Book Description
Bawdy, joyous, messy, hysterically funny, and guaranteed to offend regardless of religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or profession Between the Bridge and the River is the debut novel by Craig Ferguson, host of CBS's The Late Late Show. Two childhood friends from Scotland and two illegitimate half-brothers from the American South suffer and enjoy all manner of bizarre experiences which, as it turns out, are somehow interconnected and, surprisingly enough, meaningful. An eclectic cast of characters includes Carl Jung, Fatty Arbuckle, Virgil, Marat, Socrates, and Tony Randall. Love, greed, hope, revenge, organized religion, and Hollywood are alternately tickled and throttled. Impossible to summarize and impossible to stop reading, this is a romantic comic odyssey that actually delivers and rewards.
Book Description
Continuing the epic foot journey across Europe begun in A Time of Gifts
The journey that Patrick Leigh Fermor set out on in 1933—to cross Europe on foot with an emergency allowance of one pound a day—proved so rich in experiences that when much later he sat down to describe them, they overflowed into more than one volume. Undertaken as the storms of war gathered, and providing a background for the events that were beginning to unfold in Central Europe, Leigh Fermor's still-unfinished account of his journey has established itself as a modern classic. Between the Woods and the Water, the second volume of a projected three, has garnered as many prizes as its celebrated predecessor, A Time of Gifts.
The opening of the book finds Leigh Fermor crossing the Danube—at the very moment where his first volume left off. A detour to the luminous splendors of Prague is followed bya trip downriver to Budapest, passage on horseback acrossthe Great Hungarian Plain, and a crossing of the Romanian border into Transylvania. Remote castles, mountain villages,monasteries and towering ranges that are the haunt of bears, wolves, eagles, gypsies, and a variety of sects are all savoredin the approach to the Iron Gates, the division between the Carpathian mountains and the Balkans, where, for now, the story ends.
Customer Reviews:
Gar nichts!.......2007-04-07
The title above is German for "Absolutely nothing!", Fermor's droll reply to "What are you studying?" when visiting a scholar with his newfound Transylvanian friend Istvan, who laughs about such blasphemy all the way back from the visit. The polymathic Fermor had contemplated his answer a few moments before answering-"Languages? Art? Geography? Folklore? Literature? None of them seemed to fit." The truth is, of course, as anyone who has read of anything of Fermor's knows full well, that Fermor has been studying all of these things, but with his own assiduous, unacademic zeal. This time he spent in Transylvania (The country's name meaning, as any first year Latinist would know, "Across the Woods") is by far my favourite: His escapades with Istvan, the fleeting amour with Angela, the effortless historical erudition about the region all make it exemplary of the book as a whole - which is not to slight the rest of it at all!
I disagree profoundly with the reviewers who take umbrage at Fermor's "esoteric" use of language and historic allusion. For the armchair traveler, these qualities make the book just that much more fun - Diving into the OED and various encyclopedias to thresh out some of the references.
The overall effect of this book, as with A Time of Gifts, is best likened to a friendly punch in the gut by an old chum. It takes you at unawares but leaves you invigorated and happy to be alive in the world. Yes, there are sadnesses to the book, not the least of which is that the beautiful View of the Danube near Regensburg on the cover of the NYRB edition is now underwater, lost forever; But as Fermor contemplates as his time with Angela draws to a close, "There are hours in life worth more than diamonds." This book is full of them!
And all these youths chain-smoking cigarettes! Perhaps the Surgeon General should put a warning label on the book lest a youth of today discover the vibrant meaning of carpe diem!
Reading trumps experience.......2006-12-14
`Between the Woods and the Water' is a delightful travelogue, even though the sites and sounds are long gone. Fermor paints a picture of the life every young man wants to lead - well-funded itinerant travel, nearly effortless sociability, and a seemingly endless nightlife. This is the ultimate "Wish You Were Here" card, well worth the read for anyone interested in travel, history, and tales of pre-war social frivolity in Eastern Europe.
The narrative structure took me by surprise. Almost every region receives a minor academic treatment prior to Fermor's personal tales: history, language, architecture, nature, fun and games, repeat. I found myself skimming past descriptions of birds and trees, but fascinated by the author's insights into the interplay of geography, language development, and regional history. And, of course, it is impossible not to be won over by the author's late nights, fleeting loves, and brief stays with forgotten royalty.
My father often told me that `On the Road' had a profound effect on him as a youth. `Between the Woods and the Water' has a similar effect on me, only later in life. After the reading the story I was offered a brief trip to Hungary which I could not pass up. Far from Fermor's experience, I was greeted with mindless business meetings, post-communism industrial architecture, a robbery, and small-scale street riots. In the end, my disappointment with reality deepened my appreciation of the book - a memorializing tale of a geography and way of life that no longer exists.
Between the Woods and the Water.......2006-11-10
This is the continuation of, "A Time of Gifts." The English youth continues his walk across Europe to Constantinople. He picks up now in Austria, on to Hungary following the Danube valley. I wanted to quit reading this - page after page of allusions to east European history from Roman and pre-Roman times, Hungarian geography, reflections on Slavic languages. Esoterics I cannot appreciate. Still, they lured me and challenged me. These are places and these are people - Magyars and Gypsies - we seldom find in writing. We are introduced just as an era is about to end and everything is to change. It can be a book to go to bed with.
a classic..........2006-11-03
I got this book before Amazon existed and I've bought multiple copies since then.
Buy this and treasure it, give it to your friends.
Superb .......2006-09-18
This is the sequel to Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts. In 1933, the very young Leigh Fermor set out to travel by foot from Holland to Constantinople. Written many years after this adventure, Between the Woods and the Water describes Leigh Fermor's travels in Hungary and Transylvania. He had the good fortune to make some aristocratic connections and spent a good part of the trip being passed from country house to country house and town to town within an extended family network of the Hungarian aristocracy. The Hungary and Transylvania Leigh Fermor describes had already changed greatly under the impact of the First World War, the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Great Depression. Many, if not all of the aristocratic figures from whom Leigh Fermor received hospitality, were living lives of genteel poverty on much reduced estates. Still, he describes a world that would be swept away by the events of WWII, the installation of communist states and the postwar industrialization of much of Eastern Europe. The Hungary and Transylvania through which Leigh Fermor travels is very rural, dominated by a peasantry still coexisiting with the aristocracy. Transylvania in particular was ethnically diverse with significant populations of ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Romanians, Jews, and Gypsies. These populations were divided also by a variety of languages and faiths. The awareness on the part of the author and readers of fate of these peoples gives much of this book an elegiac quality. Wonderfully written with superb historical digressions and some outstanding descriptive writing about the landscapes, this is book is just a treat. The natural comparison is with the predecessor volume. I think this is the better of the two. This volume was published in the mid-80s with Leigh Fermor promising a sequel that would cover the final segment of the journey. Sadly, this has never been published and given Leigh Fermor's advanced age, it is unlikely to be completed. A real pity.
Average customer rating:
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The River Between Us
Richard Peck
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A Year Down Yonder
ASIN: 0142403105 |
Book Description
The year is 1861. Civil war is imminent and Tilly Pruitt's brother, Noah, is eager to go and fight on the side of the North. With her father long gone, Tilly, her sister, and their mother struggle to make ends meet and hold the dwindling Pruitt family together. Then one night a mysterious girl arrives on a steamboat bound for St. Louis. Delphine is unlike anyone the small river town has even seen. Mrs. Pruitt agrees to take Delphine and her dark, silent traveling companion in as boarders. No one in town knows what to make of the two strangers, and so the rumors fly. Is Delphine's companion a slave? Could they be spies for the South? Are the Pruitts traitors? A masterful tale of mystery and war, and a breathtaking portrait of the lifelong impact one person can have on another.
Customer Reviews:
School Reveiw.......2007-03-16
The simple life in Grand Tower is going to get a lot more complicated. The Pruit family has to worry about keeping Noah at home and out of the war, and now they have two strange visitors from New Orleans to deal with. One night in 1861, Delphine and Calinda stepped off a boat coming from New Orleans. Rather than stay at the town's hotel, Mrs. Pruit invited them to stay at her house with her and her children, Tilly, Cassy, and Noah. With different food and strange customs, Delphine and Calinda brought new excitement to Grand Tower. Delphine quickly captured the hearts of the local men, including Noah. Even though Grand Tower was full of people he loved, Noah, against his family's wishes, soon left in the middle of the night to go fight in the Civil War. This devastated Mrs. Pruit to the point that she almost when insane. When she could not stand it any longer, she sent Tilly and Delphine to go find Noah and bring him home. They packed up some clothes, food, and all the medicines they could think of, and left. With some help from the Grand Tower doctor, they were able to find Noah. He was very sick and his living conditions were horrible. So Tilly and Delphine helped nurse him and the others back to health and improved the camp's living conditions. When Noah was strong enough, they sent him off to battle. Tilly and Delphine waited, still helping with the camp, until he returned. By this time he had lost an arm, but he was well enough to be taken home. When they get back, they find out that Mrs. Pruit had committed suicide because she thought Noah was dead. Noah made a life for himself in Grand Tower with Delphine by his side and close to family. And now Tilly tells this story to her grandkids, so that what their family went through during the war will never be forgotten. Overall, this is a pretty boring book. It had some interesting characters, but parts were confusing and it wasn't all that interesting.
One of the reasons that I didn't like this book is because parts of it were a little hard to understand. For example, the story was written how the people actually talked. Since their speech wasn't that good, some of the sentences didn't make much sense. Like when Tilly was talking about what they had for dinner, she said "we's never et so good." Even though I got what it said, that type of sentence got annoying after awhile. Another confusing thing was when the narrator thought she remembered wrong. This book is a story that she is telling to her grandkids. So as the story went on, sometimes the narrator would stop and say "no, wait, that's not what happened." They she would say that the event happened differently. Sometimes that got confusing when she was second-guessing herself. Another thing that mad the book hard to understand was when Delphine spoke French. Whenever she was telling a story she would throw in some French words. They people in the story knew what she was saying, but I didn't.
One of the very few good things about this book is that it has some interesting characters. I thought Tilly was interesting because she seemed like a kind person. She was protective of her younger sister and was willing to go and try to find her brother. She knew that they might not find him and how upset her mom would be if she came home without him, but she did it anyway. Another interesting character was Cassy. At the beginning of the story Cassy is sitting looking out at the river. That's when you find out that she can see all the people that have died there in the past, and that she sees more people that will die in the future. That seemed pretty cool to me. Delphine was also an interesting character. Without her the book would have been pretty boring. She told some good stories and she made life exciting for the simple Pruit family.
One of the main reasons that I didn't like the book is because it was kind of boring. In about one hundred and sixty pages, nothing much happens. Mainly its just Delphine comes, Noah leaves, they go get him, and they come home. A lot of the stuff they wrote had nothing to do with the story line. It was just some background on Delphine and what Calinda cooked. Most of that was just there to make the story longer, but it only made the book boring. If they got rid of some of the stuff about how all they men fell in love with Delphine or some of the many conversations that they had about New Orleans, it might have made the book better.
I didn't find this book to be very interesting and it was hard to stay focused on it long enough to finish it. I would on recommend it to younger kids; older kids would think it's really boring. I don't think it's worth reading.
C. Chapman
Civil War Drama.......2006-11-16
This is a very good and fast paced book for Junior High readers and learning of the beginnings of the civil war. Richard Peck always has interesting characters and this book continues with that.
The River Between Us.......2006-08-23
The River Between Us, by Peck, illustrates the beginning of the civil war in 1861. Tilly Pruitt and her family welcome two stranges from New Orleans to stay with them in their house in Illinois. Their whole household changes when the strangers introduce new styles and home remedies. The overprotective mother worries about her son, Noah, going into the war. He eventually leaves home and his mother sends Tilly to retrieve him from the war camp.
I recommend this book for children ages 11-15 so that they understand the events occuring in the book.
Not a good book........2006-06-23
My daughter is "into" the Civil War so I bought this book for her. I read it first and am glad I did. I cannot recommend it. It is boring and has very little suspense. I know the Civil War was a sad and serious time, but familied still had some happy times in the midst of it! Cass, the main character's younger sister, has visions and all sorts of weird things. I do not want to expose my children to that. Another character also reads cards and supposedly has second sight. These things are occultic to me. Therefore I cannot recommend this book at all.
What a great book!!!.......2006-05-23
I love this historicle fiction book, it used GREAT discription and had a great plot that kept me interested the intire time! Although some parts were very sad, and the time change was rather confusing I loved it. The book tells a story of a boy in the civel war. He has just turned 16 and is allowed to join the army. He is eager to fight for the North. Then a misterious girl appears off a boat and is welcomed into the Pruitt family. The girl appears to be keeping Noah from leaving and the mother is thankful for that. What will hapen? I LOVE this book!!!
Book Description
...that rarity, an almost wordless love story that avoids pseudo-nobility while remaining proudly and distinctively African.
- The Guardian
Christian missionaries attempt to outlaw the female circumcision ritual and in the process create a terrible rift between the two Kikuyu communities on either side of the river. The people are torn between those who believe in Western/Christian education and the opportunities it will offer, and those who feel that only unquestioned loyalty to past traditions will save them. The growing conflict brings tragedy to a pair of young lovers who attempted to bridge the deepening chasm.
Customer Reviews:
Just one question..........2006-08-01
I read this book while living in Tanzania as a volunteer from 2000-2002. I found it very helpful in understanding East African post-colonial attitudes. For that, it was an invaluable book to read, and it helped me put my own self and work into context. I would recommend this book to anyone doing Peace Corps in Kenya or Tanzania.
As a work of fiction, it is fascinating, and I was easily absorbed into the storyline, and the love story involved.
However, I felt that the women in the story were too simplistically depicted. It left me wondering if that is truly how women in Kenya during that era felt about female circumcision, or if Ngugi himself had written from the female perspective without really understanding it.
In some ways, he makes FGM seem like it is comparable to male circumcision, which it's not. It does far more damage to a woman than what men typically experience from male circumcision.
So my suggestion, then, is for readers to keep in mind that the writer is a male from a male-dominated society as they read the story.
Important book from an important author.......2005-09-21
The River Between is a subtle tale that manages to comprehensively deal with a variety of themes including the challenge of leadership, the values of traditional heritage, the destructive nature of rejection of culture and finally, the multi faceted dimensions of the human personality.
As an African woman in the Diaspora, the writing of African writers from the Continent is a very important and an integral means of connecting with a heritage that I am routinely forced to ignore and misunderstand. This novel, amongst many other African novels, is an important tool in the re-education of the mind, forcing you to understand the dynamics of the many diverse African cultures as well as introducing you to the unique mode of storytelling that African writers illustrate so well, and Ngugi is a particularly accomplished story teller.
A River Between, although set amongst the Gikuyu, has lessons for all African people everywhere fighting for self-determination, survival and most importantly, global unity amongst African people. The way in which Ngugi deals with the issue of Female Circumsion is one that I have to respect. He does not simply demonise the practice but puts the practice into the context of tradition and heritage. Indeed, he highlights the perils of literally `white' washing African cultures through the character of Joshua who ultimately loses both his children.
One of the most memorable quotes for me occurs in Chapter 25 when Waiyaki thinks to himself about Joshua, the `white' man's horse:
"He had clothed himself with a religion decorates and smeared with everything white. He renounced his past and cut himself away from those life-giving traditions of the tribe. And because he had nothing to rest upon, something rich and firm on which to stand and grow, eh had to cling with his hands to whatever the missionaries taught him..."
Overall, River Between is a beautifully written story that illustrates the complimentary nature of duality or seemingly apparent opposites. It is subtle and yet bold; inspirational but also cautionary. Everything is intricately interwoven and you realise that all elements of life is steadfastly connected with each other, you can not successfully separate love from social responsibility, or heritage and legacy from the present and future.
Powerful Novel.......2005-04-21
"The River Between" tells the story of a young boy, Waiyaki, who is told by his father that he will be the savior of his village. Waiyaki's village is under the threat of integration by the white missionaries who are slowly entruding on their village. Waiyaki is to go to the mission and learn the teachings of the white man and use those teachings to help save his people. Waiyaki accepts his role as savior and feels that education is the only way to save his people.
This novel deals with complex issues, including finding a balance between accepted, traditional norms and new world education. The struggle to find a balance is the motivating factor in this novel and drives the story forward. Ngugi crafted this novel masterfully and receives tremendous praise for this work. I highly recommend this book to any who desire to read it.
intro to african writing.......2005-04-15
this is the first novel i've read by an african author. after i got used to the tricky names and got into the narrative, i couldn't put it down. it does much more that tell a story of the invading white man, it explores themes of family and love that cross cultural boundaries.
i think the strength of this piece is that there are no white characters in it, so it doesn't just rehash out the same old invasion narrative.
good book.
A well-named novel.......2004-10-06
With every work of Ngugi's that I read, the more impressed I am. I first came across his "Petals of Blood" by chance in a used bookstore years ago, and ever since I've kept an eye open for other books of his. I admit that I've only read his novels, though; reading plays (as opposed to seeing them performed) for the most part doesn't move me nearly as much.
In "The River Between", Ngugi once again arrives at a viewpoint of tolerance while denouncing corruption in society; he manages to do so without demonizing the people on either side of any particular issue. He recognizes the strengths and weaknesses, the convictions and the doubts with which most human beings are imbued. He doesn't automatically blame all of his country's or his continent's problems on the "White Man", but rather he recognizes that the corruption and venality that continue to plague his society are things which are rooted in the universal human condition, not imports from Europe or the USA. He manages here to deal with a highly charged issue, as provocative and controversial now as it was at the time he wrote this book, namely "female circumcision" or "female genital mutilation", depending on your point of view. Almost uniquely, it seems, among Kenyan intellectuals he questions the absolute necessity of the practice to the maintenance of traditional social structure and values; but he does so while neither fervently condemning nor acclaiming it. As I've come to expect from Ngugi, he finds a road between extreme and fanatical stands - or a "river between", if you prefer; the protagonist attempts to make up his own mind rather than unquestioningly accepting received teaching about the absolute rightness or wrongness of either traditional practices or revolutionary knowledge. He recognizes that not all traditional practices are necessarily "better" or more "pure" than new ways of thinking, but that neither can they be eliminated by fiat without disastrous consequences for society, that education and time are necessary for peoples' thinking to evolve and for other values to be allowed to take the place of some of those that have been cherished since time immemorial. I confess that I was a little leery when I began reading this book; I feared that Ngugi would follow the line of so many other African writers in fervent support of female circumcision or FMG. That was the staunch rock of faith upon which I foundered when reading other books such as Jomo Kenyatta's "Facing Mount Kenya" and Camara Laye's "The African Child". I was suitably heartened to find that Ngugi once again finds his own mind, something I've come to see as the hallmark of his writing. But his protagonist doesn't arrive at the journey's destination by easy paths - I'm reminded of a line by the great singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, that "la angustia es el precio de ser uno mismo" ("anguish is the price of being oneself").
Average customer rating:
- exotic travel, exploration and adventure in the remote Amazon
- WELL WRITTEN AND FUNNY, OVER THE TOP AT TIMES
- possibly funniest travel book ever
- You man never need to visit the Amazon Jungle
- Oops! - Leeches are Infesting My Shorts
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In Trouble Again: A Journey Between Orinoco and the Amazon
Redmond O'Hanlon
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ASIN: 0679727140
Release Date: 1990-04-14 |
Book Description
O'Hanlon takes us into the bug-ridden rain forest between the Orinoco and the Amazon--infested with jaguars and piranhas, where men would kill over a bottle of ketchup and where the locals may be the most violent people on earth (next to hockey fans).
Customer Reviews:
exotic travel, exploration and adventure in the remote Amazon.......2006-11-02
"In Trouble Again" by Redmond O'Hanlon is a book about exotic travel, exploration and adventure in the remote Amazon jungle and along its rivers.
O'Hanlon continues the flourishing line of eccentric English explorers who did so much to penetrate the far reaches of the known world a century or so ago - and indeed into the middle of the 20th century. To a man (and, with a few notable exceptions, they were mostly men) they relished hardship, discomfort and danger in the hope of extending the range of human knowledge of the physical and living worlds - and testing their own limits in the process.
It is a pity that similar challenges are disappearing for young men today, although not entirely as this book proves. O'Hanlons adventures would not have been out of place in the 19th century, yet the expedition described in the book took place in the mid-1980s.
The book describes O'Hanlon's expedition into the remote Amazonas jungle of Venezuela. Although the term "expedition" is perhaps too strong a term to describe a trip with idiosyncratic guides and companions that frequently went awry. He also encounters frightening animals and inhabitants. As a treat, the Yanomami inserted a long blowpipe into his nostrils and blew in yoppo, a mind-altering drug, during an evening hanging out in one of their villages. He met the dreaded assassin beetle, carrier of Chagas Disease.
However, the misadventures are very entertaining. O'Hanlon woke one morning to find his testicles looking like a bunch of green grapes. They were covered in ticks from a tapir killed the previous evening for food. Apparently some ticks migrate to the genitals of a new host because they have learned that the genitals are the only part of the body that a tapir will not scrape against a tree to dislodge parasites.
Anyone who has travelled down the Amazon and into its jungles as a conventional tourist will recognise many of the things described in the book: palm trees covered in long thorns, eating piranhas, the sounds of frogs, fire ants, curare arrows and much more. I highly recommend reading the book either before or after undertaking such a trip.
WELL WRITTEN AND FUNNY, OVER THE TOP AT TIMES.......2006-09-08
Redmond O'Hanlon is a good travel writer, bringing the reader into his canoe as he faces a torrent of dangers and unpleasant situations. His British humour is very well placed in presenting some of the absurb situations he gets himself into. Especially with Simon as his sidekick (which gives the reader a somewhat normal view of things), the story is quite captivating.
However, some of his descriptions and stories did leave me with the feeling that he may have augmented the danger of situations to make the story more interesting. He also blew up the stupidity of some characters, giving in to what sounds like basic stereotypes of indians and the fears white people have of indians.
Overall, this is a decent book. If you are into Amazon travel, this is a nice adition. However, if you just want an intro to the Amazon through the eyes of an adventurer, there are better books, such as David Campbell's (1st person, more scientific pop writing with lyrical qualities) or Candice Millard's (old travel, relating Roosevelt's exploration in the Amazon).
possibly funniest travel book ever.......2006-03-01
dry british humor. The funniest passage ever written may be Simon's tirade when he has had enough and tells O'Hanlon he wants out of this miserable trip. O'Hanlon is the master of travel gone bad.
You man never need to visit the Amazon Jungle.......2005-10-12
Reading Redmond O'Hanlon is like going on the worst camping trip ever, (bees, mosquitoes, ants, snakes and cannibals) without leaving your own living room. O'Hanlon has such a gentle way of describing the worst possible situations as though they were just par. I am glad I don't have to wade up piranha infested waters, but I am glad he did and lived to tell the tale.
Endearing. After reading this book I went and found all his previous and current publications. He gets better and better.
Oops! - Leeches are Infesting My Shorts.......2003-06-30
Madcap and hilarious, this is a travel book written by a travel writer like no other. The natural history of the Venezuelan jungle, combined with an eclectic mix of characters so goofy and improbable as to seem fictional, told by a man who, if he wasn't already a science writer, would have made a nice addition to the Monty Python crew.
It's amazing that Mr. O'Hanlon is still alive, but I'm glad he is. I'm most definitely looking forward to reading some more of his adventures.
Customer Reviews:
A Better Performer Than a Serious Writer.......2007-08-20
If you watch Craig Ferguson on TV, and love his humor, you won't find it in this book, although I like his satire of organized religion. Even though this book is labeled a novel, it reads just like a memoir from a person who is far more interesting as a performer than a "novelist." Enjoy him on TV.
Book Description
Thirty leading naturalists and writers survey the fabulous geographies of north Florida's Gulf Coast and the Red Hills of southwest Georgia.
Customer Reviews:
Between Two Rivers.......2007-10-10
This book is a microcosm of the rural northwest Florida life, providing wonderful insights into a faded and slowly fading lifestyle in a soon-to-be-discoverred part of the south. Having moved to the area four years ago, it gave me some local information provided by stories of those who grew up in the area and were a part of its history. Should be required reading for students in the northwest Florida area. This is one book I will definitely keep on my bookshelf and reread.
An advocate for nature.......2007-10-06
Each author's essay presents a view of nature too few get to enjoy. With so many of our "natural" lands disappearing literally from the face of the earth, it is essential reading for those who know (and for those who do NOT know) what we are losing on a daily basis. Reclaiming can only heal the land to a certain degree, we must fight to keep the original spaces.
Book Description
California Rivers and Streams provides a clear and informative overview of the physical and biological processes that shape California's rivers and watersheds. Jeffrey Mount introduces relevant basic principles of hydrology and geomorphology and applies them to an understanding of the differences in character of the state's many rivers. He then builds on this foundation by evaluating the impact on waterways of different land use practices--logging, mining, agriculture, flood control, urbanization, and water supply development.
Water may be one of California's most valuable resources, but it is far from being one we control. In spite of channels, levees, lines and dams, the state's rivers still frequently flood, with devastating results. Almost all the rivers in California are dammed or diverted; with the booming population, there will be pressure for more intervention.
Mount argues that Californians know little about how their rivers work and, more importantly, how and why land-use practices impact rivers. The forceful reconfiguration and redistribution of the rivers has already brought the state to a critical crossroads. California Rivers and Streams forces us to reevaluate our use of the state's rivers and offers a foundation for participating in the heated debates about their future.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Comprehensive Book on California Rivers.......2006-12-14
California Rivers and Streams: the conflict between fluvial processes and land use, Dr. Jeffrey F. Mount, 1995, University of California Press, 359 pages
California geologists, engineers, environmental planners, and the general public will enjoy reading this comprehensive book on California rivers. The author is Dr. Jeffrey Mount, who holds the Roy J. Shlemon Chair of Geology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Mount is the Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. He has formerly served on the Reclamation Board within the California Resources Agency.
With a heightened sense of public concern about flooding, water supply, levee repair, fish habitat, and river restoration, this book on California rivers is the best general primer that is currently available. Although not designed as a textbook, California teachers may find it suitable for introductory courses because of its comprehensive scope and highly readable narrative.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1, How Rivers Work, includes: Chapter 1, Introduction to the rivers of California; Chapter 2, Water in motion, Chapter 3, A river at work ¯ sediment entrainment, transport, and deposition; Chapter 4, The shape of a river; Chapter 5, Origins of river discharge; Chapter 6, Sediment supply; Chapter 7, River network and profile; Chapter 8, Climate and the rivers of California; Chapter 9, Tectonics and geology of California's rivers.
Part 2, Learning the Lessons: Land Use and the Rivers of California, includes: Chapter 10, Rivers of California ¯ the last 200 years; Chapter 11, Mining and the rivers of California; Chapter 12, Logging California's watersheds; Chapter 13, Food production and the rivers of California; Chapter 14, A primer on flood frequency ¯ how much and how often? Chapter 15, The urbanization of California's rivers; Chapter 16, The damming of California's rivers; and Chapter 17, The future ¯ changing climate, changing rivers.
Review by Robert H. Sydnor
California Certified Hydrogeologist #6
LM-AEG, LM-AAAS, LM-AGU, M-GSA, M-AGWA
Best book for anyone living near or any way connected to H20.......2001-03-14
This book will answer any questions you have and then answer all the questions you are too dense to think of. Anyone living in California should be forced to read this. River runners also benefit from this book that shows the correct fleuvial processes, unlike many kayaking/rafting books. Read it, get on the water and then fight for the rivers!
Great review of how rivers work with a sense of humor.......1999-04-27
This is a subperb review of how rivers systems work and how man-made changes effect these systems. Perfect for the interested layperson interested in earth science. The second half of this book covers the major watersheds of California.
Best book on how rivers work, not just for California........1999-03-26
I am a hydrologist and a water lawyer practicing in Washington DC -- this is the book I give to clients and friends to explain how rivers work and what people do to them. It assumes an intelligent reader but no background is required to get the main points. While its title and focus is California, the lessons are applicable throughout the country. Great book.
Great for the layman interested rivers & the environment.......1999-03-03
This book is perfect for the layperson interested in rivers as part of the world around us. Explains the mechanics of how rivers work and how they shape the environment around. Describes how and why rivers don't do what we want them to, even when we spend millions on extensive diversions and flood control. Jeff Mounts great sense of humor makes the subject alive and interesting what is often presented as dry and acedemic.
Average customer rating:
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The Boys From Lake County
James Keir Baughman
Manufacturer: Baughman Literary Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| 19th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Civil War
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Strategy
| Military
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0979044359 |
Book Description
Co A, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. One of the most detailed reviews of America's Civil War in its western field. A painful, shocking expose of the disastrous treatment of America's disabled Civil War veterans... little known in those years...completely unremembered in our day. Hour by hour...heroism and brilliant strategy in the most hard hitting, combative, small scale raid of America's Civil War. Rank and file riflemen...friends and neighbors from one Indiana county...living, fighting, dying in America's bloodiest of all wars. "The Boys From Lake County" is likely one-of-kind in America's Civil War history...at least in the last hundred years. The book names all of the 100 men who originally enlisted in Co A, 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It details their age at enlistment, their height, complexion, color of hair, color of eyes, where they were born, where they resided in Lake County, civilian occupation, and what happened to them during the War. For a few it reveals some details of their lives after the War. For one, the book lists a great many events during his entire lifetime. As a matter of course, "The Boys From Lake County" is also a relatively complete history of their 73rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
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