Geography Books

Anyone interested in the Silk Road will appreciate this unique look at life in this remote region.

Many of us have been given the impression that the indigenous people of the Americas before white invasion lived wandering, nomadic lives of fierce hunting with little if any organized manipulation of their environment. This book corrects this impression with seasoned research. Indigenous California is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in the world. This work focuses on the ways the people of the region helped sustain the land's yield for their own uses. Henry T. Lewis's contribution focuses on controlled burn practices, though the subject is included in several entries from other researchers. Burns occurred in every environment, were seasonally timed, and helped maintain a varied-age, mosaic landscape. Peri and Patterson and Ortiz cover maintenance of plants for baskets. Helen McCarthy discusses oak maintenance. Philip J. Wilke reports on bow stave extraction from living junipers. Swezey and Heizer discuss management of anadramous fish and also agriculture among the Paiute of Owens Valley, which involved irrigation, planting of grasses, and burns. The editors have done an excellent job at selecting the entries. All are fascinating and enhance the reader's picture of the West Coast as it once was. This reader from Texas wishes enough info was available on his region to do a similar compilation. Combine this book with Leeann Hinton's Flutes of Fire for a more complete picture of the richness of West Coast culture and with Helena Norberg-Hodge's Ancient Futures for an understanding of how indigenous wisdom can be sustained to improve our current lives. Indigenous people still, in California as elsewhere, face continued repression and this book can give some idea of the worth of their cultures and the importance of supporting their struggles.

This book held my attention and is a rich experience in the geography, history, comparative religion and spirituality of the Great Basin. If the mythologist Joseph Campbell sat down with the poet Barry Lopez the resulting discussion might look a lot like this book. Yet the book is richer than such a discussion because of Francaviglia's rich nuances and deeply personal take on the Great Basin. This is a stunning book and taught me a great deal about appreciating the many levels of the Great Basin.

This book is filled with great informatio regarding the holy city of Benares with captioned photograghs and much more.

great photos in this book .. but how comes the photographer isn't listed on the cover ?

This is the perfect book to teach middle school students not only about the Berlin Wall, but about the Cold War for which it serves as a metaphor. The author explains the background and concepts connected with the Wall in language adolescents can understand. Her prose flows smoothly and maintains the reader's interest throughout. The black and white photographs bring history to life with, for example, an image of an East German border guard leaping over rolls of barbed wire (which he probably had just helped install) to freedom in the West. This is a very good book.

You won't read about Berlin Betty. When your done reading you will know all about Berlin. The only thing is that it's hard to relate to reading the book b/c I've never been there before (I want to). I found myself refering to the maps which are extensive and detailed. Which were a big HELP. The book is well written and intresting.

I would recommend this book to anyone. I've learned a lot about Berlin. One of my friends who use to live in Germany on AF Base. I was talking to him about what I read. Man, I know more about Berlin than he did, and I've never be there either.

In your spare time get a PH.D on Berlin (just joking) ...

Great piece of literary work, I simply could not put this one down. Watson organizes his arguments so well that you find yourself completely covinced upon finishing the text.

This book really made me think about GIS analysis in a new way. This book covers topics such as thinking of maps "map-ematically", distance across a terrain rather than just straight lines, slope and aspect as mathematical surface derivatives (as in calculus), and much, much more. If you are serious about GIS and spatial modeling, this book is a must read.

Berry has a way of looking a GIS analysis that is different than anybody else I have read or listened to. And his presentation style is exciting and fresh. I have seen Berry in live presentations twice and he never fails to disappoint for content or style.

This book is a must-have for readers who seek to understand future relations between Europe and the United States. An A-list group of authors contributed to Beyond Paradise and Power; just as important, however, this is one of the very few books on the subject that does not seek consensus from its contributors. Kudos to editor Tod Lindberg for this stellar collection of essays.