Book Description
William Alexander had a simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard. It was a dream that would lead to life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, and weeds; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer); the near electrocution of the tree man; and the pity of his wife and children.
When Alexander decided to run a cost-benefit analysis, adding up everything from the Havahart animal trap ($60) to the Velcro tomato wraps ($5) to the steel edging ($1,200), then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it came as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each tomato.
A gardener with an existential bent, Alexander gives excellent advice about everything from peaches to leeks, while tackling such questions as What do our gardens tell us about ourselves? Do we get the gardens we deserve? And why does the groundhog have to take one bite from half a dozen tomatoes when any gardener would gladly grant him six bites of just one?
Customer Reviews:
Great book gift for green thumbs (and brown thumbs).......2007-08-09
I HATE gardening, but thoroughly enjoyed reading Alexander's odyssey of his quest to build his dream garden. Very funny account of epic battles with weeds, rodents, and bugs as he tries to prevent his little "hobby" from ruining his life. Your gardening friends will love this book (and non-gardeners will too!)
A tasty little story.......2007-08-02
His wife's insistence on an old fixer-upper of a house means the author can have the garden, orchard, and even meadow he's always dreamed. Once the house is livable--and everyone in town knows it has to be repaired to be livable--the owners start on the grounds. Landscape contractors, who are always late and leave their backhoe to winter in the author's yard, promise a garden to be proud of--and then bring plans for some very ordinary rectangles.
Not to be daunted, Alexander picks heirloom plants to grow his produce. He is determined to have the same fruit and experiences he remembers from his father's gardening. Organic gardening should be easy when he has only four trees and a small garden. He can pluck off the hungry worms and organically protect his crops from predators of all types.
After learning how much time is involved in using the organic bug sprays--first you find the caterpillar, then you spray him--how much it costs to put in something other than grass walkways, and that some animals are not deterred by six thousand volts, he gets down to serious gardening.
His wife and children begin to question his sanity. His plants don't always grow the way he expected. Who knew growing roses would kill the corn? Sitting down to calculate the cost of his succulent heirloom tomatoes gives him a jolt he thought he'd only get from his electric fence. Did his dad really do it this way? Had he been hoodwinked about how much fun this all was? When did the hobby become a second job?
You needn't be a gardener to enjoy the humor in this book. The history of tomatoes and potatoes, and insights on the Anasazi Indians thrown in with ridding the garden of Superchuck, the groundhog, is true fun for the reading. Cultivated entertainment.
Armchair Interview says: Humor and hoeing, planting and waiting, bugs and bug sprays flow together to give you an enjoyable read.
Enjoyable memoir of a man and his garden.......2007-07-26
I am by no means a gardening expert, more of a beginner, but I enjoyed this memoir of one man's obsession with and relationship with his garden. I found it informative and funny. I took as much what not to do, as what to do, from the book. I mean, you can see the excessiveness of his spending and learn from it as much as you can learn from the ways he fights pests on his fruit trees. I read books like this for inspiration and I was inspired by his mistakes and successes. All in all it was an enjoyable light read.
For the Gardening Obsessed.......2007-07-26
This book speaks to every obsessed gardener in America. The majority of the public, however, won't get it. They put in a few pansies, water them when they think of it and go on with their lives. But a few of us have an insatiable drive to work the soil, wage a constant war with the elements and beat off ravaging beasts just so we can be overwhelmed with too much produce.
Our neighbors think we're nuts--why would someone put themselves through all that labor and expense to get something they could buy at the corner market for $0.85 a pound? (Yeah, well I don't get the mountain climbing thing either.)
I like Alexander's writing--it was cute and witty and perfectly illustrated a man trying to work in his career, family and home improvement projects around his gardening obsession. All 2,000 square feet of it.
Although organic gardeners will be disgusted with how often Alexander reaches for the spray can, most will be able to relate to his journey.
A really cute read but I can't review the recipes as I didn't try them out yet.
As an animal lover..........2007-06-28
... I too was distressed by the chapters where the authors obsession defies his place at the top of the food chain and his "logical" abilities. When the local fauna decide that his exorbitantly expensive garden is the local salad bar, he goes on the war path and attempts to destroy everything alive that is not a plant.
While this is somewhat disheartening, it is also illuminating. I place this book alongside ElectroBoy on my bookshelf, and alongside The Omnivore's Dilemma, because it makes such a natural segue between the two.
William Alexander is truly obsessed with his garden. What ought to be a nice, pleasant way to pass time and to get some exercise and food turns into a dangerous obsession, resulting in damage to his finances, his health, his psyche, and his marriage.
It is amusing, in parts, however.
Read it, if only to see what lengths people will go to in order to save their hobby. It is an interesting study, really. Probably not a book I will read again, but it is one that I will think of from time to time.
Harkius
Book Description
This new edition is expanded to include 26 new man-hour tables on compressors, dryers, dampers, filters, coolers, and heaters. This manual eliminates guesswork and enables you to produce fast, accurate equipment installation labor estimates.
Customer Reviews:
Estimators Installation Manual.......2007-01-12
Estimating is a not a guessing game. This manual gives some good basic information as a starting point for an estimate and/or a check in carrying out many jobs.
As always you must make allowances for local conditions & situations as the book clearly tells you.
Book Description
This book holds appeal for divers, laymen, romantic, and dolphin lovers alike, regarding man's spiritual connection to the sea.
Customer Reviews:
Water World.......2004-09-10
I first heard of the late Jacques Mayol from the now classic cult movie "The Big Blue". Judging by this encyclopedic work, the real Jacques Mayol was a more interesting character than his celluloid image. "Homo Delphinus" is clearly a work of love and a beautiful book. It is published in a large glossy format with stunning photos. It is difficult to classify the book as it is a combination of science, semi-science, ecology, philosophy and mysticism. Mr. Mayol is successful in producing a touching work that summarizes his life long romance with the aquatic world and his hopes and visions for the future.
As I said, the book is encyclopedic - Mr. Mayol covers a wide range of topics- and this is also one of the weaknesses of the book. At times I felt that the author was rambling a bit. Perhaps a good editor would have helped Mayol be more focused.
The translation is not always smooth. From the book itself it is unclear if the translation was done from the original French, the Italian version or both.
I was very interested to read that Mayol did not take kindly to the fact that freediving has become a type of extreme sport. He feels that this is dangerous and misconstrues the real spirit of apnea diving.
I would recommend this book to anybody interested in the oceans, marine mammals or diving.
If I could, I would have rated the book 4 1/2 stars.
Disappointing.......2002-03-22
I am a great admirer of Mr. Mayol. Since a child I felt always impressed about his contributions to science and conservationism. However, I just felt so disappointed when I read Homo Delphinus. Through it, he tries to cover many topics, but in such a superficial way that it made me anxious for not getting into any point at all. And his theory about the "homo delphinus" is only a collection of cliches and general thoughts.
With respect to the book itself, it lacks the quality of modern books and the photography has been poorly incorporated.
I am sure many people will love this book, but I expected far more from such a remarkable man as Jacques Mayol.
A MUST.......2002-01-01
Being a diver and a fan of the sea, having met Jacques Mayol the guru of breath-hold dives in Oct 2001 in Elba and upon learning that this famous book was now available in English, the next day I procured one from this site. Having since learnt of Jacques's passing on the 22nd of Dec 2001 I feel that anyone who dives or simply loves the sea and its creatures should get hold of this very remarkable book - before it goes out of production.
A fantastic book with lots of beautiful photographs that takes the reader through Jacques' early life, his reactions in the form of questions and answers to the movie "The Big Blue" and his techniques on apnea, his travels and inventions and his views on the purity of the ocean and man's endeavour to demolish anything remotely beautiful. A fantastic book to have and to keep for future generations of a man who seems to much prefer living with the creatures of the sea than with homo sapiens on land.
interaction between one man and the sea.......2000-04-19
Jacques Mayol launches first book in the United States
Idelson-Gnocchi Publishing is pleased to announce the release of Jacques Mayol's first book published in the United States, "Homo Delphinus - The Dolphin within Man". This large format, gorgeously photographed volume, is the culmination of a lifetime of personal oceanic experiences by Jacques Mayol, easily one of the most accomplished free divers of his or any other generation.
Jacques Mayol, holder of a dozen world breathhold diving records, was the first man to descend to 100 meters (330 feet), a feat he accomplished in 1976. He followed this with yet another record breaking drop to 105 meters (346 feet) at the age of 56. A Frenchman born in China, Jacques Mayol now splits his time between homes on the island of Elba in Italy, the island of South Caicos in the Turks & Caicos and a full life in Japan. He is a practitioner of Yoga, Zen and other Oriental life philosophies, essential disciplines he incorporates into his free diving practices.
Homo Delphinus demonstrates an exceptional personal vision of the interaction between one man and the sea. It also provides a superb explanation of how the separate disciplines of science and philosophy come together to allow these extraordinary free diving explorations of the ocean. This theme goes hand in hand with Jacques' deep abiding love for the ocean and it's inhabitants, particularly dolphins. He spends much of the book exploring both the affection and the similarities existing between man and dolphin, a heartfelt search for "the dolphin dormant in all of us".
The adventures in Jacques' life were chronicled in the landmark Luc Bresson film 'The Big Blue'. He has been the subject of numerous national and international broadcast interviews and print features. Jacques is also one of the world's leading authorities on 'apnea', a phenomenal physical discipline which reduces heart rate and respiratory functions, thus
allowing him to perform his remarkable diving feats. Free diving aficionados worldwide recognize and thank him for his insight, his developments of the sport and for his accomplishments. At 72 years of age, Jacques still revels in the ocean, swimming and diving virtually every available day.
Idelson-Gnocchi Publishing is based in Napoli, Italy where it has been publishing specialized Scientific Publications since 1908. The company now has offices in both Italy as well as in Florida.
Exciting........2000-04-19
"how exciting it was to read about how it felt to come up from a dive, to have his own experience written down on the page, just the way he experienced".
Book Description
A canine companion to the successful Happy Kitty Bunny Pony, Fluffy Humpy Poopy Puppy is a humorous celebration of "man's best friend."
From Toto to Lassie to Benji and beyond, the dog has thrived in the soil of American modern-age media and pop culture. What is it about dogs anyway ? Fluffy Humpy Poopy Puppy is a loving tribute to man's oldest and yes, smelliest, friends. Containing over 200 images from the print and advertising archives of the Charles S. Anderson Design Company in combination with a hilarious text by the legendary Michael J. Nelson, this book is an amazingly rich and weird testament to the appeal of kitsch and America's love of the canine companion.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing.......2007-10-05
Neither the graphics nor the comments are as funny as some of the others in this series. The pictures are of a poorer quality and are more obviously manipulated than in other pop ink books and Mike seems to be really straining and stretching to say anything about them. Recommended only for the hardcore collectors who have to have the whole series.
Pop Ink rules!.......2007-08-27
Kitschy old-school graphics with sarcastic flair- excellent combination. (Not quite as good as Goth-icky, but still fun.)
Amazon.com
Mitchell is a miracle in the world of garden writing, where so much careful prose instructs with patronizing intent. Henry Mitchell blazes, bullies, roars, then whispers, awed by the beauty he enables us to see through his eyes. This is a man who once took two weeks off from work so that he could watch his iris bloom. Here his failures and foibles are cataloged along with his triumphant successes. He grew water lilies from seed, achieving a single plant instead of the expected 50, but as he admits, 50 would really have been a bit much, while one seedling water lily became a source of considerable delight to the proud parent. To prevent heat stroke in water-lily season (Washington, D.C., summers are fierce), he cooled off by eating iced Walla Walla onion sandwiches as he gazed at the flowers for two or three minutes at a stretch before the intense heat won out. Quirky, funny, wise, and impassioned, this book is a lasting treat, the kind that rewards each year's rereading with fresh insights and heartfelt laughter.
Book Description
In the sequel to The Essential Earthman, the Washington Post columnist offers a harvest of sharp observations and humorous adventures gathered during a year in his garden, along with much down-to-earth advice on horticulture.
Customer Reviews:
Simply, the best.......2007-01-21
This collection of Henry Mitchell's essays, mostly from his Washington Post gardening column, should stand as an example of how to write. Mr. Mitchell wrote as he spoke; simply, but eloquently and with a wink. His wry sense of humor and disdain for posturing are evident throughout his work. I believe his essay on sunflowers to be the most enjoyable piece of garden writing in existence.
One Man's Garden.......2007-01-10
I ordered "Any Day". You sent me "One Man's Garden" which I already own. So, I sent it back and you charged me for the shipping as you claimed I had ordered it. "One Man's Garden" is a wonderful book and would really have liked to have added "Any Day" by Henry Mitchell to my Collection.
Gardening essays to beat the winter blahs...........2001-01-22
Okay, it's the middle of winter, Christmas is past, and now is the time to break out the gardening catalogs and begin plotting the new growing year. According to Henry Mitchell, we can enjoy the garden year-round if we plan strategically and the middle of winter is a good time to begin.
Mr. Mitchell wrote two weekly columns for the Washington Post for a number of years--one of them a garden column I never missed reading. His garden columns have been preserved in several books. ONE MAN'S GARDEN follows his first book THE ESSENTIAL EARTHMAN which spread his well-earned reputation as a garden guru far beyond the Post market area. These two books were published while he was alive so one must assume they were collections of his favorite essays. The essays are arranged by season and correspond to the months he wrote them.
Mitchell can be read by gardeners living anywhere. Although his essays contain information helpful to those working in Zone 7, the reader can glean sage advice applicable anywhere. He shares anecdotes about his experiences in his own backyard, and while that might seem far from novel as every other Tom, Dick, and Henrietta is writing a garden book these days, his essays are the best. His writing is funny, philosophical, useful, and a joy to read, especially on a cold winter day when you need to be reminded of irridescent dragonflies hovering over lily ponds (former horse troughs).
In his essay on dragonfiles (July) he informs us they require lily pads for landing, they can't just plop on the water like a pelican. This little item helped me understand I needed to do more to make my back yard friendly to butterflies, dragon flies, and their insect kin. I now have shallow spots in my birdbaths where they can dip their tiny feet.
Mr. Mitchell shares all sorts of interesting insights from his adventures with clinging vines--planting them where they will not grow, growing native variants such as the American Wisteria. The American Wisteria is often overlooked by those who grow the "Oriental" kind from China which Mitchell says if left untended can form a 20-foot clump in the middle of your yard. The Chinese Wisteria is very ornate, and the U.S. Park Service has planted it all over the National Gallery of Art on the Mall, but the American Wisteria is a pretty little thing better suited for the back yard. Mitchell says you can see this Wisteria in bloom at the Henry Botanical Foundation in Philadelphia.
Mitchell's essays range far and near, from Jefferson at Monticello to flower shows in faraway places. He writes in December of bananas, not a local plant in Zone 7 by any means, but one Mitchell considered a "great good plant" nevertheless and he grows one in his back yard in a pot. Although MItchell died several years ago, his essays are every bit as timely useful and funny as ever, and not to be missed.
This book is a delight.......2000-01-18
This book is a delight and a pleasure to read aloud. The author has helped us focus on spring planting even though the wind chill factor has been -35 degrees most of the weekend. One Man's Garden helps "cure" the cabin fever that rages at this time of year in the northeast. Well worth the money it's a refreshing window into the love of gardening.
Average customer rating:
- A former customer of Jeff Bale...
- A Man's Garden
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A Man's Garden
Warren Schultz
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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Garden Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby
ASIN: 0618003924 |
Amazon.com
Right from its jacket image, which cribs shamelessly from the famous album-sleeve cover shot for Bruce Springsteen's virile classic Born in the U.S.A., A Man's Garden wants to let you know without question that it's aimed at REAL GUYS. It's evident in nearly every line of copy profiling 14 men around the country who keep king-size, unconventional, or otherwise extraordinary gardens, from this opener: "When you come upon the four massive Corinthian columns ... you know this is a man's garden" (why?) to ridiculous flourishes of rhetoric such as, "Ask a man why he gardens, why he feels compelled to push the earth around and wrestle crops from it." This overcompensation is all the funnier in light of double-entendres like the one directed (winkingly or not) at Manhattan-art-gallery-manager-turned-Connecticut-gardener Tim Mayhew, who, according to author Warren Schultz, "has given plenty of thought to men in the garden."
Maybe this hypermasculinization of gardening was just a new angle to market a very pleasurable coffee-table book filled with lovely color photographs of 14 completely enchanting gardens--because that's exactly what this book is, and frankly, it doesn't matter whether they were cultivated by men, women, or hermaphrodites. There's nothing inherently manly or womanly about Pearl Fryar's fabulously surreal and almost erotically suggestive topiary in Bishopville, South Carolina, or the way the above-mentioned Mayhew drags no end of crumbling old statuary and curiosities into his lush verdure to create a kind of uniquely American ruins. Nor is there anything gender-specific about lawyer-cum-weekend-farmer Robert Kaufman's robust vegetable garden, which runneth over with 200 colorful and semirare varieties, or the Willie Wonka junkyard garden Felder Rushing has built up around his Jackson, Mississippi, home, complete with walkways embedded with Mardi Gras beads, whole "trees" of cobalt-blue pop bottles, and giant jack-o'-lanterns cut out of old tires painted bright orange. There's nothing particularly "American Joe" about the exquisite meditation garden Jeffrey Bale has nurtured on a tiny lot in a rundown part of Portland, Oregon, with its lush rhododendrons, potted bamboos, and Far East statuary, nor about David Alford's Blue Lake Ranch in Durango, Colorado, surrounded by a homegrown prairie exploding with the infinite color of irises, peonies, petunias, echinacea, rudbeckia, and calendula.
A Man's Garden isn't even a hardcore how-to so much as a handsome invitation to botanical reverie and inspiration (though utilitarians can suss out plenty of practical gardening wisdom along the way). So much for the "real-guy" angle. But then again, we all know books like this are meant to be bought by women as presents for their fathers, sons, or husbands--and that any man actually buying this book is probably buying it for his husband, too. --Timothy Murphy
Book Description
"I'm tired of being told that gardening is women's work," writes author Warren Schultz. "I don't like the way my buddies roll their eyes when I tell tham I'd rather weed a border than watch a hockey game between Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, but there's no shame in being a gardening man. Farmers? Men. Landscape architects? Men. Golf-course greenskeepers? Men. Plant breeders? Men."
Do men have a different style of gardening from women? You bet your last six-pack they do. In fact, there are several archetypal styles. Some men's gardens are playful, others competitive; some are places to fool with tools, others to play with toys. Men like large plants and bright colors. The big straight-row vegetable garden is classically a man's territory, where he can fulfill the need to provide for his family. As Schultz says, "A guy likes to make a splash with his garden." His pumpkins will be the biggest (Howard Dill); his perennial border the longest (John Craighead) And who but a man (Ralph Velez) would plant 483 palm trees on a 60-by-150-foot corner lot?
For the man who wonders whether he too might enjoy gardening, this book offers portraits of fifteen men who garden in different ways and for different reasons. By no means all macho men, they approach their gardens from various points of view, including those of the scientist, the colorist, the folk artist, and the New Age meditator. For all of them, gardening has filled an important niche in their lives.
Schultz points out that even today, the interior of a house is likely to be a woman's domain, but outdoors a man can decide what to plant around the deck and how short to prune the flowering shrubs. He can plant trees and carve beds; in short, he can make the garden his own outdoor room.
Customer Reviews:
A former customer of Jeff Bale..........2007-07-23
If Jeff Bale is featured in this book, I applaud the author for highlighting Mr. Bale's work.
We hired Jeff to create a backyard experience featuring a stone firepit which is fabulous.
He also crafted a beautiful pergola to showcase a large whisteria plant
that had grown into a heaping mound. The pillars were set in wood and nicely designed.
The base is lined with a narrow stone path on the ground intorducing the arbor.
This stone outline that travels the width of the entire framed arbor.
It was also designed with one step lifting on to a flat bed garden
and highlights two sections of white impatiens to showcase our pool.
A couple of years after Jeff architected our new landscape design,
we had a scout from Better Homes and Garden ask if they
could feature our yard in their magazine.
Jeff's work is timeless and incredibly creative!
A Man's Garden.......2001-05-16
My male friends (plutonic or not) have always been a bit amused of my tireless quest for the "perfect" garden. They have always lent their support when my creations needed a bit of brawn in the form of starting a tiller or moving a stone. I am always tickled when they tried to hide their delight in watching the garden "become" something, or watching the kaleidoscope of color. My unscientific research reveals that finding peace & beauty in a garden conjurs up fears of being emasculted. This book confirms that men flourish in a garden. Gardens like art reflect the male personality, they can be strong or soothing. If it's true that best chef's are men... then'll I'm ready to meet my gardening match - OUTSIDE, after he sees this book.
Customer Reviews:
Boy has Society Come a Long Way........2003-02-28
This was a very interesting read. La Mettrie spends the course of two essays describing what for the most part may well be common knowledge now. What amazed me is that this was a banned book at one time and that he originally published it anonymously for fear of repercussions. Boy has society come a long way.
Average customer rating:
- Surprisingly good book.
- A splendid tribute to the Old Man
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The Old Man of the Mountain
Robert Hutchinson
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The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain Edition 1. (Legend (Sleeping Bear))
ASIN: 0763181196 |
Book Description
The Old Man of the Mountain is a timely photographic memorial to New Hampshire's beloved emblem, the colossal profile of natural granite in the White Mountains that suddenly collapsed on May 3, 2003. Many devoted friends of the Old Man have generously contributed to this remembrance. New Hampshire nature photographer William Johnson contributes his stunning portfolio of images showing the changing aspects of the Old Man in all seasons and atmospheric conditions. Dick Hamilton, president of White Mountains Attractions and member of the Old Man Revitalization Task Force, contributes his amazing close-ups of the Old Man taken from unfamiliar angles, including helicopter shots of the Old Man site for several decades before--and on the very day after--the collapse. The New Hampshire Historical Society contributes fascinating art images of this national icon over the last two centuries. Vincent Dunn, retired New Hampshire Superior Court Justice, contributes a thoughtful foreword about the enduring symbolism and emotional resonance of the Old Man. The natural and human history of the Old Man are reviewed in a lively text by geologist Robert Hutchinson.
Customer Reviews:
Surprisingly good book........2003-10-01
As a native of New Hampshire, I grew up with the "Old Man" and enjoyed our visits throughout the changing seasons. I bought this book because of the beautiful photography. As a trained geologist, I am absolutely delighted with the geological information presented, and the detailed descriptions of the efforts made to preserve him. I truly had no idea. Thank you for this book.
A splendid tribute to the Old Man.......2003-08-20
Last May, after the New York Times reported--on its front page, no less!--that the Old Man of the Mountain was no more, I was as dismayed as if an old family friend had died. My wife has family in southeast New Hampshire, and during several visits we and our two young children had oohed and ahhed over the Old Man's craggy profile, which I found remarkably similar to that of the Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots of my youth. My family's sorrow over the gruff bluff's collapse has been ameliorated by this splendid tribute. I can't imagine a more apt eulogizer than Robert Hutchinson, a geologist and historian who has literally imagined himself into the Old Man's head, creating a narrative in which heaps of geological and historical arcana are lashed together with turnbuckles of wit and sympathy. The photographs, both archival and contemporary, are also superb, and captioned with fascinating mini-essays by Mr. Hutchinson. (One beneath a reproduction of the first known photograph of the Old Man notes that it was taken in 1841 by an eccentric, reclusive dentist named Samuel Bemis, once described as "not as odd as might be expected, yet sufficiently so to distinguish him from other men.") If only we all could be so fondly and entertainingly memorialized!
Average customer rating:
- Explains why some men have deep passions for mowing
- Enjoyable history of the lawn, not a how-to-do book
- Well done!
- I hope that it is the beginning of many more in the series.
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A Man's Turf: The Perfect Lawn
Warren Schultz
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
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Lawns
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ASIN: 060980569X
Release Date: 2000-04-25 |
Amazon.com
What relationship is as intense, as profound as a boy and his dog? A man and his lawn, of course. Like a fine car and a big house, a luxurious and weed-free lawn announces to the world that we have arrived. In A Man's Turf: The Perfect Lawn, sodmeister Warren Schultz explores the world of lawns in all of its multifaceted complexity, from the history of lawn tools to the spiritually renewing effects of a beautiful lawn on the human psyche. "Being a man means growing up with a lawn. That's where we learn to ride a bike, on that cushion of green, or learn how to throw a curveball. It's the setting for barbeques and family reunions. It's where we're allowed to spend hours building daydreams behind a mower."
Schultz, one of the nation's leading experts on lawn care and the author of The Chemical-Free Lawn and Garden Details, appeals to both sides of the brain in this work, offering not only psychological and spiritual musings on the joys of the lawn, but also a plethora of nuts-and-bolts advice on lawn care, such as selecting the right type of lawn for your area, fertilizing, controlling weeds and pests, and choosing the right tools to keep your turf healthy. He tells us, for instance, that grass is classified not only by region, but also according to its tolerance to conditions such as drought, cold, heat, wear, and shade.
Useful as this information is, the true charm of this book comes from the author's love of lawns and lawn equipment. Even if you are one of those people who removed your lawn in favor of a garden or xeriscaping, this book is certain to conjure up memories of backyard barbecues, family croquet games, and that ineffably wonderful smell of freshly cut grass. --Perry Atterberry
Book Description
Look across the country on any summer Saturday and what do you see? From coast to coast you see millions of men mowing. There also may be some women tending to the turf these days, but the obsession with the lawn is truly a male phenomenon. How green is it? How thick is it? How well-mown and weed-free is it? These are the questions that try men's souls.
In
A Man's Turf: The Perfect Lawn, author Warren Schultz delves into history, psychology, and botany to explain the irresistible appeal of the riding mower and freshly cut grass. But as a leading expert on lawn and garden care, he also offers a wealth of practical, hands-on information for growing, mowing, weeding, and watering a better lawn.
Schultz explores how the lawn grew up in America and visits some of the great historical lawns. He examines the machines involved—reel and rotary lawn mowers, weed whackers and water sprinklers—that shape the lawn, and gets down on his knees to look at some amazing grass, highlighting the pros and cons of the many new varieties. Schultz interviews the great turf gurus of golf courses and ballparks and reveals their insiders' tips on lawn care.
A Man's Turf also provides a unique guide to lawn-related products, events, and pilgrimages—from a bicycle-powered mower to the finish line of the lawn mower races to a mower museum.
In
A Man's Turf: The Perfect Lawn, garden expert Warren Schultz examines the pleasures and pitfalls that await the lawn-obsessed everywhere. He explains how to grow, mow, weed, and water a thicker, greener, healthier lawn, offering insight and a wealth of practical information, along with more than 200 full-color photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Explains why some men have deep passions for mowing.......2000-08-18
I agree that this book is not for tech. ref. but is more of a commentary on why men are so obsessed about lawns and mowing and having the "Perfect Lawn." Many people have asked me why I love lawns and grass and mowing. I could not answer that. He(Mr. Scultz) answered that question for me perfectly and eloquently. He draws a story in your mind and this is one book you won't put down until you are finished with it. I loved it and I read it all day long, And I am a landscaper!
Enjoyable history of the lawn, not a how-to-do book.......2000-04-04
Overall I liked the book, especially its coverage of the history of lawns. I guess we all assume lawns have always been there, which is decidedly not the case. On the other hand, as a how-to book it needs some work. The author gives numerous recommendations on lawn care but never mentions something as important as adding lime to bring up the pH when necessary. Good coffee table book, but I'll look for another how-to lawn care book.
Well done!.......1999-04-14
*A Man's Turf* is well put together and masterfully edited. I appreciate a book that not only looks good--most books published today do--but that is also well crafted. After all, it's the words that count, and all the words are there and in the proper sequence in this book. Thank you, Mr. Schultz, and thank you Clarkson Potter!
I hope that it is the beginning of many more in the series........1999-03-06
Wow! Every thing you wanted to know about your lawn and then some. Warren Schultz has made it easy for the man who only has the weekend and then thenmaybe an hour or two to get rid of mold, fungus and unsightly weeds. It is loaded with information for the casual grassologist, but it is written in a user friendly, humorous fashion. Everyone should find a place for this book on their must read list.
Book Description
The story of John Ott's discovery of the role light plays in sustaining physical health is one of the true scientific breakthroughs of the last half century. It is the story of an observant, intelligent man who acted upon his observations and then supported them with scientific exploration. Health and Light has led many people to a greater understanding of the subtle role light plays in maintaining physical and emotional health.
Customer Reviews:
This is the orginal!!.......2007-06-27
Look no farther for information on the effects of light on humans and other living creatures. John Ott is the pioneer who discovered through his slow motion photography that the quality of light has a profound effect on all of us.
amazing.......2007-03-29
This book is just amazing. Unless you have read this book, you have absolutely no idea to which extent light and more generally electromagnetic radiation influences our health and our life. If the knowlegde contained inside the pages of this book would be spread more widely, mankind would make vast improvements.
This book belongs in a list of books that are all written by pioneers in their particular field of study, and that would have huge implications if more people would have read them.
Do you want to be in control of your life? Do you want to understand, prevent and cure disease? Do you want to feel great not just physically, but mentally as well? Do you want to stop losing loved ones because of terrible diseases? Then read the following books: 'Nutrition And Physical Degeneration' by Weston A. Price, 'Enzyme Nutrition' by Edward Howell, 'The Truth About Children's Health' by Robert Bernardini, 'The Body Electric' by Robert Becker and 'Health And Light' by John Ott. If you have read these books, you will know much more about health than every doctor or scientist, but you will also have a much better understanding of industry, politics and society in general. Above all, you will have the power to change things for the better.
More Than Just Light, the Rainbow of Health.......2000-07-28
John Nash Ott in his breakthrough book warns of the dangers of the overuse and under-regulation of modern electromagnetic technology. He also discusses the negative effects of digital watches, certain man made fibers such as polyester and vinyl, ionizing-type smoke detectors, certain types of fluorescent lighting, video display terminals, electronic fetal monitoring equipment in hospitals, and other high technology items. The book has easy-to-do demonstrations showing the relationship of colored lighting and the positive and negative effects that it can create. He links light, color and health.
Books:
- The American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers (American Horticultural Society Practical Guides)
- The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest
- The Call to Brilliance: A True Story to Inspire Parents and Educators
- The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs
- The Dark Tower Boxed Set (Books 1-4)
- The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients
- The Fragrance of God
- The Gardener's Year
- The Last Season
- The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
Books Index
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