(tok dal and mountain dal) look like they'll turn out great.
Being an Indian, I can certify this book contains authentic recipes that people cook and eat everyday at their homes in India. This is what makes this cookbook different from the other so called Indian cookbooks....the other books just offer a westernized Indian selection while this book focuses on home cooking that is prevalent in India.
The previous reviewer perhaps eats Indian only at restaurants where everything is over spiced and the delicate flavor is lost. I just came back from visiting India and I saw that very less spices and masalas are used in rural Indian homes.
I LOVE this book and will always refer to it when I'm in the mood for some different Indian food...although I cook mostly Indian at home, this book offers a lot of different recipes and variations from various local regions....so much so that I'm sure I'll be proficient in Indian cooking in no time!

UPDATE: These are all the recipes I've tried from their book so far
1) Scrambled Eggs (5 stars)
2) Cachoombar (3 stars)
3) Cauliflower Dum (3 stars)
4) Tamarind Pulao (3 stars)
5) Bangla Dal with a hit of lime (4 stars)
6) Tilapia Green Fish Curry (5 stars)
7) Karnataka Chana (2 stars)
8) Hot Cucumber Salad (2 stars)
9) Fish Bolle Curry (3 stars)
10) Chappatis (3 stars)
11) Prawn White Curry (4 stars)
12) Eggs with curry leaves (4 stars)

a few nitpicks.......2007-01-07

I agree that this is a great 'coffee table' type book and that the authors have done some immaculate research into some of the lesser well known cuisines of the subcontinent and have lovely pictures to document their travels. What I didn't care for are the 'Westernizing' of the names of the dishes. For example, Gulab Jamun (which is a pretty well-known dessert to most Indian food fans)becomes something like Cottage cheese soaked in syrup. As an Indian, I also found a lot of the dishes very underspiced. I know that with Indian food, it really is a matter of taste, but I often found myself adding up to 3times the amount of spices called for in a recipe. Because it's so bulky, I often find myself turning to my other Indian cookbooks which are easier to keep near me as I cook in the kitchen.

Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations, and Continents

Average customer rating:

A practical approach to other cultures
Antropology is a must

Understanding Global Cultures: Metaphorical Journeys Through 28 Nations, Clusters of Nations, and Continents
Martin J. Gannon
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

International | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0761929800

Book Description

Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable sample chapters

“In summary, this is a significant book . . . for a multitude of audiences, including scholars, practitioners, students, expatriates, travelers, and those who are simply interested in culture. . . . This book is also an ideal reference tool, since the metaphors are easy to remember yet rich in contextual value, and are presented in a logical structure for quick consultation. Overall, this book is enormously appealing, genuinely useful, and a worthy addition to any collection.”

—THUNDERBIRD INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW, 2002

In Understanding Global Cultures, Third Edition, the author presents the cultural metaphor as a method for understanding the cultural mindsets of a nation, a cluster of nations, and even a continent. This title emphasizes that metaphors are guidelines that helps such outsiders to quickly understand what members of a culture consider important.

New Features of the Third Edition:

Develops a cultural metaphor for the base culture of China (the Great Wall), showing how it influenced both a unifying cultural metaphor among the large Chinese Expatriate communities living in various nations (the Chinese family altar) and the cultural metaphor for Singapore (the Hawker Centers).
Provides a description of cultural metaphors for two continents, Africa and Australia
Groups cultural metaphors by book parts into overriding themes or general types of cultures such as Authority Ranking, Equality matching, Market Pricing, Cleft, and Torn.

Instructor’s Resources on the Web:

There is now a Web site where instructors can obtain over 100 concepts, applications, and exercises to enrich the learning experiences associated with the Third Edition. Visit the authors website at www.csusm.edu/mgannon, or click here.

Customer Reviews:

A practical approach to other cultures.......2007-05-15

This book uses metaphors as tools to engage with other cultures. And very useful tools they are, indeed. I have been using this book with students for several years now, and the biggest initial obstacle is that people mistake the metaphors for stereotypes. Once this obstacle is overcome, a very creative and productive examination of the reality of another culture can occur.

Antropology is a must.......2006-01-30

Very exciting journey using the strenght of metaphores. Just be careful that metaphores are a representation of reality, not exactly that!

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America

Average customer rating:

You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll laugh until you cry!!!
Non Fiction
The Lost Continent..are we there yet?
satisfied my curiosity towards small towns
A bumpy, yet scenic, road

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America
Bill Bryson
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Essays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Travel Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Accessories:

Panasonic ES4815S Pro Curve Compact Mens Shaver With Double Blades, Blue/Silver

ASIN: 0060920084
Release Date: 2001-05-15

Amazon.com

A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. The Lost Continent is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth (he should know better), the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook.

With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. Gentler elements aside, The Lost Continent is an amusing book. Here's Bryson on the women of his native state: "I will say this, however--and it's a strange, strange thing--the teenaged daughters of these fat women are always utterly delectable ... I don't know what it is that happens to them, but it must be awful to marry one of those nubile cuties knowing that there is a time bomb ticking away in her that will at some unknown date make her bloat out into something huge and grotesque, presumably all of a sudden and without much notice, like a self-inflating raft from which the pin has been yanked."

Yes, Bill, but be honest: what do you really think?

Book Description

An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town.

Customer Reviews:

You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll laugh until you cry!!!.......2007-09-13

This book is absolutely hilarious, and Bill Bryson, is, in my opinion, the best writer the planet ever produced. I'm a creative director at an ad agency, and I swear, his writing is so superb that MY writing actually gets markedly better after I read him. But only for about a week. Then it's like Flowers for Algernon...I get all average again!

Boy oh boy do I envy anyone who has not read Bill Bryson's books, because you still have all that pleasure in front of you!

Non Fiction.......2007-09-03

I read this after having been through and in a few of the places Bill Bryson mentions in The Lost Continent : Travels in Small-town America, so at the time I found parts of it highly entertaining. Accounts of Nowheresville, USA are not going to be too interesting if you get lots and lots and lots of them, though.

The Lost Continent..are we there yet?.......2007-09-02

Originally published on SensiblySassy.blogspot.com
Lost Continent:
Well a couple years ago I read Bill Bryson's book Neither Here nor There and it was a hilarious guide through Europe. So when I saw Lost Continent on the shelves I instantly wanted to read about Bill's road trip through the U.S. Within the first five pages I was chuckling to myself and out loud. (Luckily Jon was the only one sitting next to me on the plane as I read) By the time the hour and a half flight touched back down on the ground I had polished off quite a few pages.

As the book went on I began to feel less enamored with the book than I initially had. The tone shifted from funny to cranky as the trip/book wore on. Now I wonder if it is the fact that the trip began to take its toll on Bryson or if he felt that crotchety was a good tone for him to switch to-we may never know. Overall if you were to sample some of Bryson's work I would absolutley recommend Neither Here nor There over Lost Continent . Neither Here nor There gives you a hilarious and personal guide through Europe whereas Lost Continent really helps you remember what it was like to take loooong car rides with your parents-the good and the bad.

satisfied my curiosity towards small towns.......2007-08-30

We all know what big cities are like, but how about small towns? Of course Bill Bryson did not (& obviously could not) visit all small towns in his home country, this book satisfied my curiosity towards small towns in America.

I guess there's always irresistible charm of overland travel, and Bryson described his overland trip with hilarious writing style.

One suggestion: if the editor could add a route map at the beginning of book showing Bryson's itinerary, it would be even better.

A bumpy, yet scenic, road.......2007-08-03

Bill Bryson, a child of the 50s, used to spend each summer with his family on one of those all-American vacations that consisted of endless driving, sweltering heat and the inevitable destination that was, due to his father's preference, free and educational. He always longed for the chance to buy tacky hats with plastic crap on them and other tasteless souvenirs, and now that he's an adult, he finally gets that chance when he embarks on a nation-wide odyssey in the hopes of getting to know the country he left behind in The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.

Although he was born in Des Moines, Illinois ("Someday had to," he explains on the opening page), Bryson's heart was elsewhere, and he spent most of his adult life living in England. Some 30 years after those summer journeys he's back in the states, and with no specific itinerary or time constraints, he leisurely passes from town to city, looking for the perfect place that survived from his childhood in this travelogue.

Of course, America has changed since Bryson's childhood days, and instead of finding Perfect Town, U.S.A, he encounters a deluge of faceless shopping malls, unremarkable villages and far too many gas stations. His hilarious observations usually come at the expense of the people he talks to and places he visits, which almost seems to suggest an air of British snootiness that he picked up from his years living abroad. Still, there are plenty of irreverent comments ("I only ever knew one journalist with a truly tidy desk, and he was eventually arrested for molesting small boys. Make of that what you will; but just bear it in mind that next time somebody with a tidy desk invites you camping") that are just so outlandishly amusing, that it's easy to forgive him for his treatment of the occasional small town citizen.

Traveling across America and being disgusted with the over-commercialization is hardly groundbreaking material. John Steinbeck, the quintessential American, did exactly that in 1962 with Travels with Charley: In Search of America. While Steinbeck is a folksy, talkative guy, Bryson instead bares his teeth. He travels alone and all along the way he doesn't strike up many conversations aside from brief chats with a plethora of waitresses and moronic country folk. He does meet up with a friend, and later a niece, but they're pushed into the background and the surroundings become the main characters. The closest we get to travel companions is when Bryson vividly describes what the past trips with his family were like. His mom says nothing other than "Would you like a sandwich, honey?" and "I don't know, dear."

Much of Bryson's journey on both coasts, and everything in between, brings up plenty woeful places, yet he does find some attractions worthy of his admiration. A rare few of the stops on his trip nostalgically remind him of his youth, from the sheer scope of the Grand Canyon ("Your mind, unable to deal with anything on this scare, just shuts down and for many long moments you are a human vacuum") and the "sleepy" college town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania ("You feel at first as if you should be wearing slippers and a bathrobe"). Bryson covers so much ground (38 states) and visits so many similar towns, that at times, his travelogue almost read like a list. Even the memorable places are often described as simply "pleasant," and after a paragraph, it's off to the next destination. Like the long road trip that Bryson embarks on, The Lost Continent captures the vastness and monotony of driving across America. Because of the now-famous Bill Bryson humor, for most of it works well and there are plenty of laughs, The Lost Continent becomes more than another lackluster expressway town.

Africans: The History of a Continent (African Studies)

Average customer rating:

Good Overall History
Excellent
Best of African Histories
A history of Africa for the 21st century.

Africans: The History of a Continent (African Studies)
John Iliffe
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Africa | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

All Deals | Blowout Books | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0521484227

Book Description

This history of Africa from the origins of mankind to the South African general election of 1994 refocuses African history on the peopling of an environmentally hostile continent. The social, economic and political institutions of the African continent were designed to ensure survival and maximize numbers, but in the context of medical progress and other twentieth-century innovations these institutions have bred the most rapid population growth the world has ever seen. The history of the continent is thus a single story binding living Africans to the earliest human ancestors.

Customer Reviews:

Good Overall History.......2007-02-07

This is a good overall comprehensive history of Sub-Saharan Africa. I wouldn't use it for getting a better understanding of Northern Africa as his focus on demography paints a laconic picture of this region. For a more contemporary historical overview, I would suggest Fred Cooper's, Africa Since 1940.

Excellent.......2004-01-22

There isnt much more for me to add to the previous reviews, but I will say that this is an excellently written book that is amazingly wide in its breadth.

Best of African Histories.......2001-07-05

Iliffe's 'Africans' is the most distinguished and intelligent brief history of Africa yet written. Dry, and at times dense with information, it nonetheless succintly and brilliantly outlines the history of this complex and fascinating continent from earliest man to the democratic movements of the 1990s. Centred around a thesis that the key to Africa's history is population change, Iliffe weaves his tale with masterly skill. Underpopulated until the middle of the 20th century, the central feature of African history till the modern period has been a struggle for the control of scarce labour - land, by contrast, being abundant. Only with the massive population increases and urbanisation of the last fifty years have parts of the continent become over-populated, where a struggle for natural resources among an abundance of competitors has become the defining feature of African society (anyone who has spent time in the dog-eat-dog societies of Kenya or Nigeria can happily testify to this truth). This simple, somewhat tendentious but nonetheless thought-provoking thesis is the thread on which the book hangs, and is a relief from the dry, tedious and abstracted ideological and political theories which other historians have tried to apply to African history. This is a much richer book than such a summary might imply - Iliffe seems to have read every book and article ever written on African history (his Stakhanovite work methods are renowned), and politics, great men, religion, social movements all play a part in the narrative: and, as one has come to expect from Iliffe, African proverbs are studded in the text like diamonds in a tiara, illuminating and making real the events and processes on which he dwells. This is perhaps too dry a book to celebrate completely - Iliffe's Jesuitical approach to historical research lacks passion, and his powerful historian's mind perhaps takes for granted in the reader a too-deep understanding of that subject and its conventions. But ANYONE who wishs to understand more about the African continent cannot do without the learning, wisdom and intelligence that this book offers. Africa has been done a great service.

A history of Africa for the 21st century........1998-11-06

Graffiti Women: Street Art from Five Continents

Average customer rating:

great chronicle
Graff at its Best
Great Book! Beautiful Artwork!
put it in the collection....
A good variety of talented women

Graffiti Women: Street Art from Five Continents
Nicholas Ganz , and Nancy MacDonald
Manufacturer: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc."
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Women in Art | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0810957477

Book Description

From the author of the enormously successful Graffiti World comes this spectacular follow-up, celebrating the contributions of women to contemporary graffiti and street art.

Female writers have always been in the vanguard of the graffiti movement, though often shunted to the sidelines by their male counterparts. This exhaustive volume places them front and center, featuring 1,000 full-color illustrations from some of the world's most prominent artists, including Brazil's Nina, Japan's Sasu, Mexico's Peste, and the Americans Lady Pink, Swoon, and Miss 17. Two eight-page fold-out collages, a fold-out poster jacket, and an authoritative text round out the impressive package. The first and only comprehensive survey of its kind, this book is sure to attract and expand upon the wide and enthusiastic readership that made Graffiti World such a runaway success.

Customer Reviews:

great chronicle .......2007-10-08

This is just like graff world book, chronicling the movement into other areas of the world. This is the same, but for women in graff.

Graff at its Best.......2007-07-17

Graffiti Women is a great book for either the collector, or the first time buyer of street art, also this edition comes with a dust jacket that is also a fold-out poster of art within the book!
Never before has there been a better compiled book on Women artists from right around the world, also includes background and history of Artists.

Great Book! Beautiful Artwork!.......2007-06-13

Great pics of graffiti by women. Bought as gift for my son and he LOVES this book...says every time he looks at it he sees something new. Can't put it down.

put it in the collection...........2007-04-24

This book is a awsome graffit book,with writers from around the world loaded w/ there best pics and a lil doc. on them below ,i really dig it it's FRESH! I also own the other book ''graffiti from 5 connitients'' and i would have too say this book is better but they both make a good collection i would deffinetly recomend this too real graff writers that are looking for something that they can hold on too and enjoy for a long time.

A good variety of talented women.......2007-03-21

A really good selection of women involved in the graffiti scene, that documents a portion of each of their work well.
Altho their are a few obvious female writers that are missing from this book, like Misery, Diva or Barbara and Eva 62, the book generally covers a good selection of writers and has some awesome coverage of some of their work!
An awesome book highly recommended!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books