Open

I stumbled upon this book while browsing for material to contemporise my thoughts on environmental ethics. I can't pinpoint what motivated me to walk out with this title under my arm rather than the "standard fair" of the David Suzukis, et. al. But I am glad that I did!

Lines hits you like a cool breeze. There are the rudimentary statistics and testimonies that give weight to any material dealing with environmental degradation. However, as a collection of essays, it is inter-dispersed with analogous tales - that at first appear to have little to do with the author's intended thesis. Yet it does. And the thesis is a strong one. It challenges you to transcend the mass-market social ecology made palatable by the Suzuki et. als and presents a strong deep ecological argument. It calls for a far-reaching shift in our perception of what we understand as the "environment" or "wilderness". Lines demonstrates true ecology requires the abandonment of anthropocentricism and economic rationalism, and a return to viewing the environment or wilderness as an entity with intrinsic value. Accordingly, Lines highlights the political frustrations and inadequances of policy makers (irrespective of their place across the left-right political spectrum) when this perception of the "environment" is maintained.

If the environment is to be regarded as an entity to be afforded rights for the good of itself, then:
- how can we justify viewing it as a commodity?
- how does this new set of rights affect business/economic and national interests?
- how does this affect the formulation of policy?

Open Air: Essays affords the reader a fresh perspective on the deep ecological debate. I would have liked to see Lines extend his work and show us how the new ethic would operate in the real world economic and political community. How might it all work...

If you are serious about environmental injustice, then I recommend Line's work as an aperitif to some affirmative ecological action.

I enjoyed the book and found it helpful in dealing with my shy Doberman in training. We are progressing on to Utility training and the book gives several ideas on approaches that work with a dog that has a high Flight tendency. I plan to use the information on drives while working with my beginners puppy classes.

Here are some great annecdotes (Bogart, Hepburn, Lorrie, Connery, et al.) by one of Hollywood's greatest directors. Huston's private life rivals any script that he ever shot, and his skill and training as a scriptwriter makes this an interesting, articulate volume.

I have always enjoyed the books of Kaverin. My Russian background and my childhood make me enjoy these books and especially the most famous one, "The Two Captains". Kaverin's books are about the ideals that are forever in every culture and country -- honesty, honor, trust, truth, and love. "The open book" is one of these books. Although it may remind you (stilistically and plot-wise) of the famous "Two Captains", it does have its own style and attraction. After reading this book, you will see the world of Soviet Russia long gone, but not the world we all know it was -- cruel and full of the Communism despotism. We see the world of idealistic young people who are trying to change the world for the better -- world of happy people who are never sick. The plot is concentrated about the life of microbiologists and doctors... But somehow, this book reminds me of "Gone with the Wind"... The world that is gone...

This is an excellent look into the lives of 13 different women, each of whom followed their own individual spark of inspiration, and created unusual lives for themselves while making a contribution to the world in which they live. Each one tells her own story, and they are captured by co-author and photojournalist Beverly Spicer in beautiful, candid, black and white images.

I am a second year undergraduate, interested in distribuited systems and computer networks. I read this book with pleasure. It provides the reader with some very important principles and fundamental knowledge about open distribuited systems. The level of backround knowledge required in order to be able to fully folow the topic is in the area of operating systems and computer networks and is rather on the basis of understanding general principles. After reading this book and understanding it fully, the reader will be able to delve moore deeply in the area without any problems or even to do some research work on its own. The language used in the book is rather simple which makes this book very useful for non-english speaking people.

This book was the textbook for a continuing education course in Spanish that I was in. The book has clear definitions and explanations, as well as exercises to practice each new concept. The audio tape was especially helpful to review pronounciations away from class. However, only certain exercises in each section are on the audio tape. Although there are many books out there to help you learn Spanish, I have found that this one works the best!

Frederica Mathewes-Green's little book is a quick and easy read that is reflective and revealing. She does a magnificent job in describing the layout of Orthodox Church buildings, the use and place of icons, and "feasts and icons" (a section I found particularily helpful). This book is intended, I think, for non-orthodox and Orthodox Christians alike who want an introductory type book, either as material to learn more about the place icons and sancuaries have in Orthodox worship or for just a nice quick refreshing read.

David Adam, Vicar of the Holy Isles, has two special ministries. As vicar, he ministers to thousands of pilgrims every year. But he is also a poet, a prayerful poet in the Celtic tradition. This collection of prayers is organized according to the order of service, from first preparation through the final blessing. It includes Adam's original prayers, as well as classic prayers, well known and unknown, from sources as diverse as the Carmina Gadelica, the Alternative Service Book of the Church of England, Evelyn Underhill, and a manual for private prayer published in 1559. For those who wish to pursue a more prayerful life, this little collection is a must, whether you follow the Celtic path or some other.

The Open Hand Cookbook is one of the cookbooks that inspires me. It has very cohesive and inventive menus, and is fun to read and cook with!