Columbia Books

At $...I couldn't go wrong: as it turns out I went very right.
I just found a very rare picture
of an astronomical plasma jet from an elliptical galaxy as a picture in it.
In every way this book delivers what it says it will.
If you can find it, buy it.
Or any other book by Motz on Astronomy!

When one hears the phrase "political morality", one is inclined to throw it off as an oxymoron. This set of case studies, compiled and commented on by Professors Amy Gutmann (of the esteemed Princeton University) and Dennis Thompson (of a small liberal arts college in Boston), shows us that the term is incredibly relevant to us today, not just as possible politicians (most of us aren't), but as informed citizens in a democratic society. This collection is separated into two parts: one which deals with the difficult decisions made in times of crisis, and the second with the hard choices inherent in public policy. The first part outlines case studies on issues such as dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and lying in office. The studies and commentaries force us to consider if and when it is right to ignore conventional morality for a possibly greater end. The second deals with currently-raging controversies such as abortion and the death penalty. This part encourages us to consider cases in which two competing ends are at stake. Overall, this collection is an engaging and thorough investigation into a large number of past and current controversies that encourages us to consider the issues from all sides.

Mabel Berezin and Martin Schain's Europe Without Borders: Remapping Territory, Citizenship, And Identity In A Transnational Age gathers leading experts in sociology, political science, psychology, geology and other friends to consider changing identity and societies in Europe since the creation of the European Union in 1992. The range of disciplines will please college-level readers studying modern European events.

In an age of growing supranationalism and internationalism, the old style regional geographies, with their country-by-country approach, are of limited value. Professor Mellor and Dr. Smith here make a problem-oriented approach to a changing Europe. Taking an over all view and treating Europe in its broad contintal dimension, they examine it as it really is: a landmass of remarkable diversity, comprising a complex of closely interrelated regions which are not in themselves immutable.

Their study has a strong historical component, because Europoe's landscapes and their patterns - the mirror of human impact over a long period - are the product of changes in man's response through time to his enviroment.

An important feature of the book is that, following on from the author's study of the genesis of the geograpy of Europe to the present day, it looks forward by analysing long term trends and indicates the lines which the continent's development may take in the future.
--- excerpt from book's dustjacket

What an amazing find this book was! The authors artfully unveil the little-known world of drag clubs in the Fourties - and let me tell you it's NOTHING like the drag world today. Full of artists who sang for themselves (no lip-sync here!) and took their art form very seriously, it really opens up your perspective on what it must have been like to be a gay person in that era. You get both a feel for the times and a perspective that makes you appreciate today.

Told as a series of short biographies of people and places of the day, it is very readable, accessible, and educational at the same time.

I highly recommend this book, and hope the authors are working on a sequel that covers the next era in Seattle's rich history!

This is a nautical chart atlas of the pacific northwest onto which is printed historical events and the places where they occured. It is great for anyone traveling the waters, or for anyone who is fascinated with the area or loves sailing.

My wife and I used this as one of our navigation atlas' on a 5 month sail up the inland waterway to Alaska and refered to it daily. There is something fascinating about knowing who has been there before.

I would highly recommend this, and its companion edition on Alaska, to anyone who is planning to travel in the area, even if on a cruise ship.

That annoying fly that buzzes around your head until you reach for the fly swatter has a long history behind it. Flies have been buzzing around for at least 250 million years. There are now some 150 families, with 150,000 defined species. Flies have been studied as long, if not longer, than any similar organism. There have been so many studies that it is difficult for individual researchers to gain a broad perspective on the organisms they study.

This book is an attempt to bring together contributions from a diverst group of scientists in a single volume. The book is broken into three broad units: Phylogeny, Genomics and Developmental Biology, and Evolutionary Ecology and Biogrography.

In each of these parts, leading researchers have written articles that cover the main areas where research is being conducted. Yeates and Wiegmann edited this collection and contributed one article of their own. The other articles are written by specialists in their particular area and have been peer reviewed by a distinguished panel of scientists. Each chapter ends with an extensive list of references that can be used for further study.

This volume is the best single volume work that provides a general overall view of the subject that I've seen.

An excellent book for anyone studying the music video or who has more than a general interest in the topic. It provides a wealth of information, interesting ideas and plenty of examples. Highly recommended.

Randy Wall is one of the true poets of this age.

While many of his personal idioms have now become standard elements of American speech patterns, the full impact of his verse has not been adequatly appreciated. In fact, as Lawrence Barnett has argued, Randy Wall's observation that beer is water to him set a standard of analysis that all who come after must follow. Indeed for many it has become the water of our age.

In Experiments On Vegetation Control With Native Pathogenic Fungi we find a precise statement by Wall on the human condition as experenced by Wall just prior to his conversion to Christianity. As such this represents as vital last view of a man's soul as seen through the dark lense of Jack Daniel bottle.

A beautiful coastline, and in order to experience the full beauty of nature, you need a boat which can cost thousands, right? Not so, says "Exploring the BC Coast by Car", a well researched and written guidebook dedicated to seeing all the sights the land of British Columbia has to offer without all of the expenses that one would expect have to pay. Promoting routes through the wilderness of the province by car, by foot, by kayak, or by float plane, it's an ideal reference for any hiking enthusiast. "Exploring the BC Coast by Car" is highly recommended to community library travel collections.