"Zoo and aquarium history" is the most comprehensive book in probably any language on the history of wild animals in captivity since publication of Gustave Loisel's three-volume "Histoire des ménageries" back in 1912. In this one volume, zoo historians from five continents and eight countries offer a region-by-region account of the development of menageries, zoological gardens and (to a lesser extent) aquaria since the Renaissance. Ancient and mediaeval collections worldwide are covered well by the book's editor Vernon Kisling in the first chapter. The various authors approach their task along different paths, for the most part more narrative than reflective, and not all chapters, unfortunately, are equally good.

Zoos in Europe have been best chronicled in the past, although obviously not always in English, and the three European chapters may not offer anything really new to the well-read zoo nerd. The book's division of Europe into Great Britain (including Ireland, which may not be well appreciated by proud Irishmen and -women), Western Europe, and East-central and eastern Europe appears to be somewhat arbitrary, although it may have made sense from an American viewpoint looking at Europe during the Cold War. Nevertheless, as an introduction to European zoo history for the uninitiated, all three chapters carry their weight.

The excellent chapters by Ken Kawata on the history of zoos in Japan and Sally Walker on that of India offer genuinely new literature (at least in English); together they're worth the price of the book alone. Australia too is well covered. The chapter on South America has a decidedly Brazilian bias to it, and the one on Africa concentrates on Egypt and South Africa (Cape and Cairo, so to speak), so although neither is really comprehensive, interesting material certainly is in there. The development of zoos and aquaria in the United States is nicely reviewed by Kisling. The book has left only one space completely white on the map: Canada. The reason is not obvious; Canadian zoos have a history too. The editor, of course, could only include chapters for which he was able to find competent writers, and as the book, as good as it is, hardly promises to be a best-seller, their reward will be more likely be idealistic than mammonish.

"Zoo and aquarium history" is a must in any zoo and natural history library, but it is also highly recommended to anyone interested in reading a history of what remains one of the most popular institutions of recreation and public education, science and conservation in the world. On the subject, there's no better book in print.

Congratulations on a fine book that really does fill a long-standing gap in the historical literature! Needless to say, I hope it sells well, and gets rave reviews! It deserves them.

As a zoo and aquarium history enthusiast, I have yet to find a book that covers the broad history of zoos and aquariums worldwide. This book fills that niche. Many U.S. zoos are issuing history books celebrating their centennials and Hoage's book covers the transition from menagerie to zoo in the 19th century. Neither the centennial books nor Hoage's book cover zoos and aquariums from ancient times to the present continent by continent. The chapters cover ancient Chinese "Intelligence Gardens" and early zoos as places where rulers could showcase animals captured from newly conquored lands. We learn about the development of the travelling menageries, 18th and 19th century zoos as living museums for scholars, and the political and social climates that transformed them into institutions of public education, recreation, research, and, mostly in the late 1900s, as centers for conservation. This is the first time I have seen anything in print about the history of African zoos and many of the Asian ones. The chapters are well-researched and well-referenced. Many of the references are hard to find or in foreign languages. Mixed in with brief histories of the individual institutions are little-known stories such as the arrival of the first Giant panda to the U.S., the first female zoo director, and how war affected zoos and aquariums all over the world. The photos selected by the authors clearly illustrate points made in the text.

The authors are well-qualified to tell these tales. Vernon Kisling, the editor and an author, spearheaded the History Task Force for the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums and represents North America to the Bartlett Society (an international zoo history group).

In summary, zoos and aquariums have played and continue to play a vital role in how man interacts with other species. They can foster an attitude of empathy or domination. Their histories are rich and varied. This book is a valuable resource to anyone interested in zoos and aquariums, the history of the natural sciences, or anthrozoology (human-animal relationship studies).

This is an inexpensive, yet wonderful collection of African folk tales. They are brilliant- a must-have!

I think that this book is a wonderful life lesson to many youngsters out there.From the jungles of Africa to a lion's mouth, these stories wil take your eyes to a whole new world!

Since I use Netscape I thought I needed to learn a little bit about it. The book accomplished that.

Since the book is dated I cannot give it five stars.

It explained to me about the features of Netscape Communicator, but not to technical. Which is what I wanted. A nice, easy read book.

I have not looked at the yellow pages, afterall what are search engines for.

I also was able to create my webpage in 15 minutes from what the book explained to do. All you have to do is hit the publish button.

I am an instructor of a course entitled Introduction to the Internet for Instructional Support. I used this book as the course text. It is an outstanding book with excellent coverage of all the of components of Netscape Communicator; Navigator, Messenger, Collabra, Conference, Composer and Netcaster. It is wonderfully easy to use with step-by-step instructions with accompanying graphics. There are some examples and exercises to use but that is not the purpose of the book. The purpose of the book is to completely and easily explain the components of Netscape in an easy to read and use fashion. It has a good index and a companion guide to Web Hot Sites. My students are primarily secretaries of academic departments and they use the book to teach faculty and other staff how to use Communicator. This book may actually change the way our academic community communicates with each other. But there needs to be an update of this book to reflect the changes from Netscape Communicator 4.07 to v. 4.5.

This anthology contain a wealth of plays written by black playwrights. While looking for less familiar plays to produce with a primary minority theatre group, I stumbled upon this gem. Within its pages, I was able to find several plays and playwrights I had never heard of before. I enjoyed reading these plays and were able to find works to produce. The plays also provided less known monologes for auditions. Additionally, the various plays provided ample selections of scenes for scene study work. Although some pieces are dated, they are good clasical "Black" pieces. The more modern plays in the anthology date back to 1960's. Never- the- less, it's a good find and a must for my theatre library.

I OWN BOTH VOLUMES OF THIS BOOK. I LOVE A.A. PLAYS AND LIT. THIS BOOK WAS A JOY TO READ IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE ALSO. I USED THIS VOLUME TO DO A PAPER IN MY BLACK WOMEN WRITERS CLASS. I WROTE ON FEMALE PLAYWRITES OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE AND THEY ARE ALL IN THIS VOLUME.

A MUST FOR ANY LOVER OF A.A. THEATRE

RONDY

Mooers' hero Jason McMullin is a variation on the theme of J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield. He sees all sides of life in a small New Brunswick town of the '60s and '70s, from berry picking and muskrat trapping in the woods to hanging out with the snobbish college types on "the hill." He hitchhikes the trans-Canada highway, gets turned on to the drug culture in Montreal, sees his parents go through divorce, finds and loses the love of his life... Though Mooers' narrative has occasional flat parts, including (unfortunately) the first chapter, generally the voice of his narrator, Jason, rings true, and the story is told with humor and compassion. Those from the East coast will find the settings and activities familiar; perhaps relive their own childhood or young adulthood along with Mooers. Others will simply enjoy the author's insights into life and human nature.

Vernon Mooers traces the early life, loves and misadventures of one Jason McMullin of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Jason, like his Gram, is a "walking history book and has an impeccable memory for details and events going almost back to when he was born. Gradually, a few of the shifting cast of characters establish themselves as important members of the unfolding drama. Instead of the vast Missippi River, or the wine-dark Mediterranean that the earlier Jason, of Argos fame, had sailed, the setting here is the small lakes and streams of eastern Canada. Indeed, many of the book's prose glories are its evocative descriptions of these places and the small towns they shape. (Even the object of the hero's doomed love affair is named Janie Brooks.) It is an environment that limits the horizon, stunts the prospects of the ones restlessly growing up there. Most of the family relationships are more brutal or distant, marked by absence of feeling and drunken excess. Jason's friends, when they are not lifting someone else's goods, spend thier time looking to "skin" a young girl or get into a brawl. The future is as bleak and uninspiring as the landscape. Life for Jason is always on the edge, whether of physical danger or between the social classes. He is idealistic, romantic, shy, assailed by the doubts and false hopes, a dreamer and introvert, always a step behind his closest comrade Eddie. But it is the 1960's, afterall. "Things are beginning to happen. Role models come into town, hair to their waists, travelling the country preaching some kind of new gospel. The ideas from Yorkville and Haight-Ashbury and Greenwich Village spread outward like ripples from a lake...This summer it hits town and devours a whole generation." Under the impetus of the change that overtakes North American youth, the book's central metaphor broadens over half the continent, the rafts and rivers are transformed into trains and buses and stream-of-consciousness long-distance thumb rides.

The author covers all the major lakes of Tennessee and highlights the most popular species of each lake. They tell you exactly how to catch these species and do a fine job of it! Many species are not covered and river fishing is not covered, therefore it is not really "Compleat" (sic). For a book to cover all of that information it would have to be 2 or 3 times as big. This book does a good job of covering what it does cover (lakes and premier species) and I think I got my money's worth.

Vernon and Doug are well-known fishing gurus, and those of us who follow them on TV, radio and in print benefit from their vast knowledge of Tennessee fish and their wily ways.

These guys know their stuff! Read it, take the day off, and bring an extra stringer!

I have one of the most unusual pieces of Brayton Laguna pieces of glazed pottery I have ever seen. At one time, I was able to find a copy of exactly what this piece was and sold for but that has been several years ago. The piece is about 6 1/2 inches wide and about 2 inches high at the highest point. It almost looks like a piece that might advertise that Laguna Brayton was sold at that store. It is red with a beautiful gold scroll work around the perimeter of the piece. All it states is 'BRAYTON' with the y that looks as if it is reversed. Right underneath the Brayton is the word 'Laguna'. And the 'Brayton'
Laguna both are in the same color gold as the gold paint around the perimeter of this piece. Can you help me decide what it was used for and the possible price of this piece. I know for a fact that it is unusual and hard to find. Please advise if you have any idea or information on this beautiful piece. I would be most appreciative for any information you might have.
Many Thanks,
Austin

This book is double strength. First, it shows the complete lines of Disney figures made by four great California potteries (Brayton, Hagen-Renaker, Vernon Kilns and American/Shaw). While a handful of pieces are shown only in archival photos or are missing, hundreds are shown in full color. And, the second strength of this book, most are shown in large, clear pictures of a size not attempted in most books. For example, Hagen-Renaker's 2" tall Maleficent and Raven is shown 6" tall in a full-page photo. If you collect Disney or CA pottery, you'll love this book.

This is a very well made CD. It is not boring or dry like books and the examples the demonstrator uses are very clear. I just search the topic I want and there it is shown step by step. You just cannot beat the price and the quality of the product.

My office changed its' database over to Filemaker about three months ago. It was done because we have some PC's and some Macs on a single server, and Filemaker accomodates both platforms. I was a bit panicked because I had never even heard of Filemaker, much less used it. I found this CD and decided to buy it. It has something like 12 hours of training on it! I would come home from work, and use the CD for about an hour a night. It wasn't long before I was the person at work everybody else was coming to for help on the new database. Knowledge IS power!

This book contains practice material for all the consonant and vowel sounds of English. It also has chapters on loudness, pitch, expressiveness and vocal abuse such as glottal shock and harshness. I have used it as a text for a college course in voice and diction and I use it with my accent reduction students. There is a description of each sound, how to produce it, and practice of the sound in words and sentences. Sounds are grouped by place of articulation. Both the IPA and dictionary diacritical systems are used. There are exercises designed for the articulation errors common to certain non-English speakers. While this edition is out of print I am currently able to obtain copies. A new edition is in preparation.

This is the best book I found that help you speak good English. I say good not only because it helps you speak correct English, but it also helps you speak correctly. It teaches you how to pronounce; how to use your throat; how to use your tongue... But do not be frightened, the book is fun to read. There are many interesting sayings, facts, and stories about famous people. There are also excellent exercises help you digest what you learned.

Fact is better than saying. Look at one fact: this is the 11th edition. Do not think twice, just buy it. You will never regret that you own this book.