The book was published in April 2000, which means it was probably written during late 1999 and early 2000, when the NASDAQ was soaring to 5000 and tech had no boundaries. Its tone of breathless enthusiasm is very representative of that time. The book does accurately state the e-potential, but like NASDAQ investors in March 2000 did, it extrapolates unsustainable trends into a ceaseless upswing. The Web is here, and it is a true revolution, but ultimately it is simply another communication channel for insurers and their stakeholders. This is a great read, but only to help understand what kind of carried-away thinking created the tech bubble.

Nature is an untamable and chaotic system that needs our protection, as so does humans. Earth, Air, Fire, Water: Humanistic Studies of the Environment edited by Jill Ker Conway, Kenneth Keniston, and Leo Marx., is a collection of essays gives an account on how humanists realized the importance of the study of the environment and how modern organizations have been very valuable in protecting the further degradation of the ecosystem due to industrial progress. This book is a valuable tool for an introductory academic study of the initial stages in policy making as it recollects the real-life examples on how humans have affected the natural course of ecological environment due to the implementation of programs and projects that have failed due to the lack of information and knowledge of this specific science. The intention of these set of essays is to incorporate the different narratives produced by different environmentalists over the period of time, how culture, politics and gender has played an important role in the conservation of nature that had led to a myriad of ways of protecting it. In a broad view nature is a set of chaotic events that can neither be modified nor controlled. Through history human beings have been led to the idea that through technology nature can be tamed, but different catastrophes have forced us to realize its fragility and how in the event of few years we have reverted evolution that have evolved over the course of millions of years. Now, that humanity has science to measure change, it is expected that we will make better decisions however, other players come into the game such as politics, economy and the unavoidable power necessity.

Scientists have acknowledged that humans are responsible for the radical change in the environment. According to the editors, there is a new trend on how different institutions, men and women respond to these problems. The interest nowadays is how "environmental degradation" affects people and culture and how they respond to these problems respectively. The following set of essays provide social perspective on how environmentalists have used the idea of sacredness to protect places. Many of these ideas of sacredness come from non-European civilizations. Europeans viewed Native Americans as being "more close to nature", savage due to their nakedness and their closeness to natural environments. However, these essays provide a new perspective because they demystify culture by explaining that many environmental problems come from Indian practices such as burning, that rural communities in the Amazon will not care if they are polluting the environment as when it comes to doing business, it means more money for their families. In terms of institutional intervention, two other essays address how environmental activism has strengthen due to the proliferation of toxic dumps near poor minority communities, something nowadays called "environmental racism", likewise, how the Russians have no interest in environmentalism due to the collapse of their government, and women's participation in initiatives in their rural communities are decisive because they are the ones who gather fuel wood from forests and the destruction of forests make it difficult for their survival. As it seems, these essays provide a culture-based perspective on modern environmental issues. Nature is been affected directly by human intervention, these changes occur on the localized level therefore, environmentalists should stay focused on specific issues.

However, with new environmental issues on the horizon, environmentalists are lead to new perspectives in addressing these problems such as a new movement called "eco-feminism". Women are viewed in a pastoral interpretation as being "closer to nature" (such as Indians as described in a previews essay). The essay proposes that the environment has been degraded by men. Historically women have neither had real influence nor participation in institutions that have had part in "contemporary environmental destruction". Men are environmental hazards due to male-related activities such as hunting. Women on the other hand are more concerned on nature related issues due to childbearing. On the other hand, another essay acknowledges new perspectives on modernity and its analysis on the Enlightenment perspective on technology, and how in a modern perspective "scientists and engineers are associated with the devastation of nature". Scientists are viewed as custodians of nature. They identify that the problems in nature are a consequence of different institutional effects. It is therefore, necessary to understand first hand the socioeconomic context of the said issue before dealing with it. These specific problems are rooted in history and culture and leave "presentism"on the side. Presentism by itself accuses modern scientists of the problems that exist in the present. The editors of the book call for a new postmodern thinking that will be inclusive and will recognize the social role of science and engineering.

Since the book has different voices that address many problems, it can serve as the first step towards the education of our fragile environment. All of the essays are very well written and contain a large bibliography that can serve as a reference for future research. As the title suggest, nature is composed of different elements such as the earth, air, fire and water, they are all interrelated, therefore should be studied by an interdisciplinary approach. All problems are caused by individual issues related to culture, politics and history, therefore environmentalists should unite their efforts to address specific and localized problems by including all social institutions and citizens in the conservation of our natural environment.

I picked up this book when I was going out to see and hike the Grand Canyon. The book is much more interesting in context, i.e. you've seen and undertand the scale and the environment of the Grand Canyon. The book has a series of short vignettes, arranged roughly chronologically, about explorers, miners and assorted neer do wells that really gave life and reality to my experience hiking and exploring the Canyon. Each of the stories is concisely written and illustrated with period photos in B&W.

In a take on the town mouse and the country mouse, Leonni tells the tale of happy forest mice who try to recreate a Mardi Gras celebration of their own, after hearing about it from a city mouse. This fable is, as always beautifully illustrated; although this time, there are no torn-paper mice, but, as my seven-year-old noticed, "really painted" pictures. However, we never find out why the mouse`s tail stays green -- as a reminder, perhaps of the dangers of trying to be what you are not? A little too ambiguous, maybe. Not as captivating as so many of his other stories. Save your money and borrow this from the library.

I got this book for the last class I took for my Masters Degree. I must admit it was somewhat disapointing. Most of the reading material in the book lacks enthusiasm. It was unable to grab my attention and it seemed to go on forever over-explaining things as if trying to write for the sake of writing. If you want to read on the topic there are better choices out there.

With the 150th anniversary of Janacek's birth approaching next year, maybe now is the time for a reinvigoration of a bibliography about this composer. Although many books have appeared in recent times about him, few stay in print for an extended amount of time. Forthcoming publications include John Tyrrell's biography of a composer he has written about more than any other academic (published by Faber in 2004) and this spring a new volume from Yale, called 'Janacek and his World' edited by Michael Beckerman. Mirka Zemanova, a native-Czech, now living in London and regular contributor to many opera programmes, has pipped them to the post with the publication of her Janacek bibliography.

Many rightly raved about Mirka Zemanova's previous contribution to the Janacek bibliography, her edition of the composer's uncollected essays on musicology. The volume included many previously unseen, or at least untranslated pieces of writing by Janacek. Various reviews of performances in Brno for the local journals and newspapers were enlightening when considering the many influences on Janacek's own writing, the Brno premieres of Cavalleria Rusticana or Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades influencing Janacek's Jenufa, for example. Many passages have seeped their way into recent writing about the composer's life and works with the same regularity as quotes from John Tyrrell's many documentary translations, the letters to Kamila Stosslova particularly.

Zemanova has decided to eschew use of Tyrrell's great translations of the letters and various documents, and returned to the original sources, itself not a bad idea. For the English speaking Janacek fan though, perhaps more cross references to those masterly volumes wouldn't have been too bad a thing, and her dismissal of some of Tyrrell's work is misplaced. Zemanova has great command of her material at best, but occasionally she is rather prosaic on a life that was so lacking in humdrum. Her outlining of details of the Vienna premiere of Jenufa, rather than dwelling on the Prague premiere (itself very important, but perhaps a little too glorified in recent literature) is to be commended. Her scatty musical analysis is a disappointment. Although she outlines her concern with focussing less on the 'works' and more on the 'life', her style is not always up to the dramatics of Janacek's life. I would recommend a reading of the composer's wife's memoirs for some of the real drama.

It is a mixed book, fitting for such a mixed man, filled with facts that weren't available to previous biographers, but lacking in the grasp of some other regular contributors to Janacek literature. Hopefully, however, it will be the first of a stream of issues about this fascinating composer in the year leading up to the 150th anniversary of his birth, and the 100th anniversary of the premiere of his first great opera Jenufa.

"Making advertisements involves perspiration as well as inspiration.The creative leap may never be explained, but we can prepare and capitalise on it".

Edited by Simon Broadbent, the Vice Chairman of Leo Burnett, London, the book talks about writing the ads, as well as going back to the basics in strategy and onto production, media and evaluation skills, which helps see how advertisements can be managed and improved.

Leo Burnett Ltd, established in Chicago in 1935, was the third most award-winning agency network worldwide in '97-98.The book begins on an ode to Leo Burnett, the Chieftain and driving force behind the agency. A man who laid much emphasis on non-verbal ideas, "the sheer fun of admaking", that took the form of statements with visual qualities, and whose true meaning lies too deep for words: whether the strong Marlboro man on horseback, or the benevolent Jolly Green giant selling corn, or the playful Kelloggs Frosties tiger.

the book is essentially divided into two sections- 'Techniques' and 'Case Histories', the former aiming to help one work for an agency.A much helpful read for a beginner, it touches upon effective advertising techniques like media objectives, media strategies, data presentations, campaign effectiveness, timing, quality, production methods etc. 'Advertising that sells' focuses on product dramatisation, whether through the product as a hero, or celebrity presenters or enacted slice-of-life stories or modern parables.

'Case Histories' takes on the Leo Burnett-handled campaigns. It is both a market analysis, as well as the agency evaluation of its effective utilization of the talked about techniques.

The result: Long running campaigns like Cadbury's Flakes, Perrier mineral water,Austin Metro, Sunday Express (with its famous 'where's Giles'?)etc.

Inspite of this, the book has not been very popular.Someone once said that books that noone wants to read deserve to become extinct, and that probably has happened to the Leo Burnett Book.

On the whole, I'll say, an interesting and very readable book.

this book is an incomplete book and one of the first writings of author. Hence you will not find the style and depth of subject as you see in Anna Karenina or War And Peace. Still mind set of young tolstoy is appreciable. Also gives you a good idea of Russian landLords lifestyle of late Eighteen century and Early Ninteenth century. Do read if you get a chance

very spiritual and heartwarming. Makes you belevie in God.
very sad

The book might serve as an interesting springboard for truly substantial Strauss scholarship, but it is in large part an unfortunately simplistic portrayal of a man and a philosophy whose "true" message is hotly debated even by its students. Drury presents a layman's view of Strauss, Nietzsche and Plato that never manages to overcome itself or reveal the true subtlety and nuance Strauss possessed. Somewhat disingenuously, Drury relies on the very Strauss-mysticism she decries to cover up the fact that the book is really not terribly profound.