Winslow Homer's watercolors perfectly complement Thoreau's works. For someone new to Thoreau's poetry, it is an enchanting collection sure to engage, capturing the essence of New England nature, and Transcendentalist philosophy. It is a beautiful tribute to two who were masters of their crafts.

Henry James (1843-1916) was nicknamed The Master by admiring fellow-authors towards the end of his life. He is truly a noble, gifted, psychological author depicting a by-gone era but including timeless insights about human beings and their general and mental situations in his writings. He is a master of lengthy prose (too lengthy for some!) These Library of America editions of James's writings are wonderful, high-quality, unabridged books with expert editing (notes) at the back of the volume. They have a knack for selecting the best editions of the author's writings where more than one version was published in the author's lifetime. The short stories of this volume are from the mature period but before James' final developed style of fictional writing. There are a large number of stories including many wonderful gems such as "Owen Wingrave," "The Coxon Fund" and "In the Cage." To be fair, most of the stories were written quickly for magazines, and a few ("Glasses" comes to mind) just aren't good stories at all, in my opinion. However, most of the stories do succeed quite well. "Owen Wingrave" (criticized by Bernard Shaw as being too deterministic and neglecting free will) is actually a penetrating tale about military culture, military values, and the role of the military in the nineteenth-century world. "The Coxon Fund" is about a brilliant lecturer supported by the fund but whose life and the lives of his supporters are full of pitfalls outside of the Fund's influence. The story shows how the successes and failures of the Fund (and the Lecturer) have subtle and not-so-subtle ramifications for each of the characters. With "In the Cage", the author steps outside of his accustomed higher-class and higher-educated mix of characters to present the plight of a penetrating lower-class telegram processor and her insights on life and her suitor. I found it a nice rendition of late-nineteenth century London. I encourage readers to explore this and other Library of America editions of James' writings.

This book is an excellent read for anyone who has a genuine interest in football statistics. The authors are actually statisticians themselves, and they go through each phase of the game and attempt to come up with scientific ways to rate each position, including the offensive line!

The part I found most interesting was the chapter on quarterbacks and the conventional NFL QB rating system and why it is flawed. From there the authors go into a lengthy process of building a better rating system, which more accurately reflects who the most efficient passers in the NFL are.

You would think being written by a bunch of statisticians, this book would be dull, but it is far from it! It is lively and humorous throughout, and is very easy to read. Also, most of the heavy statistics are relegated to notes, so if you are not interested in that sort of thing you can skip it easily.

All told this is an outstanding book to read if you are interested in learning the "Nitty-gritty" behind football statistics.

I took this course in college because it was required for my major. I honestly have to say that this book is extremely thorough. It covers all body systems in great detail it's diagrams are extremely helpful.

This book contains four essays focusing on three evangelical Quaker leaders: J. Walter and Emma Malone and Everett L. Cattell. Each was involved in the life and development of what is now Malone College (Canton, OH) and each provided significant leadership in Christian higher education, the Religious Society of Friends, and the wider Christian community.

Essays by: Thomas Hamm (on Walter Malone), Martha Grundy (on Emma Malone), John Oliver (on Cleveland Bible College), and David Johns (Introduction and essay on Everett Cattell and Malone College).

John David Webb presents an excellent overview of how images and communications processes play a major role in either enabling or disabling a congregation. That is to say, that symbols create symbol systems which create a communication story. The positive or negative nature of these symbol systems and these commication stories plays a defining role in a congregation's ability to thrive, regardless of external conditions. A very useful book for persons seeking to help their congregation become missionally effective.

Conference planners will find this book to be indispensable in the planning process. Although more appropriate for medium- to large-sized conferences, even small conferences can benefit from the wealth of information that covers every aspect of organizing a conference. Chapters on speakers, promotion, administration, exhibitions and even the art of chairing a conference are some of the topics covered.

A side note: the book was written in the UK, but measurements are provided both in metric and feet. The principles apply no matter the location.

There are a number of things that make this anthology an excellent departure point for further thought and study. As a third year Geography student, bored with practical geography that felt like fourth form social studies and hungry for theory, this anthology provided me with an expansive, comfy place to rest as I worked out my own ideas and principles, recognising the things that attracted me to Geography, and understanding the things that will keep me attached to the discipline as my life and job change over the years.

Clarence Glacken said in Traces on the Rhodian Shore, his magnum opus about the way nature and the environment have been viewed over the centuries, that there have always been three key ideas about the environment in the history of Western Thought. The editors of this anthology have taken a similar approach to the way they have organised their readings under general themes or concepts that have always been relevant to Geographers: Region, Nature, Culture, Time, Space, and Place. This allows them to gather extracts taken from fundamentally important essays in a way that is useful and informative, in ways that are both historical and practical. The chapters allow you to contrast different approaches that Geographers have taken to key concepts, producing an anthology that is supremely functional, as all great anthologies should be. The readings are challenging, but manageable, and have been selected carefully to provide a budding Historical or Theoretical Geographer with not only the most well known, but also the formally overlooked, providing a well-rounded and fairly un-biased collection. The different paradigms carry equal weighting, allowing you a sense of the struggle that has occured between quantitative and qualitative schools over the years.

There's something for everyone. Kropotkin, Mackinder, Sauer, Glacken, Haagerstrad, Tuan, Anne Buttimer, Aldo Leopold. The anthology also has helpful introductory pages for each thinker with well written, concise biographies outlining their contribution to the discipline, as well as theoretical influences and heirs. Anything but dry, and as useful as any social research methods handbook. Don't discount or neglect the theory when it's been presented in such a stimulating and accessible format as this!

This is one of the best introductory books to ideology. Hawkes deftely succeeds in providing a review of the history of the term and in the process the evolution of modern philosophy and thought. I recommend to my students all the time especially those still grappling with the intricate concept of ideology.

New Mexico, and the Taos area in particular, has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. John Nichols captures this beauty perfectly in his first of the Taos series, "If Mountains Should Die." Accompanied by heart-grabbing photographs, this book describes his first few years in Taos as a transplanted East-Coaster. Nichols not only captures the raw beauty of the land, but also the people that occupy it. Along with this, he describes the disturbing and continous struggle to keep it alive and free from suburbanization. His personal and touching accounts of his own struggle with the place and the people bring it alive in unexpected ways. There is also plenty of respect here, along with a deep anger for what is being done to the land, the people, and the unique way of life found in Taos Valley. As this is a very special place in my heart, I found it easy to cry and laugh along with him.