"Listening to the Sea" describes the gradual development of territorial sea limits that grew outof military, then fishery protection, concerns that have no relevance whatever to the proper governance of the sea and its resources but which continue to this day to create boundaries where none really exist. Wilder presents a wealth of historical information in a way that is easy to read and retain. He traces the history of federal-state struggles concerning authority over the exploitation of offshore oil and other resources which underpin current issues about the proper uses of the outer continental shelf and how to allocate federal funds related to OCS. Wilder follows the development of US environmental legislation and the inernational agreements that increasingly are required to find solutions to problems that extend across the "notional" borders nations have created at sea, arguing for an emphasis on prevention rather than cure, the extension of the precautionary principle to all national and international rule-making, and the development of a "holistic" approach to all questions involving the seas and the wildlife that live in them. This covers the substance to be found in the book, but not its effect. It is beautifully written. It's hard to avoid a sense that Wilder may be overoptimistic about the potential for the development of a more "enlightened self interest" to prevail in the governance of the oceans. But "Listening to the Seas" does leave you feeling better about the future and possibilities for scientists and policymakers to work together and for international agreements that might begin to turn around some of the awful trends we've seen in the last 20 years. While things have changed for the worse environmentally, they have changed greatly for the better in terms of the public's recognition of those facts and issues.

In this book, a must-read for anyone interested in the sea, Robert Jay Wilder gives us a new and rational slant on the problems and stewardship of the oceans. Rather than painting scapegoats, he gives the reader an unbiased history of current maritime dangers ( from overfishing to competing maritime bureaucracies), and then presents sensible solutions.'Listening to the Sea' doesn't blame, it heals.

Along the way, there are many pearls to keep things interesting - from cannon range leading to the three-mile limit to how fuel cells work. The meat of the book lies in its clear outlining of the precautionary principle, the philosophy underlying sensible reform of our relationship to the oceans. Wilder makes a compelling claim that combining this with an integrated management plan that uses marine reserves, something akin to Australia's approach to the Great Barrier Reef, offers the best chance to save our oceans.

In this book, a must-read for anyone interested in the sea, Robert Jay Wilder gives us a new and rational slant on the problems and stewardship of the oceans. Rather than painting scapegoats, he gives the reader an unbiased history of current maritime dangers (from overfishing to competing maritime bureaucracies), and then presents sensible solutions.'Listening to the Sea' doesn't blame, it heals.

Along the way, there are many pearls to keep things interesting - from cannon range leading to the three-mile limit to how fuel cells work. The meat of the book lies in its clear outlining of the precautionary principle, the philosophy underlying sensible reform of our relationship to the oceans. Wilder makes a compelling claim that combining this with an integrated management plan that includes marine reserves, something akin to Australia's approach to the Great Barrier Reef, offers the best chance to save our oceans.

Jay Parini's well-written and well-organized life of Robert Frost weaves together beautifully the many contradictory Frosts: the spiteful yet respectful colleague, the insensitive yet devoted husband, the domineering yet supportive father, the bullying yet challenging teacher. What we have as a result is a definitive picture of one of our country's greatest poets as a three-dimensional human being, a man of great passions and great talent. As if that weren't good enough, Parini does a magnificent job of showing how many of Frost's best poems fit into periods of his life, how they often reflect his successes and failures, his dreams and his fears. In brief, this is a superlative biography, a must read for anyone curious about the life of this powerful and important poet!

Although many of Robert Frost's poems revolve around traditionally American themes, even a European, like I am, can easily recognize his genius.

This biography offers a major reassessment of the life and work of America's premier poet--the only truly "National Poet" the U.S. has, so far, produced.

Author Jay Parini began working on this biography in 1975, through interviews with friends and associates of Frost's and working in the poet's archives at Dartmouth, Amherst and elsewhere.

In prose that is both elegant and simple, Parini traces the stages of Frost's colorful life: his boyhood in San Francisco (no, he was not a native New Englander!), his young manhood in New England, his college days at Dartmouth and later at Harvard, his years of farming in New Hampshire, his three-year stay in England where he became friends with people such as Ezra Pound, Edward Thomas and other important figures of modern poetry.

Following Frost's meteoric rise upon his return to America from England in 1915, Parini traces the path Frost took from poet to cultural icon, a friend and intimate of presidents, a sage whose pronouncements attracted the attention of the world press.

Yet, the beauty of this book lies in the fact that Parini never loses sight of Frost at his deepest and most human, the man behind the gorgeous and sensitive poetry that enraptured a nation. Always managing to take us back to the poetry and Frost's roots, Parini, in this beautiful book, offers a sensitive roadmap of both Frost, the man and his incredible talent.

Jay Parini bring's a poet's perspective to this excellent biography. By combining a compelling look at Frost's life with an informed commentary on his poetry, Parini has avoided the common pitfall of many biographers; forgetting the work while describing the life. I feel I now have a much greater understanding of the man and his work after reading this book which should be the goal of all biographies and so rarely is.

Something tells me the authors of this fine book are pros at getting what they want for nothing. Funny, useful anecdotes that are oddly reminiscent of my roommates ability to get by on the kindness of strangers (and friends, relatives - pretty much anyone within striking distance)

I saw these guys on the Rolanda Show and pretty much felt that I wanted enlist the services of Dr. Kevorkian to put me out of my misery. But then I saw the book in a store and fliped through it. TO my surprise, it was only half as stupid as I expected and actually really funny. I especially like the parts where they tell you how to exploit little kids and the handicapped. I still want to call Dr. Kevorkian, but that's another matter altogether.

That's Latin for this book was pretty darn funny. I spotted it while I was...ah, over at a friends house with a few minutes to kill and wound up taking 'Sponging' home. (Actually I'm staying at my sister's), but anyway I laughed out loud while she and her husband were watching a sad movie, 'Pretty Woman' I think, anyway they asked what was so gosh darn funny and I started reading them a few passages out of the book. We wound up turning the movie off and just laughing our heads off taking turns reading the book. Needless to say, it bought me a few extra weeks on my sister's couch. Two empty pockets way up. I'm going to borrow a couple more copies for my friends.

For those of us who wish to get in shape but find jogging distasteful, try JayWalking! The first time I tried Jay's workout I was sore the next day. But JayWalking is not excruciating, and the benefits are just as good as other high-impact exercises, if not better (i.e., no wear-and-tear on your joints). I lift weights and JayWalk--that's it! Jay is in tune with the entire person; his fitness philosophy encompasses the spiritual and mental realms as well as the physical. Try JayWalking and be fit for life!

THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN WITH A PASSION AND HEART FOR THE SUBJECT.THE AUTHOR IS TRULEY KNOWLEDGABLE ON THE ART OF WALKING A MUST READ.

This was published the same year as Matt Ridley's The Red Queen, and like The Red Queen is a classic in the relatively new science of evolutionary psychology. It is a little dated; for example Russell wasn't aware that altruism is advertising. We enhance our status and dominance in the society by appearing altruistic. See Zahavi, Amotz and Avishag. The Handicap Principle: A Missing Piece of Darwin's Puzzle (1997) for a more up to date presentation. And Russell's view of feminine sexuality is a little pollyannaish. He does not mention the now well-documented female strategy of cuckolding a mate for a reproductive liaison with what she perceives is an alpha male. See, e.g., Baker, Robin. Sperm Wars: The Science of Sex (1996) or Diamond, Jared. Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality (1997) for the sobering revelations. What sets this book apart from others is Russell's thorough discussion of the war system as practiced by primates, while his work with lemurs allows him to go back further in time for his speculations. His style, like Ridley's, is lively and very readable.

Russell's premise is that we descended from lemurs (and from shrews before that) and that our psychology today can be better understood through an examination of lemur and other primate behavior. This really is the basis of evolutionary psychology, the idea that we can better understand ourselves by studying the behavior of animals that are genetically close to us, especially animals similar to ones in our ancestry. Russell makes a strong case for this point of view while gently dismissing psychoanalytic theories. He writes: "Freud made the mistake of ethnocentrism by concluding that the behavior of Homo sapiens could be understood from studies of behaviorally-troubled patients within his own society." (p. 24) On page 152 is perhaps Russell's main point, that "War evolved to displace in-group male aggression." On page 193 he adds, "War, for twenty million years, has served the needs of the ruling oligarchy above all other considerations." Those needs include killing off young males who represent not only a threat to the power of the oligarchy, but sexual competition. In fact, war can be seen as a pact between the ruling classes of one tribe and another: you kill off our excessive males and we'll kill off yours, and we'll both benefit.

I have to disagree with Russell, however, on riots, which he equates with war. The riots in the cities are not like war; they are what will result if an enemy outside society cannot be found. Then the ruling classes themselves will become the enemy. One method of dealing with the violent dissatisfaction expressed in riots is ruthless suppression, as in totalitarian governments. Another is to ship the omega males off to war as in both totalitarian and democratic societies. A third method, employed in the United States today, is to put them into prison. We are simultaneously raising the price of the drugs that the dissatisfied are addicted to while imprisoning them when they attempt to buy these drugs or when they commit crimes to get money to pay for the drugs. It's a system that appears to be working. Perhaps it is better than the war system. Russell sees the use of language as a way to lie, mislead and deceive. "Romance requires deception, most often self-deception." (p. 183) He adds: "...it has been estimated that the living English language contains no fewer than 300 euphemisms for the word "penis," a clear indication of our preoccupation with sex and our attempts to keep communications about that important subject private, imprecise, and obscure." (p. 187)

The book ends with a clarion call to save the earth's tropical forests, etc. presented with a heavy dose of pessimism. Russell's concern is that there are already far too many humans on the planet. On page 239 he complains about "Well-intentioned humanitarian groups [that] feed, clothe, and house surplus children." He adds (still p. 239) "why feed prolific human breeders when we know that soon we will not have enough food to feed all their children? ... Saved children become breeding adults who repeat their parents' mistakes."

I tend to agree with this, but I might ask him about those Malagasy dogs that the blurb on the jacket says he's so fond of. Does he feed them meat from cows bred on land that previously contained a tropical forest or from the flesh of whales harpooned in the North Pacific? Russell's is a voice in the wilderness, and from his strident tone, he knows it. I am glad that somebody agrees with me that there are too many people on this planet. I just hope we can curb our appetite for reproduction before it is too late.

Dr. Russell's book is an excellent review of evolutionary psychology ideas with respect to the subtitle of Power, Sex, and Love. It is impossible for an author to place more than an overview in such a short sampling of ideas. Dr. Russell did an excellent job of attempting to convey some very complex ideas in a mode and manner relevent to the reading level of a general audience. Those readers requiring a more in-depth portrayal of on-going research data have not experienced work in the field nor have an intimate appreciation of the complexities involved in comparative evolutionary criteria. Had Dr. Russell been more explicit about pristine biological imperatives, fewer readers would have had the ability to comprehend the subject mattter. I applaud his efforts at attempting to make a very complex idea accessible to those open-minded intelligent individuals who would not otherwise have had an opportunity to consider such ideas.

With more than 1,000 entries and 400 pictures it would be hard to complain about what is left out of this encyclopedia. That's why I couldn't pass it up when I saw it in a bookstore. Also it has an extensive bibliography I have found very useful. Those are the strong points. As I read through the entries, though, I began finding things that didn't jibe with other books I've read. For example, Nash has Belle Starr living with Cole Younger and later robbing a California prospector while Glenn Shirley's book, Belle Starr and Her Times, shows there is no evidence she did either. Nash has Jesse James riding with William Clarke Quantrill when they sacked Lawrence, Kansas while others, such as Edward Leslie in The Devil Knows How to Ride, shows that Jesse wasn't part of that raid. These are only a couple of examples but I've run across a number of others. It has forced me to use this book with historical reservations. That's why I would only recommend this encyclopedia after making the reader aware of its shortcomings.

This book has so many stories about outlaws and lawmen I have and haven't heard of before. It's presented so fantastic. Each individual is a story in their own right. I couldn't put down this mammoth book and you would be crazy not to order this! The portraits are nice, too.

When I first received this book I thought it would be another book briefly talking famous "bad guys" and those who brought them to justice, I was wrong, very wrong. Jay Robert Nash is one of, if not the best, at bringing to life the Old West and those who made it come alive.

With over a 1000 entries and well over 300 photos, this book goes beyond Jesse and Frank James, The Cole-Younger gang, Billy the Kidd, Pat Garrett, Bat Masterson and The Earps. You'll read about judges, Sheriffs, outlaws and so much more.

I spent over four hours reading this book form cover to cover and every page has something new and fascinating. Facts and myths, legends and tales, it's all here and waiting for you to explore. You'll ride along with the Texas Rangers and help out the Pinkertons, and never have get dirty.

I have seen books on lawmen of the old west, and also books on outlaws of the west, for the first time you have a reference book that gives you both and at a price that makes it a great gift for anyone.

If you are looking for a book to bridge the gap between a beginner at linux and an admin this the the book to buy. And that is precisely the problem. This book assumes a fair amount of knowledge about linux. if you do have this level of knowledge, this book will bring you up to the level of a beginner admin, at which point you will have to go out and buy books on topics like Apache, Networking and so on. If however, you are prepared to read through some 1000 pages, and then an armful of other books, HOWTOs and man pages you will not be disappointed.

I would suggest this book to all Red Hat users who are bored with the beginner books and are looking to expand their knowledge of linux. The system admin information contained in this book is useful in the "real world". Thumbs up!

Exceptionally informative, well presented and very highly recommended, Red Hat Linux System Administration Unleashed shows readers how to configure and manage a Linux system to keep it running optimally in a 24x7 environment. The book covers advanced topics such as RAID, customizing the kernel, and hacker security. Readers will also learn the issues and skills related to running Red Hat Linux with other operating systems, internetworking Linux in a network setting with a large user base. Intermediate - Advanced, 1100 pages.

Who cares if the book is histrionic and innacurate? It has excellent pictures and juciy crime tidbits like the depraved housewife who branded "I AM A PROSTITUE AND PROUD" with a hot needle on the belly of the young girl left in her charge (while the girl's parents travelled with the circus, no less). You also get stagecoach robbers, confidence men, joy killers and petty thieves all descibed in a feverish, tabloid tone. Gotta love it!

The book definitely influenced my tender, young sensibilities and helped develop my life-long fascination with crime and the American prison industrial complex. This should be in every American pre-teen's bookshelf!

This book is so big and fantastic I have read it twice. Each criminal and gangster is a story in their own right, and most are dispicable as one can come. The only problem is I wish Nash would put recent killers in his book, ala O.J. Simpson. (or the one armed man who framed him).

I originally purchased this book some years back and refer to it frequently. It includes all the notable criminals, Jesse James, John Dillinger, more recent serial killers, etc. It is well-researched and Nash has the ability to make even the most mundane facts interesting.

I was a bit disappointed in this book because the dust jacket states the authors attempted to write a unbiased book covering the people that are part of the capital punishment process in America. Maybe it is that the authors stance on the death penalty is so strong that it is all they could do to be as objective as they were, but I was still looking for an unbiased account. With that said I did learn a lot from the book, I also agree with the author's position on the death penalty so their position was not that hard to take. I just wanted more of the other side represented so that I could learn more about that point of view.

The most eye opening part of the book is just the raw data on how many people are currently on death row and how many people have been taken off death row after being proven innocent. The authors also take the reader through all the people associated with the death penalty for interviews. From Judges and juries to the prison guards and executioners, all get a say in the book. What was interesting is that the authors did not present any really gun ho, hang them high types, all the people seamed down to earth and a little uneasy about the whole process. I think there is such a primitive law and order feeling associated with the states power to end a life that I do not think the authors are correct that the death penalty is coming to an end in America - it just appeals to too much of the population.

Overall this is an interesting and eye-opening book. If you are interested in the personal side of the death penalty then this is a good place to start. It did slow down at the end and again I would have liked a little more unbiased writing if only to hold the book out as an example of an unbiased report pushing for the end to the death penalty.

I found this book a good read and would recommend it.

One major objective of this book is to show capitol punishment from all angles. They talk about he prosecutors, the jurors, the judge, the executioners, the governors, and all other cogs in the system. By the time they are done, they make a convincing argument that this process is so fractionalized that nobody feels ultimate responsibility for this grave action (which helps keep it alive).

It also explores people's "support" for capitol punishment. You come to realize that the *objective* of a lot of supporters is keeping the criminal off the street, not vengeance. Thus, when given the option of life without parole, the support for capitol punishment drops below 50%.

I feel that there was a lot of "On one hand... then on the other hand... but you have to remember... and it is important not to discount...".

Although they referenced many polls and facts, I would have preferred this to be a little more 'scientific' and less philosophical. Also in their effort to explor all sides of this issue, many of their statements are pretty obvious -- for example, victim families what vengence and 'closure'. Duh.

I found the style to be a little odd. One of the writers is a journalist and the book is written accordingly. One one hand, they try to be even-handed showing all sides, while on the other, they write with the base assumption that capitol punishment is wrong. I did not find this confusing, but it was a little odd.

I don't wish these comments to discourage people -- it is a worthwhile read, but it does have a few shortcommings.

I read this book for a class and I really liked the book! I thought it was one of the best books that I've read on the issue of capital punishment.

First, the good things: it must have taken courage to write the book, because of the possibility of betraying the privacy of the family. At the same time, the writing process must have been immensely satisfying. I imagine Jay finishing it, sitting back, smiling, and saying "If God takes me tomorrow, that's ok; the story has been told." In fact, Jay came to visit my college English class, and he told us that's exactly what he was thinking. I know how difficult it is to tell a true story about oneself in such remarkable detail, which is why the book earns three stars. But based on its execution, I'd rather only give it two. Here's why...

Is this book really about Robert? How many times does Jay congratulate himself on rising above a background that was out to get him? He went to Columbia, you know. And did he mention he's a writer? He throws that in so many times, you just KNOW he views being a writer as the noblest and most enviable profession in the world. The phrase "my accomplishments" crops up an awful lot, especially in a book supposedly dedicated to a mentally ill brother. Also, did Jay mention he's a writer?

And yes, the sentence structure was maddening (pun intended). A sentence can go on for an entire page, sometimes to such ridiculous lengths that I'd walk down the hall and read it aloud to my friends, just to show them with what I was dealing. I understand this problem a bit, though. I imagine Jay sitting at his desk with so much to say, afraid that if he doesn't put as much down as possible, as soon as it comes into his head, he'll lose it. So he erects a quick parenthetical fence and sends it down.

Basically, when I'd finished reading the book for my English class, I wished that Robert could come to visit instead of Jay. Much as Jay tries to overshadow him, Robert is the star of this book and a truly fascinating character. I realize that I only know about Robert through Jay's writing, so I respect Jay for that. But the book irritated me to no end. I guess I'm just not sensitive enough.

As someone who has made a career of helping the mentally ill, This book broke my heart. Yet I believed the problems existed as stated.

As the parent of a child who, as a teen, developed the need for the safety of psychiatric hospitals, I cried for Jay and his family.

As someone who became clinically depressed after my child's serious suicide attempt, I easily understood the need for what sometimes seemed like unrealistic optimism.

This book offers something for anyone involved with people who are mentally ill. Read it. Keep it. Learn from it.

If you're looking for a way to help a mentally ill relative, you must read this compelling book and its (equally compelling) successor, "Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness," also by Morrow. No, don't just read them. Buy them; tuck them away in a visible, dust-free spot; pull them out for inspiration when your relationship with your relative falls into a pothole. Big Neugie and Little Neugie will help pull the two of you out of it and go on with your lives together.