For anyone interested in garter snakes, this book is the Holy Grail. Its chapters summarize a tremendous amount of work done on the genus, and make this book the one reference to consult first when doing any research on garters. It covers all thirty species, including many from Mexico and Central America for which data is limited and that I had never heard of before. I'm very pleased with it, and refer to it often.

But bear in mind that this a scientific monograph. As monographs go it is surprisingly accessible, but it does not pull any scholarly punches, and some parts of it will be beyond some readers, particularly children. The species key, for example, refers to measurements that no amateur or casual observer would be able to make, but it does so in order to be correct rather than easy.

That garter snake researchers need to own a copy of it goes without saying; amateurs with a serious interest in garters ought to buy it as well.

There is far too much information in this book to be summarized in a review. Suffice it to say that the book is fascinating: the writing is clear, the conclusions sound, and the research extensive. For most other varieties of snake--other colubrids, boidae, vipers, even elapids--there is no shortage of books, and books covering even individual species are plentiful (think how many books are devoted exclusively to Boa constrictor ssp., for example). And while most of these books are worth reading once, the majority say little that all the others don't say, too. Garter snakes, however, seldom rate more than a paragraph or two in any snake book, and there are very few books devoted exclusively to garters (I can think of only one, offhand). This book, however, gives garters the attention--and gives the reader the information--that the species deserves. If one is a ratsnake enthusiast, or a python person, or mad about milksnakes, there are plenty of books worth reading, but few that are indispensable. If one is a breeder, researcher, or simply an interested layperson regarding garter snakes, however, this book is one that simply cannot be done without.

This wonderful compendium of gartersnake information is a treasure for lovers of Thamnophis. The color plates are wonderful, and the biological information is fascinating. Who would have guessed that some garters actually brumate (hibernate) in water? A great gift for any gartersnake keeper.

Volumes 3, 4, & 5 are the essential bedrock of any respectable American's library -- the starting point from which any serious investigation of the American Revolution commences -- there is only one word to describe Freeman's achievement -- SUPERB -- to fault Freeman for his detail suggests the mind of an adolescent seeking easy crib notes for a school paper -- the footnotes (relegated to back pages of less scholarly histories) tempt the reader down little-trodden paths of historical investigation leading to new & fascinating insights -- it is the detail and Freeman's lean transcendent prose that make the difference in comparison to the abridgement -- for any American with an interest in our history -- how independence was wrested from defeat by the sheer will perserverence & determination of one man -- a man who refused to be cowed or mentally defeated by the world's great superpower or by even more insidious enemies -- those selfish conservatives who wished to find common cause with Britain to return to the status quo & maintain their perogatives without risk of loss -- how Washington overcame all odds despite the obstinate stupidity of Congress -- the incompetence of state legislatures & governors (including Jefferson) as well as the greedy selfishness & studied indifference of the propertied classes -- these volumes describe Washington's monumental achievement -- but the biography does not concern itself solely with the man himself but also with that dedicated band of true-believers inspired by his example -- some of modest talents -- some of great -- and some who proved unable to keep the faith -- but most important of all it descibes the achievements possible what a great leader can achieve with an army of starving ragamuffins & scarecrow refugees, the refuse of colonial society, unmarried men of small means representing all races, nations, & ages (& not a few women as well) bound together by hope for a better future (based on promises Congress failed to keep) and their undying love & respect for Washington -- volumes 3, 4, 5 represent the essential core of classical American history -- books I'd want along if I were marooned on a desert island -- these volumes are nothing less than the prose outline of an AMERICAN ILIAD.

THE definitive biography of our first president. Freeman can only be faulted for providing too much detail. If you really desire to find out about George Washington, read this book. It should be required study material for contemporary, so called historians.

Ok well I read this book for the first time, and I can say confidently that Freeman must've known Washington personally. The detail in which Freeman goes into does not leave the reader questioning anything about Washington. Everything is there in the book!! A must read for the lovers of history!

This books is the definitive work about hard disks. It explains everything about all kinds of hard disks. Besides that, it also explains details of SCSI devices and RAID. It has a large database with jumper settings and configuration details of hundreds of hard disks, wich is very helpful to technicians. It comes with a CD-ROM full of very usefull utilities.

This books explains all you want to know about hard disk, including lots of information on jumper settings and hard disk CMOS parameters.

This is the most useful source I have for hard drive jumper settings, CMOS settings, etc. I have three previous editions, and wouldn't part with any of them. I do computer support for a large academic department of a university, and encounter a wide range of drives, adapters, computers, etc. These books have saved me a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears.

In a world where many educators bombard students with ambiguous thoughts and statements, using understandable terminology Hard Thinking outlines how the average person can effectively see through the verbal muck and dissern valid logical arguments from illogical emotional drivel. This book explains why not all opinions posed possess equal value and how to evaluate "arguments" to find truth. This book explains why the truth simply exists; truth doesn't find dependence within an individual. This should be a must for any college student attempting to understand how to evaluate ideas. Quite simply, it's the best logic text I have ever read.

A friend at college introduced me to this gem. I have read parts of this book over a dozen times, particularly the discussions of fallacies and values. If I had Bill Gates' money, I would buy 200 million copies of this book and mail one to every English speaking household in the world. I'd send copies via certified mail to Rush Limbaugh, Carl Rowan, Geraldo, Noam Chomsky, Walter Williams, William Bennett, Bill Gates and the rest of the media royalty just to make sure. If you don't know what "inadequate decomposition" means, read this book. You should know.

Hard thinking makes practical logic understandable without being oversimplistic. It covers more ground than most logic texts, including considerable coverage of reasoning about values. It also covers psychological/logical areas such as cognitive disonance. This book is worth more than every book on the best seller lists combined.

Herbs Of Southern Ecuador/Hierbas del Sur Ecuatoriano is an unique, impressive, highly accessible, English and Spanish bilingual field guide to the medicinal plants of the southern Ecuador region of Vilcabamba (where the native population has a deserved reputation for longevity). The "reader friendly" text is enhanced with black-and-white illustrations of each plant, a straightforward list of facts about each plant, along with its ethnobotana and its traditional applications. Herbs Of Southern Ecuador/Hierbas del Sur Ecuatoriano is an excellent and practical field book, and a welcome addition to personal, professional, and academic botanical reference collections.

Traditional knowledge in the use of plants, and the whole cosmology behind the use, have long been neglected by western societies. Fortunately, this is beginning to change, and such practioces are being valued again. Not too early though, as much knowledge has been lost with old healers passing away.
Herbs of Southern Ecuador provides a great insight in the uses of plants in this sacred valley, reknown for the health of its inhabitants. Important medicinal species are describes, depicted, their use, indication and preparation are explained. The fact that the book is bilingual mekes it even more an absolute treasure!

Harbs of Southern Ecuador provides an excellent overview on the most important medicinal plats of the Vilcabamba area in Southern Ecuador - popular for the longevity of its people. More than 140 plants are describes in detail - in english as well as in spanish, and are shown in black and white images.
Traditional uses as well as preparation are carefully explaind.
A must for everybody interested in the use of andean medicinal plants!

Awesome book full of useful information! I recommend this book to anyone who has diabetes.

There is a lot of information packed into this little book ... and it's easy to read and understand. I appreciated the info about kids and cholesterol as well as the tips for diet and exercise. Very useful information.

This book is very well written and is easy to understand. You do not have to have a degree in medicine to understand it. I highly recommend it to anyone who is concerned about his/her health and may be at risk for high cholesterol.

Sporting the words "Dont Panic" in large friendly letters the cover to the hitchikers guide conceals such important information as how to see the wonders of the universe for less than 30 altarian dollars a day, how to mix a Jynnin Tonnyx,and which alcoholic games are the most popular the hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy Is an elaborate Textbook reference to anything and everything conceiveable...and quite a
bit that is beyond our comprehension. This is due to the mass
Explorative Journalism and Inter-specie Authoring of the Guide.

That is The hitchikers guide to the galaxy the Textbook in a nutshell...But to sum up the actual book, written by a one Deceased Douglas Adams (Who Is Greatly Missed...not to mention needed to ensure Disney doesnt fumble with his movie) Would take A) the reading of the rest of the series B) a sense of humour C) a realization of impossiblity and D)A very very very long time to explain all of these things to anyone who is willing to listen.

Basically the book is wonderful...pick it up. Read it. Listen to it (originally a radio series on the bbc). Just expose yourself to it by any means necessary.

Period.

My little brother has all of the books on tape, and he listens to them every night. This is a kid who hates all books. The only thing you will regret, is that now you'll have to go and buy the rest of them.

I heard about this book as a humoristic book. Well, it does have some funny parts, but it's not hilarious. It is, though, very interesting. It is the only book I've ever read that doesn't fit itself to your logic, but you need to fit your logic to it. It is a crazy book, and I don't think it fits to all people, but if you liked it, you'll find yourself quating it at any opportunity. I found metaphors in it that fits to almost any discussion: About Capitalism, Zionism, science, and everyday conversations. It's an amazing, funny and weird book and I think you should at least try and read it.

> > The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading
some of
> > Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being
exposed to
> > an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government
> > unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that
would help
> > helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors.
> > His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of
TIPS
> > to HIPS, the
> > "other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the
60's and
> > 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed
by
> > the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be
interrogated,
> > i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of
25 or
> > more intellegence agencies called Phoenix.
> > The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland
Security, and
> > a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a
> > possibility with a high probability .
> > "You have relatives in the homeland?"
> > The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an
underage
> > soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of
> > respect for military rank and where the beginnings of where real evil
takes
> > us.
> > A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest
and
> > shocking.

The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading some of Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being exposed to an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that would help helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors.
His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of TIPS to HIPS, the
"other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the 60's and 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed by the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be interrogated, i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of 25 or more intellegence agencies called Phoenix.
The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland Security, and a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a possibility with a high probability .
"You have relatives in the homeland?"
The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an underage soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of respect for military rank and where the beginnings of real evil takes us.
A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest and shocking.
An emotional timebomb ... an appropriate introduction to Douglas Valentines thoughts & writings.

The Hotel Tacloban is a book I came to read after unknowingly reading some of Valentine's previous articles on the web, and then knowingly being exposed to an interview with him on Black Op Radio, not long after this government unveiled Operation TIPS as a Homeland Security agency program, that would help helpful U.S. residents turn in their neighbors.
His appearance on the internet radio show pointed out the similiarity of TIPS to HIPS, the
"other way of saying" abbreviation for the genocidal program from the 60's and 70's, in Viet Nam, called overall, Operation Phoenix, a program executed by the cia to root out Civilian dissenters, so that they could be interrogated, i.e. tortured & hideously executed under the umbrella consolidation of 25 or more intellegence agencies called Phoenix.
The suggestion that Phoenix is a grandfather/mentor to Homeland Security, and a harbinger of things to come for the american citizen is more than a possibility with a high probability .
"You have relatives in the homeland?"
The Hotel Tacloban is the beginning, a visit to the innocence of an underage soldier in ww2, (Valentine's father) and his encounter of the forces of respect for military rank and where the beginnings of real evil take us.
A story that will stay with me for the rest of my conscious life. Honest and shocking.
An emotional timebomb ... an appropriate introduction to Douglas Valentines thoughts & writings.

What is tragedy and how does it work? These are questions you will understand better after reading this book. Set sometime in the second half of the 19th century, the story concerns the fortunes of the Gourlay family in the small Scottish town of Barbie. John Gourlay, a big, domineering, but intellectualy challenged man dominates the local economy and has a monopoly of the carrying trade. He is harsh and powerful, of bull-like stature, and famous for his glower. On a brae overlooking Barbie he has built the House wIth the Green Shutters. This house is both the symbol of his dominance and an object of hatred and envy to the townsfolk.

Aristotle defined tragedy as a story depicting the downfall of a great man. At first it is hard to see this stupid, cruel, and grasping merchant as a great man, but The House With the Green Shutters will also improve your notions of what greatness is. John Gourlay is great because there is no fear or compromise in him. Although he may wish to be well thought of by the small-minded, two-faced gossips of the town, he is not prepared to go one inch out of his way for them, scorning even the banal pleasantries of small talk or phatic communication. He wants only their respect not their love, and respect him they do even though they also hate him.

With all true tragedy the tragic element comes directly from the greatness. It is his greatness that destroys John Gourlay. His stubborn pride and unflinching courage are qualities more suited to some heroic age of battles and revolutions. They do not fit into the petty, hypocritical world of 19th century Scotland. In this unheroic world his heroic qualities can only work towards his downfall. The thought constantly in one's mind as you read this novel is, 'If only he were a lesser man . . .' His inability to compromise by lowering himself to the same level as his fellow citizens, works to his disadvantage. Unable to plot, maneuver, and dissemble, his little empire is soon undermined by the arrival in town of Wilson, a glib self-seeking nobody with no real passion, but a much abler businessman in tune with the times. Affable and manipulative, false and corrupt he starts to squeeze Gourlay out of one thing after another. This is ,in effect, the triumph of style over substance that so bedevils our modern age. Although grim, proud and dour, Gourlay is an honest man, inept at chicanery, and unable to bend to suit the occasion.

The House With the Green Shutters is a tragedy in the full classical Greek sense of the word; the preordained fall of a hero who doesn't fit into an unheroic world; a great bull sacrificed to appease the Gods for human hubris. It is even more poignant from the fact that its keynote of tragedy was reflected in the life of its young author who had the misfortune to die only one year after writing such a masterpiece.

What is tragedy and how does it work? These are questions you will understand better after reading this book. Set sometime in the second half of the 19th century, the story concerns the fortunes of the Gourlay family in the small Scottish town of Barbie. John Gourlay, a big, domineering, but intellectualy challenged man dominates the local economy and has a monopoly of the carrying trade. He is harsh and powerful, of bull-like stature, and famous for his glower. On a brae overlooking Barbie he has built the House wIth the Green Shutters. This house is both the symbol of his dominance and an object of hatred and envy to the townsfolk.

Aristotle defined tragedy as a story depicting the downfall of a great man. At first it is hard to see this stupid, cruel, and grasping merchant as a great man, but The House With the Green Shutters will also improve your notions of what greatness is. John Gourlay is great because there is no fear or compromise in him. Although he may wish to be well thought of by the small-minded, two-faced gossips of the town, he is not prepared to go one inch out of his way for them, scorning even the banal pleasantries of small talk or phatic communication. He wants only their respect not their love, and respect him they do even though they also hate him.

With all true tragedy the tragic element comes directly from the greatness. It is his greatness that destroys John Gourlay. His stubborn pride and unflinching courage are qualities more suited to some heroic age of battles and revolutions. They do not fit into the petty, hypocritical world of 19th century Scotland. In this unheroic world his heroic qualities can only work towards his downfall. The thought constantly in one's mind as you read this novel is, 'If only he were a lesser man . . .' His inability to compromise by lowering himself to the same level as his fellow citizens, works to his disadvantage. Unable to plot, maneuver, and dissemble, his little empire is soon undermined by the arrival in town of Wilson, a glib self-seeking nobody with no real passion, but a much abler businessman in tune with the times. Affable and manipulative, false and corrupt he starts to squeeze Gourlay out of one thing after another. This is ,in effect, the triumph of style over substance that so bedevils our modern age. Although grim, proud and dour, Gourlay is an honest man, inept at chicanery, and unable to bend to suit the occasion.

The House With the Green Shutters is a tragedy in the full classical Greek sense of the word; the preordained fall of a hero who doesn't fit into an unheroic world; a great bull sacrificed to appease the Gods for human hubris. It is even more poignant from the fact that its keynote of tragedy was reflected in the life of its young author who had the misfortune to die only one year after writing such a masterpiece.

In his story of the downfall of an arrogant and essentially stupid man, George Douglas Brown is relentlessly unsentimental. His portrait of life in a tiny Scottish town in the late 1800's leaves the reader with no illusions about the narrow-mindedness of the inhabitants. Bleak as their existence is, the novel is not depressing, but fascinating. While many readers will have trouble with the dialect of the speakers (the narration is standard English), the effort required to "translate" is well rewarded.