Learning about Leopold
583058
This book provides an excellent chance to learn more about Aldo Leopold, one of the most important conservationists ever.  The editors have assembled a highly instructive sample of Leopold's essays and articles  written throughout his career. The essays provide insights into Leopold's  development from a predator-destroying wildlife manager to world-class  conservationist.  The editors' introductory essays to sets of Leopold's  writings are themselves first-rate. Brown and Carmony provide the reader  with the historical context for understanding the significance of Leopold's  essays as his career unfolded. Highly recommended.
90962
The Stein family made their fortune in the United States from streetcar lines and real estate. Siblings Leo(1872-1947)and Gertrude (1874-1946)lived together in Paris between 1904 and 1913 after which Leo left for Italy. They held a weekly Saturday salon at their home which served as a meeting place of many Parisian artists and intellectuals. They also amassed a fabulous art collection, concentrating on the works of Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso. Another brother Michael focussed on accumulating paintings by Matisse. This volume documents the history of the family as well as various aspects of their collecting habits and gives a description of their domicile in Paris.

Apart from the informative essays, there are numerous monochrome illustrations of the Stein residence, family members and associated personalities. Additionally there are generous sized color reproductions of the fabulous art works that were once in there possession. Understandably, given their quality and renown, a significant quantity of these works would be familiar to art enthusiasts. I was however pleased to discover a large number of high quality paintings that I had not previously encountered.

The printing standards of this weighty volume are high as are the excellent color reproductions. Strongly recommended.
3048725
What is most amazing about this series of essays/stories is that they were written almost 70 years ago. The issues and concerns that Leopold expresses so eloquently about loss of habitat, introduction of species that overwhelm an environment, human's misunderstanding of their stewardship obligations.... " "plus a change, plus c'est la mme chose". Except now there are way too many more people and way less habitat. But Leopold is a realist and a poet so his message seems even more powerful now.
4330385
A fun and informative book describing different beers and what they taste like as well as how and where they are made.
4856441
I picked up this book because I see so much of this furniture in antique shops and I wanted to be able to distinguish it from other periods. Although I've never been particularly interested in this period, I found this book to be quite interesting.
The book explains the history of the furniture and its development, with lots of anecdotes along the way. Through the many color photographs, you will learn how to spot specific types of furniture and get a better idea of which company might have manufactured a specific piece.
One of the topics addressed early in the book is the use of veneer. The authors explain that 'veneer' doesn't have to be a dirty word and that even the ancient Egyptians used a form of it. There is a section devoted to the repairing and replacing of veneer. They also provide detailed explanations for such terms as 'burl' and 'pollarding.'  They explain the differences between better- and lesser-quality ('borax') furniture, and a pricelist (1999 values) is also included.
1513966
this book goes into detail not only of the history of amy's (the elephant) life story, but you also learn social patterns and needs of elephants. as the story introduces bob norris, you also learn a lot about his past leading to his acquaintance with an elephant.
the book is simply written. this certainly isn't an eloquent classic, but it is packed with educational content. an easy read, and informative to boot. would definitely make a great pass-time during a flight.
48693
Foster provides a very solid historical background for these two styles, taking time to explain the roles played by the industry conditions, market trends, and scientific advancements of the day. He meticulously details the differences between the various sub-styles of stout and porter from a recipe and methodology standpoint, while pointing the reader to (relatively) common contemporary commercial examples where possible. There are numerous recipes provided, ranging from full extract to full mash, with clear instructions that should be accessible to homebrewers of all experience levels. Foster appears somewhat apologetic for the part he's played in introducing such a sprawling set of rigid style requirements, and reveals that his own philosophy is much closer to "if it tastes good, keep brewing it". He's also the first to point out when a favorite commercial example for a given style doesn't even meet that style's guidelines.

I read his pale ale book first, and the much more recent update to Stouts and Porters is quite evident. His exposition and recipes assume the reader has access to a significantly greater variety of both beer ingredients and professionally brewed examples (hopefully this is true in most cases). I was particularly interested in his discussion of the renewed interest in producing approximations to historical brown malt, as opposed to crystal or biscuit. After trying traditional brown malt in several recipes, I feel that brown malt does indeed provide a great way to add complexity to your malt bill without producing overly bready flavors.

Overall, this remains one of my favorite style series books of the half-dozen or so that I've read. As always, these books are about historical perspective on style ingredients and procedures. I find them very useful as guides to authenticity of ingredients, and to provide the occasional recipe inspiration. If you are looking to actually learn how to brew at home, I would suggest starting with the standards by Palmer, Noonan, Daniels, and of course, Papazian.

Cheers!
1649680
Found my grandfather's name in this book in a google search, so purchased it out of curiosity. Wish there were more pictures of life at this time in Alberta, but it is very interesting. The homestead list did not include my grandfather's claim, but I was able to do more online searching and did find it on another site. My mother and I are enjoying reading about the Dutch who came to settle in this area and the non-Dutch letter writers' perspectives! Thanks for making this resource available to the public!
2988553
Big, beautiful photos of frogs and lots of interesting tidbits of information. I am learning a lot about my favorite animal with this book.
608983
First, I would like to say that I disagree with the previous reviewers who say this book is only for advanced home brewers.  I have only brewed two batches thus far, both extract, but I am interested in getting into all grain and brewing the range of belgian beers.  Given that, I very much enjoyed this book and learned a great deal from it.  This is a book that can be enjoyed on multiple levels.  It gives enough of the history and background on belgian trappist and abbey style beers to be interesting from that standpoint alone.  It goes into great depth on how we have arrived at the various styles and gives a wide range of opinions on how useful these classifications are.  Regarding brewing these beers, it does not give step by step recipes per se, though perhaps a few in the later chapters.  More appropriate is to say that it teaches concepts on brewing these beers along with the historical perspective as to how these concepts came about.
I would recommend anyone who is buying this book to improve their brewing to at least have read a book or two on the concepts of brewing.  Palmer's book "How to Brew" would probably be adequate to give the necessary background to understand the concepts.  This book is an easy read and I was able to finish it in a week or two of reading an hour or so a day.
This is an excellent book on the subject and I will plan to read it again as my brewing progresses.
3531864
Hardcover, plain boards with illustrated DJ, 12" x 9", 103 pages, 163 color photos. Select bibliography. 1 general map, 1 detailed map. Text by Christian Kaufmann. Published by the Museum Der Kuturen, Basel in association with the University Of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2003.

The color photos are of the landscapes, peoples, villages and objects of the people of the Korewori River. The distinctive art of the Korewori people features figures with multiple "spines" or "spikes", and are mostly from the collection of the Museum der Kulturen, Basel. Some objects are well presented, and some are unnecessarily consigned to very small thumbnail photos. (Why a full-page close-up of a tree, and postage-stamp depictions of the art ?) The field photos vary greatly in quality and relevance, with some looking like vacation snap rejects, but overall a fair impression is created of Korewori life. The text is fair enough, but the translation from German may not help. Probably closer to 3.5 stars than 4-stars, but it's nice to see a book devoted to this interesting region.
3690897
The Belgian monarchy is the most recent in Europe, created only in 1831 to reign over a patched-together nation newly separated from the Netherlands. Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, uncle and principal advisor of the soon-to-be Queen Victoria, accepted the job from the Belgian National Congress after turning down a similar offer from the Greeks; he married (his third) the daughter of Louis-Philippe of France. Their son, Leopold II, is remembered mostly for the colonial genocide carried out on his orders in the Congo, of which he was personally the sole owner, and for his reliance on a particularly brutal form of slavery. His nephew, who succeeded him as Albert I, led the army heroically (though futilely) in World War I, but when the country's right wing encouraged him to rule by decree, he refused, preferring constitutionalism to autocracy. His son, Leopold III, surrendered much to quickly to the armies of the Reich in 1940, spent the war under house arrest, went into exile in 1946 while his loyalty was examined, and was forced to abdicate in 1951 in favor of his son, Baudoin, a hyper-religious man who proved a sometimes difficult sovereign. (And that's as far as the book goes, though the childless Baudoin was followed in 1993 by his younger brother as Albert II.) The Coburg women also were an unlucky lot, producing Empress Carlotta of Mexico (who died in 1927 after a half-century of intermittent insanity), and Stephanie, the wife of Archduke Rudolf of Austria, who killed himself in a suicide pact with his mistress in 1889. (She also had to fight her own father, Leopold II, in court over her inheritance.) If this story is a dynastic soap opera, Aronson tells it urbanely and entertainingly, with due attention to both fact and gossip.
1684048
This is a very well written book and has a nice flow to it.  It is highly informative and the writer gives some meaning and understanding to the extremely complex socio-political make-up of Congo DR.  Having been there twice, I can say this book gives me a clearer picture of Congo DR.
2067162
I downloaded this book three hours ago, and couldn't stop reading until just now.  The auther says that the readers are not interested in history of typewriters, but they are interested in history of thier typewriters.  Absolutely.  This is the book for someone who is eager to use typewriters in daily life.  Lots of tips on what you need to know when buying and after buying the typewriter.  Happy typing!
582632
Polt has put together a really excellent book that outlines many different aspects of typewriter culture and history.  It's a fun book to flip through and read due to lots of illustrations and pictures.  It's filled with rare and valuable information.  If you like typewriters, you will definitely enjoy this book.  Very happy to have this on my shelf.
226466
In this story, Leopold is hired to test the anti-theft system and security protocols at the Louvre Museum. The plot goes on to reveal and unravel art forgeries and thefts with the search for the culprits responsible. It is fairly fast-moving and holds one's interest. Leopold's family is wealthy and has interests and links to various organizations throughout the world. The mystery surrounding the disappearance of his father, the Blake family patriarch, is left unresolved in this volume. Perhaps it is covered in another.
1319374
Leopold and gang were a motley crew of heroes and I enjoyed their camaraderie. Your storyline was interesting and compelling. I didn't want it to end. Thank-you for sharing your story with me!