Amazon.com
Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend twenty years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos studying natural selection. They recognize each individual bird on the island, when there are four hundred at the time of the author's visit, or when there are over a thousand. They have observed about twenty generations of finches -- continuously.
Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
Book Description
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
On a desert island in the heart of the Galapagos archipelago, where Darwin received his first inklings of the theory of evolution, two scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have spent twenty years proving that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. For among the finches of Daphne Major, natural selection is neither rare nor slow: it is taking place by the hour, and we can watch.
In this dramatic story of groundbreaking scientific research, Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
The Beak of the Finch is an elegantly written and compelling masterpiece of theory and explication in the tradition of Stephen Jay Gould.
Customer Reviews:
Repetitive, Incorrect, and Trying too Hard.......2007-10-18
This is one of the worst books I've ever read. I strongly recommend against reading it, especially for the science folks or lay people who are not stupid. That was a joke; in my opinion, no one on Earth who is actually interested enough to read a book on this topic will be such a poor thinker that a book in this style is appropriate for them.
Specifically, this book is:
* Repetitive -- on the same page, the author will often have multiple paragraphs saying exactly the same thing; within these paragraphs, sentences repeat each other as well. If this sounds outlandish, it is. The author was either talking down to the audience, trying to fill space, trying to explain the content to his own dense self, or some combination.
* Incorrect -- in the world of science writing for lay people, some simplification of the material is necessary and of course good (so lay people can access the material!). But this book presents material in such a warped, compressed manner as to be simply WRONG. For example, the author explains that researchers created and validated a predictive computer model using the same set of field data. That would be like a person who had seen one screw that tightened when turned clockwise, developing a prediction that all screws tighten by clockwise motion, and then testing the prediction by trying it out on the same screw. Clearly that is not something Harvard researchers were doing.
* Trying to hard -- it does not let the awesomeness of evolutionary study stand for itself. It has to develop drama by telling stories only in little broken bits, it constantly restates things (in what I took to be an attempt to find a particular phrasing that struck a given reader as poignant), etc.
In summary, it was an awful read. It was too bad that it did indeed explore some of the coolest evolutionary biology around, but in such a terrible fashion.
The Beak of the Finch.......2007-07-16
Brilliant writing and organization shows that evolution can occur in as short a time frame as two years. Never boring. The non-scientist will find this book of our changing world a good read.
Wonderful science and a great narrative.......2007-04-14
"Beak" is perhaps the best popular book on evolution between Darwin and Dawkins.
Thoughtful, educated persons must know certain facts about the physical world. One of those facts is evolution. Evolution happens, it is not "just a theory."
As the author explains through the story of the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant, we can see natural selection operate in real time, season by season, in fish, birds, bacteria, and throughout the natural world. The explanation of evolution may be somewhat more open to debate but you can't participate meaningfully in the debate without being armed with some facts.
Don't bring a knife to an intellectual gunfight. Arm yourselves.
One of the Best Books on Nature.......2007-02-22
I have read much on evolution, and the evolution controversy in (primarily) the United States. This book does a wonderful job of demonstrating how scientists, right now, are recording and observing natural selection in action. Before I read this book I was not aware of how much information we really have about evolution and natural selection occurring in "the wild" on an everday basis. This book provides thorough mathematical evidence and predictive models of how natural selection changes the morphology of Darwin's Finches on the Galapogos Islands. It interleaves that story with a decent primer on evolution and snippets of other, similar research, going on right now too.
For example, it describes some fasicinating experiments conducted showing how quickly natural selection will change the color of Amazonian guppies based solely on the color of the rocks in the pools in which the guppies live, and the frequency of predation. It is amazing. As I read more about evolution, I see that rates of evolution vary widely. Evolution operating slowly (over 1000's or millions of years) is pretty obvious. This book provides a window into the amazing world of "rapid" evolution.
The best part about it is that it is as much a journalistic endeavor as a well-written book. This is NOT a polemic about why evolution is better than other ideas. This book simply reports the facts. If you don't understand evolution or believe it can be true after reading this book, then you aren't really trying to understand.
Finally, this book deserves the awards and accolades. It is well-written, well-researched, and well-organized. I don't give many books five stars, but this one is worth it. I would recommend it for anyone: scientists, kids, and just people interested in learning and fascinated by the world around us.
Excellent quality -- arrived in good time.......2007-02-10
The book is in excellent shape, and it arrived in a timely fashion.
Average customer rating:
- The finest alternative history novel I've ever read
- Ok but could have been great
- Promising premise, well-researched and well-thought-out alternative history, but too many words
- Travel to The Bronze Age With Some Modern Folks
- A fun idea, well researched history and good writing equals four solid stars
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Island in the Sea of Time
S. M. Stirling
Manufacturer: Roc
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0451456750 |
Customer Reviews:
The finest alternative history novel I've ever read.......2006-09-20
This is the single greatest piece of black-lesbian-sailboat-captain/ninja fiction ever written. More importantly, it is the most impressive alternative history novel currently available. Stirling's characters, outlandish though they are, are utterly fascinating.
While most books like this are highly formulaic and dull, this novel (like all of Stirling's work) is impecably well researched. Furthermore, it features a much more compelling, creatively structured plot than Eric Flint or the latest work of Harry Turtledove. The whole trilogy is as well written as the first book, and, unlike Turtledove, Stirling had sense enough to leave it be after three books. This novel is definitely worth buying.
Ok but could have been great.......2006-08-23
I am a fan of Alternative history, and I originally thought that I would really enjoy Stirling's work. I read the whole series, and I have to say that there were some great parts. I loved the parts wehre they are struggling to adapt modern technology to help them survive in a ancient world. I also enjoyed the way that he showed a ramping up of technology after they gear down (going from flinklocks to cartriges by the end of the series). What I didn't like was his poor characters, his blatant agenda, and his way of solving every problem by letting the Nantucketter's pull an expert out of the air every time they need one. Plus, the stupidity of having some Coast Guard commander being the greatest military commander there is. My father was an Army infantryman for 25 years, getting out as a Ranger Colonel having commanded a Regiment. He read this series, and said HE couldn't have done as well as this Coastie. Plus, the ninja stuff doesn't work as well as Mr. Stirling wants you to believe. Plus, these guys from the bronze age would be in killer shape. A big man with strength and skill will beat the crap out of a woman no matter how good she is, he will just be faster and stronger. All in all, a pretty good book, but not great.
Promising premise, well-researched and well-thought-out alternative history, but too many words.......2006-07-21
The premise is obviously an improbable one: Nantucket is thrown into the bronze age, and a Coast Guard sailing ship just happens to be thrown back with them, providing them with a lifeline to the rest of the world. Stirling does a good job of exploring how a modern group of folks would deal with the hard work of integrating a formerly modern fragment of the global economy into the pre-modern world, and the excitement of exploration all over again. That aspect of the book deserves high praise. What doesn't?
The improbabilities pile up, from the ease of learning languages to the protagonist's habit of getting almost killed, blacking out, and coming to with the problem solved (or, at least, being rescued from the problem). Many have commented on the improbability of the Coast Guard captain being a black lesbian super-ninja babe, or the improbable evilness of the antagonist. Improbabilities are inherent in the genre, but at some point you might say "come on." Some are probably simply oversights: what are the odds, for example, that native bronze-age Americans would be virtually wiped out by exposure to modern diseases but native bronze-age Europeans would be unaffected?
Too many words spent on the battles. It's apparent that Stirling is influenced by O'Brian's "Master and Commander" books, and O'Brian spends a lot of time discussing the minutiae of action. O'Brian's a better writer, and can mostly get away with it. Stirling lays it on a little thick.
Even so, I'm probably going to read the sequel.
Many reviews have focused on the politics and age-appropriateness of the book. First, the politics: Stirling, obviously, has no problem with black lesbian super-ninja babes, but he attacks a number of "left" ideas, from gun control to whale rights. I wouldn't describe the book as a "PC drumbeat."
Age-appropriateness: there's violence, sex, and sexual violence. The violence isn't unusual in the genere and not super-graphic. As I said, too many words are spent on the violence, but it would probably be a PG-13 movie. The sex isn't particularly graphic and would also probably be PG-13, although it seems mostly gratuitous (also, too many words). The sexual violence is mainly there to make the villains seem evil, and anyone too immature to put that into perspective shouldn't read the book.
Travel to The Bronze Age With Some Modern Folks.......2006-06-23
While reading this book I was reminded of Mark Twain's work: "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Although this book takes place in the Bronze Age. I am fascinated by the way Stirling recreates Indigenous cultures from BC dates. The story will paint images of bloody battles in the readers mind, but it does not stop there. There are some very detailed love scenes that seem very humours at times too. I think it is a well balanced book full of adventure and history. I cannot praise Stirling enough for having heroes in his book that practice an alternative lifestyle. I look forward to reading the other two books in this trilogy.
A fun idea, well researched history and good writing equals four solid stars.......2006-05-28
Island in the Sea of Time is a fascinating what if novel that asks the reader to imagine life for a group of 20th century Americans thrown back in time to long before the birth of Christ, into a world of polytheism, tribalism, bronze weapons, brutal wars and slavery.
One of the main characters is black, female and gay and also a military officer. Other reviewers I've perused seem to think Stirling spends too much time obsessing over Marian's self-dialogue. I disagree. An intelligent gay black female military officer's self-actualization would probably be pretty close to what Stirling writes on behalf of Alston, in my opinion.
Another character I found fascinating was Dr. Alice Hong, the S&M freak who takes advantage of the fact that she no longer lives in a world with central authority. I know some people like her who, in the absence of Rule of Law, would go hog wild, indulging their dark, animalistic passions at every opportunity. There are lots of humans like Hong floating around with no moral compass to guide them on their journey through life.
The research that went into Island in the Sea of Time appears to be meticulous. Two of the themes running through the tale that kept me reading were the 20th century American conservative prejudice towards gays and the 20th century group of "progressive" eco-idiots. Pamela Lisketter and her misguided buffoons' misadventures and ultimate horrific demise were at once interesting and repulsive. I'll leave other plot developments unmentioned to surprise you, but rest assured there are plenty of twists and turns that will keep you reading.
Island in the Sea of Time is not a kid's book, and it isn't written for the squeamish or homophobic. The tendency to jump from character to character every page frustrated me slightly, but other than that I enjoyed Island in the Sea of Time quite a bit. I've read through it twice now.
The companion novel Against the Tide of Years is enjoyable as well.
Book Description
Set in the vibrant Industrial Age and filigreed with family drama and epic ambition, Crosley chronicles one of the great untold tales of the twentieth century. Born in the late 1800s into a humble world of dirt roads and telegraphs, Powel and Lewis Crosley were opposites in many ways but shared drive, talent, and an unerring knack for knowing what Americans wanted. Their pioneering inventions — from the first mass-produced economy car to the push-button radio — and breakthroughs in broadcasting and advertising made them both wealthy and famous, as did their ownership of the Cincinnati Reds. But as their fortunes grew, so did Powel’s massive ego, which demanded he own eight mansions and seven yachts at the height of the Great Depression. Rich with detailed reminiscences from surviving family members, Crosley is both a powerful saga of a heady time in American history and an intimate tale of two brilliant brothers navigating triumph and tragedy.
Customer Reviews:
a msut read for radio fans.......2007-08-27
Great read for a radio fan or anyone interested in early 20th century business moguls.
The Crosley Empire.......2007-08-23
I bought this book for my brother who owned a Crosley years ago, but I read it before I gave it to him. Great book! One of the best I have read in a long time.
It was a great history lesson and you do not have to be a Crosley buff to enjoy it.
Would highly recommend.
Richard Flory
Crosley: Two Brothers and a Business Empire That Transformed the Nation.......2007-08-11
The person for whom I purchased the book absolutely loves it!! It's the story, the pictures and presentation that just makes reading it so enjoyable. I'm very glad that I made this purchase.
Industrial pioneers.......2007-07-23
I'm sitting in a home full of computers, MP3 players, dvd recorders and players, a satellite TV box, and scores of electric appliances that are smarter than I am. Reading of a time when consumer electronics were unknown, and the primary electric appliance was a lightbulb, is like looking into the dark ages. Well, not quite. But you know what I mean.
The Crosley name is one that I've heard around my home throughout my life, but with the exception of a Crosley radio on a shelf, my knowledge of the company or the men that founded the firm was fuzzy at best. The authors have done an outstanding job at fleshing out Powel and Lewis Crosley and the world they lived in and revolutionized.
Many a novel I've read non-stop, but this is the first biography that I've done an "all-nighter" with.
The authors had no axe to grind, the times were well fleshed out, and one's faith in the ability of someone to think it up and do it, is reaffirmed. It was chock full of interesting information and facts, and I found myself checking Google satellite maps for locations mentioned in the book (Yes, the Arlington St. location still exisits and the satellite pic catches the executive tower, one-time home of WLW).
There is some bumpy writing, as noted in a few other reviews. I blame not the authors, but the editor. The boys really like their cliches. Lawyers are always "Sharpening their pencils," people come and go "Exit Stage right/left, Enter stage right/left;" and so many variations of "Masses not the classes" permeated the text, I wondered if they had some sort of Bolshevik thing going on.
That aside, this guy will be giving several copies of this book for Christmas this year - and I can't think of a better testimonial to the book.
Crosley.......2007-05-31
This was one of the most intersting biog. I have read in a long time. It is hard to believe the brothers could jam that much into just one lifetime and then it was all gone. I heartly recommend this book if you have an interest in one of our most exciting periods.
Book Description
Gavan Daws' remarkable achievement is to free Hawaiian history from the dust of antiquity. Based on years of work in the documentary sources, Shoal of Time emerges as the most readable of all Hawaiian histories.
Starting with the Western discovery of the islands in 1778--on through the days of the whalers, the missionary period, the plantation era with its vast numbers of Oriental immigrants, to the fall of the Hawaiian monarchy, annexation by the United States, and the long, slow move to statehood--the characters and events of Hawaii's past shine with new vitality and immediacy.
Customer Reviews:
Pure Truth.......2007-05-23
This book is a must read for any one studying or interested in Hawaiian history. It is very detailed and the timeline of events is easy to follow. There are even specific names mentioned that helped a friend with his genealogy research.
Surf's Up.......2007-01-15
This is a pleasant, informative book -
very worthwhile, particularly if you're planning a trip
to the Islands (which all of us should do at least once
in our lifetimes).
A student of Hawaiian History.......2006-09-26
If you are curious in learning about the actual history of Hawai'i this is not the book to refer to. It is a good book for students to distinguish bias and actual facts is the thing to look for especially in academic texts and history. The thing is the real "history" of Hawai'i does not in fact START with Captain Cook as some people proclaim. But other than that this books backs up some of its claims with excerpts from some of the men's journals. This book doesn't offend me, I look at it as a difference in opinion. It's very biased as I mentioned above and I do agree with the comments of how the author seemed to imply the women were objects or property of the men (which were EXTREMELY untrue) and the actions and behavior of native Hawaiians portrayed in the book. The best "truth" about Hawai'i you can get is the Hawaiian courses you can take from actual Hawaiian instructors. They are very intelligent and will give a largely unbiased account of history. But it is best not to believe everything that you read in this book.
All the Little Details.......2006-04-01
This book is a detailed academic history of Hawaii, focusing on political forces. It begins with Captain Cook's first sighting of the islands in 1778, and continues through statehood. Topics covered include: Kamehameha I, missionaries, the whaling economy, the sugar economy, immigration, annexation, and World War II. In preparing this volume, Daws referred to thousands of primary sources, some of which are listed in end notes at the back of the book. There is also an extensive index.
Parts of the text are extremely detailed, so much so that it sometimes becomes hard to discern the big picture. At the same time, Daws doesn't cover every development, leaving some questions open about exactly what happened, why and when. The story is told from a Western point of view, and some Hawaiians may find this bias off-putting. Nevertheless, bringing all the threads together as Daws has done here is a major achievement, and the book is well worth consulting for those with a serious interest in Hawaiian history.
Outdated and Somewhat Offensive Hisorical View.......2005-09-28
Shoal of Time does many things well. It outlines the basic names, dates, facts of Hawaiin history. It tells a mostly compelling narrative of the evolving political changes of the islands from the late 1700's to the statehood. The author appears to be largely unbiased and nonpartisan to the various sides of the political fights he describes.
However, the book feels very dated at best and casually rascist at worst. For example, "history" begins with the arrival of the white European Captain Cook. From that point on, most of what is desribed is from the accounts of white Europeans with distinct agendas. Whether it was the military sailors, or Protestant missionaries, sugar plantation owners or permanent settlers hoping for annexation, these parties had a mightily biased and unflattering view of the native Hawaiins. Yet page after page of these unflattering views is simply presented without being challenged or put into context.
Thus the author at various times calls the natives lazy, uncommitted, drunken, foolish, incapable of work, childish, and always sexually immoral. It seems almost every page contains an unchallenged and unexamined reference to the native women behaving like whores. Early on, the women are so sexually crazed that they basically force themselves on the fair sailors who arrive in port. Over time, the author repeatedly cites the natives "disgenuous" character of "giving away their women." (To sailors, to whites, to "coolies", "orientals," etc.)
One might ask why it it assumed that the women belonged to the men to "give away" at all. One might also ask why interacial sexual relations are seen as evidence of loose morals on behalf of native women, but not of the outsider men. One might ask a lot of the assumptions and casual rascism here, but the author certainly does not.
Nothing makes it appear that any of this is intentional. But the narrative of the story he chooses to tell essentially ignores the perspective of the native Hawaiins. (After all, there is no story until the white man shows up). By ignoring native language sources, his story is effectively told mostly through the thread and perspective of white Europeans and Americans out to conquer the islands and reshape them to suit thier own agendas.
In the end, this leaves a very one sided and disatisfying overview of Hawaii, one of the most multicultural places in the world.
Amazon.com
On a vacation with the family in Barbados, Mel and Bob Blanchard (of the Vermont-based Blanchard & Blanchard specialty foods company) stumble upon a tiny restaurant/shack on a Caribbean beach:
I marveled at the ingenuity of the set-up. A secluded spot, sand like flour, customers arriving in bathing suits. The guy barely lifted a finger, cleared at least $35.00, and gave us a lunch we'd remember forever.... The man had sold us a frame of mind.
So begins the Blanchards' 10-year pursuit of the illusory notion of "island time." In a literary heartbeat, they abandon the "concrete jungle" that was Vermont and open a restaurant on a little-known island in the British West Indies called Anguilla ("rhymes with vanilla"). Narrated by Mel Blanchard, A Trip to the Beach dispels tired notions of the Caribbean--the steel drums, the lush landscapes, and acres of swaying palm trees--and instead focuses on the understated elegance and easy rhythms of the sublimely "flat, and scrubby" island. Though lacking the richness and finesse of Frances Mayes, and the wit and wisdom of Peter Mayle, Mel Blanchard nonetheless forges a new path in travel writing as the Martha Stewart of the Caribbean. A remarkably intuitive and inspired chef, Mel writes poignant passages on running a kitchen in Anguilla. Here she exposes the meat of the story, sharing her many outrageous adventures--how to cater to pampered and demanding guests, how to cook for a full restaurant in the darkest of island night with no electricity, how to prepare for recurring and utterly devastating hurricanes that wipe out your business. In these chapters the writing is as good as her cooking--inspiring, colorful, and easily digestible. Although she sometimes relies heavily on well-worn clichés and expresses naïve and rather privileged assumptions--"Why would anyone choose to live surrounded by concrete and traffic rather than fishing boats, water and palm trees?"--discerning readers will see the true nature of this tiny island--a place of simplistic beauty that struggles to maintain its independence while it depends on tourism for its livelihood. With a strange concoction of anecdotes, island politics, recipes, and sweet memories, the Blanchards seduce readers with the allure of "island time," bringing Anguilla home to the rest of us. --Daphne Durham
Book Description
This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise -- and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea. It's about the maddening, exhausting, outlandish complications of trying to live the simple life -- and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.
The story begins when Bob and Melinda Blanchard sell their successful Vermont food business and decide, perhaps impulsively, to get away from it all. Why not open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island? One thing leads to another and the little grill turns into an enchanting restaurant that quickly draws four-star reviews and a celebrity-studded clientele eager for Melinda's delectable cooking. Amid the frenetic pace of the Christmas "high season," the Blanchards and their kitchen staff -- Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian -- come together like a crack drill team. And even in the midst of hilarious pandemonium, there are moments of bliss.
As the Blanchards learn to adapt to island time, they become ever more deeply attached to the quirky rhythms and customs of their new home. Until disaster strikes: Hurricane Luis, a category-4 storm with two-hundred-mile-an-hour gusts, devastates Anguilla. Bob and Melinda survey the wreckage of their beloved restaurant and wonder whether leaving Anguilla, with its innumerable challenges, would be any easier than walking out on each other. Affectionate, seductive, and very funny,
A Trip to the Beach is a love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape.
Download Description
This is the true story of a trip to the beach that never ends. It's about a husband and wife who escape civilization to build a small restaurant on an island paradise -- and discover that even paradise has its pitfalls. It's a story filled with calamities and comedy, culinary disasters and triumphs, and indelible portraits of people who live and work on a sliver of beauty set in the Caribbean Sea. It's about the maddening, exhausting, outlandish complications of trying to live the simple life -- and the joy that comes when you somehow pull it off.
The story begins when Bob and Melinda Blanchard sell their successful Vermont food business and decide, perhaps impulsively, to get away from it all. Why not open a beach bar and grill on Anguilla, their favorite Caribbean island? One thing leads to another and the little grill turns into an enchanting restaurant that quickly draws four-star reviews and a celebrity-studded clientele eager for Melinda's delectable cooking. Amid the frenetic pace of the Christmas "high season," the Blanchards and their kitchen staff -- Clinton and Ozzie, the dancing sous-chefs; Shabby, the master lobster-wrangler; Bug, the dish-washing comedian -- come together like a crack drill team. And even in the midst of hilarious pandemonium, there are moments of bliss.
As the Blanchards learn to adapt to island time, they become ever more deeply attached to the quirky rhythms and customs of their new home. Until disaster strikes: Hurricane Luis, a category-4 storm with two-hundred-mile-an-hour gusts, devastates Anguilla. Bob and Melinda survey the wreckage of their beloved restaurant and wonder whether leaving Anguilla, with its innumerable challenges, would be any easier than walking out on each other. Affectionate, seductive, and very funny, A Trip to the Beach is a love letter to a place that becomes both home and escape.
"A Trip to the Beach is the next best thing to being there. The Blanchards have given us a smart and amusing tale of running off to chase a dream. It's just as tasty as their cooking."
TOM BROKAW, ANCHOR, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
"If you think it takes courage to open and operate a fine dining restaurant, just try doing it the Blanchard way. Pick a beautiful but remote island with cultural idiosyncrasies, build it from scratch, make it seasonal to assure up and down business, and subject yourself to the most powerful hurricanes Mother Nature knows how to create. Other than that, it's easy. I love the Blanchards' determined sense of hospitality and appreciate the rich texture they have woven into Anguilla's colorful fabric."
DANNY MEYER, COAUTHOR, THE UNION SQUARE CAFE COOKBOOK
Customer Reviews:
Loved this peaceful interlude!!!.......2007-09-28
This was a great book to escape to. If you love cooking and the beach, then this book is for you. Mel shares recipes, tells the tales of changing lifestyles, and paints an incredible picture of the island. I am ready to go pack and have dinner at Blanchards!
Mesmerizingly Dull.......2007-07-06
If you have ever been cornered by an innkeeper or B & B owner whose life contains five minutes of interesting tidbits, but who takes two hours dragging you through a poorly synthesized tale, you've already had the experience of reading this book. To make matters worse, the quality of writing and tone are comparable to a sixth grade essay along the lines of "What I Did on My Summer Vacation."
If you are looking for an interesting book about life as an American in the Caribbean, try Herman Wouk's semi-fictional "Don't Stop the Carnival."
Enticing Lifestyle, Gripping Story .......2007-07-03
Every once in a great while, you might stubble upon a truly captivating novel that is, at times, impossible to put down. Before you know it, you're submerged within it's pages, neglecting the clock, surpassing any predestinated points that you promised yourself to stop at. Bob and Melinda's "A Trip to the Beach" has justly enthralled many readers of prudent taste since first being published in 2000. For an absorbing and mesmeric account of two native Vermonters who inaugurated a simple but distant dream, born on a vacation to the Caribbean. On a whim, they move to a foreign country, and start a restaurant on the tiny, remote island of Anguilla. Entering a world of excitement, frustration, joy, and perseverance to live an anything but ordinary life. This seemingly envious lifestyle proves to be a gigantic undertaking in spite of all it's seductiveness. The romanticized notion of escaping the stresses of a mundanely uneventful New England way of life, only to become a castaway in a distant oasis of a subtropical sunny paradise is simple to swallow but nothing is as easy as it seems. The Blanchards, you will soon discover, can nearly vouch for Murphy's law. Coupled with their persistence and immortal ambition sets the stage for a charming true story and notably enjoyable read.
Stemming from this innocent yet simple vision of opening a small lunch stand on the beach, an ebullient dream quickly turns into an venturesomely enterprise of a posh dinning restaurant serving everyone from wealthy vacationers to renown movie stars. A logistical nightmare, the Blanchards are forced to balance building a ritzy eatery from scarce island materials, importing supplies, while establishing a whole new life in a completely different foreign culture far from the plentiful civilization we've grown accustomed to. Many things we might take for granted prove to be a troublesome liability- even freshwater must be delivered to them on the island. Unlike a Hollywood film or a glamorized Nora Roberts novel, the story of Bob and Melinda `s audacious and adventure filled life in Anguilla is real. A reader will be charmed by the local characters, smell the freshly grilled lobsters, and hear the sounds of the benign calypso music without ever leaving home. It soon becomes easy to transport yourself to their situation, asking yourself, what would I do?
Overall, an authentically inspirational tale of willpower, surmountability, and fortitude in a bold stride towards a deviating but enchanting new life. Some have mistaken the Blanchard's drive and intrepidity as egotism. If your literary appetite hungers for some disgruntled hippies' tale of soul-searching while living a primitive lifestyle in an exotic location, then look elsewhere. If the Blanchards for any instance took the reality of chasing their dreams during such a pivotal time in their lives lightly, they most likely wouldn't have a book to fill let alone embracement of such luscious success. The only melancholic fervor encountered is ending the book itself. If only it were longer!
Loved It!.......2007-02-27
This book is a wonderful read. It provided great entertainment, a few good recipes, and and escape to the tropics during the cold Minnesota winter.
Arrogant is right - and not really up front either.......2006-07-27
Hipkat and ActionJunkie have summed it all up perfectly. Nothing else to add. Oh. Yes there is. I happened to be in a bookstore way back when this book was released and the Blanchardss were speaking. I pretty quickly observed they were quite charmed with themselves. I didn't stay to listen long. The book was passed to me by a co-worker. Couldn't finish it.
Amazon.com
Although the archipelago known as Smith Island sits in Chesapeake Bay, just off Maryland's eastern shore, it is in some ways a place lost in time and space. Lacking a police force, a high school, or a hospital, it still carries the flavor of another era. People earn a tough living from crabbing, which means 18-hour work days for six months of the year, and they still speak a heavily accented language that some scholars believe dates back to Elizabethan times. In 1987, Tom Horton, an environmental writer for the Baltimore Sun, moved with his family to this 300-year-old community. This thoughtful, well-written book is his record of the two years they spent there.
Customer Reviews:
Delightful!.......2005-09-13
I received this book as a gift, never having heard of the author or Smith Island. After reading the book, I feel very lucky to have discovered a new favorite author. Tom Horton's book is a gem! He's a talented writer and Smith Island is a rare and beautiful subject. As an Iranian, I found his descriptions so enchanting that I plan to visit Smith Island someday soon.
This book is appropriate for all ages and especially for those who appreciate the environment and a simplicity to life that is fast disappearing.
Excellent Portrait of Chesapeake Bay Life.......1999-09-03
Notice that all the reviewers here live near the Chesapeake Bay. This bay will interest and speak to all those that have an interest in a society and environment almost gone. A super read, intimate in detail and beautiful in imagery.
An extraordinary writer on an extraordinary place.......1999-08-11
Tom Horton's great gift as a writer is his ability to conjure up the natural world in words. His memoir of his family's time on Smith Island is his best work yet. Note I said yet. A book by Tom Horton is always a cause for rejoicing. His environmental writing is up there with Aldo Leopold and Barry Lopez.
An extraordinary writer on an extraordinary place.......1999-08-11
Tom Horton's great gift as a writer is his ability to conjure up the natural world in words. His memoir of his family's time on Smith Island is his best work yet. Note I said yet. A book by Tom Horton is always a cause for rejoicing. His environmental writing is up there with Aldo Leopold and Barry Lopez.
A rare, insider's view of a unique way of life........1999-01-26
An avid reader of publications like National Geographic, I found this book to be a very enjoyable and accurate depiction of an area that receives too little attention. The only thing that could improve this story would be full color photographs illustrating the brilliant sunsets, changes in water color, the wildlife and the characters that are detailed throughout. This book sparked such an interest in the area that my family currently is searching for a new home on the Crisfield side of the Bay. We appreciated the pace of life and the simplicity that have caused the locals to resist change and embrace their past. Many thanks to the author for clueing us in.
Book Description
Tucked between the housing developments and golf courses of the Orange County coast lies a small settlement of rustic beach cottages seemingly frozen in time. Crystal Cove Cottages is the first history of this uniquely preserved beach spot that has lured travellers and campers since the 1920s. Deemed by the National Register of Historic Places to be "the last intact example of California beach vernacular architecture," it is now a registered state park whose cottages are newly available for public overnight visits. From silent-film location to rum-runners' hideout, scenic setting for a vibrant landscape painting community to 1950s luau-party headquarters, Crystal Cove has all the while remained a bohemian yet family-friendly village. Ten sidebars on notable individual cottages highlight the Cove's distinct and often amusing architectural evolution. Crystal Cove Cottages captures the nostalgic ambiance of seaside Americana.
Customer Reviews:
Crystal Cove Cottages: Islands in Time on the CA Coast.......2005-09-15
From the dust cover of this beautiful book to the last pages, readers are treated to beautiful photography, copies of lovely paintings, and a narrative about the history of this unique place on the CA coast. The book is divided into time frames starting in 1917 and continuing to 2001. Each segment gives the reader a glimpse into the recent past, of simplier times and the quest for life on the CA seashore. This book is very readable, a feast for the eyes and one that will join my permanent collection of very special books. Suitable for display as a prized coffee table book.
Customer Reviews:
Stock Photography from Mallorca and Menorca.......2004-03-25
If you like this book about Mallorca, take a look to one of the following links: http://www.balearicpictures.net http://www.mallorcapictures.com http://www.menorcapictures.com http://www.ibizapictures.net http://balearicpictures.net http://mallorcapictures.com http://menorcapictures.com http://ibizapictures.net
Book Description
Frank Conroy first visited Nantucket with a gang of college friends in 1955. They came on a whim, and for Conroy it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with this "small, relaxed oasis in the ocean." This book, part travel diary, part memoir, is a hauntingly evocative and personal journey through Nantucket: its sweeping dunes, rugged moors, remote beaches, secret fishing spots, and hidden forests and cranberry bogs. Admirers of Conroy’s classic and acclaimed memoir
Stop-Time will again delight in what James Atlas, writing in the New York Times, called his "genius for close observation."
In
Time and Tide, Conroy recounts the island’s history from the glory days of the whaling boom to the present, when tourism dominates. He vividly evokes the clash of cultures between the working class and the super-rich, with the fragile ecology of the island always in the balance. But most fascinating of all, he tells his own story--of playing jazz piano in the island’s bars; of raising a barn in the early '60s with the help of a bunch of hippie carpenters; of leasing an old, failed bar with two island pals and turning it into the Roadhouse, a club "that was to be ours, the year-rounders, and to hell with the summer people." There’s a marvelous story of his first golf game, played on an ancient nine-hole course with two friends, a part-time sommelier and a builder from the South who invented the one-handed pepper mill.
This is a book that revels in friendship, music, history, and the gorgeous landscape of a unique American place, and is a wonderful work by one of our greatest contemporary writers.
Customer Reviews:
Island Memories.......2004-04-16
I just started this book this morning and am almost done. It made me nostalgic for my old home, the way it used to be, yes, but for those of us who have had to leave Nantucket for one reason or another, it will always be a wonderful place. Reading it I feel like I am on a wonderful visit home. It's one of those books you don't want to end but at the same time can't put down!
A great read.......2004-04-12
Frank Conroy speaks from the heart. Nantucket Island has gone through some dramatic changes in
the last 30 years, most not for the better. For some of us that still live here, it`s wonderful to be able to read and remember those times when the Island felt like a place of sanctuary from all else. The stories give the reader the felling that the Grey Lady`s Skirt has been torn but her sole has not been touched.
Thank you Mr. Conroy
A Chef from the Rock
Long live the Roadhouse!.......2004-04-08
I'm one of the author's three sons, so I won't pretend to be unbiased. But listen, this book is great, empirically speaking. Dad light-heartedly provides a fun and fascinating window into the small island so many of us love.
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