Book Description
The foundations of modern scientific thought, four centuries old, are firmly rooted in a conception that the universe is a machinelike entity, a play of baubles, -machines, trinkets. Quantum mechanics and biology have begun to change this way of thinking, but even to this day, our real daily experience of ourselves as we actually are, has no clear place in science. No wonder that a machinelike world-view has supported the deadly architecture of the last century.
Alexander breaks away completely from the one-sided mechanical model; he shows us conclusively that the emergence of every act from a larger wholeness must change our understanding completely, and leads inevitably to the fact that a spiritual, emotional, and personal basis must underlie every act of building.
In the middle of the book comes the linchpin of the work; an 86-page chapter on color, which lavishly illustrates and dramatically conveys the way that consciousness and spirit make their appearance in the world.
Throughout this fourth and final book, is a new cosmology uniting matter and consciousness: self inextricably joined to the substrate of matter, present in all matter, and providing wholeness with its underpinnings.
The book provides a path for those contemporary scientists who are beginning to see consciousness as the underpinning of matter, and thus as a proper object of scientific study. It will change, forever, our conception of what buildings are.
"I believe he is likely to be remembered most of all, in the end, for having produced the first credible proof of the existence of God . . ."-Eric Buck, Department of Philosophy, University of Kentucky
Christopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, and after 40 years of teaching is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Customer Reviews:
Borrowed spiritual wisdom.......2004-08-09
Alexander's Pattern Language series was/is a great accomplishment. It made the mysteries of good architectural design accessible to everyone. It attempted to liberate home- and town-building from the arrogant priesthood of professional architects and exposed the bankrupt values behind so much of contemporary building. It offered a deeply human alternative much more in tune with the way we really live.
Not surprisingly it did very little to change professional practices. Even the few architects who are sympathetic to his viewpoint largely dismiss his ideas and methods as economically impractical, except for wealthy clients who can afford the time and money needed to build a home with such individual attention to every idiosyncratic detail. The one area Alexander has had a major influence on is computer program design -- there economic factors are not a constraint and his notions about recursive patterns and sequences have been taken seriously and had a lasting effect.
Having made hardly a dent in his chosen profession, Alexander now appears to have turned his attention elsewhere - to the future and to his own posterity. In The Nature of Order, and especially in the final Book 4, he babbles on and on about his Holy Grail - an "astounding" new world view that will supposedly revolutionize civilization (and vindicate Alexander as a Prophet crying in the modern Wilderness), in which Science and Art, object and subject, ornament and function, beauty and practicality will at last be seen as One Living Whole, inextricably bound together in mystical union like the interwoven threads of the Turkish prayer rugs he is so enamored of. Then and only then will buildings express the True Self and Blaze with Spirit and Inner Light and Centers and Beings and "I-stuff", blah, blah, blah.
The art history illustrations are lovely (by comparison, most of Alexander's own paintings and drawings look rather second-rate), but the half-baked metaphysical ramblings, dressed up as pseudo-science, are very tedious, overly intellectual, and hardly new. The 2500-year-old Buddhist canon and many other spiritual traditions, like Sufism, Taoism, the Hindu Upanishads or Native American and Aboriginal religious cosmologies, have all expressed this vision far more eloquently and effectively. Alexander gives these venerable traditions barely a nod of acknowledgment, except as visual evidence supporting his own vague and untestable theories - since they make no claims to Scientific Truth, as Alexander does relentlessly, he just ignores or co-opts their immense contributions.
Give Alexander credit for his emphasis on personal feeling, but educating our feeling to make ever more accurate side-by-side discriminations between "degrees of life" can take us only so far as an aesthetic method. Being an artist is more a matter of life-long discipline and *practice* - above all, learning how to cultivate the right state of mind - natural and open, free from fixed concepts, beyond even the most refined intellectual judgments of good and bad, beautiful and ugly. It's not something to rattle on about for page after repetitive page, it's something to do - to discover how to do through doing, through direct experience. In my own work, books like John Daido Loori's Zen and Creativity and Chogyam Trungpa's Dharma Art, or Suzuki Roshi's Not Always So have been much more helpful and to the point.
wisdom through patience.......2004-07-30
I'm not an architect, though I do paint a bit and presume to teach. A friend from Ohio undertook one of Alexander's architectural courses, 20 years ago, and posted me notes on Alexander's colour theory. I've used them ever since. But the articulation of this guru's understanding of the experience world & how we process it & make art in and for it, has become keener, more subtle & concise over the years. This is a very, very profound teaching without any messianic overdrive. Indeed, its the patience and humility of Alexander's process of discovering essential rules & roles for making art, that are most profound and the enduring feature of his presentation. And the book's own look exemplifies his quest for the beautiful.I'm not so taken with the reproductions of his own painting, however. I can't quibble with the twentieth century masters he reproduces as evidence for enduring beauty. A fabulous book!
A Profoundly Eloquent Glimpse of Life's Depth..........2004-05-20
*** Original review: May 20, 2004 ***
Those who know me know that I am not prone to making either quick judgements or vacuous statements, so my friends (at least) will know that both the title of this mini-review and the few words that follow are far from whimsical: Alexander's Nature of Order, and in particular this fourth volume which I have recently received and simply cannot put down, are in my humble opinion, destined to rank as one of this *world's* great literary/philosophical achievements. What Alexander has produced is nothing short of a brilliant vision for the transcendent reality that lies beneath and beyond conventional categories. I write this as a Ph.D. physicist, with two graduate-level mathematical physics texts under my belt (both on complex systems), and semi-pro photographer with 30 years of experience of trying to capture "beauty" in nature. Alexander's work has provided a tentative -- but oh so deep -- glimpse of an answer to my own philosophical struggles as scientist and artist: physics and art are but two sides of a vastly richer coin, and are merely pointers to an infinitely rich *life* that pervades this universe; indeed, the life that *is* this universe. Every human being who has ever sincerely pondered the question "Why?" when looking up at the sky, while admiring a pretty flower, or looking into a mirror, can do no better than to curl up by a fireplace with a hot cup of tea, open up volume four of this incredible set of books and start using the musings lovingly offered here to look within for answers. Truly a remarkable achievement. I have never met Christopher Alexander, but can honestly say that I have been deeply touched by this preternaturally wise soul.
***** Musings added Sep 1, 2005 *******
Having now read the entire opus (I-IV), and currently on my 3rd reading of volume I, I am fully convinced that Alexander's Nature of Order is an absolutely stunning achievement of the highest caliber. I also concur with a quote that appears on the inner flap of the books, to the effect that while very few (if any) philosophical/conceptual works (and their authors) are likely to be remembered 500 years hence, there is a strong possibility that Alexander's Opus WILL be remembered as a precursor to what our present day (only partially overlapping fields of) "science" & "art" will have evolved to in 500 years (a unified, wholistic body of "Sci-Art" in which the schism between objective & subjective / inner & outer no longer exists).
What Alexander presents in these books is a tentative first stab at a magnificent new CONCEPT; not a mathematical or physical theory (though rudiments of what might go into a more formal description are also discussed). Although many of Alexander's ideas are quite subtle and require thoughtful reflection to fully comprehend and integrate into (ironically) a whole (new worldview), the basic thesis is original and profound: EVERYTHING that exists contains "life", and the degree (lesser or greater) to which life is manifest in "X" can be *objectively* determined by probing one's *subjective* (inner) world. Nature is seen, in this view, simply as the totality of life, continually unfolding; and beauty (as generated by local life-forms such as humans), as a resonance between outwardly objective forms and (the very deepest) subjective inner feelings.
Western science's longstanding divide between "what's out there in the world" and "what is in here, in our hearts and souls" is exchanged for a new worldview in which our understanding of the cosmos is predicated on an active unity between objectivity and subjectivity; between dispassionate form and intensely personal beauty; between "eye" and "I"; between the deepest inner feeling and continually unfolding outer life. If this sounds radical (and perhaps even a bit strange), that is because it IS radical; Alexander is proposing a sweeping idea that is both revolutionary and (only in hindsight, after having read his extraordinary Opus) obvious! For it really cannot be any other way! Every thinking -- no, every FEELING -- creature who wants to know our cosmos and his/her unique role in it needs to read these books. They are truly remarkable! The next great strides in art and science will be made (simultaneously) when, one day, an EINSTein-Alexander appears and uses the ideas expressed in these books to develop (using a mathematics not yet created) a rigorous new theory of "Sci-Art-Beauty-Life". These are ostensibly books on "architecture"; but they far -- FAR -- transcend that field; they speak, collectively, about everything that exists.
Book Description
In Book 3 of this four-volume work, Alexander presents hundreds of his own buildings and those of other contemporaries who have used methods consistent with the theory of living process.
Nearly seven hundred pages of projects, built and planned in many countries over a thirty-year period, illustrate the impact of living process on the world. The book provides the reader with an intuitive feel for the kind of world, its style and geometry, which is needed to generate living structure in the world and its communities, together with its ecological and natural character.
The projects include public buildings, neighborhoods, housing built by people for themselves, public urban space, rooms, gardens, ornament, colors, details of construction and construction innovation. The many buildings shown, and the methods needed to design and build these buildings, define living structure in a practical way that can be understood and copied.
". . . Alexander's approach presents a fundamental challenge to us and our style-obsessed age. It suggests that a beautiful form can come about only through a process that is meaningful to people. It also implies that certain types of processes, regardless of when they occur or who does them, can lead to certain types of forms."-Thomas Fisher, former editor of Progressive Architecture.
Christopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder, and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, and Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for 40 years.
Customer Reviews:
A practical approach to reinventing human habitats.......2005-04-15
Alexander's long-awaited third book in the four-volume Nature of Order series finally provides a practical guide to creating great places based on his concepts of "centers", "wholeness" and "structure-preserving transformations."
Page after page of photos and diagrams give weight to Alexander's process-oriented approach to building.
This tome should be required reading for anyone who has wondered whether there is a way to reinvent our cities and suburbs away from "sprawl" and into vibrant, living places.
Amazon.com
Christopher Alexander, the humble messiah of good architectural design, invites readers to get comfortable with their inner judgments in The Nature of Order: The Phenomenon of Life. Best known as principal author of A Pattern Language, Alexander has designed and built countless projects worldwide, all the while thinking deeply about the nature of his work. Frustrated with the 20th century's reluctance to acknowledge human commonality and reliance on Cartesian mechanism, he urges us to rethink our understanding of space itself. With an architect's precision and clarity, he explains his theory of life as the order inhabiting space--an order both variable in degree and apprehensible to human minds. Though the scientifically minded will resist his seeming subjectivity, it will be hard for any to argue that his many examples of good and bad design are equivalent. Alexander's combination of powerful analysis and compelling synthesis makes The Nature of Order essential 21st-century reading. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
What is happening when a place in the world has life? And what is happening when it does not? In Book 1 of this four-volume work, Alexander describes a scientific view of the world in which all space-matter has perceptible degrees of life, and sets this understanding of living structure as an intellectual basis for a new architecture.
He identifies fifteen geometric properties which tend to accompany the presence of life in nature, and also in the buildings and cities we make. These properties are seen over and over in nature, and in cities and streets of the past, but have all but disappeared in the deadly developments and buildings of the last one hundred years.
The book shows that living structure depends on features which make a close connection with the human self, and that only living structure has the capacity to support human well-being.
The other three volumes of The Nature of Order continue this thesis with three complementary views giving a masterful prescription for the processes which allow us to generate living structure in the world. They show us what such a world must gradually come to look like, and describe the modified cosmology in which "life" as an essential quality, together with our inner connection to the world around us-towns, streets, buildings, and artifacts-are central to a proper understanding of the scientific nature of the universe.
". . . Five hundred years is a long time, and I don't expect many of the people I interview will be known in the year 2500. Christopher Alexander may be an exception."-David Creelman, author, interviewer and editor, HR Magazine, Toronto
Christopher Alexander is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, architect, builder and author of many books and technical papers. He is the winner of the first medal for research ever awarded by the American Institute of Architects, and after 40 years of teaching is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Customer Reviews:
Gordon L. Prescott come to life?.......2006-09-25
Read 'The Fifteen Properties' excerpted in the 'First Nomination for Book of the Century' customer review, or any other excerpt, and then consider the words of Gordon L. Prescott from 'The Fountainhead':
"The flowing life which comes from the sense of order in chaos, or, if you prefer, from unity in diversity, as well as vice-versa, which is the realization of the contradiction inherent in architecture, is here absolutely absent. I am really trying to express myself as clearly as I can, but it is impossible to present a dialectic state by covering it up with an old fig leaf of logic just for the sake of the mentally lazy layman."
I wish I could give a 'no star' review, but amazon doesn't have that option.
Some of these reviews are flawed.......2005-12-04
Anne Broadbent's review below is completely unjustified. She writes "At the beginning of the first book, Alexander shows a beautiful pagoda - but I still think I wouldn't want to have one near me, in the guise of a shopping centre, school, house, gym, restaurant, bank or whatever: I'd rather see it in its original cultural setting." Alexander agrees completely with this point. His whole theory involves local adaptation following the fundamental properties and transformations that he has outlined in these books. Nowhere does he suggest that we should use the pagoda's form in any other cultural context. If you look at some of the examples he gives from nature you will understand this. He discusses the way sand dunes form following some of the fundamental properties. Does this mean he claims we should create sand dunes in the jungle? Of course not. Examples of buildings, places, and natural phenomena, are used as a means of displaying these fundamental properties and how these properties occur universally in phenomena which the majority of humans, and all other life forms would agree contain the quality of life. Throughout the series of books, Alexander provides hundreds of examples of human creations and natural creations to support his thesis. This may or may not be news to Miss Broadbent, but this is widely acknowledged as good scientific method.
Dissapointing.......2005-11-17
I very much enjoyed 'Pattern Language' and had great hopes for this series, however, after finishing book one, I am not sure I will invest in further volumes. I give the author credit for the time and effort spent in trying to develop his 'unified field theory' of good design, but unlike some of the common sense examples in Pattern language, this book moves to a level of metaphysical abstraction that seems to stretch the ideas past their breaking point. Not-Separateness? The Void? Though he makes a valiant effort, I just couldn't shake the fact that I was reading an after-the-fact justification of the authors pre-conceived tastes. Which essentially boil down to: old = good, new = bad.
Most off-putting also, were the scrawled, barely legible sketches that were meant to illustrate some of the principles. They are so poorly rendered as to be distracting and not very helpful to boot. I would expect more graphic sense from someone purporting to explain the universal secrets of good design. I really wanted to love this book, but I find it simply frustrating.
The actual physical book is not up to the ideals of the content.......2005-08-02
I haven't finshed reading the content of this book - this is more a comment on the delivery medium...
The 'hardcover' book more closely resembles a cardboard cover book. Mine is easily bent and permanently warped in multiple dimensions - makng it much more like your typical large paperback book than a $75 hardback book. It seems harder and harder for publishers to strike that balance between quantity and quality of pictorial content on the one hand, and quality and flashiness of the cover on the other.
This book changed the way I look at everything..........2005-07-10
As a total amateur, I have no design training. I am fascinated by architecture and design, but really only "know what I like". I read "A Pattern Language" when working on object oriented computer systems and find it fascinating - I still re-read it. So, when I saw this book, I was hoping that it would be interesting.
It is way beyond interesting. It completely changed the way I look at the world. It deserves to be read carefully, slowly, savored. Alexander makes his work accessible to both architects and lay people alike.
Bravo.
Even with two kids in college, I am going to spring for book 2. Higher praise could not be given.
Book Description
Costa Rica, a country of no larger than West Virginia, hosts more than 830 species of birds, more than in all of North Amerian north of Mexico. It may well be the only country in the world with as many bird species and habitats to be found in such a small area. Within two hours' drive from San Jose, one can see quetzals in highland forests, antbirds in lowland forests, or shorebirds and ibises in mangrove swamps.
This lavishly illustrated book is the most comprehensive treatment of a rich tropical avifauna ever presented in a single volume suitable for its use in the field. With is full coverage of waterbirds and migrants as well as resident tropical species, and its coverage of such topics as plumages, vocalizations, food habits, nesting, and distribution, it is truly a guide to the birds themselves, not merely a guide to their identification.
Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch first set the stage for the birds by briefly describing the landforms, vegetation, and climates of Costa Rica. For those who want to take "that second long look" to interpret what they see, the authors discuss some aspects of evolution, ecology, and behavior of Costa Rican birds, and report on the costly and courageous conservation efforts the country is making in face of discouraging odds. The family and species accounts that follow, covering some 400 pages, make up the bulk of the book, with 52 magnificent color plates illustrating virtually ever species of Costa Rican bird, migrants as well as residents. There are also practical tips for trips in the field and descriptions of good birding locations, with specific directions for travel by car, public transport, and on foot, as well as three maps.
A highly readable, portable encylopedia to the fascinating, ever-surprising birds of Costa Rica, this book will be welcomed by birders and other naturalists, professional and amateur ornithologists, ecologists, travelers, and conservationlists throughout the northern Neotropics.
F. Gary Stiles is Profess or Biology and Curator of Birds, Museum of Zoology, at the University of Costa Rica. Alexanda F. Skutch has lived in Costa Rica for more than 50 years and has dedicated his professional life to studying the breeding biology of Neotropical birds. He is the author of many books, including Life of the Woodpecker and Life of the Tanager (Cornell University Press) Dana Gardner, who is with the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, has extensive field experience in Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. He has illustrated a number of books on birds and tropical nature.
Customer Reviews:
Birders' must-have.......2007-05-12
This is an outstanding reference manual for the serious birder. Many of our naturalist guides in Costa Rica carried copies of it. Some of them had removed the plates and laminated them to make them more durable. The drawbacks are the size and weight, as well as the fact that the illustrations are not on the same page as the descriptions. If you want a small, light field guide, try "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" (Susan Fogen). It uses the same classification system as the Stiles book, but includes only the common bird varieties, and has a photo for each of them.
helpful but outdated.......2007-03-08
The plates are very helpful but a number of bird names have changed and splits have occured since publication so many years ago. It's long past time for a new, updated edition.
For bird watchers in Costa Rica a must!.......2007-01-21
What can I say? This book is like the "bible" for bird watchers in Costa Rica and is one of the best books for those serious about birds in Costa Rica. The average tourist should not bother to buy it, though. It cannot not replace a good naturalist or bird watching guide, but gives those who seek it an excellent background knowledge.
Birds of Costa Rica.......2007-01-09
This comprehensive book is amazing for the detail that it presents. The only caveat is that the real birds of Costa Rica are more intensely colored than the illustrations in the field guide.
Wonderful book.......2006-12-22
I used this book during a recent trip to Costa Rica and it was extremely helpful in identifying the birds. I actually removed the picture plates and carried them while birding since the entire book is too heavy to carry while birding. The plate pages give a lot of information about the various birds and you can refer to the rest of the book at a later time. I would recommend this book to anyone who is going to be birdwatching in Costa Rica.
Book Description
This book was first published by the University of California Press in 1961 and is an attempt to provide an answer to the long-standing need for reference work dealing exclusively with seed identification. The immediate aim of the manual is to help agriculturalists, foresters, wildlife biologists, and others interested in land-use programs to identify the seeds in their particular fields of interest. The authors have, in the main, restricted the content of the description to those characteristics useful for identification. The descriptions are, to the extent possible, nontechnical and therefore useful to a broader range of interests and skills.
Customer Reviews:
Not as good as the first edition.......2007-01-10
The first edition of Martin and Barkley(1961)was a tremendously useful volume and this newer edition is simply a reprint. The main problem with it (and reason for only four stars) is the photo quality is very poor compared to the original. I've made photocopies of the original that look better than those in the current edition. I was dissapointed by that, however, the book stands alone as there are really no other references like it. If you can obtain the earlier edition at a reasonable price I'd recomend that you get it, but if you can't this adequate.
Seed Identification Manual.......2005-08-02
An old but valuable reference on the identification of native plant seeds in the U.S. I know of only one other seed reference available for U.S.plants.
Book Description
With this lovely and informative volume, Alan Feduccia preserves the pathbreaking work of Mark Catesby, the English naturalist and illustrator who founded natural history and bird art in America. First published by UNC Press in 1985, the book features all 109 bird illustrations, 20 color plates, and the entire text from Catesby's pioneering Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas. Annotating Catesby's writings from a modern perspective, Feduccia discusses the perception of each species during the Colonial period, comments on its habits, and compares Catesby's observations with those of such other early naturalists as John White, John Lawson, Alexander Wilson, and John James Audubon.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing Guy
- Fire from Heaven
- Mary Renaults's Pet Alex
- Very enjoyable read...
- Bivouacked Atop Babylon
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The Nature of Alexander
Mary Renault
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ASIN: 039473825X
Release Date: 1979-11-12 |
Book Description
The acclaimed biography of Alexander the Great.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Guy.......2005-10-30
Where is Alexander when we need him...now!
After reading the big-long bio of Howard Hughes I'm thinking he may have been a reincarnation of Alexander.
Too bad the real story of this phenomenal person is not taught in schools, youth of today would be much inspired by the philosophy and life of Alexander. He was certainly one-of-a-kind. Compared to the vapid, lying, greedy "leaders" of today he truly was a "god".
After reading the the two novels about him, also by Mary Renault, this was a fitting end to my quest to know more about the Alexander that piqued my interest when I happened on Oliver Stone's interview talking about making the movie.
PS - anyone who sees the movie should watch the 'special feature' with Mr. Stone first, to really appreciate the scope of his endeavor and the importance of Alexander. Oh yeah...and read M.R.'s books too.
Fire from Heaven.......2005-09-29
This is one of the many outstanding books written by Ms.Renault.She depicted Alexander as all of us would imagine him.Handsome, loving, fierce,mercyful and great.Although so many books have been written about Alexander,all in all we will never know if as a person he really indeed was that Great.
Nadia
Maryland.
Mary Renaults's Pet Alex.......2005-08-26
Mary Renault has always had a thing for Alexander. With her lesbian background in mid-century UK I guess this is not surprising. We have her to thank for much of the current fascination with Alexander's alleged homosexualty and such. This is a compelling work nonetheless, and while the bias and emphasis are obvious and perhaps a bit annoying at times, we can forgive Ms. Renault for being a bit over zealous in her passions. What she tries to do is provide a rationale for some of Alexander's actions. Sometimes she can be faulted for reading too much into what limited information we have on him. Still, this is a passionate look at the man and his times. There are many Alexander's for us to ponder. Perhaps because he was so many things to so many different people, and because of the limited documentation many scholars are free to pursue their own views on what he might have been. Mary Renault is no exception in this regard. To me Alexander is primarily the Great Captain of history. He was never defeated in battle, his conquests ranged far and wide, and his tactical abilities were supreme. He should be remembered for this brilliance as opposed to his sexual proclivities which are important only for those who have certain aggendas to pursue. True Alexander had many different sides to his character it seems, and his short but full life is packed with all sorts of fascinating events. His conquests can be divided into many distinct phases toward his character. Was Alexander a liberalizing influnence who spread Hellenism for the benefit of mankind, or just a thuggish tyrant who ran amok in the decadent Persian Empire. The verdict shall remain open on this and many other questions involving his life. For sure this is a very pro-Alex bio. Renault can see little wrong with even some of his most controversial actions. But her writing style is grand and elegant, and even if slanted, is perhaps no more so than some of the revivisionist bios we encounter today. Alexander shall forever suffer from extreme view points. The nature of his life and achievements seems to make this so even in our own time. Renault is good at possibly reading into his thought processes at certain key moments of his life, and she paints a compelling portrait of his sense of mystery and pathos which ultimately contributed to his demise as much as anything else might have in the end.
Very enjoyable read..........2005-05-25
I'm one of the fortunate ones who have a hardback edition with the 4 page fold-out full color map of Alexander's travels (hehe).
Mary Reneaul has Alexander down pat, as far as I'm concerned. I admit I'm an Alexander enthusiast (pro-Alexander as opposed to, say, Bosworth's or Green's anti-Alexander). If you're from the anti- camp, you won't enjoy this book.
Bivouacked Atop Babylon.......2005-05-01
Tanks, personnel carriers and backhoes are destroying the Palace where Alexander lay dying while his general's fought the "richest" sword fight in history. The outcome produced the Ptolometric reign in Egypt ending with Cleopatra and the Roman Empire.
No one can properly understand history without reading this book or one like it; Bucephalus, the Gordian Knot, Oracles, Mythology and a mud hut propped up outside the palace wall with Airistotle as a teacher of Engineering and Medicine. A young student with the "world" on his mind and an army trained with the descipline of the Phalanxs Movement, today's "Dress Right Dress," order and courage.
I don't know another book like it! To many, one of the top ten books read in their life time.
My hat is off to Mary Renault.
Book Description
At the biological crossroads of the Americas, Costa Rica hosts an astonishing array of plants and animals—over half a million species! Ecotourists, birders, and biologists come from around the world to immerse themselves in the country's unspoiled rain forests, mountains, and beaches, drawn by the likelihood of seeing more than three or four hundred species of birds and other animals during even a short stay. To help all of these visitors and local residents identify and enjoy the wildlife of Costa Rica, this field guide presents nearly three hundred species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, moths, and other invertebrates.
Carrol Henderson, an experienced wildlife biologist, traveler, and tour leader in Costa Rica, has chosen the species that ecotourists are most likely to see, along with a selection of rarer, sought-after animals. He gives a general introduction to each group of animals, followed by individual species accounts that highlight identification features and interesting ecological adaptations for survival. His stunning close-up photographs and distribution maps complete each entry.
In addition, Henderson includes a wealth of data about Costa Rica's natural environment, as well as a trip preparation checklist and lists of conservation organizations, wildlife tourism sites, and wildlife vocalization tapes and CDs. With so much information so readily and readably accessible, this field guide will be essential for planning and enjoying your time in Costa Rica.
Customer Reviews:
Great Travel Book!.......2007-04-06
We recently returned from Costa Rica and I ordered this book just 2 days before we left. I arrived on time and what a treasure it turned out to be on the trip. Be sure to bring binoculars as well! It was great fun to be able to identify and read more about all of the animals we saw. The only thing I would add is be sure to bring a Plants guide as well. There are so many things to see and so much is different that I was wishing I had that too but the wildlife guide in itself was indispensable for our trip. I highly recommend it!
Good overview, but lacks in details..........2007-01-21
This book gives a good introduction into wildlife in Costa Rica, but don't be fooled by the words "Field Guide". It is a little bulky and heavz to carry around and if you are interested in a specific species it lacks some details you might be looking for. It does not cover all animals found in Costa Rica by far, but for a country that contains more than 5% of World's biodiversity this might not be expected either. For the general tourist coming to Costa Rica it gives a lot of information for bedtime resume of each day.
Wildlife of Costa Rica.......2007-01-19
I wish I would have had this book before going to Costa Rica. I recommend anyone considering going to have this book with them.
bit bulky for a field guide.......2007-01-16
this guide was a bit bulky for a guide, especially if you are travelling to a place like costa rica to hike around. the pictures were vibrant although i expected them to be more brilliant.
its a good guide book for the tourist that isnt exploring the place by foot.
Useful, but inadequate--A real disappointment!.......2006-05-24
I had great hopes for this book and I did use it for a course I taught. Costa Rica just has too many species to be covered by a single book. Invariably, the species we saw was not in the book. One is far better off getting guides to the particular groups.
The biggest disappointment was the range maps. The maps of the species were incomplete and self-serving. The maps were not true range maps, but only indicated the particular resorts where the author had worked. The range information was deep inside the narration. There was an overemphasis on the birds and other groups were neglected.
Book Description
This Golden Guide describes and illustrates in full color more than 140 of our most common trees. Learn:How to recognize tree shapes, flowers, buds, leaves, and fruitsWhere each species growsThe parts of a tree and the various kinds of treesPerfect for nature lovers of all ages, this is an indispensable guide for everyone who wants to be able to recognize the different trees in North America.
Customer Reviews:
quick reference.......2007-01-07
This is a quick light reference for throwing in your bag and hitting the trails. Not indepth and uses the leaves for identification. Illustrations are good.
Opens your eyes to the trees around you.......2005-03-17
Another handy reference for amateur naturalists, this pocket book facilitates the identification and exploration of trees of all sorts.
There is some introductory information in the beginning that brings the reader up to speed on how trees work, and also suggests some strategies and uses for tree identification.
Some of the pictures are the soft colors that we have come to expect, but many of the pictures of leaves and nuts are more starkly drawn, perhaps because identification can be so difficult.
Trees are arranged by group (spruces, oaks, etc.), and each species has a picture, short description, and map depicting its natural range.
This is an invaluable book for amateurs, and has the Golden Guide trademark of being accessible to young naturalists without talking down to them.
The North Star for trees.......2004-12-02
When I was a kid, me and my grandfather (or Papaw as everybody calls him since we're from the South) loved to go walking in the woods. Unlike most people, we were more interested in checking out the trees than looking close for deer and rabbits. Being a curious little boy, I would ask him, "What kind of tree is this?" I don't know how he knew, but he was always right.
I got an earlier version of this book as a present and loved it! It was perfect with its easy reading and nice illustrations for anyone of any age. Most trees in the book are done like this: One page is devoted to them. Let's say you're looking at Mockernut Hickory. The top half of the page shows an illustration (there are no real photographs in the book) of the tree's leaves and fruits close up, along with a distant illustration of the tree in a scenic location. The bottom half of the page contains a paragraph that goes into more detail about the particular type of tree, such as describing its bark, where it grows, or maybe even a short history on the tree. Did you know that the pecan tree is a southern hickory that has transformed into a national symbol pretty much? It didn't even grow here in Alabama naturally, and now, due to widespread planting over the years, it's seen everywhere around here! Finally, at the bottom-right, we have a map of the United States. The parts that are shaded in are where the tree grows in its natural habitat. Oh, wait! It also tells how tall each tree gets and what family it's in (Beech family, Maple family, etc.)
That's a lot of detail for just one little page! But it never appears jumbled. There's a nice section at the beginning of the book that gives you an overview of trees in general, such as how wood forms, broadleaf trees and conifers, types of forests, and much more. Finally, it has a few pages where it groups major types of trees (Oaks, Maples, etc.) together and gives an overview of them, but it still has a page devoted to each separate kind (Water Oak, Southern Red Oak, Blackjack Oak, and so on). My only complaint whatsoever is that it doesn't show a close up of each tree's bark.
I used to look at this book and read it all the time out of pure interest, but there was an unexpected surprise as well. While my Papaw would simply say that one tree was "a hickory", I could outdo him and teach HIM that it was a SHAGBARK hickory. That is, until he got into this book as well. It really does have pretty much all the kinds of trees that you'll see in the United States, everything you know by heart like pines and oaks, to the more obscure, such as redbud, sycamore, honeylocust, and sassafras.
I lost that "earlier version" of this book years ago, but I recently purchased this revised copy as soon as I laid eyes on it and recognized it. Perhaps I lost it because I used to carry it with me nearly everywhere I went, and you probably will too. This book is about the size of a checkbook and it literally fits in your back pocket. Do you or someone you know enjoy walking in the woods or through trails checking out trees and identifying them? If so, this is the perfect beginning guide toward increasing your knowledge of these tall creatures in the world around you.
I love this little book.......2001-06-09
I love this little book. I've carried it on many hikes, dog walks, and through several years of walking to graduate school. It's easy to use, detailed enough to be helpful, and small enough (my aged copy, at any rate) to fit in your back pocket. Of all of the field guides that I own, I've used this one the most.
Great for beginners who want to learn the basic trees........1998-10-15
This book is great for people who want to learn the basics of different trees, their leaves, their twigs and bark of the trees around their area. If you don't know if the tree grows in your area, you can look at the maps in the book to see if it does. If you like trees and want to learn about them, you'll love this book. I loved this book because it built my foundation for knowledge in trees and their different families.
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