This is a good reference to have handy for those who do not regularly write but yet critique the writer's work. It is easy to understand and contains examples.

Barry DiGregorio's new book about the discovery of microbial life on the surface of Mars only has re-inforced what I have suspected all along --that if NASA ever did find life on the other planets they would contain the information to themselves fearing funding cuts by those that would protest "the truth about nature" because it interfers with their religious cosmologies. Former NASA scientist Gilbert Levin presents a good argument (Levin guest writes chapter 9) and gives readers an inside look at what it is like to work as a NASA exobiologist and the political obstacles he has had to endure. All in all, Mars The Living Planet is one of the best books on Mars I have ever read (and I have read most of them) and highly recomended it to anyone that is curious about how NASA conducts its research in this area. Though the search for life is one of NASA's top three stated goals for Mars, DiGregorio points out that no microbiologists are being included on any of the NASA science teams and that biological testing experiments are being rejected by the agency. --John Miller, Amherst, N

The August 1997 NASA announcement of the discovery of possible fossilized bacteria in meteorite ALH 84001 of Martian origin grabbed the attention of millions of people across the world. Cover stories of science and general interest newsmagazines, front-page coverage from the world's leading international newspapers and extensive coverage on the nightly news renewed centuries-old interest in Earth's neighbor, Mars. The speculation of life on Mars stirred debates in scientific and technical circles, as well as raising philosophical and theological questions. However, this was not the first time in the second half of this century that the scientific community has had to struggle with the possible fact that there is life on Mars.

The quest for determining if there is life on Mars has its origins in fundamental research about Earth's environment. Sophisticated scientific experiments were part of the 1976 Viking Mission to Mars. The Viking Lander 1 and Lander 2 were carrying cargo for three biological experiments designed to determine if life forms were found on the surface of Mars, which was the primary objective of the Viking Mission. The Gas Exchange experiment (Gex), the Pyrolytic Release experiment (PR), and the Labeled Release experiment (LR) were selected from the 164 original proposals to develop automated, life-detection experiments to test Martian soil. A fourth test to measure the presence of organicmatter only, the Gas-Chromatograph Mass Spectrophotometer (GCMS) test, was onboard the Viking Mission. This chemical test would discount the findings of the biological tests and play a pivotal role in the conclusions of the existence of life on Mars -- conclusions staunchly defended by NASA.

The first two chapters of DiGregorio's book provide a rather interesting history of the study of Mars. The story traces the planet's role from the ancient religions to the source of intensive scientific scrutiny. Subsequent chapters provide detailed explanations of the scientific research that paved the way for the experiments carried on the Viking Landers. These sections describe not only the scientific research but also the researchers who were engaged in some of the most cutting edge scientific study in microbiology - the study of microbial life in Earth's most extreme, desolate, and hostile environments - searing hot deserts and the frigid ice fields of the Antarctic. This research would pave the way for the development and maturation of anew branch of microbiology examining extremophile bacteria (bacteria that can withstand the extreme environmental conditions of extremely low or extremely high temperatures, excessively salty, or other chemically challenged environments, including cryptoendolithic forms that live inside rocks!).

Wolf Vladimir Vishniac studied algae, molds, and bacteria. His research areas included the origins of life and exobiology (the study of life beyond the boundaries of Earth). Vishniac's development of an in situ test (done in real time -- on the spot), the Wolf Trap, would provide important insights for the concurrent tests by Gilbert V. Levin, whose LR design would be on the Viking Landers. Vishniac and University of Rochester graduate assistant, Stanley Mainzer, developed a series of tests to test for the evidence of microbial life in previously thought sterile ice fields of the Antarctic. It was Vishniac's belief that if life could exist and reproduce in the ice-cemented soils of the Antarctic, life could survive in the harsh environments of Mars.

Vishniac's work also describes the rigors and dangers of such research. On a December summer day in a valley between the Antarctic's Mount Baldr and Mount Thor, Vishniac set to explore a new area to place equipment to continue his studies. Tragically, Vishniac slipped and slid off the edge of a one thousand foot cliff in the Asgard Mountains. The second rigor of research at these levels deals with the acceptance and support of research, especially by NASA and NASA-supported scientists. Vishniac's Wolf Trap and life-testing experimentswere not included in the Viking Landers. The official reason given by NASA for the exclusion was the "weight" of the equipment needed, and that Vishniac's experiments required water, which NASA scientists had already concluded would not be found on Mars.

DiGregorio outlines in the remainder of his book the mounting evidence that Levin's LR experiments did indeed discover life on Mars and how Levin endured the scorn, humiliation, and wrath of the scientific community. The major thrust of the remainder of MARS: THE LIVING PLANET is the decades-long cover up of scientific evidence of life on Mars. DiGregorio describes, in chilling fashion, the role NASA has played in altering, concealing, and distorting data from the Viking Mission. He also describes NASA's attempts to tarnish the careers of research scientists who dare to challenge prevailing NASA thoughts about life on Mars. DiGregorio establishes the premise that NASA has turned its back on settling this incredibly important issue, and then sets forth to answer his own question, "Why?"

MARS: THE LIVING PLANET is, as described on the book's jacket, "a highly readable science story." While some readers might get a little bogged-down in the scientific and technical aspects described in the book's middle chapters, it is this very essence of thoroughness that adds to the compelling story that DiGregorio unfolds. While reading this book, I was compelled to think of three other authors and their subject matter and manner of delivery: Carl Sagan's CONTACT, Kurt Vonnegut's concept of Ice Nine, and Michael Crichton's microbial thriller, ANDROMEDA STRAIN. The difference between these classics and DiGregorio is that Sagan, Vonnegut, and Crichton were writing fiction.

In this book DiGregorio admirably discusses evidence for the conclusion that the Viking missions did in fact discover life on Mars. This is the view of Drs. Gilbert Levin and Patricia Ann Straat, who developed one of the instruments, the Labeled Release experiment, that flew on Viking. The book presents very exciting up to date information on exotic organisms, extremophiles, that might be found on other planets. NASA itself is investigating such possibilities with its Astrobiology program. Finally, the book argues that since some experiments on Viking gave very definite life signs, missions such as Mars Sample Return should not be undertaken until the issue is resolved conclusively.

For the last twenty years, Dr. Levin has consistently argued that no non-biological explanation faithfully reproduces the results seen in his experiment. Dr. Levin has shown great insight in regards to the life on Mars issue. As discussed in DiGregorio's book, he suggested to the imaging team that there were other colors on Mars than just dull browns and reds. This was verified by members of the Viking imaging team who confirmed there were blue and green patches on rocks that changed seasonally. Levin argued that the dry conditions and (apparent) low organic content in the Mars soil did not preclude the existence of life. Since the Viking missions, it has been confirmed that certain organisms can live within igneous rock surving on non-organic chemicals for nutrients and on water that trickles through cracks in the rock. Levin argued in a paper on liquid water on Mars that a widely cited paper concluding that liquid water could not exist on the Martian surface was based on a faulty assumption that water vapor was evenly distributed through the Martian atmospheric column. The Pathfinder mission confirmed that water vapor was restricted to the bottom 1 to 3km above the Martian surface.

Another factor that Digregorio discusses in his book is the evidence that there may be active volcanism on Mars. This is important to the life issue since this indicates heat and or hydrothemal systems on the Martian surface. And the National Science Foundation's report on the Mars Sample Return mission admits that such would increase the chance for life on Mars. Recently from Mars Global Surveyor images it has been concluded that Mars lava flows could be as young as 200 thousand years, which would make it virtually certain that volcanism continues today.

In reading over the history of the controversy over the conflicting results from the Vking missions, it occurs to me there is a basic flaw in subsequent investigations to resolve the issue. They all assume there was something wrong with Levin's Labeled Release experiment and the GCMS, which indicated no organics on Mars, was right. DiGregorio discusses the fact that it was first believed there was a problem in the LRx when it gave positive responses. But the engineering team confirmed it was operating properly. In contrast, there was one important factor with the GCMS that was definitely wrong, and two others that possibly were "wrong". As DiGregorio mentions, the Viking GCMS NEVER GOT AN INDICATION THAT SAMPLES WERE ACTUALLY DELIVERED TO THE CHAMBER. This indicates that either there was a flaw in the mechanism detecting sample delivery or the GCMS never got a large enough sample to register. If the second is true then that has clear implications for its failure to detect organics on Mars. Two other failings of the Viking GCMS is that it could be "poisoned" by soil with high sulfur content, known to be true of Mars, and the fact that it could not detect the organic equivalent of fewer than a million cells per gram.

Given these facts you would think that at least some research would have gone into showing how the GCMS could have given a wrong result. Yet all the research (other than Levin's) went to showing why the LRx was wrong. Why? Scientists are a conservative bunch. Rather than making the truly revolutionary claim that life had been discovered on Mars, they simply preferred to make the safe assumption that the instruments indicating life present were flawed. However, the history of science shows that great discoveries are made when scientists with insight go beyond the safe assumptions, and view the evidence dispassionately and go wherever it leads. What should have given scientists pause is the fact that the conclusion that the GCMS was right and the LRx wrong was based not on scientific factors but solely on the assumption that that is the way things should be.

So how can we determine whether it was the LRx or the GCMS that was flawed? A recent paper by Yen, Murray, and Rossman may give a clue: Water content of the Martian soil: Laboratory simulations of reflectance spectra Authors: YEN, A. S.; MURRAY, B. C.; ROSSMAN, G. R. Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 103, No. E5, p. 11,125 (1998).

This paper shows there is a discepancy between the water content of the Martian soil as determined by the GCMS and determined by all other Earth-based and orbiter observations, perhaps by a factor of 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. The upcoming Mars Polar Lander due to land on Mars in December will test the water content of the Martian soil. If it confirms the high water content of all the observations other than the GCMS, then that would indicate a gross error in the GCMS water analysis and by extension in the organic analysis as well.

Bob Clark

I'm going to have to confess that I bought this book because of its title. I like to read and review vampire books, and believe that having some background knowledge can add some interest to a review. So I pulled the book down from the shelf, turned to one of the few pages in the book that actually contained the word vampire, and bought it. It was only when I started to reed it at home that I discovered that its real title is 'Magical Acts, Rites and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus.' The current title is an invention of either the translator's or the publisher. So, starting right out, the book loses a star for pretending it is what it is not.

What is it? Petr Bogatyrev was a Russian ethnologist who should have been better known than he is. He was born in 1893 and died in 1971. Among his other accomplishments besides this book is his translation into Russian of Hasek's 'Good Soldier Svejk.' He spent his early academic life studying the folklore and customs of Czechoslovakia, eventually earning an honorary Doctor of Philology for this book. He pursued his career in Russia upon returning, but eventually fell victim to the Stalinist fervor of the times and spent most of his life in obscurity. To our loss, since 'Magical Rites...' reveals a keen and interesting mind.

Bogatyrev was an exponent of the synchronic method of ethnography, which he came upon in his linguistic studies. In it's essence it was a rebellion against historical ethnography which attempts to trace backward from contemporary studies to discover the original myths and legends as they existed in some prehistorical period of cultural unity. Instead, Bogatyrev believed we should try to study the present legends and belief systems in context in order to understand their contemporary significance. This allows us to understand the 'magical' mechanisms underlying folk practices, categorize them appropriately, and recognize the sources of variation and commonality. This method reminds me most of Mircea Eliade, who uses a similar approach in 'Shamanism' in 1951, albeit with much greater success.

The flaw in this method is that the reader is often confronted with a massive catalog of facts, without the kind of organization that makes it easy to see the forest rather than get lost in the trees. Only in isolated paragraphs do we find discussions which gradually bring the material together into a conceptual whole. Often the message is disappointingly trivial. Bogatyrev spends a great deal of time and effort rediscovering Frazer's principals of magic; the law of similarity and the law of contact. But he never muses on his inability to discover examples of the law of opposition, and so leaves his findings in question, or at least, lacking in depth.

Since catalogs of Subcarpathian folklore are not common, the book's intrinsic value is greater than it's expository worth as a demonstration of methodology. That it belongs on the shelves of ethnographers is without doubt. The exposition is well written. The book is organized into a methodological introduction followed by a large section organized according to the folk calendar. Subsequent chapters discuss births and baptism, weddings, funerals, finally ending with apparitions and supernatural beings. In no case, however, should you by this in the hope of discovering anything relevant to vampires. They are most definitely not what Bogatyrev was interested in.

This book was originally published in French in 1929 with a title that translates as: Magical Acts, Rites, and Beliefs in Subcarpathian Rus'. The title Vampires in the Carpathians was added for this 1998 English translation and is really misleading. The last two chapters: "Funerals" and "Apparitions and Supernatural Beings" do make passing references to vampires, but focus mostly on other spirits. So if you are looking for a book on vampires, look elsewhere. What little is said about vampires will be only of interest to the serious scholar who needs to know every possible reference in the literature. The original title, which is the current subtitle, is a much more accurate description of what this book is about. However, Bogatyrev spends over 35 pages talking about his research methodology which he calls the synchronic method. Unless this is what you really want to learn about, I advise you skip the Introduction and Conclusion. His methodology is that he tells us what the ritual means to the people performing it at that time. He does not try to draw inferences back in time or determine origins. He just "tells it like it is" or, in this case, as it was back in the 1920's. What results is very unsatisfying. He tells you a ritual and what it means in village X, then tells you that in village Y they do the same thing, but have no idea why. Then, he relates that in village Z they don't do this at all. He goes through the whole religious calendar relating quaint old customs attached to each religious holiday, then does the same for rituals attached to births, weddings and funerals. We owe this author a debt of gratitude for documenting this snapshot of Carpathian village life. English-speaking folklore scholars will be glad to have access to this work and Americans of Rusyn descent may finally understand what crazy rituals and customs drove their grandparents to leave this rustic corner of Central Europe for the USA and Canada. On the plus side, this is an excellent translation and the biography of Bogatyrev is engaging. Not for any but the most dedicated readers.

This book is a treasure trove of folklore and customs of the Carpathian Rus. Following the service cycle of the Orthodox Church, the authors discuss the various folk customs asscoaited with each feast as well as marriag, death, etc. The probable origins and variations are discussed as is the intention of the act. It's a great read, but a bit heavy, being written in full blown academic style. For anyone interested in the small t traditions of these people, it is invaluable.

The illustrations for the version of Jack and the Beanstalk are wonderful, however, the text is from a 1807 version and is difficult to read easily. This is compounded by the fact that it is in rhyme so some of the words/grammer are really strange to keep the rhyme pattern.

This is a wonderful approach to the fairy tale stories. I've read several of Mrs. Capps-Burgess books and all of them are excellent! They make extra special gifts for the young reader.

Mrs. Capps-Burgess, the daughter of famed Arkansan Bible Teacher and farmer Charles Capps, does an extrodinary job of transplacing the traditional Fairy tales into Faith tales. A former reviewer has sent back her copy and declared that she, the reader, is religious. Herein lies the reason she misunderstands Mrs. Burgess. Mrs. Burgess is not religious, but rather maintains a relationship with Jesus Christ. It would be a mystery as to why Mrs. Burgess has written this new "twist" were it not for a fact that millions have stepped aside from religion and moved ahead toward this relationship building class for their children with Jesus Christ. In my opinion, only those parents who have strong Bible-believing faith, would approve of the works of Beverly Capps Burgess. Those who claim to be religious should probably continue to hold to traditional fairy tales.

This is the story of the tragic way in which the media circus surrounding the murder of the Ramsey's six year old daughter stripped them of their privacy, their wealth, and destroyed their lives. The Ramseys have been publicly accused of the murder of their daughter, tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, the media, and presumed guilty until they prove themselves innocent.
The story of JonBenet's last day of her life, Christmas Day 1996 is told by her parents.
The many ways the murder was exploited by the tabloids, the press, the Boulder Police Department with their leaks to the press, and the internet sub-culture with its hate-the- Ramseys forums is discussed and many of the side shows that have attached themselves to the case in bizarre ways.

The actions of the Ramseys and the investigators are discussed in the book in detail. A must read for the serious follower of the JonBenet murder case no matter which side of the fence one is on.

JonBenet Ramsey would be turning thirteen this August 6th, 2003, if her life had not been cut short at the age of 6.

For 6 years, the Boulder police, DA, and tabloids have tried this case with lies, hearsay and fake proofs. Their theory (among others) ? Patsy Ramsey, a mother of two with a history of cancer, found her six-year-old daughter JonBenét had wet her bed on Christmas night. She then became hysterical, killed the child, hid her body and made up a fake ransom note. Her husband covered it up.

"We were not able to find a slap in a supermarket" said a policeman. Routier, Downs, all the parents who killed their children had a history of mental illness, family abuse and those parents confessed to their crimes within a few days. JonBenet's parents have NO past history whatsoever. They have been screaming their innocence for 6 years. No evidence is linking them to the murder.

For 6 years, JonBenét Ramsey has been pictured as a 6 year old Lolita in revealing costumes, a "pageant addict" that her mother "forced on stage".. Being in pageants myself I can tell you that the average pageant child competes in 20 to 25 pageants in a year. JonBenet Ramsey competed in 9 pageants over 18 months, 8 of them were tiny local competitions. Had she lived, she would probably have never made it close to a local newspaper headline. She was just another kid.

This book tells the story of parents who not only lost their beloved child, but who were not allowed to mourn her. It tells the story of two persons who will never be able to have a fair and unbiased trial in America because their case was tried in tabloids and trash talk shows. It tells the story of a ruined investigation, because for 6 years the prosecutors REFUSED to look anywhere else but at the parents. What did they find ? Nothing.

I find it interesting that this book only gets 3 stars... but they always say truth doesnt sell.

I think that the only brainwashing that has been done in this case, is the spoon-fed "journalism" dished out to the public by the media. That's twisted enough. But what does that make those who allow it to be shoved down their throats (and there are a lot of you here, apparently). Shame on you if have allowed yourselves to subscribe to their "guilty until proven innocent" philosophy that is the judicial hallmark of so many communist countries. Shame on you if you don't even take the time to think about what YOU would do if you found yourself in this same kind of situation, and no one would believe you, or take you seriously. Funny our society thrives on wealth and fame, but when someone who is wealthy is accused of a crime, they are presumed guilty. This 'I am the judge' mentality of so many self-righteous Americans is very disturbing. Not to mention the rush to judgement when the accused are Christians----Whoa, Now that is a feeding frenzy by hypocritical despots indeed. I wasn't there---you weren't there. I tend to believe them, but then again, I don't pretend to be God, like a few of the reviewers here. But---they deserve the fairness shown to ANY OTHER accused persons in this country. What makes them different? Nothing but the fact that they have been placed in a courtroom of inexperienced, incompentent, and gullible people---media, "law enforcement", and book reviewers. Do me a favor---read this well written account, by the people who---yes, know more about the case than even you. Study some Christian literature. It might give some of you finger pointers some much needed humility. And read about communist techniques and propaganda---The American media uses those teachings as their guideline. Bottom line---there is as much to go on that the Ramseys are innocent as there is that they are guilty. If you can't see this-your guilty of ignorance.

Another one of those feminist and postmodernist professors is trying to infuse in her readership her bland ideas.
By using abstract language, Ms. Lather goes on to convert readers into her feminist ideas. Only radical feminists and gender-concerned individuals would enjoy this work.

In "Getting Smart", Patti Lather focuses on critical social science, liberatory education and how post-modernisms, neo-Marxisms and various feminisms make overt the ways in which power permeates the construction and legitimization of knowledge. Lather locates spaces for theorizing emancipatory practice necessitating a re-examination of those sites problematized by the postmodern, including subjectivity, agency, the production of knowledge and praxis. Lather creates a "multi-voiced" text weaving meanings that are more evocative than descriptive. She offers an example of her own research into women's studies students' resistance and demonstrates how meaning is constructed within different discourses of inquiry. She writes against the "authoritative voices" of foundational academic discourse while being aware that she is complicit in that which she critiques. Lather emphasizes that regardless of philosophical debates, the question is "What is to be done?". As a way to salvage emancipatory discourse and praxis she speaks in a "willful contradiction" of "theoretic fictions" (cultural Marxism and postmodernism) remaining committed to the open-endedness of the struggle over truth and reality. She refuses to accept the totality of the "radical negation of Enlightenment" and describes her refusal as a strategy of displacement which she grounds in her use of deconstructive theory.

As Lather traces her way through the contradictory discourses of feminism, neo-Marxism and poststructuralism she identifies the hallmark of a liberatory praxis as the ability to act "within an uncertain framework" at a time "marked by the dissolution of authoritative foundations of knowledge". She suggests that above all, emancipatory action requires reflexivity and the ability to attend to the politics of what we do. She recommends a "Foucauldian awareness" of the oppressive role of ostensibly liberatory forms of discourse."

Lather looks to pedagogy as a site for learning about strategies for a "postmodern praxis". She uses Lusted's definition of pedagogy that concludes that knowledge is produced at the intersection of three agencies, the teacher, the learner and the knowledge they produce. She concludes that it has been the practice of "transmissive" rather than "interactively productive" pedagogy that has been the "root of the failure of emancipatory objectives".

I applaud Patti Lather's project as a feminist, a critical theorist and as someone who appreciates the postmodern turn to a consideration of reality as constructed rather than found. As a teacher, a researcher and an activist, Patti Lather has created a dense, rich text that expands our understanding of what and how we can know and how emancipatory practice might be conducted.

What were they thinking when they put a $250 price tag on this CD? The words "u·su·ri·ous" and "ca·pri·cious" leap to mind. The Merck Index is a classic reference manual that belongs on any chemist's (or related professional's) bookshelf. But for a price difference of $205 between the cd and the printed book, the cd is just too poor a value to justify buying. Publisher take note and drop the price to a reasonable $49.99!

It is a very good edition, of course, the last and the best. Every time I have used older versions, so I cannot compare it with before edition. But I have to say that CD Rom is fantastic. Very complete. It is a very good choose

McElroy and Townsend's medical anthropology text is one of the classics in its field. I personally find the going very slow; I don't think that academic texts necessarily need to be presented in so pedantic a format. However, the information contained in the studies is quite useful to the anthropology student's understanding of disease in a cultural and ecological context.

I read this book after coming across John and Patsy Ramsey on Larry King Live. When I bought it the sales clerk even gave me HIS opinion on the case! He cited "facts" that I found to be discredited and basically the urban legends that came out of this tragedy. To be honest, two years ago, I would have thought the Ramseys guilt was cut and dried. After reading the book, much of what I though was true really wasn't. I certainly can see the danger in believing all you read and hear, even when it is from "reliable" sources such as your local news. The book was written in a chatty way, and I must admit that at times Patsy came across as a bit self-centered. But these people have a right to be innocent until proven otherwise, and this book not only proves that, it gives you the opportunity to remember that they are just human beings.

I began reading this book asking myself the question, "What if the parents didn't commit this awful crime?" It occurred to me that the very fact that I was asking "what if they DIDN'T do it" rather than "what if they DID it" shows that the media frenzy following JonBenet's murder had robbed the Ramseys of the presumption of innocence. In that respect, I believe the book lives up to its title and I recommend it to anyone who is willing to read it with an open mind.

There was information here I had never heard before, evidence that didn't get much publicity, reasonable explanations of things that had been reported inaccurately. Above all there was a picture of a normal, bubbly, bright little girl (not the sensational child beauty queen that seemed to be the media's sole focus). And there was a picture of a family that has suffered a double tragedy: the brutal murder of their daughter and the murder of their reputation while never even being named officially as suspects in the killing.

Most readers will have probably made up their minds about the Ramseys' guilt or innocence before cracking the spine of this hardcover, but the book deserves a fair reading on its own merits. Only after hearing their own story in their own words can you decide if John and Patsy Ramsey could have committed this atrocity.

I think the book The Death of Innocence is long overdue! After knowing for years how badly the media portrays people in the interest of money, I was ready to read the Ramseys side of the story. At this point it would take some very hard evidence (factual) to convince me that the Ramseys had anything to do with the murder of JonBene't. As a parent myself, I can't begin to imagine their grief or the hell theyve been through if they are innocent of this crime. I think its high time that a real investigation is done instead of a manhunt for the parents. We still live in America and it stands for innocent until proven guilty. I couldn't rest at night if I judged the Ramsey's without any real proof and how anyone can feel good about throwing accusations around with no proof is beyond me. This poor little girl and God are two who definitely know what happened and at whose hands. May she rest in peace.

I bought this book when it first came out and before I knew much about poaching and how it was endangering wild plants, especially carnivorous plants. After reading the book and their opinion on field collection I'm appalled and ashamed to have spent money on this book and supported this business in any way.

I recently finished reading this book and found it both interesting and easy to read. With a slightly above average knowledge of botany, I was able to follow along. The pictures and drawings are great to look at and the writing style is fluid. If I had not recieved this as a gift, I would certainly buy it.

Typically found in nutrient-poor soils, carnivorous plants are true predators that attract, entrap, and digest insects for the purpose of obtaining minerals necessary to their growth, function, and reproduction. In Carnivorous Plants Of The World, James and Patricia Pietropaolo (founders of the Peter Pauls Nurseries in Canadaigua, New York) draw upon their more than 25 years of experience to provide the gardener, horticulturalist, and botanist with a comprehensive compendium of carnivorous plants from around the world. Each chapter specifically addresses a particular category of carnivores including Venus Fly Trap; Pitcher Plants; Sundew Types; Butterworts; and Bladderworts. Within each genus, the species in cultivation are fully treated while the remainder are listed with brief descriptions for identification. The authors then cover the issues of cultivation techniques, pests and diseases, propagation and hybridization. The "reader friendly" text is enhanced with line drawings, lists of carnivorous plant sources and societies, a glossary, and an index. Carnivorous Plants Of The World is an essential addition to any professional or academic botanical reference collection.