effect

Being born and raised in Lake County Indiana, I had now idea of what the region was really like before Europeans arrived. In a world now that is predominated by concrete, steel and noise, the pristine nature must have been staggering when Fr. Marquette first arrived. However, after Europeans settled in the region, what they did was absolutely tragic. American history often focuses on the depletion of the natural resources west of the Mississippi River, especially the Bison. I was amazed just how efficiently humans exploited the Chicago region, it almost pales in terms of Western US history. This is a well written and documented book of the complete exploitation of the entire area and every possible ecosystem. Reading about it made me depressed. But I also was amazed how many species (>90%) still can be found. Many people fought outrageously lopsided battles to save a few acres here and there. Had it not been for these forward thinking people, surely little or none of the praries, woods, wetlands and dunes would be left. Anyone reading this book should think twice and then again about killing the next snake they see in their garden, or dumping out that last bit of herbicide from their lawn sprayer. Thanks Mr. Greenburg for sharing your labor of love with us.

What makes this book unique and so valuable is that it pulls together a wide diversity of material into a unified whole. To access equivalent information one would have to consult hundreds of separate sources (indeed, the bibliography includes approximately 500 entries.) Greenberg paints a complete picture of the natural history of the greater Chicago area, from southwestern Michigan around the lake into southeastern Wisconsin, with a wide-ranging view of the geology, ecosystems, flora, and fauna. I have been a resident of this area for 50 years and always had a keen interest in nature, but reading this book I realized how little I actually knew about my surroundings. I was saddened at many points while reading of what has been destroyed here in the past 300 years. Greenberg's accounts of this violence are neither shrill nor hand-wringing, and he injects hope for what can yet be saved and how. This wonderful book has a place on the shelves of all nature lovers in the greater Chicago area, and is an absolute must for all public and school libraries!

If I could select one regional work that should be required reading for all high school seniors of the region, this would be it. Greenberg's ability to tell this incredible story simultaneously on both the historical and natural levels, while maintaining continuity, is by itself, fascinating. How one region of such incredibly diverse land and seascapes, flora, fauna and natural beauty could be ravaged, wasted and in some cases recovered makes riveting reading. The wetlands of the Kankakee and Calumet may have been as diverse and abundant with wildlife as any areas this continent has ever seen. His descriptions of these areas, as well as descriptions of the great prairies and the dunes and the battles that were fought to save them need to be taught as we teach any core discipline. Having spent most of life in the Chicago region, I am amazed at how little most of us know of our own natural past. As both a historical essay and a reference volume, A Natural History of the Chicago Region is a remarkable work and just great reading.

If you're a fan of Henson's work you'll absolutely die for this book! It's got great coverage over his past movies to 91. Some include The Dark Crystal, The great muppet Caper, and my personal favorite: THe Labyrinth!

This book is great if you want to learn more about the movies that the creature workshop did instead of Jim Henson. Although it does talk alot about him it's more about the workshop he created and left behind. It's a grest book if you love Jim Henson's work and I do !Get it it's great!

Since skipping school to go and watch 'Labyrinth'. I've been fascinated with animatronics. The creatures produced both during and after Jim Henson have been both imaginative and captivating. 'No Strings Attached' is a wonderful book of mechanical invention, artistry and imagination. Being someone who loves to watch 'The making of..' specials on TV whenever a new special-effects blockbuster comes out, I found this book catered to my 'Wow! How did they do that?' curiosity. I am a great fan of puppetry but I am a biased fan of Jim Henson...if you buy this book, turn to page 112, the girl kneeling on one knee on the bottom right corner is yours truly!

For those of us who feel intimidated by the relentless pace of technological change, this book is a godsend. Not only does the author help make sense of how new technologies are altering the workplace, but she also provides practical advice on how to make the most of one's skills and interests in such an environment. Goldberg writes with clarity and grace. The tips at the end of each chapter offer excellent guidance for adapting to a high-tech world and inspire the reader to continue to think about these issues on his or her own. All in all, a valuable and accessible book that can help readers find their place in an increasingly complex world.

I found the book extremely useful. If there is anyone who has an aversion to technology, this is the book to read. As usual, Ms. Goldberg's style is fluid and cogent. It is an easy read and well done. Congratulations on a much needed book in today's hi-tech society.

This is proving a great tool for getting reluctant employees to face the fact that they simply have to deal with computers. It provides enough information and tips about working in this new way, without ever getting technical, to get people relaxed enough to accept training with hope instead of terror.

Utterly accurate, mild in tone, this book sets out in simple language (backed up by solid citations to peer-reviewed journals) how those of us with some intelligence can minimize the damage from prescription drugs.
From p179: "One wonders how the drug industry could be surprised that the consumer information plan focused 'on the hazards that drugs may present.' This was exactly the information being denied to consumers. Evidence that the real goal of the PhRMA and the AMA was to continue to keep consumers in the dark could be seen..."

This book is extensively reasearched, and a very balanced work on what goes on in the medical field. Literally a lifesaving book...if hazards are listed on the package labeling, the consumer is held to be informed about side effects of the medication...Mr. Moore explains the dangers of prescription drugs, how to decode the package insert, and does so in a very readable format. I am sorry that the rest of his books seem to be out of print.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about the safety of the drugs they use. This book had two important messages for me, first, that I need to take control of my own use of prescription, and over the counter, medications and be sure that I know their strengths and weaknesses. And to be watchful for adverse side effects and drug interactions. And second, that this country's drug safety program is woefully inadequate and ill equipped to deal with the harm that drugs can cause, even when used properly and under the care of a physician. I have read Mr. Moore's previous books and I have found him to be right on the mark and a step ahead of the pack, watch for drug safety to become a big issue.

This book provides a functional, usable set of guidelines to consider when working on fisheries habitat and stream rehabilitation problems. Although it is oriented towards the American environmental processes - EPA etc, the background concepts and information should be required reading for everyone who is involved in both environmental monitoring and assessment, and those who are involved in trying to bring back stream habitat that has been lost.

Useful for a much broader audience than originally targetted. For instance Community Stewardship groups here in BC have found it most useful.

A very informative, thorough, and interesting coverage of the topic. Very well written and an enjoyable read. I especially liked the presentation of the "chapters" as "premises."

Advocacy is one theme of this book, but I didn't find that objectionable. As a former professional in the regulatory field, I think it is important for people with opinions to express them!

This book is really a must-read for people working on any aspect of biological monitoring of aquatic systems.

Karr & Chu provide compelling arguments for the inclusion of reasoned biomonitoring efforts in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of aquatic ecosystems. This is long-overdue. Their desire for biological relevance above and beyond statistical significance is also laudable, reminding me of a dear mentor's constant advice: "But what do the numbers *mean* biologically??" It is an extremely well documented book as well, providing ample resources for further scholarly investigation of related topics. I laud their eagerness to create biological relevance and move beyond standard statistical distributions by brute biological common sense. Their approach is clearly robust, time-effective, and biologically relevant - an excellent combination for real-world environmental management decisions! I do, however, find the authors' quite one-dimensional focus on the use of single "multimetric indices" to be limiting in the practice of aquatic EIA. (Multimetric indices are sums of individual indices, each measuring a different ecological factor.) I fear that the same mathematical machinations which make Karr & Chu's methods robust may also make them insensitive to subtle biological changes. They might contend that robust management considerations render subtle biological changes irrelevant; I would argue that subtle change over time can be at least as powerful as quantum, near-instantaneous changes. The author's methods are also constrained by the fact that the a significant effort is expended in calibration, which may be fine and justified for future studies, but may be of little help for projects currently "in-hand." In conclusion, I would definitely recommend this book as a required read in aquatic biomonitoring strategies, but I will continue to examine my data in more statistically conventional ways as well as through multimetric indices --- I'm not likely to throw out the entire old toolbox for the addition of one new tool, after all, and all the multimetric indices in the world won't do a jot of good without sound experimental design practices.

Well written, well researched book that is a must-read for practitioners and policy-makers. Useful not only for Seattle, but findings are applicable to other water systems.

Although the technical matter may seem dry, the writing style is extremely nuanced making this a fascinating and useful book. The author advocates a dynamic analysis of lifeline systems using leading edge mathematical models and seismic risk methods.

Excellent analysis of seismic risk for a given water system with important applications to other sites. The writing style will appeal to a broad range of audiences.

In this sequel to the beloved "Old Turtle," the people of the Earth are living in peace until they discover a powerful truth that gives them strength and happiness. The result is that the Earth is soon full of suffering and war until one little girl seeks out Old Turtle, who tells her that what the people do not realize is that the great "truth" is broken and incomplete. It is then up to the little girl to travel back to the world and pass on the precious piece of wisdom that will provide the people with the whole truth.

While I certainly like the idea of a "broken truth" as a metaphor for explaining why so much goes so terribly wrong in the world in which we live, I had to admit that I was rather disappointed by the revelation of what were the two halves of the broken truth. The completed message is certainly worthwhile, and an important one for everyone to appreciate and understand, but I am not sure why half of that truth (the first half in this case), would create a world of war and suffering. However, young readers will not be sidetracked by such practical concerns and should find the message of "Old Turtle and the Broken Truth" to be something that meets their expectations. Douglas Wood's story is complimented by watercolors by Jon J. Muth.

I picked this book because I love turtles and I was intrigued about what on Earth (or anywhere, for that matter!) the Broken Truth might be....

Through Douglas Wood's narrative, I was taken to a land where every stone was a teacher and every breeze a language, where every lake was a mirror and every tree a ladder to the stars.....

And then in a brief moment, the sight of the Broken Truth falling to the ground in an especially poignant watercolor by illustrator Jon Muth.

I found the unfolding story to be told gently and with great care. As one other reader noted, it echoes so clearly many of the challenges which are inherent in humankind today.

And then, on the other hand, I am very familiar with this place where every stone is a teacher, every breeze a language, every lake a mirror and every tree a ladder to the stars.... Very worthy read... and very worthy of sharing with children and grown children everywhere.

Having never heard of or read "Old Turtle", I am not sure WHY I was compelled to look at this book while at the book store today. Perhaps it was the awesome watercolor on the cover..? At any rate, I sat and read the entire book. I remember looking up twice to see if anyone noticed how choked up I was getting - NOT the reaction I was expecting out of myself, but then again, I wasn't expecting to sit down and read one of the most eloquent, beautiful stories I've ever read. I immediately purchased it for an environmentalist/animal rights activist friend of mine, a brilliant girl with so much passion and ability to change the world, who of course I was reminded of by the little girl in the story. This book so amazingly sums up so many of the problems in our world and collective conscience, and so brilliantly pulls them all together into one fundamental flaw in our thinking, whether it's our ignorant views towards animals, nature, or the middle-east, etc. And it offers hope. I can't wait to give it to my friend!

The Blackout of 2003 has already left us awash in observations of our dependence on technology. Some 50 million people (including this writer) found themselves suddenly forced to adjust, however temporary, to life without the conveniences provided by electricity. There is no question that, had the outage lasted longer than a few hours, as was the case in most areas, the effects would have been even more profound, if not catastrophic. But electronic technology is the new kid in town, a relatively recent arrival on the human scene, and as such gets far more attention than the more mundane technologies that have become so integrated into the human condition as to be nearly invisible. These "everyday" technologies are the subject of Edward Tenner's fascinating new book, OUR OWN DEVICES.

Tenner's exhaustively researched histories of the evolution of the baby bottle and baby formulas, eyeglasses, footwear, chairs, helmets and keyboards (of the musical and typewriter varieties) describe technologies that have affected the human body as much as, if not more than, they affected civilization. Tenner's focus on these body technologies is a welcome and appealing shift from the persistent focus on today's cutting-edge electronic technology.

There is no question that advances in computer technology over the last dozen years in particular have had a profound effect on society, culture, and business. But with the notable exception of certain medical advances, technology at that level is only just beginning to affect the human body at the same level as the devices Tenner describes. Within the context of human evolution, the technologies illustrated in OUR OWN DEVICES, though taken for granted for decades (or longer), are no less revolutionary than the body enhancements described in William Gibson's NEUROMANCER and other cyberpunk novels.

While eyeglasses may not seem as sexy or as exciting as the implants and body enhancements one finds in cyberpunk, they make it possible for me, a profoundly nearsighted, trifocal-wearing reader, to function in the world, let alone read anything I want, whether it's cyberpunk speculation of the future or a detailed history of the eyeglasses that today similarly empower millions. As a card-carrying techno-geek, I love new gadgets, but as body enhancements go, I can't think of anything more necessary and therefore more interesting than my glasses. Edward Tenner's highly informative book is important because he puts that issue into very sharp focus.

While life without electricity is as attractive a proposition as a do-it-yourself root canal, life without the familiar technologies described in OUR OWN DEVICES would truly reduce mankind to a state uncomfortably close to that of our knuckle-dragging ancestors. Chance --- and the apparent inadequacies of our electrical infrastructure --- has made Tenner's book a timely and significant one. Read it now, while the lights are still on.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart

Edward Tenne's Our Own Devicesr is superbly presented survey which is hard to easily categorize but nonetheless very highly recommended reading. Our Own Devices informatively covers inventions of everyday things that protect us, enhance performance, and help position us. From ergomatic chairs and recliners which moved from health resources to symbols of obesity to a keyboard which failed because professional pianists believed difficult passages needed to stay challenging, Our Own Devices draws some interesting parallels between advancements, achievement, and self-preservation.

Why Things Bite Back ranks near the top of my list of favorite nonfiction reads of the last decade, so I was thrilled when Our Own Devices came out. Edward Tenner did not disappoint! Our Own Devices concerns how the human body and technology have coevolved. There is a strong emphasis on how technique has changed [walking, writing, etc.] over time as the technology has changed. Some of his examples are what you'd expect from a book like this [e.g. the typewriter/computer keyboard], but others are a surprise [e.g. the zori, bottle-feeding]. Of course, I most closely related to the chapter on eyeglasses because I'm extremely myopic AND I read a lot. As with Why Things Bite back, Our Own Devices will make you think about our very complex relationship with technology. The book should interest folks who like to read about technology, history, and physiology. I highly recommend Our Own Devices.

I found the book very entertaining to read, Yewdall tells many personal stories which he uses to illustrate points. In fact, I read it more like a novel. He passes his knowledge, and experience to the reader through stories of things he's done, and has seen in his many years recording, producing and creating sound for motion pictures. Some is fact, some is opinion, but his opinions are clear and are backed-up with his own unique style of logic.

There are also more technical areas of the book that cover topics like mic placement, how to record cars/explosions/dialogue, how to catalogue your own sound effects libary, etc. This book would also be useful to directors and producers who want better sound in their films. There's definately lots to learn about sound, and the author has done a good job giving the reader an idea about what motion picture sound is all about.

David is one of my teachers at North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking and his class is incredibly indepth. Of course, this is the book he uses in class. It is so easy to read and understand. I recommend this book to everyone, even if you know nothing about sound as this book will get up and going quickly and give you everything you need to be successful.

Author/recordist David Yewdall does a terrific job explaining the highly-technical goings-on behind the scenes in the world of film sound. Recording, mixing, dubbing, and digital audio techniques are all covered in a way that never talks over the reader's head.

The content is absolutely state-of-the-art (as of mid-2000), and is the first thorough book I've ever seen on the subject. Anybody who's interested in recording sound for TV or films -- high budget, low budget, or inbetween -- will get something positive out of this book. Highly recommended!

In "The Role of the Sun in Climate Change" the reader finds an entertaining tale told by two scientists. Often in today's debate on global climate change, readers are forced to listen to politicians or the media. This book serves as a refreshing change from that paradigm. Not only is the reader presented with a skeptical view of the facts of global climate change, but the reader may also enjoy the writing style which one rarely finds in writings by scientists. The opening sentence of Chapter 1 sounds like a novel when these scientists describe how one scientist, from an era long gone, went about his daily observing. They even display a sense of humor in their chapters and their titles, as in Chapter 9, "Cyclomania" where they set out to describe many of the different cyclic processes involved in both the sun and climate, and how so many cycles can be used or abused. This book can be enjoyed while commuting to work (as long as you are not the driver) as well as an introduction for serious studies. It contains an extensive bibliography.

To those Seekers of Truth interested in the facts surrounding the "Global Warming" debate should start with this book. This is a very accessible, very well written book. First and foremost it establishes the historical record for climate change. I'd supplement that by pointing out that 100 years of data doesn't establish any significant trend worth talking about considering the extreme variations in climate known over hundreds of thousands of years.

The book goes into great detail regarding a number of possible factors that may affect climate. No attempt is made to favor one factor over another beyond an examination of how well each correlates to the actual record. However, the data does prove quite skeptical for human-induced climatic change. After all, how many SUVs were there during the Medieval Warm Period (~800 AD to ~1300 AD)? What drove the extreme cooling of the Younger Dryas (~12,700 years ago)? What drove the extreme warming that ended that period of cooling?

Of most interest to me, was the correlation of sun spot cycles, and more importantly the long-term record of sun spot minima and maxima within those cycles over hundreds of years, with climate. Also, of great interest are detailed explanations showing how variations in solar output energy and distribution with respect to wavelength, may force amplified climatic responses.

In all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the truth about the factors forcing climatic changes. You'll never hear any of this from those with a vested financial interest in scare mongering. Nor do I put much stock in the social scientists making up a super majority of those scientists said to be most convinced that humanity is the major cause of Global Warming.

Nor will you hear any hint of it from the scientifically bankrupt major media outlets. These ideas simply cannot be crammed into an 11-second sound bite. But, more importantly sensationalism is the stock in trade of TV news shows. The scientific-illiterati amongst the talking heads will blame drivers in SUVs for on-screen images of floods and storms rather something which they cannot possibly control, such as the Sun.

Although more than 5 years have passed since this book was published, it has held up rather well. The reason for that is that it takes a historical perspective and the history portions of the book do not not become rapidly dated. The author can be reached at dhoyt@toast.net if anyone has questions or comments.