This is a wonderful book which provides details about the biology of snakes. I have many books on how to care for snakes, but this is the book I've been looking for. It tells how snakes sense things, see and smell. It give details on snake's anatomy and biology. I love this book. It also has great glossy snake photos, a must.

I remember reading this story over and over in elementary school. It was a favorite for everyone in my class and would create fights over who got to borrow it from the classroom. One of my fondest memories of 2nd grade was performing a play of this story.

The ecological model is a philosophy, not an emperically vallidated theory. Social work has a troubled relationship with science. It's pretty easy to get into graduate school in social work. Our scholarship is of questionable quality. As a profession we are not taken seriously on issues that are important to us.

These and other disturbing truths about social work are brought forth in this volume with clarity and force. This book critically examines the dominant theories in social work, the gatekeeping and educational models in social work training, and the scope of social work practice at the beginning of the 21st century. In doing so it points out many of the weaknesses of organized social work, which after 100 years still struggles with issues of professional ideantity, uniformity of training, and common philosophy. While quite critical of many aspects of the profession, these authors clearly care about social work. Their criticism is not merely indictment, but suggests action.

This book is not a wakeup call, because the issues are well known. Rather it is a challenge to us as a profession. We can not improve the state of things unless we have the courage to critically self examine ourselves and take action. This book articulates the issues better than anything else I've come across. Like a true friend, it tells you what you may not want to hear, but what you know is right.

This book is so well-written it is a joy to read. It's like a visit to the most understanding physician you've ever had an appontment with. I highly recommend it to any person who ha been suffering and han't been able to get help from their doctor.

Here is a book to challenge smug Western ideas about Christian church and missions. Don't worry about the author's "liberalism" or "conservatism." He shows some attachment to his own denomination's political structure, and he uses language which we consider outdated (seeing as the book was written over 70 years ago), but otherwise he preaches an appropriately "modern" message of mere (and powerful!) Christianity. All I can say is: Get book. Read book. Compare with Bible. Then get out there and *do* something!

The greatest story ever, on the greatest players ever

Barthes shows his genius in Sz. He takes us step by step through the semiology of Balzac's literature. He demonstrates the work and then talks about the "meaning" on other levels.

This is a VERY unique work. It begins with a 217 page disassembly of "Sarrasine". He explores not only how the work is assembled but almost each and every word and phrase. Appendix I is the 33 page original text of the novella in full. Appendix II is the Sequence of Actions where every action is broken down and cross referenced with its lexial position in the novella. Appendix III is the Summary of the Contents of the whole lecture itself.

The whole work boils down to an understanding of the novella in the same sense of understanding why a painter chose a certain color to depict a tree in the background as it relates to the whole work.

Very facinating and in no sense trivial -- but, at the same time remarkably entertaining and readable.

This is THE place to begin a serious study of literature or semiotics.

-Mike

Roland Beamont was one (if not the best) flight test pilots in UK. In this book, he tell us how very difficult was his profession in the earlys '50, when terms as "sonic barrier" and "compressibility" begins to be heard. Beamont fly most of the UK fightes and prototipes, including: English Electric Canberra, E.E. P.1 (the first UK supersonic aircraft in horizontal flight), E.E. Lightning, and the bomber prototype TSR 2. The book is very professional, and any "aviation lover" must read it. Beamont also flight the F-84, F-86, and F-104 prototype in USA, and his (recently) desclassified evaluations are transcribbed in the book. This is one of the books I enjoy and delighted in every page. He show the aviation (and the planes, also) from a different point of view: The test pilot's, where his confidence and capabilities fougth his fears against the unexplored (even, never explored)perfomances of a new aircraft.

I would recommend this book for everybody who wants to know what and why the great new Transition Revolution has happened in USSR and East Europe.I use this book for teaching in the Moscow State University as the main textbook ,and students like it for its explanations of a lot complicated problems of Transition economical systems and policy making.

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras from 1989 to 1992. I met the author of this book, Roland Bunch, and saw a lot of the work he has done as a leader of a group called "World Neighbors". The book "Two Ears of Corn" described techniques for teaching farmers new ways of improving their crop yields. These techniques were developed through years of trial and error by the organization World Neighbors. The techniques were developed by some of the most dedicated, humane people I have ever met. The Peace Corps, recognizing how superior their efforts and results had been, tried to learn everything we could from the agricultural extensionists of World Neighbors. And "Two Ears of Corn" was our starting point. We got a copy the first day of our training. The techniques described in the book were developed by folks who just wouldn't quit, and who refused to become cynical or dogmatic to new ideas. They examined their failures, and learned how to teach farmers as equals and as partners. And the techniques work fantastically. I have seen the results at villages where World Neighbors has taught 90% of the farmers to improve their yields, where other agencies loudly trumpet as a success programs where 1 or 2% of the villagers have adopted new techniques. (And for most development agencies, 2% IS a staggering success). The farmers in World Neighbors villages are far more successful than in other areas. They grow more food, wear better clothes, have nicer houses and are more likely to have their children in school. Most importantly have a deeper sense of community and optimism. They are still in poverty, but they have far more opportunity. And their children are certain to be better off. In many cases, these farmers were shoeless and landless before they were taught by World Neighbors. And the change in their demeanor--in their pride--is unmistakeable. The villages themselves can be breathtakingly beautiful, the hillsides everywhere contoured in terraced steps and producing lush amounts of corn, beans, coffee and vegetables. Down the road, the next village often shows only stunted midget corn on the same terrain. Some of the principles that are described in "Two Ears of Corn": Use simple improvements that are easy to apply and produce quick results without requiring the impoverished farmers to obtain cash or special equipment. Examples: use manures for fertilizer; plant native crops that fix nitrogen in the soil; use mulches in dry areas; always use plants and techniques that are available locally. Another technique: never, ever give away seeds, fertilizers, tools, or pesticides. You'll have to read the book to understand why this idea--counter to our altruistic instincts--is so critical. Suffice it to say that what conservatives say about the effect of welfare has been abundantly proven by giveaway programs run by major development agencies. World Neighbors doesn't give anything away but knowledge. Only a few farmers pay attention at first. Soon others see the results. Soon they begin to pay attention to, though it takes several years for the program to gain its most dramatic results. Another lesson: avoid paternalistic, lecturing types of assistance. Get into the fields with the farmers. Involve the farmers in the process of developing new planting techniques themselves as soon as possible. Teach them the science of the techniques that you show them. Have them show others. In fact, require it of them. Make them responsible for the improvement of their own lives. And then lead them to work for their neighbor's well-being. This last lesson is profoundly moving to see in action. I have had the experience of watching farmers hold classes for other farmers, participating in group discussions about agriculture, talking about ways to get better health care or education for their villages. It is World Neighbors' intention that agriculture should be a first step to discussions of other topics such as health, community, personal responsibility and even deep philosophical issues such as what it means to be a good man, a good father, a good neighbor. In fact, the goal of World Neighbors is not to teach better agriculture. It is to use agriculture to teach how to be a better person. It is really quite moving to see a group of poor, uneducated farmers sitting together and discussing how to become better men. I wish more people could see and hear these discussions.. This book can't convey the actual experience of having a farmer proudly show you how well his crops are doing, or watching a farmers' meeting. But "Two Ears of Corn" does explain in language as clear as water how to go about making the world a better place. The trick is to show a man how to grow two ears of corn where before he struggled to grow even one.