Natural Language Books

This isn't the type of book someone could pick up and get a good view of the American Environmental movement. It does well in teaching about past movements but ignores modern movements like Environmental Justice and the controversy surrounding Market Based Incentives. It is a good book for teaching if coupled with extra material as it is very readable and interesting.

What a joy to see that this book is back in print! When our nature book discussion group chose it as a monthly selection several years ago, we had to scramble to find copies. I was one of the lucky ones who got one, read it all, and underlined a whole slew of passages for later reference.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Man is everywhere a disturbing agent. Wherever he plants his foot, the harmonies of nature are turned to discords." (George Perkins Marsh, 1864)

"Environment is to the would-be cultured man what air is to the animal -- it is the breath of life." (Benton MacKaye, 1928)

"When you have reached the edge of an abyss ... the only progressive move you can make is to step backward." (David R. Brower, 1977)

Then the compiler adds his answer to the question "Why do we love wilderness?" by giving seven reasons: scientific value, spiritual values, aesthetic value, heritage value, psychological value, cultural value, and intrinsic value. His explanations make this selection the one I most often pass on to other people. (Roderick Frazier Nash, 1988)

My advice is to buy this book as a present for your favorite environmentalist friend. Sure, you could go instead with _The Quotable Nature Lover_, a Nature Conservancy book edited by John A. Murray. But _American Environmentalism_ puts those kinds of quotes back into context; the editor not only provides full text but also explains what was going on at the time of its writing. Selections are arranged chronologically and are short enough to hold anyone's interest. And we're not talking just Thoreau, Muir, Carson and Leopold here, as the excerpts above show. There are names you might not recognize at first glance. Amateur environmentalists can use this compilation as a starting point for further reading, as full citations are always provided. Though it's not entirely current (1989) this book is still useful.

Give it to a graduating senior, or to anyone else who has the potential to save the planet. They'll be inspired.

This book seems like a lot more of sample reference code than anything else. It really doesn't teach very well how to do stuff but it does have a lot of code examples.

As a computer science student who changed majors to computer engineering, this was one of the best programming books that I've read in college. It actually teaches you problem solving in a very straightforward manner. Not without flaws though, since there are quite a few typos and errors in the code of the programs in the book; however, everyone with at least some basic understanding of computer programming should be able to figure out what is wrong and fix them quite easily.

With the help of this book I was able to apply C++ to a lot of common problems encountered throughout all engineering fields; from statistics to simple physics and math problems. After taking the class, in which this book was used, this book has become one of my main references.

A survey of common practice in TTS sytems together with major limitations as well as research directions. Generally well written, I would prefer more precise technical details though.

I have found it very much knowledge ful for those who to do something in speech technology. It is very nice step towards research towards speech techology.

Daniel Boone , a renowned name in the field of speech pathology, has written a readable self help book for any person who is keen on improving his/her voice. 'Voice Care & Vocal Enhancement' is a complex and specialised subject .But, Daniel Boone has written it in a simple, easy to understand format which would appeal even to a novice.The tests devised to gauge the various parameters of the voice viz. breath control, loudness level, optimum pitch, tone focus are easy to follow.The exercises for improving various aspects of the voice can be easily understood and performed by the reader. However,the book is aimed mainly at the layperson and is not for you if you are a singer or performing artiste who has a fair knowledge of the voice.

As a non-professional (in terms of not being a singer, although I do frequently use my voice in my job), I believe Boone has written an excellent title full of practical advice for improving your voice. I concur with the earlier reviewer that the book is decidedly targeted towards the layperson. Considering that the author's audience is probably mainly nonprofessionals who only want to improve their voice, this is a sound approach.

Among the helpful areas convered in the book include:

1. Problems with too loud or too soft a voice.
2. Suggestions for improving your voice's loudness.
3. Stressful situations and physical stressors that can affect your voice.
4. 6 ways to control stage fright.
5. Common problems of the male and female voice.
6. Voice tips for men and women.
7. 10 suggestions for keeping your natural voice.

If you are a nonprofessional who is interested in improving your voice, then I highly recommend this title as a practical and helpful tool. Read and enjoy!

The most convincing part of this book is the overview of two-level morphology. The overview of morphological phenomena and of other computational systems is superficial and eclectic.

A superb introduction to the field of computational morphology. This reader only wishes Dr. Sproat devoted a section to his syllable weight-table methodology

I went into this book, like many other readers past, present and future, looking for an exemplar of Catalan literature. While I'm not sure if this book was that grail, so to speak, it did manage to more than surpass the level of a mere curiosity. Even more, it was superbly able to engage and interest me as a work in and of itself, without worrying about its position in a broader cultural context. The plot was well thought-out and the (main) characters believable and sympathetic. Most important, though, was the adroit way the fantastic elements cooperated with the work's more realistic elements: the story fits in a sort of proto-Magic Realistic context and suggests an affinity with works of authors such as ETA Hoffman or Edgar Allan Poe. I almost feel comfortable putting Perucho just below Marquez within this genre.

However enjoyable this book was, however, I'm not too sure if it was great: there were many loose ends to the narrative and the nationalistic elements became tiresome and heavy-handed after a very short while (although, given the context of its writing, i.e. the height of Franco's power, this is probably the complaint most easily forgiven). Most troublingly, the story arch was overtly and maddeningly conventional and sappy, and begged for a more daring approach.

To its benefit, even if I thought it far from a perfect book, "Natural History" did make me flabbergasted as to why this is Perucho's only work in English translation. Even more, it made me wonder what else is lying there in Catalonia, untranslated and waiting to be read by an Anglophone audience. But unfortunately, until an answer is satisfyingly found, we will just have to be content with this intriguing work.

Joan Perucho, the unique author from the Catalan area of Spain writes in a moving yet dynamic manner. After reading this novel you can almost believe that a vampire could exist as well as probably feeling comfortable with one. It is very sad that none of his other prose or poetry have been published by Knopf (the publisher of "Natural History") or any other publisher. This articulate, insiteful author deserves to be published in English many more times.

The vibrant pictures caught Parish and Isaac's eyes. Isaac made the noises for the animals. They enjoyed the "action" of the illustrations.
The moral is great. Sometimes, it is an internal characteristic that makes us special. In this case, it was bravery.

It is well-written, well-illustrated. It is perfect for pre-schoolers. It is a great way to teach children about character.

This book is cute. It is about a little boy named Nathan who is learning about nocturnal happenings. Sights, sounds, animals, and more are each explain with a Christian passage.
The extra price for this book is because of it's high quality. There are only 18 pages, but they are have great illustrations to keep the child's attention. It is a short bedtime story type book to read to younger children. There is an insert page in the back which tells more about the author and illustrator. I got a copy from Freecycle, so the added savings was great.

This book explains the concepts in clear simple language and shows you the source code in C++, class diagrams (unique), and how the algorithms work with flow charts (unique). Often, each chapter contains step-by-step examples of how these algorithms work on some simple input vectors - exactly what I need for exam preparation.

This book comes with C++ source code, and thus provides a nice place to begin for someone who is interested in experimenting with neural nets. The author's focus on the character-recognition problem, so the book is somewhat specialized from this perspective. I would not recommed this book to someone who is primarily interested in a strong theoretical book describing learning with neural nets.

The authors provide short biographies of scientists from the United States in the twentieth century. Each biography is a few pages. Some of these were a bit dry while others were very inspirational. This could be a good book for H.S. students interested in science.

This is not your typical alphabet book. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a natural phenomenon of the Arctic and has three or four paragraphs of text about that subject. The facts in the text are interesting. Did you know that the fastest moving glacier in the Arctic, located in Greenland, can move at a speed of up to two feet an hour? That beluga whales can sometimes lift the ice to get a quick breath of air before it dives again? That quivut is the soft, fine wool of the muskox? If you read this book, you'll find these and many other interesting facts. My third grade students make alphabet books and this is a wonderful example for them to pattern their writing after. The photographs that accompany the text are stunning also. The author, Dr. Wayne Lynch, has chosen unusual subjects for the book. This serves to expand the minds of the children who read or are read this book. For example, some new topics for my students include jaeger, kittiwake, lousewort, xanthoria, yellowcoat, and zooplankton. The author explains these topics in a way that children will understand.