APT

Twelve poetic essays in which a nature writer draws on botanical research, theories of evolution, and her own emotional experiences to explore the roles flowers play in our lives. Throughout this poetic meditation, Russell ( When the Land Was Young , 1996, etc.) maintains that people need blossoms for both ecological survival and personal well-being. She eroticizes the physical features of flowers throughout (speaking, in one vivid passage, of how "pansies wait expectantly, their vulviform faces lifted to the sky"), and these impassioned descriptions, reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings, may offer some amusement to botanists while enlightening amateur gardeners. There are descriptions of flowers' complex romances with their pollinators that reveal how both blossoms and bugs have evolved to accommodate each other. We are even introduced to various species of fleurs fatales whose seductive charm lures naïve pollinators to their deaths-including a hermaphroditic water lily that, during its female stage, murders the trusting hoverflies it once fed. While Russell cites Charles Darwin and other famed biologists, her lyrical ruminations do not provide new insight into biological evolution. Still, her unique interpretations of natural selection provide some dramatic scenes, for example, when bumblebee thieves attack flowers for nectar. More personal stories of Russell's friends dashing home to view the rare blossoming of their cereus cacti and accounts of prehistoric humans burying their loved ones with flowers support the author's claim that all people have an intrinsic fascination with flowers. But her argument for the protection of endangered species, although valid, is flimsy in comparison to authoritative studies, like David S. Wilcove's The Condor's Shadow (2000). A modestly satisfying read for flower fanatics.

I found this little book extremely powerfull in changing the way I look at life....for the good mind you...it gave me an awareness and sensitivity to the natural world around me and an awe of what has come before and how we arrived here on this planet....
Reccomend for readers of all ages...even children can grasp the concepts put forth here and will open the eyes just a little wider for all who read it!

ANATOMY OF A ROSE: EXPLORING THE SECRET LIFE OF FLOWERS is slightly mistitled. The book has a few things to say about roses--a section on the scent of roses and a section about the commercial interest in concocting a blue rose. The subtitle best describes the contents of Russell's book--the secret life of flowers.

I'm a plant/gardening/nature enthusiast who is fairly well read but I learned a new things from Russell's book. For example, I did not know that the great taxonimist/plant classifier Linnaeus (born in 1707) acquired his love of and interest in plants from his relatives. Seems his great-grandmother was burned as a witch because she knew too much about plants. Linnaeus fared better probably partly owing to his ability to read and write about plants in Latin.

Russell has done a very good job of reviewing, selecting, organizing and distilling the current thinking on flowers --including the projected 7th Extinction which has already begun and will continue over the next 100 years. Like Rachel Carson's SILENT SPRING, this little book warns the reader.

Russell says only one percent of the known flowers have been fully studied, and many will become extinct before we understand them. Flowers hold the key to saving lives, promoting good health, and ensuring the survival of the planet as we know it. Russell tells of the discovery of a plant extract that can fight EBOLI; the discovery of Taxol in the fungus of trees cut down for the Taxol in their bark (the implication is that a really smart person would harvest the Taxol, not kill the goose that lays the golden egg!!); and the uses of many of other plants for medicinal purposes. Pharmaceutical companies are beginning to take an interest in preserving the wilderness--or at least preserving it for their uses.

The jury is still out on the affect of gentically engineered plants on other life forms. Gentically engineered corn has been empirically linked to the demise of Monarch Butterfly and too date it is not "off the hook" as another reviewer suggests, however, the "not knowing" is clearly an issue.

We have much to learn from the flowering plants. I recommend this book to any one who wants to become familiar with the current outlook for plants as well as the history of plants and their role in evolution. You don't need to be a botonist to understand Russell's clearly written and elegantly told story of the flowers and their connection to our own lives.

Whether you are new to snowshoeing or a long-time enthusiast, Alan Apt's book will have valuable information for you. The book is carefully researched and skillfully drafted.In adition to the detailed description of each trail, you will find a coherent discussion of safety, winter clothing, gear and other pertinent issues.

Alan Apt does a great job of describing every aspect of snowshoeing. The text is organized logically which makes it easily accessible. For anyone who enjoys the outdoors and lives along the Front Range this book is a must. Also, the two women pictured on the inside of the cover are a beautiful addition.

Apt's introduction does an outstanding job of discussing why this is such a popular sport, reviewing critical equipment decisions, and providing logical cautions relevant to the experienced as well as novice showshoe advocate. The trails are well defined, the information is accurate, and the writing style is casual with a sense of humor. Apt really did his homework and provides trail recommendations that are appropriate for EVERY skill level - even family outings! Great book and "must have" reference for outdoor lovers.

I first read this book to my daughter when she was 4-years-old. The New York tenement setting was such a foreign world in contrast to her suburban Dallas upbringing that she was immediately enthralled with the fact that so many families of diverse ethnic backgrounds would all live in one building. Keats paints such a vivid word picture that a child as young as she could easily be drawn into the story line. The characters and events became real to her, to the extent that she could literally hear the harmonica playing. My daughter begged to revisit this story and consequently every trip to the library for the next year included Apartment 3. To this day, at age 29 and expecting her first child, she still recalls this book and wants a copy of her own.

Sharman Russell has returned to what she does best: write about the human condition in beautiful, poetic prose with humor, generosity, and a candor that makes you feel she was put on earth to express your thoughts for you. I wondered how she knew all my secrets as I read the story of an independent, though not stereotypical, woman in a tribe 12,000 years ago. She reveals a woman's perspective on her role in the group, her husbands, her children, her in-laws. Never saccharine-sweet, never a political diatribe; just clean, pure prose about a woman and her prehistoric neighborhood. I recommend this book especially to mothers, but I think men will appreciate it, too, for the light it sheds on "what women want". Whether you care about what happened to large land mammals or not, you will remember this book for its poetry and humanity.

In this lovely collection of essays, the author, Russell, explores the relationship between the American search for mythological Home to the landscape, the community and the self. In her title essay, she writes about memories of her father, a former test pilot in the Air Force, who died while setting a new speed record in the X-2 over another desert in California, when Russell was still a child. Her memories of him are recovered through her exploration of the image of the Kokopelli man, part of the mythological landscape of the Southwest that she struggles to identify with in this search for Home. In the other essays, Russell tries to balance her utopian ideal of a quiet, slow-paced life in a small rural community with the reality of the isolation and financial struggle of raising a family and building a home in the harsh, though stunningly beautiful, landscape of the Southwest desert, along with the politics and problems that arise in their eccentric and somewhat transitory community. Russell writes to understand, to make meaning--and the writing seems to discover itself over and over, allowing the reader a fresh journey, no matter the number of readings. Beautiful language

Sharman Russell's When The Land Was Young: Reflections On American Archaeology is an extensive history of archaeology in America, written with sharp wit and practiced skill. When The Land Was Young skillfully examines archaeology not just as the hunt for dusty relics, but as the living, changing study of how people and creatures of the past once lived. Highly entertaining, informative and enjoyable reading for archaeology students and non-specialist general readers with an interest in American archaeology.

Gibbard argues that, while there aren't any moral facts, there is an objective criterion (besides coherence of one's own values, which he says is not enough) by which to make a moral judgment. The criterion is the extent to which the judgment compromises with one's interlocutors' preferences and promotes coordination and cooperation with them. His key argument is that it isn't reasonable to cling to one's own set of judgments, since one's powers of judgment have been naturally selected for their tendency to promote coordination and cooperation in one's clan. Excluding the relevance of coordination and cooperation would require turning a deeply skeptical eye to the very judgments one would cling to. This is the skeleton of a deep and rich book, in which every page delves into issues with great clarity and insight. However, you may question the premise that coherence is not enough for rationality and morality. Also, the key argument may be flawed. The fact that one's desires have been formed partly by a tendency to heed the influence of others' opinions does not actually entail that one should consciously try to accept more of their influence. It seems that one's values (assuming they are coherent and informed about the facts) are enough. Their origin in non-rational evolutionary forces doesn't give one reason to accept more of those non-rational forces now. For Gibbard to raise the spectre of skepticism, as he does, he would have to assume that there are objective moral facts that we are trying to discover when we form a moral judgment. But that is exactly what he is trying to avoid saying, as he should. Why, then should one compromise with communists or radical utilitarians? It may be rational or morally right to cling to one's moral values even if it means a breakdown of cooperation or even death.

The book is published by National Geographic, so it goes without saying that the quality of the photographs is superb. But to look at this collection of space-born images is to never see the earth in the same way again. All the contintents and oceans are covered and even the Aurora is documented. The astronauts who took these photographs are some of the luckiest men and women on (or off) the earth, and this book will show you why.

Despite all that man has done to harm the environment, many of the photographs give you an eerie sense of what it might've been like to look down on the earth thousands of years ago, seeing only a beautiful collection of shapes, colors and clouds. Some pictures of the African desert and its coastline will leave you breathless.

A wonderful collection that beats satellite imagery any day of the week.

Astronaut Jay Apt, with the help of geographer Justin Wilkinson and climatologist Michael Helfert, has assembled a book full of pictures of Earth taken from orbit. These photographs were chosen from over a 145,000 that are available from the NASA photographic library and focus on many different aspects of our planet's geology and climate. The large coffee table style format and the high quality of the reproductions allows this book bring out the stunning features of our home and is welcome addition to anyone who is interested in space photography, especially since most of the book is photographs and very little text.

The book is divided into sections covering each continent, the Pacific Ocean and the aurora. To show the range of Earth's geology and climate, each section highlights the major geological features found in each region and if appropriate mankind's influence. To further emphasis to geological diversity of the planet, occasional surface photographs that correspond to an orbital photograph are also included. For example, in the section on Africa, there are photos of the Nile, Nile cities, the Sahara desert, various coastline features and cloud formations. The only portions of the Earth not covered are the North and South Poles, since the shuttle does not fly over these regions. There is also one extremely interesting two page map spread which shows the location of each one of the 268,000 photographs taken by the astronauts.

This book is one of my favorite space photography books and I look at it often and each time that I do I always notice something different. This is a great book and well worth the price.

Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt, together with scientists Michael Helfert and Justin Wilkinson, has put together a wonderful book of photographs under the auspices of National Geographic, Orbit. These are all photographs taken by astronauts from the space shuttle while in orbit (with a few exceptions, historically significant photographs from moon circlings and early trips into space). Photography, interestingly enough, is never really scheduled as a shuttle activity, but rather done 'in between' the other assignments. The photographs included in this book do not come from special 'space' cameras, but rather from regular hand-held, off-the-shelf cameras that astronauts took with them.

The shuttle offers a unique platform for photography, to say the least. It has 11 different windows, and as the shuttle orbits in what one might consider an upside-down position, the windows and cargo-bay with doors open are almost always facing the earth. Astronauts take lots of film with them, and record many phenomena. This book is divided geographically, by earth region: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, Middle and South America, and North America. There is also a special section on the Aurora, with dazzling photographs of things that look right out of Star Trek!

The images include daytime and nighttime views, calm views and stormy views. One can see hurricanes and cyclones from high above, stretching their entire lengths across great portions of the globe. One can see the difference lighting makes in an urban area at night, the way terrain and human-engineering connect, and how much of the world seems to remain unspoilt when viewed from a distance of even a few hundred miles away.

This is a remarkable book, full of glorious photographs of the 'home world', a great coffee-table book, a great gift, and a great guide of inspiration for younger readers who might be interested in science, geography, or even becoming an astronaut.

Schiff's wisdom and clarity are tough to appreciate when you don't know anything about flying. Save this one until after you've soloed at the very least. Then reread it once per year. And don't forget Volume 2 when you can learn how to fly the North Atlantic and also how to ditch if your flight to Europe doesn't go as planned...

Even you are familiar with the principle of flying, the book can provide new insight in every flying aspect. It uses different point of view to elucidate the basic theory. I am sure you can get more understanding about what you have learnt in flying.

As a physicist and private pilot, having read a few dozens of books on aviation, I find this book (in fact the two volumes I and II) the best aviation reading I have ever come across. Strongly recommended even if you think you have read it all.

Taken from the collection of tales, Different Seasons, Apt Pupil is a socially disturbing story that demonstrates why Stephen
King's name has come to symbolise terror. Set in the safe, suburban surroundings of middle-class U.S.A., Apt Pupil centres on the intense desires of one teenager's curiosity and just how far the quest for knowledge can be taken before it becomes a
danger rather than just an interest. Todd Bowden is an all-American senior school teenager excelling both academically and on the sports field, ambitious and determined he encounters a Nazi war criminal living unnoticed in his neighbourhood. Using
blackmail he persuades Arthur Dussander to recount his experiences as a guard in the Concentration Camps, until Dussander evolves into something far more horrific than Todd could have possibly imagined. From being the 'apt pupil', Todd goes into freefall until he is forced to rely on Dussander for help, which is when the hunter becomes a weak and vulnerable prey.As tragic as it is horrific, Apt Pupil is an exemplary King work, incorporating the daily lives of the unassuming American public into a masterpiece of spellbinding, nerve-jangling twists and turns. When Stephen King begins to focus on the human rather than the sub-human, you know that something special is being born out of that dark void beyond his imagination. This creation is
conceptually brilliant and delivered with immaculate panache, so much so that hours after the final page is turned you are still
looking over your shoulder!

This book was very dark and frightening. This haunting novella, about a young boy's strange and perverse "relationship" with a fugitive Nazi, is quite thought provoking. King gets into the psyche of a serial killer, whether he is a Nazi or the salutorian of his high school class.

The former SS man and butcher of 800,000 now lives as a "kindly old man", hiding his identity from the world and charming the pants off of his "pupil's" naive parents. The "pupil", Todd Bowden (or the "boy", as Kurt never refers to him by name), is a bright and seemingly normal young teenager. Kurt brings out a dormant evil in Todd that he feeds with his nightmare stories of the concentration camps.

Kurt and Todd share a common bond and even though they have nothing outwardly in common. These commonalities are more telling than the exteriors they represent. They are both masters of deception and lies. They share a sick need to torture and hurt people and animals. Most of all, they lack a conscience and have no love or empathy for their fellow human being. Todd thinks of killing his loving parents and torturing young girls. He gets his kicks on murdering homeless drunks, as does the old man he emmulates. He hates this old man because he sees too much of himself in that rotting diseased old package, but he has a need, an addiction almost, to visit him and experience the tales of the massive slaughter. Separated by 65 years and countries halfway across the globe, the similarities between these two individuals exist nonetheless. The old man recognizes it and enjoys the company of one so much like himself.

King points out that in the deep dark places of the mind, there is sometimes an inward need to experience the macabre and horrific. Edgar Allen Poe couldn't have done a better job at translating this need! King is brilliant! It is interesting to note that Todd's character has a striking resemblence to that of Cathy in John Steinbeck's masterpiece, "East of Eden". Both were handsome young people who's looks and art of deception both disguise a genetic flaw; an utter lack of conscience. They both charm and delight those naive around them, while thinking up how to destroy those that love them or get in their way. If you enjoyed "Apt Pupil", I highly recommend "East of Eden".

A story about an oh-so-normal middle school honor student who, by chance, work and intuition comes to identify an old man as a fugitive Nazi SS officer living in his home town of 1970's Southern California--after being interested in the subject of the Third Reich, thanks to a class he took at school!

Once learning the mans identity, the boy shows up on his doorstep and winds up sitting with the old man in his living room or back porch day after day hearing old war stories, as it were, after the boy blackmailed him into so doing under threat of identity exposure.

It seems, however, that the stories of Nazi death camp life begin to work not only on the mind of the boy, but simultaneously begin to re-work in the mind of the former SS Major. A parasitical symbiosis develops between them and they begin to slowly descend into a pit of madness, with the elder playing the boys "grandfather" to a school guidance counselor who gets involved due to the boys slipping grades...

Meanwhile, winos begin to show up dead down by the railroad tracks, and the wily old Nazi suspects the boy, and, no wonder, since he himself is familar with killing--not only because he murdered hundreds of thousands during the war, but he has been busy dispatching winos off the "missing persons" list and burying them in his cellar.

A thoroughly brilliant, bone chilling and, in the end, a rather wry piece of work.

Stephen King at his very best.