Gerald Durrell's books have touched the hearts of naturalists for decades and I admit that I have only become a fan of his in the recent years. I was introduced to his books through my local used bookstore, where I was looking for copies of James Herriot's books that were not offered at my local bookstore, and decided to pick up a few and try them out.

His stories have a incorporated a vivid energy and hilarity into his passionate memoirs of unique nature experiences that will entertain any nature-lover. While some of his scientific practices may now be considered obsolete, we are given a rare glimpse into the love and respect for all things living that has been a core aspect of any naturalist throughout the ages.

I have since bought as many of Durrell's books that I have been able to find, and treasure each and every one of them.

Gerald Durrell spent most of his life collecting interesting animal specimens and Durrell is an interesting human specimen himself. His well chronicled life (mostly chronicled by Durrell) begins with the hilarious, and very succesfull, "My family and Other Animals". It is ably followed up with the equally hilarious "Birds, Beasts and Relatives". Both books are full of tales from the Durrell family's years on the Greek Island of Corfu, pre WWII. Little Gerry dives right into the flora and fauna of the island, including its human fauna. I own very few nonfiction books with such a plethora of memorable characters. Now, of course, we get to the volume in question. It is plenty good, and worth multiple readings over years, as is "The Overloaded Ark" and several other books detailing trips to collect animals. A word of warning, don't go nuts and buy all the zillion Durrell titles. Some of them are out of print for a reason and were most likely dashed off by Durrell to finance a collecting trip or two...

I would seriously recommend this book to anyone on the planet. Do you like nature? Read this. Do you like animals? Read this. Do you like humour? Read this. Are you someone who appreciates a good book? Read this. You will come away knowing lots of interesting facts about obscure animals,have sniggered your head off, and with vibrant images filling your head. This is an autobiography jam-packed with laughs and description.

Not only have I read this book, but I did so in conjunction from taking an argumentation class from the author, Dr. Richard Rieke. Dr. Rieke is an extremely experienced and talented communicator and this book would be a valuable addition to any scholar and layperson alike.

Rieke's background includes mediation and negotiation for some of the most prominent global companies and more than 20 years experience as an educator. Currently he is a Communication professor at the University of Utah and the director of the university's Honor's Program.

What I've learned from this book is how to go about the dialectical process (research, criticial thinking, refuting) an issue to constructing a rhetorical argument (persuasive case) in favor of one side or another. I feel that this book has given me a very strong grasp on how to construct various types of arguments, and how to modify them based on who is supposed to be persuaded by the argument.

One of the things I liked most about this book was it's very detailed and logically organized for the processes of argumentation. A list of terms is presented at the beginning of the chapter, each chapter is subcategorized for maximum orgnization, and each chapter is concluded with a summary and suggested exercises.

Each chapter is detailed with universally used information about how argumentation relates to various spheres (or contexts) like science, religion, business, politics, etc. In addition, the authors provide numerous, clear examples to help you understand their points.

I have used this book in not only preparing a brief and case thesis for the related class, but have used as a guide in creating numerous other essays for other Communications classes.

I will not be selling this textbook back to the university bookstore; instead it has earned a permenant spot in my library because I know I will be referencing it often for other classes, and in business well after I graduate. I feel especially privileged to have been able to take the course from the author, because Rieke is very articulate and an excellent educator.

This book is -- hands down -- the best single textbook for use in a first year critical thinking and argumentation course. Professor Eric Nelson.

Argumentation and Decision-Making has been stolen off my book shelf more often than any other book I've ever owned. I keep replacing it, because it has a unique combination of practical and sophisticated examples, as well as clear explanations of the LOGIC behind assessments. Gifted high school students need the standards represented in this book. Evidently, colleagues need the guidance for writing Master's theses and Doctoral dissertations as well! I strongly recommend this book to any teacher of students from ninth grade through university; you'll actually use it.

No one in the world (and I state that with full confidence) knows more about Chartres Cathedral than Malcolm Miller. What more needs to be said?

No visit to Chartres is complete without taking the tour of the Cathedral's walking encyclopedia Malcolm Miller. Miller's books are fantastic and give a tremendous insight into the history of Chartres and its Cathedral.

Malcolm Miller is the foremost English authority on the cathedral of Chartres. He divides his time between the town of Chartres, where he personally conducts tours, and the rest of the world where he lectures and makes films and videos of the subject. He opens his tours and lectures by commenting that the cathedral is like a library--and we don't just say, "We're going to go to the library today and read all the books". Each tour or lecture consists of a general introduction and focuses on a small part of the stained glass and statuary. The core of the book is a review of the iconography of a selection of the windows and sculpture. In this manner, you learn how to "read the books" in the cathedral, and gain an understanding of the world that produced them. Once you have toured Chartres, either in person or through that other medieval miracle, printing, you will want to return again and again.

Malcolm Wells' dry wit and characteristic hand-written style appear once again in this collaboration with fellow natural architect, Charles Woods. Well and Woods share common goals of architecture that complements rather than covers the land, and offer myriad ideas and pointers to help you design a cohesive attractive structure, filled with visual balance and not-so-common good sense.

Although the authors don't always agree on the specifics of visual aspects, their playful banter reveals that not all their ideas are steadfast rules, and allows you to witness the brainstorming give-and-take between the authors while offering you enough information to make your own decision.

Few complete home designs are displayed, but they are reprinted from the authors' other books (Natural Architecture by Woods, Underground Designs by Wells), and are placed in context of demonstrating a point. Otherwise, pages are filled with illuminating commentary and ideas on specific components of homes, including roof lines, light fixtures, proportions, window types, door placement, siding, and lot layout.

You will not be told how to build a house, but rather you will develop a designer's critical eye and help you to understand why so many modern homes have visual aspects that just don't look "right". (Example: narrow shutters on wide windows -- how will the shutters ever cover the window space if they are not proportional?...you'd be surprised how often I see this faux pas in local posh neighborhoods).

A helpful bibliography points to other books to fill out your home design repertoir.

(Wells is the grandfather of earth-sheltered/underground architecture and still offers design services from Cape Cod. You can write to him (via snail mail) and he'll kindly reply.)

This inspiring book shows very clearly what kind of decisions can be made in home design.

Whilst not getting into the nuts & bolts of building, innovative ideas are shared page after page.

Humour and how-not-to examples effectively tackle the otherwise so-subjective topic of aesthetics.

An entertaining coffee-table book for wanna-be home builders and a good reference for teams bogged down by discussions of good taste in architecture.

This book is great for someone who is thinking about building a home with common sense.It explains and compares good and bad architecture, and gives examples and sketches of why it is good and bad. Now when I look at buildings and homes that have always seemed unpleasant,I say to myself "Oh, if the roofline was only at a little less of an angle", and so on. It makes you wake up and be more aware of the aesthetic relationship of a stucture to the earth. There are also exciting and innovative home plans in it that you will find nowhere else. The authors respond to inquiries and have a great sense of humor.

This book takes us on a riproaring tour of post cold-war Europe in search of the misterious Dr Criminale. Our tour-guide is an unlikely journalist of dubious quality, and yet this book has the air of quality. Despite only fleeting glimpses of Dr Criminale and much doubt about his true character, Malcolm Bradbury paints an astonishingly captivating portrait of this man. A book I keep coming back to.

This book was loaned to me two years ago, and the memory of it has lived with me since.I found the book almost impossible to put down as I travelled the world with Francis Jay in his search for Baslo Criminale, meeting an array of well developed and unforgettable characters. Mr. Bradbury succeeded in playing adroitly with my emotions, making me laugh and (almost) cry. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who likes intelligent humour and mystery.

I read this book in 1994, without the knowledge of who this author was, or his style of writing. After I opened the book, I found I could not put it down. This novel had a profound impact on me and my perception of the world. This book had changed the way I looked at the world and at myself. Bradbury, through Francis Kay, spoke to me in a way that Heller, Salinger and Vonnegut couldn't, spoke to who I was and challenged me to see who I could be, just as his character did. Unfortunately I only borrowed the book, and when I went to buy it, I was told it was out of print. It's a shame that literature of this calibur isn't available to everyone anymore.

I really think this is a great book for any dancer or non-dancer.I take ballet and i used to hate it just like they did but now i love it and i'm really good! The bunheads remind me of me and my friends at dance but we would never tell Zan she was as ugly as a giraffe. So you can kinda relate to the characters in this book. I am going to read the whole series, and I hope you do too!!

Drat, We're Rats is a great book because the characters are funny. I take ballet and hate it and could really identify with the girls in the book. The only way I can get through ballet every week is by pretending that the girls in the class are the characters in the book (like Courtney Clay is like a girl in my class named Margaret and Mary Bumpnik is like Brenna). I like the plot in the book and have read the other books in the series (1 - 4). I hope to read the 5th one soon.

This book is great for swowing that it is what you are interested in and not what every body else thinks you should be interested ing that counts. As a group of misfits eventually the find each other and relize that there are more important thing in life than depending on the opinions of someone else.

This book is a delightful true account of a naturalist's trip to South America in 1954. He is collecting animals for British zoos and in many cases he seems to be making some of the first discoveries of the intimate lives of his charges (what they eat, how best to house them, their temperaments, etc.). In the course their 6 month adventure, Gerald and his wife, Jacquie, must deal with numerous non-animal problems, such a revolution in Argentina, a crazed carpenter cage builder, and the eccentric habits of their temporary housekeeper, who also happens to be the local madam. Durrell's descriptions of the animals and the countryside are alternately beautiful and hilarious. This is a book to read aloud. It really is wonderful. :-)

This is one of Gerald Durrell's best and funniest books. WHY is it out of print?!!

I've read this book 3 times and I'm going to re-read it again. It's just perfect.

Cowley was the ultimate in a thinking,toughly idealistic American living a literary dream in an epoch which permitted the indulgence. Jaggedly incisive as a writer, Cowley decided instead that editing was his prowess and observation his art. So he proceeded. Much romantic lore has been made of the many great American authors inhabiting the Left Bank scene in Paris in the 1920s. Exile's Return makes sense of the historical, literary and personal sequence of events leading to this decade-long picnic, and transforms the legend and nostalgia into the movingly profound minutiae of everyday life and thought amongst the loose collection of free spirits who changed modern conceptions of Western literary art forever. Artistic and intellectual achievements notwithstanding, "une generation perdue" comprised some very desperate and talented people trying to make sense of a world gone mad and define themselves within the insanity. A lot like now. Imagine an author being able to account for the global, tragic complexity emblematic in 9/11 and explain its implications for humanity and civilization's expressions. Flash back eight decades and you have Cowley's subject matter and his accomplishment. Let's hope someday somebody equals Malcolm Cowley's formidable ability to observe and explicate, and make us love, in retrospect, a loveless and temporarily hopeless age as it finds its way into our favorite novels and poems.

I had expected EXILE'S return to be more of a straightforward history of the Lost Generation, and was somewhat surprised to find instead a profoundly insightful, exceedingly well-written reflection on Malcolm Cowley's literary generation. As a result, many writers that we associate with that decade, e.g., Ernst Hemingway, receive almost no mention, whereas others, e.g., Hart Crane, get a considerable amount. The highest praise that I can bestow on this book is that in looking now at the poetry and literature of that period, I feel much more at home in their world than I did before reading Cowley. A marvelous book in man, many ways.

i strongly recommend this book to anyone who needs more insight into the idea of a lost Generation

This is a truly amazing book. The artwork is superb and the text is excellent. It combines legends from Babylon, Greece, Phoneican, Egyptian, Welsh, Scottish and English legends all crammed into one excellent and comprehensive guide. I can't say how great this book is. Just buy it and you will see

This is an excellent book for all ages. It is highly illustrated with many different types of mythilogical creatures. These categories include: mythical birds, dragons and serpents, half-human creatures and mythilogical animals. The only problem is that it is fairly expensive for it's size but it's worth it. I paid $25 for it, well I should say my dad did but anyway it is an excellent book.

This book has fabulous illustrations and good text. A wonderful selection for anyone into myth and legend.

This booklet features two full speeches, an interview and sections of other material from the last year of Malcolm's life. This was the period following his split from the Nation of Islam the religious and nationalist organization he had been a central leader of for many years. Many consider this period of his life as the one of his most mature political thought.

These speeches constitute a useful introduction to his thought and for the price can't be beat.

Understanding the evolution of Malcolm is critical to an understanding of the 20th century.

This little pamphlet is a package of political dynamite for TODAY'S world. In speeches (more than two) and interviews, Malcolm explains why he is for the right of Black people (I have no doubt that he would say "working people" today) to defend themselves by any means necessary against police violence or other racist violence; explains why we (the "us" being working people, Black, white, Latino, Asian, male and female) must never call the U.S. imperialist government "our" government, imperialism's troops "our" troops, or its actions "our" actions. Period. He identifies U.S. and European imperialism as such (no, it did not begin with Bush II ); he identifies both Democrat and Republican parties as the twin parties of racism; he tells why anyone (any Black person then; we would say any working person today ) who votes for or campaigns for the Democrats is either a traitor or being played for a chump ( still true today !) hails the Chinese and Cuban revolutions as examples for what we need to do HERE; and he explains how he came to be against capitalism and prosocialist. Also he tells why The Militant newspaper is one of the best in the world (it's on the web!). This is Malcolm speaking for himself in the last year of his life: Alex Haley refused to let Malcolm's autobiography be changed-by Malcolm himself! -to reflect his all his changing views and development after he left the Nation of Islam, so you have to go to the speeches, at least five books of them published by Pathfinder Press.

As a soldier stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in 1969, I was privileged to hear on audio tape the two central speeches printed in this booklet: "Black Revolution" and "Prospects for Freedom in 1965."
Those speeches were key to coalescing tens of Black and Puerto Rican GIs who organized a significant group on the base involving any soldier who would oppose racism and the US war against Vietnam. Today, with the US-led war and occupation of Iraq along with continued racial oppression and exploitation in the US, this material is as relevant as it was in the '60s.