Book Description
"ON 1 JULY 1993, AT 2:48 PM LOCAL, THE U.S. GREENLAND ICE SHEET PROJECT TWO (GISP2) LOCATED IN CENTRAL GREENLAND . . . STRUCK ROCK. THIS COMPLETES THE LONGEST ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD . . . EVER OBTAINED FROM AN ICE CORE IN THE WORLD AND THE LONGEST SUCH RECORD POSSIBLE FROM THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE." -- Message from Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two posted Thursday, July 1, 1993
Almost a decade ago, Paul Andrew Mayewski, an internationally-recognized leader in climate change research, was chosen to lead the National Science Foundation's Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2). He and his colleagues put together, literally from scratch, a massive scientific research project involving 25 universities, inventing new techniques for extracting information from the longest ice cores ever from the planet's harshest environments. His book -- equally a scientific explanation of startling new discoveries, an account of how researchers actually work, and a depiction of real life scientific adventure -- arrestingly depicts the contemporary world of climate change research.
The Ice Chronicles tells the story behind GISP2, and its product 100,000 years of climate history. These amazing frozen records document major environmental events such as volcanoes and forest fires. They also reveal the dramatic influence that humans have had on the chemistry of the atmosphere and climate change through major additions of greenhouse gases, acid rain, and stratospheric ozone depletion.
Perhaps the most startling new information gleaned from these records is the knowledge that natural climate is far from stable; quite the opposite -- major, fast changes in climate are found throughout the record. It now appears that Earth's climate changes dramatically every few thousand years, often within the span of a decade. Data gathered through ice core analysis challenge traditional assumptions of how climate operates. Further, the authors show that climate conditions over the past several thousand years, which we take for granted as normal, may in fact be significantly different from that in the previous 100,000 years. New data suggest that relatively balmy conditions allowing the flowering of human civilization since the last Ice Age are not the norm for the last few hundred thousand years. Yet despite the apparent mild state of climate for the last 10,000 years there have still been changes sufficient to contribute substantially to the course of civilization. We live in a changing climate that could under certain circumstances change even more dramatically.
While not a book about policy, the authors find it impossible to ignore the fact that scientific research is, or should be, the underpinning of effective environmental policy. Recognizing that environmental and climate change can no longer be separated from politics and policy, the authors suggest a new approach, drawing upon the insights of ice core research. They present scientifically-grounded principles relevant to policy makers and the public about living with the potentially unstable climatic situation the future will most likely bring.
Customer Reviews:
Ice Chronicles Overview.......2007-02-13
I liked this book! It is a balance between a personal history of involvement and the scientific results obtained. The book provides an overview of the Greenland ice core/climate project and results obtained that point to long time climate variation, the mechanisms involved, and geologically recent warming. Important chapter references are provided for a scientifically oriented reader who might wish to examine details of the research and findings in more technical papers. After documenting climate change, the author explores human contributions to global warming in relationship to those caused by natural earth-sun systems, and discusses policy choices that we might make in the face of the new evidence about the history of earth's climate.
A cool look at the overheated climate controversy.......2003-04-11
If you're interested in global warming and climate change, you're probably aware of how politicized the area has become, and how much hot air has been spewed by proponents and opponents of the idea that we humans are changing the climate, perhaps to a dangerous or catastrophic degree. In The Ice Chronicles, climatologist and arctic explorer Paul Mayewski and author Frank White bring cooler heads and cold, hard facts to the controversy.
The book, published in the fall of 2002, centers on the findings from the two-mile long ice core that Mayewski's team pulled from the center of the Greenland Ice Cap. This ice core, labeled GISP2, allowed scientists to track a wide range of climate variables in exquisite detail over the past 100,000 years. It produced many important findings that can help clarify the highly politicized climate controversy. The core reveals that Earth's climate is far from steady. Even without any contributions from manmade greenhouse gasses, ozone-depleting chemicals or particulates, regional and global conditions have swung from hot to cold and wet to dry many times, often with dramatic suddenness. Mayewski repeatedly makes the point that the climatologically calm, benign Holocene--the time period during which human civilization appeared and has developed--is a myth. The ten millennia or so since the end of the most recent ice age have been marked by two large global climate shifts, the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period, and many less drastic but still potent changes. He also presents intriguing evidence that some of these changes contributed to the downfall of several ancient civilizations, including the Mesopotamian Empire around 1200 BC, the Mayan Civilization around 900 AD, and the Norse colonies in Greenland around 1400 AD.
My only real criticism of the book is that it may present more of the nitty gritty history and findings of the GISP2 project than most readers want or need. Still, most of this is put into boxes which readers can dive into or skip as they choose.
While the research findings and their implications are fascinating, perhaps the most important contribution the authors make is their perspective. The data Mayewksi himself uncovered show that the climate is a complicated and sensitive system, pushed from regime to regime by a variety of natural forces. But Mayewski is equally clear that human activities, most notably the marked and well-documented increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, have joined the party, and must be considered in order to understand current conditions or predict future climate change. And he is clear that unless we take sensible steps to reduce our impacts on the system, we risk not just global warming and whatever changes that would bring, but increased climactic instability and unpredictability. To the authors' credit, they attempt to bring some calm into the climate debates by propounding ten realistic, commonsense principles. The reflect that, "No matter what we do, the climate will change." But they also admonish, "We should strive more for climate predictability than control," and "If we cannot have global control of climate policy, we must at least have global cooperation."
The Ice Chronicles is well worth reading, both for the hard-won scientific facts it presents and explains so clearly, and for the constructive, down-to-earth perspective it provides.
Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation. (John Wiley & Sons, September 2002).
yesterday upon the stair............2002-12-20
Primarily a history of an impressive project to analyse the layers of snow fall on the Greenland ice cap, the book suffers from lack of focus and from unfortunate efforts at being easily approachable and topical. It is strongest at revealing the influence of variation in earth's orbit on local Greenland (and nearby North American) climate, but even here the information is presented hurriedly and one comes away knowing little more of the various climaticaly significant orbital changes the data reveals.
At it's weakest point however, there is a sad attempt to relate the ice core data to global warming. This could be parodied as "there is no evidence of recent dramatic global warming in the ice core data, therefore global warming exists." To be kinder, the author feels "since I know global warming exists from other sources, the lack of data supporting global warming in my ice cores means this must be an entirely new sort of warming." There clearly is an easier explanation.
Amazon.com
Former Newsweek editor John Taliaferro calls Mount Rushmore "one of the nation's most luminescent beacons of democracy," ranking up there with the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty. Yet comparatively little is known about its remarkable genesis. Taliaferro wryly notes that pop singer Cher "honestly believed that the sculpture was a natural formation." He tells the story of how Rushmore was conceived and built, and why controversy surrounded the project from the start. Great White Fathers is about the meaning of public art, the rise of automobile tourism, and the development of kitsch culture. At its center is Rushmore's feisty sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who waged an energetic campaign on behalf of his artistic vision and then carved the faces of four presidents into a mountainside. Taliaferro discusses every conceivable aspect of the monument, from the filming of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (a minor hullabaloo) to the Native American activists who have threatened it (a more significant one) to recent suggestions by conservatives that Ronald Reagan's image be added (not yet one only because it hasn't approached reality). Great White Fathers is an engaging blend of travelogue and history; vacationers willing to spend umpteen hours driving all the way to the Black Hills of South Dakota would be wise also to invest a few in this fascinating book. --John J. Miller
Book Description
The unlikely story of one of the oddest monuments in American history, its obsessive mastermind, and our misguided attempts to create an American heritage.
Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, hoped that ten thousand years from now, when archaeologists came upon the four sixty-foot presidential heads carved in the Black Hills of South Dakota, they would have a clear and graphic understanding of American civilization.
Borglum, the child of Mormon polygamists, had an almost Ahab-like obsession with Colossalism--a scale that matched his ego and the era. He learned how to be a celebrity from Auguste Rodin; how to be a political bully from Teddy Roosevelt. He ran with the Ku Klux Klan and mingled with the rich and famous from Wall Street to Washington. Mount Rushmore was to be his crowning achievement, the newest wonder of the world, the greatest piece of public art since Phidias carved the Parthenon.
But like so many episodes in the saga of the American West, what began as a personal dream had to be bailed out by the federal government, a compromise that nearly drove Borglum mad. Nor in the end could he control how his masterpiece would be received. Nor its devastating impact on the Lakota Sioux and the remote Black Hills of South Dakota.
Great White Fathers is at once the biography of a man and the biography of a place, told through travelogue, interviews, and investigation of the unusual records that one odd American visionary left behind. It proves that the best American stories are not simple; they are complex and contradictory, at times humorous, at other times tragic.
Customer Reviews:
Carver of mountains.......2007-01-17
In addition to being an excellent biography of Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, this book is also a fine examination of the South Dakotan monument itself. Borglum was a difficult artist: conceited, overly opinionated, and confrontational. Early in his career he developed a pattern of behavior that would mark most of his years as an artist: he would "demand control, ruffle feathers, allege conspiracy, exaggerate evil, throw down the gauntlet, burn the bridge - and lastly, foul the nest." He often criticized publicly (and harshly) the works of other sculptors, especially if they were chosen over his own works in competitions or commissions. But his artistic vision was large and his ability to carve beauty out of mountainsides unmatched. Taliaferro traces Borglum's life, including the time during the 1920s while working on Stone Mountain near Atlanta when he was a member of the KKK - often glossed over by others dealing with the artist's career (the NPS at Mt. Rushmore, for example). And Taliaferro also writes about the monument after Borglum's death, including when Alfred Hitchcock used the monument in "North By Nothwest" and the Sioux Indian protests over Black Hills land ownership during the early 1970s. Taliaferro is an excellent writer, and his final chapter which involves an account of an Independence Day 2001 re-visit he made to the monument is an engaging conclusion to this interesting book. Recommended.
One of the best historical biographies I've read.......2005-02-25
A compelling description of a man's motivation, relationships, and excessive personality, it almost reads like a novel. And what detail! The additional insights into other historical figures (including characters like Calvin Coolidge) really made it not just a book about Borglum or Rushmore (or Stone Mountain) but an insider's look at a whole period of American history.
Surprise your favorite non-fiction buff with this one from off the beaten path.
An Interesting Book on A Controversial Monument.......2004-04-12
Author John Taliaferro has provided us with an interesting and controversial history of Mount Rushmore. The first part of the book is a general history of the area encompassed by the Great Sioux Reservation of which the Black Hills of South Dakota is included. I found this general history to be a good summary of the conflict between the Native Americans and the American government. During the early 1920's South Dakota historian Doane Robinson wanted a monument of significance in the central part of the country for Americans to visit. Enter Gutzon Borglum who was running into difficulties on his Stone Mountain project in Georgia. The author delves into the strengths and weakness of Borglum as a man and as a sculptor. The project proved to be overly ambitious and ended up being a scaled down version of what was originally intended. The author provides us with numerous tidbits of information as to why the four individuals were chosen to be enshrined and the difficulties in carving their faces. Since Mount Rushmore is on land claimed by the Native Americans, part of the book includes the controversy between what some view as a monument to American democracy while others view it as honoring four individuals who have poor historical dealings with Native Americans. Depending on your point of view Mount Rushmore is either a sight for sore eyes or an eyesore. The book, while controversial, is an interesting read. I did find one mistake. On page 43 the author states the Wounded Knee massacre took place on December 28, 1890. The actual date was December 29, 1890. If you are interested in the history of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Mount Rushmore I would recommend it to you as a book I'm sure you would enjoy.
A sometimes ugly, but compelling story.......2003-09-17
This is a book worth seeking out for those interested in the history of the Black Hills, the American west and in the story of how this unique and monumental sculpture came to be.
Taliaferro will be known by some for his fine biography of cowboy artist Charlie Russell, but this time his main subject, the great Gutzon Borglum, whom some have compared to Rodin, is a much less likeable artist. He turns on his friends, is impossible to work with, and scapegoats with racist and antisemitic prejudices (he was an active member of the revitalized Klan) when things don't go his way. Nevertheless, as an artist he was brilliant, and Taliaferro tells his story, not just of the carving of Mt. Rushmore, but of Stone Mountain in Georgia and other controversial but masterful sculptures, particularly of Lincoln.
Borglum (1867-1941) knew Teddy Roosevelt, championing him as a westerner deserving of his place on Mount Rushmore with Washington, Jefferson, and the Lincoln. He also knew the Wright Brothers, Lindbergh, Helen Keller, FDR, Woodrow Wilson, Coolidge, Frank Lloyd Wright, and other notables of his time, and was an inveterate social climber, and Taliaferro tells of these relationships. Taliaferro writes about the attempts to place a fifth face on the mountain, be it Susan B. Anthony, Crazy Horse, or Ronald Reagan. The book is also about our perception of various presidents. He also writes with sensitivity and insight, but not with sentimentality, about the Native Americans in the Black Hills, bringing to the story Custer, Hickok, Wounded Knee, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, the AIM movement, others, and the fight over the federal government's siezing of land promised eternally to the Sioux. It's often an ugly, if compelling story.
A monumental work.......2003-09-03
This book is a biography of a man and place.
The man is the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the place Mt Rushmore,arguably America's greatest monument and certainly the country's most unique one.
John Taliaferro does a great job in researching the colourful history of Borglum, born to the second wife of a Mormon polygamist, later a supporter of the Ku Klux Klan,and a man with access to every president from TR to FDR.
Brilliant but irascible, Borglum typified the artistic temperament and Taliaferro concentrates on him to a greater extent than another excellent 2002 book on the same subject by Jesse Larner (Mt Rushmore: An Icon Reconsidered).
The irony that this great "Shrine of Democracy" has been built on stolen lands does not escape the author's attention and he details the Indian view. Contrary to some reviewers I do not think this is overdone. History is about conflict and competing opinions and no country, regardless of how great, enjoys a spotless past. As a conservative I consider the Indian criticism has validity.
Taliaferro captures the excitement and passions involved in the creation of this great monument and the history of the Black Hills generally, something that continues to fascinate this reviewer who lives as far away from South Dakota as is possible while still remaining on the same planet.
Having just finished a third book on the monument - by historian Gilbert Fite (whose 1952 book is the best in detailing the politics and construction difficulties of Rushmore) - gives added appreciation to this part of American history.
Reading Taliaferro's book, or the other two mentioned, is a rewarding experience and will enhance any planned visit to Mt Rushmore - something this reviewer did in October 2001 and hopefully will do again.
Book Description
-- Heartwarming and Inspirational True Story Shows the Power of Love --
This compelling, bestselling account of adoption, reunion and heritage provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty.
Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he had been adopted as an infant. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father.
Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to search for his heritage. He found his biological mother in London with his previously unknown British siblings. He then located his biological father and extended family in Nairobi. His international search and the resulting reunions have profoundly affected three families in the United States, England, and Kenya.
A Wealth of Family is a "Best Books" Award Winner as selected by USA Book News.
Customer Reviews:
Heartwarming story.......2007-09-03
A Wealth of Family is a gripping chronicle of Thomas Brooks quest to discover the true wealth of family as he reunites with his birth family and in turn discovers his true self. It is inspiring story that will encourage members of the adoption triad and "traditional" families as well. As an adoptive mother, I highly recommend this book. It will help give you a healthy view of open adoption and the reunion experience.
It's That Good!.......2007-07-12
Brooks' captivating writing style coupled with his amazing life story and steadfast approach to life make this book both an entertainment and thought-triggering masterpiece that had me hooked right to the last page.
a must read!.......2007-05-07
I thought this book was inspiring, especially for those seeking their roots. I felt as though I knew the author personally by the end of the story as I went along for the journey with him. It is a must read!
Becoming a Citizen of the World.......2007-04-28
At age eleven, Thomas Brooks learned he was adopted and at first it shook his secure world. At age 25, while pursing his MBA, he decided to find his birth parents to complete the circle of his life. In A Wealth of Family, readers are treated to an international travel log and multicultural experience as we travel with Brooks in discovering his true roots.
Although Brooks was acclimated and culturally African American, he always suspected he might be of mixed heritage. When he received a document from the adoption agency, he was surprised to find that his mother was of Lithuanian Jewish background and his father was from Kenya. His parents had a brief affair while his mother was an undergraduate and his father was a graduate student at Penn State. After assuring his beloved adopted mother, Joan, that, no one would usurp her place in his life, he began to earnestly search for his birth parents.
Brooks grew up in a large extended family in the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania area surrounded by his mother's large family, the Lowrys. His parents divorced when he was four and he had little contact with his father. Brooks spent most of his growing years struggling with poverty because his mother was unable to work to support them. After a series of moves, they settled in Brighton, a white working/middle class suburb of Pittsburgh. After a rough start, Brooks began to excel in school, making excellent grades and was active in sports. He found himself fighting racism and stereotypes at time but preserved and was valedictorian of his high school class and going on to the University of Pittsburgh. Again, he applied himself to his studies and became immersed in a full college experience to include joining the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, a Greek Black organization and other clubs. He pursued engineering and then an MBA at the University of Maryland.
Because his birth mother, Dorothy, left contact information in his file at the adoption agency, he was able to quickly establish contact with her. Dorothy, who was living in England, flew to Houston, where Brooks was then working. They established a rapport and thereafter, Brooks flew to England and met his sister and three brothers. He was received with open arms and they slowly built a relationship, along with his grandmother, Maryan, Dorothy's mother, who was living in Pittsburgh. Dorothy wanted to meet Joan, but he realized it was a delicate situation and it would need more time for the two women, his birth mother and his adoptive mother to meet.
Brooks then took the steps to make contact with his father, Mboga Mageka Omwenga, which was much more difficult. In 1995, he and Dorothy made the trek to Kenya to make his paternal connection. First, they went on a safari to take in the beautiful country and then went on to Nairobi. All he had was a name and the fact that his father was of the Kisii tribe, according to a Kenyan friend in Houston. After a series of word-of-mouth connections, placing an announcement in the newspaper, and a few hits and misses, Brooks connected with his father's daughter, Margaret. She explained the father was out of the area but the two of them became acquainted. Brooks went back to Houston but thereafter started corresponding with his father. He went back to Kenya several months later finally met his father and was warmly received by the entire village and all his relatives, including his 100 year-old grandmother. He slowly established a relationship with his Kenyan family overcoming a few cultural challenges and miscommunications.
After his mother, Joan met Dorothy, the families seemed to blend and accept each other. Brooks came to love and appreciate having three families who all loved and supported him. His world travels served to broaden his understanding of different cultures and heightened his appreciation of his multiracial heritage. While he considers himself African American, he calls himself a world citizen. He learned to value the traits both his birth mother and father passed on to him, such as their intellectual ability.
Part memoir, part family history and genealogy, Brooks has written a memorable account of how race, culture, and family intersect while also recounting his own life lessons. He is a successful businessman living in Atlanta with his wife and family, mentoring inner-city youth and active in several social and civic organizations. There are many stories about bi-racial children but Brooks' story was unique in that it spanned three continents and melded three families to include a wealth of love, forgiveness and acceptance. This book is recommended for those interested in the topics of multiculturalism and adoptees seeking their roots.
Reviewed by Dera R. Williams
APOOO BookClub
What would you do if you discovered that you were adopted?.......2007-02-09
What would you do if you discovered that you were adopted?
A. Abandon the parents that raised you?
B. Immediately search to discover your heritage by any means necessary?
C. Take the time to understand the raw emotions involved and wait for God's voice to go forward.
Thomas Brooks picked option C. He took the high road by respecting and loving his adopted mother, Joan, and waiting until he was in college to begin his search. The adoption agency served as the initial contact when they delivered his request to reunite with his birth mother. Soon after, Dorothy faxed a letter and photo desperately wanting to know her first-born son. Thus begin his journey towards uncovering his biological roots - August 1992.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Thomas communicated with Dorothy uncovering the details surrounding his conception and her decision. Their conversations were open and honest with information flowing in both directions. This made their first face-to-face meeting extraordinary allowing for an immediate soul connection. Thomas took time to nurture the bonds between Dorothy and her family but he wanted to know more about his father. In December of 1994, they made the long trip to Kenya determined to find Mboga, his biological father.
A WEALTH OF FAMILY is a carefully crafted story of finding your biological identity while accepting and learning different cultures. Brooks details how to carefully heal emotional wounds and develop loving relationships with all people involved in making him who he is today. A WEALTH OF FAMILY should serve as a how-to-guide to enrich family ties; investigate family background and loving all of that makes you unique. This uplifting book is not only for those that have been adopted but also for anyone that has family issues that need to be resolved. This book proves that family is much more than those that live under your same roof.
Reviewed By - Deltareviewer for Real Page Turners
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Eternal Quest the Search for God Volume 1 (Eternal Quest, V. 1)
Manufacturer: Paragon House
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1557784752 |
Book Description
Unlike the Iditarod, the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race isn't for moneyed adventurers with a fanciful interest in mushing. The race, billed as the toughest in the world, crosses 1,000 miles of forbidding land between Whitehorse and Fairbanks, Alaska, and pits man, woman, and dog against the nastiest that nature has to offer. In Racing the White Silence, Canadian journalist Adam Killick follows the racers and their dogs for two weeks, taking us not only into the heartland of the Yukon and Alaska, but into the minds of the extraordinary people who dare to race.
Customer Reviews:
Racing The White Silence.......2003-02-11
A who will do it, who will win it, adventure tale that informs, enthralls and engages the reader in one of the worlds last true natural challenges. I didn't want it to end!
Racing The White Silence.......2003-01-04
Racing the White Silence: On the Trail of the Yukon Quest
Adam Killick
"Nature has many tricks wherewith she convinces man of his finity- the ceaseless flow of the tides, the fury of the storm, the shock of the earthquake, the long roll of heaven's artillery- but the most tremendous, the most stupefying of all, is the passive phase of the White Silence. All movement ceases, the sky clears, the heavens are as brass; the slightest whisper seems sacrilege, and man becomes timid, affrightened at the sound of his own voice."
Jack London, The White Silence, 1899
Jack London, like all good authors, wrote of what he knew, the North. It is in London's world that this book is based. Its' author, Adam Killick, from Winnipeg, hired on as an assistant-dog handler in the 2001 Yukon Quest so that he could study it and learn what drew the world's best mushers to it. After all, the Quest's prize money is much less than the famous Iditerod; what drew these mushers to this race?
Along the way he found his answer.
The Yukon Quest alternates directions from year to year depending on ice conditions on the trail. It traverses the unforgiving terrain between Whitehorse, Yukon, and Fairbanks, Alaska. "Following the Quest, on these remote parts of the trail, is like belonging to some exclusive club in which only lack of sleep...and a predilection for standing around at 30 or 40 below for hours...earns you membership." Along the way Killick discovered that the people on the trail were very supportive and helpful; that "the spirit of community and sharing is at the heart of the Yukon Quest." Besides, "the community of the North stands on a realization that, whatever one's creed, religion, ethics, or circumstances, there will come a time when you'll need someone else's help." It is this sense of community that draws the mushers to this race, the one dog-sled race that "has remained true to the Northern Spirit in which it was founded."
Killick follows the 2001 edition of the Quest as it continues down the trail. As he does so, he introduces the reader to the many varied characters that make up the contestants and organizers of this little-publicized race. This makes the book an interesting read that examines the many of the ins and outs of dog-sled racing. Killick helps the reader to visualize the country of the "White Silence" that his race passes through. Racing The White Silence is an excellent true-life book that will keep you turning pages until the end of the trail.
2002. Easy reading. Young-adult content. 270 pages.
Book Description
It was supposed to be a big celebration. John McFarland (uncle to Wesley, Kurt, Lisa and Mary) and his long lost Eleanor were getting married. But a typhoon kept nearly every one of their friends and family from attending the wedding ceremony in Hong Kong. And by the time everyone did arrive for the reception at a downtown hotel, John and Eleanor had disappeared without a trace!While their parents and the Hong Kong authorities set about searching for the missing couple, Mary, Wesley, Kurt and Lisa begin their own investigation. Convinced that John and Eleanor have been transported to the mystical kingdom of Anthropos, the four amateur sleuths hit a dead end. How can they get to Anthropos? And once they get there, how will they know where to look?As Book 5 in John White's Archives of Anthropos unfolds, the sleuths are confronted with an even bigger challenge than finding Uncle John and Eleanor. In Anthropos an evil sorcerer plots the destruction of his eternal enemy--a tiny infant who (if he survives) is destined to become King of Anthropos and conqueror of Lord Lunacy.
Customer Reviews:
Dear Andrew Harrise.......2003-01-23
Sorry if I spelt your name incorrectly but what you said was untrue and gave off the wrong impression of the book. I wonder what you were thinking when you wrote this interviewI loved the book and was deeply enveloped in the story, I think it is a good reference to the story it was based on.
It's okay, but oddly inconsistent........2002-03-24
I love the Anthropos books, but this one was quite different in tone and writing style, and just doesn't feel like a part of the series. That, plus the fact that the allegory is just WAY too blatant in this one. Sorry John, love your other stuff, but I'm not too sure what you were thinking with this one.
John White's "Quest for the King" is an excellent book.......1998-10-28
I thought that it was a great book. Throughout the whole book I was just totally enveloped in the plot. Also, I could kind of guess where the people were and what they were about to do better than in his other books. If you like C.S. Lewis, you'll love John White's "Quest for the King" or any of his other Archives of Anthropos series books.
Customer Reviews:
Native American life.......2000-09-21
Don Coldsmith takes an historical fiction perspective in writing about the life of Native Americans. He does an excellent job of bringing the view point of their culture and relationship to nature to the story. Quest for the White Bull tells the story of a man's journey to save his people the summer the bison did not migrate north. It gives the flavor of his life, his love of family and his dedication to his calling. The only reason I gave it three stars is that I found it a little short. I wanted it to be longer, to tell me more about the characters and their everyday life. All in all, I will read more of the series - The Spanish Bit Saga.
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Peregrine Quest: From a Naturalist's Field Notebook
Clayton M. White
Manufacturer: Western Sporting Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1888357096 |
Customer Reviews:
fly with peregrines.......2007-07-26
Never have I been on trip like this! Dr. Clayton White's journey throughout the world of peregrine falcons is unsurpassed. Like an exotic travel log, White takes his readers through every step of the way. Every sensation is brought to life and at the end, the reader is rewarded in so many ways.
Don't miss this rare opportunity for an truly engaging experience!
Wow!.......2007-02-17
from STEVE HEYING's review in AMERICAN FALCONRY MAGAZINE:
Wow! What a tour-de-force this book Peregrine Quest is to experience. Author Clayton M. White guides - no - leads the reader on a worldwide expedition through his life long passion, that of the peregrine falcon and its environs. He accomplishes this by recounting retelling from his fields notes and memory the tales and stories of his life adventures from fifty some years of field work. Along the way, in this shared journey, one cannot help but also gain a deeper insight into the greater underlying meaning of living not just a good life, but rather a great life on this planet we call Earth. Through the vector of sharing with him his pursuit of all the knowledge of all that is of the peregrine falcon, Professor White exposes the reader of his book to that which is life on earth in any and all places he has come to fully experience. We are led to feel the wind, the rain or lack thereof, the bugs, the other birds, the sunsets, the heat and the cold, all the attributes of place as he has experienced these places. In each expose of each peregrine in its place and time, Professor White builds a complete picture of the circle of life within that particular place with photographs, word stories, and cameos of what he sees and feels and knows while he is there. He tries to cover all the important details, literally leaving no stone unturned. Professor White is an artist, working with a full palate of paints, using broad strokes so as to give color and texture to all of Alaska, or with the use of fine line vignettes to color one eyrie on one rock on one river in one special place in Alaska. With earth shattering conclusions or short incidental stories, Clayton builds pictures of time and space that put the reader there, and educate us as to how we should act or feel while we are there.
Any falconer with any experience or wishing to have any experience with a peregrine falcon either does owe or will eventually owe some part of that experience to Clay White. This book delineates the "why" of that truth and fact. If along the way of that "peregrine experience," if said falconer becomes a better human being as well, he may also owe that to Clay White or to the people Clay has influenced during his life time. Some of that knowledge and influence will come from this book and Clay White's lifetime work for future generations to tap into. This book is a "must have," and one that will be read over and over as a most enjoyable trip into Clay White¹s world and the peregrine experiences contained within.
Book Description
In 1908 talented black US fighter Jack Johnson won the heavyweight championship of the world from the Canadian Tommy Burns. There was an immediate storm of protest. Writers, including Jack London, and politicians feared the accession of the fearless and outspoken Johnson would threaten white supremacy. It was predicted f{ accurately f{ that his reign would lead to civic unrest and race riots. Over the next seven years, more than 30 white fighters tried to beat Jackson, lured by the prospect of fame and a quick buck. It was not until 1915 that Jackson lost his crown, and during the years in between an extraordinary human drama was played out on the boxing world stage. Graeme White tells the full story of the Great White Hopes for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
The Ring Of Hate.......2006-11-14
Artist Andy Warhol would have run out of supplies if he needed to paint the mostly tomato cans that were vying to be the Great White Hope.
In an interesting angle, author Graeme Kent profiles many of the white boxers that were battling to be the heavyweight contender to dethrone the great champion, Jack Johnson. The trail spans the globe; the United States, Canada, England, France, South Africa and Australia. Hate fueled by racisim has no boundaries.
The pretenders came from all walks of life - eveything from pro wrestlers to those who had their past created by their promoters - and oftentimes competed in tournaments to crown the "White Heavyweight Champion." There are fixed matches, unscrupulous cornermen, a match highlighted by a biting incident, gloves filled with material so the punches were like puffs and several deaths inside the ring.
The irony is the hate grew to such levels in the United States that quality black fighters had to leave for Europe to have any chance of getting an opportunity to compete, while white European fighters were coming stateside to try and build their reputations inside the ring and with the media.
Kent presents excellent background information on the history of the era, along with following up on what happened to many of the fighters later in life.
Johnson looms large in the story, but is not the focus of the book. The section on Jess Willard alludes to Johnson's later contention that he took a dive to drop the belt in a deal to return to the United States and not face the trumped-up federal charges that had forced him to flee the country.
Kent pretty much dismisses the "dive," citing Johnson's declining ring skills and age. I contend that Johnson was tired of living abroad and the pressure of having a government and racist society made him pursue the only means to bring this period of his life to a close; agree to lose the title.
Willard emerged from the mass of white fighters, but could hardly be considered championship-quality. His career was nearly over when he quit in the ring during a match and had an opponent die in another fight. He was not considered a great title holder then and his lack of skills were exposed when Jack Dempsey defeated him for the crown.
Though black fighters could possibly compete for championships in the lighter weight divisions, the victory by Willard closed the door on black heavyweights having a chance for ring immortality until the emergence of Joe Louis.
Johnson had the savvy to become the greatest heavyweight champion ever, but he could not defeat a larger opponent that still plagues society today.
Very very good.......2006-10-13
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a tremendous read full of stories of the myriad characters from the turn of the century.
Jack Johnson is the central figure in the book but not the main character. The author takes the tack of looking at the white hopes who were groomed to take the crown from Johnson. These fighters tended to be big but technically clumsy and the ones who were unfortunate enough to get into the ring with Johnson tended to have a hard time of it.
Being a fan of photos, I would have liked some more pictures to be in the book but that is a minor quibble.
Books:
- The Journey of the Lost Boys: A Story of Courage, Faith and the Sheer Determination to Survive by a Group of Young Boys Called "The Lost Boys of Sudan"
- The Labyrinth: Memoirs of Walter Schellenberg, Hitler's Chief of Counterintelligence
- The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late
- The Paper Bag Princess (Classic Munsch)
- The Secret
- The Sight (Warriors: Power of Three, Book 1)
- The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich Von Hildebrand
- The Spirit of Black Hawk: A Mystery of Africans and Indians
- The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3)
- The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
Books Index
Books Home
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The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-1850
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Climate Change in Prehistory: The End of the Reign of Chaos
