Michael Field was a successful, well-regarded poet and playright in Victorian England... until critics discovered that "Michael Field" was a pseudonym used by not one, but TWO women writing collaboratively. What even the suddenly-lukewarm critics didn't appreciate - not only were "the Michaels" (as they were known to friends) aunt and niece, but they were also lovers and partners in an extraordinay personal and artistic life. They wrote eleven volumes of poetry and thirty historical tragedies, but perhaps their most fascinating work was the diary that the two women shared for a quarter of a century. Novelist Emma Donaghue has done a marvelous bit of literary biographical research in this revealing look at the lives, loves, and eccentricities of Katherine Bradley (1846-1914) and her niece Edith Cooper (1862-1913).

The Sierras are much nicer when visited in person. Reading about the natural wonders found there isn't the same as actually checking them out for yourself. Perhaps if you were already familiar with the areas Mr. Muir traversed, and wish to brush up un them or revisit them literarily when unable to do so physically... THEN perhaps this book would be better.

My First Summer in the Sierra
By: John Muir
Review by Austin Bauer

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir is a book published by Penguin Nature Classics in 1987 but written in Muir's diary in the summer of 1869. It seems almost as if Muir wrote one page and repeated it 264 times. He wrote of nature's beauty and bounty when untouched. John Muir was a naturalist who lived from 1834-1914, beginning his life in Wisconsin and later moving to California to observe the beautiful sierra mountains. His intention in the writings were to inspire people, naturalists or not, to enjoy nature at its fullest and keep it that way. I think that this book was very repetitive, but the message was a positive and, to me, true one.
The context of this book revolved around the idea of nature's true beauty and how it can exist freely. Muir spoke of the ecology of the Sierra. Nearly every page of the book had a new species of plant or animal that he had observed. He then told of what its affect on him was, whether it was annoying or satisfying, beautiful or ugly, natural or processed. In short, his main context was the loveliness he observed and wanted to share in his writings.
John Muir stated "...Mr. Delaney, a sheep owner, for whom I had worked a few weeks, called on me, and offered to engage me to go with his shepherd and flock to the headwaters..." This was the beginning of his journey to the most beautiful place he could ever imagine, a place that he returned to for the rest of his life. Muir had a good companion, a St. Bernard named Carlo. The book went on to tell how him and a few others led 2050 sheep up the Sierra mountain range in California. They encountered many obstacles along the way. Some of these obstacles were bear attacks, to which Muir said, "Bears are slow and awkward with their eyes." They went on camping at different sites, spending sometimes several weeks at one site. Here, Muir made endless amounts of sketches and recordings of his observations. The group faced a bread famine, the result of a slow and lazy Mr. Delaney, but recovered and returned to their trek with the sheep to the high mountains. John's helpful substance was tea. To another, tea was nothing and he needed tobacco. Everybody had something to keep them with it, so to say. The book did gain some excitement when Muir was sitting atop a mountain and had a sudden feeling that his old professor from Wisconsin was visiting. A few days later, he realized this was true and met up with him, speaking of old times and getting slumber in the hotel. Whenever John would observe tourists going through the mountains, he would shake his head at their ignorance to the size and beauty of the area. He just saw them looking at the ground, not fully enjoying it. Towards the end, John was sad to leave the mountains and return to the lowlands, farther away from the mountains he adored so much. He said "Now, however, I must turn toward the lowlands, praying and hoping Heaven will shove me back again." He returned many times in his long life, and each visit was never a disappointment.
The work that I read had very much information on the specifics of plants and animals found in the Sierra. I learned a lot about the sizes of these organisms and their characteristics. For example, there was a section where Muir wrote of how the ants were ¾ inches long and that they "check you out" before they have the colony attack you. If you are still and seem harmless, they will not bite, but a sudden move may jolt them to bite. He said that the bite from this species of ant felt like a terrible electric sting that nobody should have to endure more than once or twice in a lifetime. So these parts of the book were good because I found this activity quite interesting, but some parts, such as the tree descriptions, got boring. I am not interested in the texture and color of the tree bark. I can get the whole picture much easier. My own experiences tell me what nature is like, so I have a good feel of what Muir is trying to show us. The honors biology class has helped me by letting me know some of the ideas behind genus species names and writings, so that is how the course helped me out. That is what I thought of the book and why I thought that way. The only question I really had was why Muir described things so detailed and run-on and descriptive. I may have an idea, but I am not sure.
I believe that John Muir described the organisms so in-depth because he wanted his audience to really be able to visualize it and the beauty it held in itself. This all fits in with the context of the environment's ecology being a precious thing that can not go to waste. So while it wasn't the most fun book to read, it still held an important message, as I have said before, that we must follow to keep the environment beautiful.

Muir tells a story of his journey into the Yosemite area in California as a shephard. While his journey encompasses other places, the story remains essentially the same since the entire book is filled with him talking about everything being so marvelous.

Despite John Muir being very well known now to many people I'm left uncertain as to why this man should be one out of so many other 'mountain men' to become famous.

His story is filled with rantings about finding different little animals such as squirrels, rabbits, and indians and then peppers each description of the animal with some bantering about whatever it is that he finds extraordinary about it, or whatever he thinks is extremely interesting, or by simply saying such and such is truly amazing.

I did however enjoy the peripherial aspects of the book, such as Muir's growing insanity from being isolated in the woods for several months. He starts his journey talking about how he's heard stories of shepards gone mad and how he doesn't really believe he'll go insane. But near the middle of the book, he's put a personality to the plants...by the end, he's having in depth conversations with plants. Ha! It's almost worth reading just for noting little things like that.

The book gets 3 stars, as opposed to 1 star, because Muir writes VERY eloquently and if you have an interest and a solid knowledge of plant and animal life and the terrian Muir is traveling, the book is relatively interesting.

I liked the idea the author had of helping people without a bachelor's degree. Unfortunately, some of the jobs listed are, quite frankly, a JOKE. An actor has the potential to be a great occupation, but what are the odds of every reader becoming Tom Hanks ? (reality)Most likely they will starve waiting for there big break. I also don't consider a "Taxi Driver" a fullfillng career. The last time I checked a taxi driver was not one of the most highest paying jobs out there. Which leads me to my most important point. Most of these jobs that are listed here, with a few exceptions, are low paying jobs. Money is not the most imprtant thing in life,but the author seems to beleive that you can become a teacher's aide, make $6.50/hour and live happy !!! Does the author realize that someday I may want to retire, and with a low paying job I can't save that much to retire on.
(...)

An acedemic education can be a help but is not the answer for many who can learn on the job, or can learn a trade through non-academic schools. Our history is full of such individuals who were highly successful without a degree. This book is an excellent guide to all types of jobs available to job seekers regardless of education.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" docwifford@msn.com

I purchased this book for my nephew, who was a HS Senior. Although he likes school, college was not for him. Like many HS Seniors, he did not know what he wanted to do, or what kind of careers he might like. I gave him the book. He read at least some of it. I was surprised to see how excited he was after looking at the book. He decided on a career path and has applied and been accepted in a Drafting program at a Vocational School. The book was well worth the excitement in his eyes. He feels focused and for the momement he has found a career for him. The book gives lots of information about careers and what it is like to be a ... He has showed the book to his friends and they seem just as thrilled with the content as he was. I think every HS junior or senior should look at this book for ideas on how to spend the rest of their life.

This book only got better when you came closer to the end. It started off extremely slow. I blame that, mainly, on the number of charcters that needed to be introduced at the beginning of the book. It's mainly about an athlete nicknamed "Indian" who loves the shot put. He is one of the best and hopes to eventually break the world record. This young adult already has many opportunities ahead of him. Several well respected colleges have sent scouts to talk to him but Indian only wants to be able to go to UCLA. He's only a junior in high school and has already reached the position of the best shot putter on his team...

I rated this book a three cause I really wasn't familiar with the sport. I sort of liked it and sort of didn't like it. I liked it cause it had a lot scenes where there was a lot of competition. I didn't like it cause shot-putting isn't my favorite sport. This book is like a lot of books I read, but the other books I read I was interested in and I would have given them a four or a five. In one of the books I read it was about basketball. It was a story about Earl the "goat", and it had the same conflicts and stuff like that. I would have gave it a 5 cause I understand the sport. The Throwing Season was a great book. It helped me understand the sport shot-putting better. That's what I liked about it. The story is good but not that good.

In the begging of the book Indian is training for the state shot-putting finals. Then a gut named Golly showed up and thought that he could beat Indian in the state finals. The Coach decided to let Golly compete in the state finals after he saw him throw. Then at the state finals Indian met a man named Noah Standish who wants him to lose the meet on purpose and he will give him 9,000 dollars. Indian refuses and wins the meet. Later a scout asks Indian to come to UCLA and be on the track team. I really like this book because it gave me more facts on shot putting. Another reason is that it shows people that you don't have to take bribes to lose something you love on purpose.

The book has lots of terrific pictures, but if you're looking for something to tell you what the inside of Ebbets Field or Crosley Field looked like, this book is short on such details. There are many stories mined from the usual resources recounting what led to the building of the ballparks, and great moments inside them, but "Diamonds" is near useless for getting a sense of detail about these ballparks.

This is a nice read, filled with nifty anecdotes, and very well researched.

But, its more about the history of baseball in general and not on its playgrounds.

I would say that if you want a history of baseball, this is a good book, but if you're looking for a nice coffeetable book with lots of color pictures, look elsewhere (the photos are all black and white) and likewise if you are looking for a book focusing on the architectural elements, look elsewhere.

Michael Gershman has done an extraordinary amount of research and it shows! This is a beautifully written and informative account of the evolution of the baseball stadium. A must have for any true baseball historian.

I would probally regret buying this book, even if i do like animals. The book WILDLIFE-HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS:..... SEEMS KIND OF BORING.

Morrison et al.'s second edition of Wildlife-Habitat Relationships: Concepts and Applications is a welcome overview of the state of the art in the mid-1990s. The authors examine their subject from three complementary viewpoints: basic concepts, measurement and analysis, and management. Individual concepts are presented very clearly and the writing is first-rate. The authors provide a level of detail appropriate to an introductory overview.

While this text is suitable for an undergraduate course and provides an excellent basic reference, seasoned professionals may find it lacking. For example, more recent numerical techniques (such as resource selection functions) are beyond the book's scope. Nevertheless, "Wildlife-Habitat Relationships" is admirably up-to-date in many respects, including excellent discussions of experimental approaches and scale, and I've referred to it many times during the course of my own Ph.D. work.

When it was difficult to get to the library to view the Uniform Plumbing Code, I used this at home to study for an exam. I was rudely surprised when I got to the libary, compared the references to the code, and found that this guide was riddled with errors. It serves a purpose as it alerts the user to possible code issues, but you must check all references. The codes are expensive but not as expensive as counting on this guide might be.

This has good diagrams, good descriptions, but is very basic. For the money you can find a better source.

Code check has helped me immensely. I teach residential plumbing for a 150+ employee 1500+ homes a year Northern California company and have found that the info in C.C. is formatted in such a way that my apprentice plumbers can easily find info they need. They seldom need clarification. All codes cited are referenced with the UPC and IRC section numbers for easy look up.(IRC not used here in NorCal but nice for those who need it) Diagrams are simple and clear. C.C. is laminated and tough. Built for in the field use. I love this book. Holding back the fifth star due to spanish version unavailability.

The book is unpractical for the working engineer and the mathematics is simplified calculus which is not understandable to the average practicing engineer, but seems to be in favor of academic types. This is not a book for someone who wants to learn why production equipment works. The chapter on multiphase flow is its only saving grace, but any cheap paper on the subject will say as much. I would recomened the OGCI books on Production Technology. Way cheaper...way better...

This is a comprehensive and relatively advanced book in petroleum production engineering. It helps to understand important parameters that control the performance of the production system. This book explains complex concepts of engineering very easy. Last, it has been written by experienced professionals world wide well recognized in the oil industry.

To many, Capturing the Whirlwind like Michael Doane's previous work In the Path of the Whirlwind is the gospel of SAP implementation. It certainly has value, but is more of a personal testament full of the author's opinions punctuated with loaded language. In a short space, Doane attempts to address several audiences and succeeds by including many nuggets of wisdom for project managers, implementers and super users of SAP. Many passages will receive hearty "amens" while others will get a "say what?" from experienced implementers.

Daone is an experienced consultant with The Consulting Alliance. That experience carries with it a set of biases that are evident in his writing. He is, no surprise here, pro consultant and anti-big five at the same time. I find his anti-methodology bias questionable. His stance on deadlines is, in my opinion, extreme.

That said, there is a lot to like about the book. His advise on selecting and getting the most out of consultants is on point. Doane's observations on the pitfalls of Gap Analysis with SAP are insightful. His direction on scope control is impressive.

Executives and project managers considering or beginning to implement SAP should read this book, but not in isolation. Readers are urged to take a look at other books and listen to trusted advisors who are veterans of a few SAP campaigns before adopting all of Mr. Doane's advise.

I'd disagree with the description. This is not what most would call a book nor does it explain principles.
Rather, this is a collection of field ready waterproof code-compliance checklists, bound together pages with pictures and minimal dialog. It doesn't explain principles, it describes commonly checked items. It's useful to remind you what you need to focus on. Would be an excellent field guide for someone reviewing code compliance, not very useful for a designer. FYI, I've got over 20 years in construction. It would also be useful to let a home-builder see what they need to learn!