I own several picture books by S Maughan on related subjects. This is reenactment history presented in great photos. Now, we have real photos of the times before photography was invented!

This is just one beatifuly illistrated and well written book. It is definitely the elephant lovers 'guide to everything you ever wanted to know about elephants.' I've turned my 22 month old grand daughter into a elephant lover. Such screams of delight when she saw this wonderful new book grandma brought home! Such pictures and so much information! We love it.
Michele and Krislyn Rhoads
Anaheim, California

This is a magnificent book. I first saw it at my local library. I fell in love with it and ordered a copy for my home library. It is a magnificently produced compendium about elephant knowledge and lore that is probably unique for being contained in one volume. And--you can't beat the price for such a beautiful book. Highly recommended.

This book explains the nature and essence of the Holy Sacrifice of Mass, its real meaning and significance. After its reading, nobody will ever face the Holy Mass the same way again, having understood what truly happens there: the bloodless renovation of Christ's sacrifice in favour of a sinful mankind. The reader will increase in a great scale his devotion towards Mass and will assist its celebration much more frequently with major profitableness. Highly recommend for real catholics!

A final note: the author, Father Martin von Cochem, lived during the second half of the 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th century, much before the disastrous Second Vatican Council; the Mass analysed in his work is obviously the eternal Roman Rite Mass - the Tridentine Mass -, not the extravagant New Order Mass of Paul VI; the book can only be fully perceived having that factor in consideration.

This book was written long ago, and thus was aimed at the traditional latin Mass, but it is also just as appropriate for the current Mass. This book is a little long, but is a great read! It dramatically improved my whole understanding of the Mass, what it means, and what is actually happening during Mass. This book will make you want to attend Mass on a daily basis, not just on Sundays. This may be the most important book that a Catholic could read, because of its ability to make attending Mass a pleasure instead of a "Sunday obligation". Scott Hahn's "The Lambs Supper" is another good book (and is a quicker read than this one), but "The Incredible Catholic Mass" is my favorite. Buy it, read it, and then re-read it periodically.

You'll learn more than you think! In fact, i'd be surprised if you didn't start attending Mass DAILY after reading this book! It is by far the most excellent book on the Mass that I have ever read! You will put down this book only to pick it up again, and again, and again for years to come.

This book is aimed at popular cultures, history buffs, and quasi-academics. Davis examines "Los Angeles as the magnet for the American apocalyptic imagination. . . . riot, fire, flood, earthquake," under the backdrop of an arena where "middle-class apprehensions about angry under-classes are exceeded only by the anxieties brought by blind thrust-faults underlying Downtown L.A." It examines public and governmental risk perceptions, planning issues, historical events, and media and movie treatments of the "City of Angels as a theme park for Armageddon." Statistical and anecdotal treatments are constructed for everything from Mountain Lion predation on joggers, El Niño-driven floods and mudslides, California as the disembarking point of 'alien' invasions (including people's varying identifications of such to include Mexicans, Orientals, Medflies and extra-terrestrials), as well as "LA's under-rated tornado problem." While the book is insightful in examining the psyche of the American suburbanite in the context of the mystique of nature -- and how risk is exacerbated in the mindset of such cultures -- it is at best a reactionary effort. To note - It is highly likely that there were more tornado deaths in Oklahoma City last year than there were tornadoes in all of Southern California. The book appears well-researched, at least in terms of attempted effort. For instance, Chapter 4: "The Case for Letting Malibu Burn" is a holistic and comprehensive treatment of the wildfire hazard. But, other topical treatments are curiously hypocritical in their examination of certain real -- but low-probability risks -- such as cougars or tornadoes.

What appears as a scholarly chapter on Southern California tornado risk is itself a yellow journalistic media-style protrayal of the seemingly sudden realization that tornadoes do in fact occur in virtually all of North America, including California. Davis sermonizes a bit on how economically-driven Southern California has committed numerous and regular environmental transgressions, social injustices, and planning blunders (and makes some great observations). However, his interpretation of pure natural hazards -- most notably tornadoes -- reduces this otherwise fascinating book to a parody of itself - and the fallacies of public risk perception that it seeks to address. "Ecology of Fear" consults all the right scientists and cites all the prime literature (e.g. Court, 1980; Hales, 1985; Grazulis, 1993; Monteverdi, 1996 on tornadoes), yet mostly makes all the wrong conclusions (at least about tornadoes).

Labelling Southern California "Our Secret Kansas" is indicative of Davis' obsession with statistical oddities: "The Oklahoma City metropolitan area, considered to have the U.S.' worst urban tornado problem, is hit every 4.0 years. Yet metropolitan Los Angeles is hit at an average of once every 2.2 years, or twice as often." Aside from problems of scale, and a failure to qualify what an "urban tornado problem" is, Davis simply looks at quantitative data with little apparent understanding of the qualitative meaning. He fails to note that tornadoes in California tend to be weak, with NO violent tornado having EVER been recorded in the history of the state! Likewise, California tornadoes are very brief, relative to their Oklahoma cousins and, most importantly, no one has EVER been killed by a tornado in California. The chapter title is somewhat jingoistic as well, as even in Kansas the tornado risk is generally exaggerated by the media. Comparisons of the two states may not quite be like comparing 'apples and oranges,' but is certainly akin to 'oranges and grapefruits.' There may be some similarities, but the key thing is the differences, such as SIZE and impact!

Still, I like the text and it all makes for a very interesting study of hazard perception, media and cultural constructs, and overall representations of the environment. It is a thought-provoking book, fascinating on differing levels -- such as the wide range of material covered, the inclusions and exclusions, and simply in considerations of why the book is so popular. All make for a great study in hazard perceptions and culture. While I am very critical of a few areas, I applaud the effort and Davis' concept of examining the "ecology of fear."

This is an excellent, impassioned and rigorously thought out book. I am currently living in Boston, but had lived in Southern California for most of my life. As much as I enjoyed the area, it is a strange land, indeed. I enjoyed the author's earlier City of Quartz and recommend Ecology of Fear to anyone else who is interested/concerned about the social politics of L.A. Davis writes as one who cares enough to dissect and yes, criticize the city that he knows so well. To the earlier negative reviewers (who apparently thinks "Commie" baiting still works): come on, save your sabotage tactics for a city council meeting. If you really did read the book, you would know that you are only proving Davis' thesis...

I'm writing to respond to the one-star reviewers who dismissed _Ecology of Fear_ out of hand as "communist." What a great example of how we got where we are--if you disagree with someone's conclusions, call him a Commie, avoiding the need for any depth of thought or pretense of analysis.

I found "The Dialectic of Ordinary Disaster" and "The Case for Letting Malibu Burn" two of the most enlightening chapters I've read lately. Drawing on the work of a variety of scientists to show that Southern California is a distinctive, cataclysmic environment, Davis shows how "natural" disasters are socially created, and the consequences of this, especially for the poor.

Despite his environmental focus, Davis clearly cares more about human life than anything else. He draws attention, rightly in my view, to the enormous level of local, state, and federal money spent to save celebrity properties in Malibu (not to mention the risk to firemen's lives) and official indifference to the deaths of dozens of immigrants in tenant-house fires in inner-city L.A. Davis implicitly challenges the environmental movement, as well as Americans generally, to rethink our priorities in light of what we know.

A spectacular stylist with an insightful phrase on every page, Mike Davis is not easy to listen to. All the more reason we should pay attention.

Garfield never fails to charm children of all ages. This book is great for the beginning reader. If, however, you are trying to stress the importance of physical fitness, Garfield is a poor example anytime, and especially in this book. But, as long as the child is made to understand that Garfield is just a funny, ( hilarious, really), fictitious cat, and not a role model, then all will enjoy his antics.

This book consists of 22 articles and over 60 b&w photos covering organized labor, feminism, and state politics. It is uneven in style and tone, ranging from first-person narratives to academic essays. The focus of the book is the city's underclass, which seems to be defined as unionized casino workers. (Many of these writers are oblivious that there are several strata of less-well-off people below unionized employees.) Much of the book is a paean to organized labor. For example, the longest article is titled "The Recent History of the Culinary Union in Las Vegas." Entrepreneurs are the villains of this book, while the heros are union leaders and (perversely) mafioso - there is some nostalgia for the good old days when gangsters ran a tight ship and took care of the little people.

The most touching essay is by Constance Devereaux who writes of her experiences conducting a class inside a Nevada prison, juxtaposed with her finding the body of her murdered husband in their bedroom as a result of a bungled burglary.