I just recently returned from the Galapagos Islands, and the book that guided me throughout my journey was this book by M.H. Jackson. Very easy to find the animal you are looking, and also helps to discover more creatures to look for. Helped explain things further from what the guides had said. Also helped me in answering many people's questions about different creatures. A Great book! A must for all travelers to the galapagos in search of unique wildlife.

I am a biologist that has been working in the Galapagos as a Naturalist leading tours there for the last 6 years. Michael Jackson's book is the "Bible" for the beginning naturalist and certainly more than adequate for the casual "ecotourist". Jackson covers all major aspects of the history, geology, ecology, and biology of the islands. In the "biology" section, he gives a clear, concise, but thorough group-by-group treatment of all major taxa including plants, reptiles, land and sea birds, mammals, and a brief section covering marine life. While there are other guidebooks available, none come close to the accuracy, clarity of presentation, and logical format of this book. Of particular usefulness are the many photos, tables, and graphs which provide a visual representation of many of the topics discussed and a synthesis of large amounts of data.

The author is the student who excelled at the University of Toronto, where Thomas F. Homer-Dixon is a professor (and himself author of "Environment, Scarcity, and Violence"), and is now a professor at the University of Southern Florida.

Although the Central Intelligence Agency got this right in the 1970's, clearly warning U.S. policymakers that AIDS and related diseases were "the" catastrophic threat to national security and regional stability in the closing quarter of the 20th century, and although the United Nations and its various agencies have clearly understood the relationship between disease, environmental degradation, and instability--with all that instability brings in terms of crime, forced migration, and so on, the author gets five stars for doing an absolutely brilliant job of putting all of this knowledge--and his own original contributions--into a readable volume that can be understood by the most loosely-educated policymakers we have, as well as the voting public.

The author does a superb job of both crediting others (e.g. Laurie Garrett, whose stunning book "BETRAYAL OF TRUST: The Collapse of Global Public Health" we reviewed last year) while weaving his own insights into the story. ERIDs are "emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases." They matter more now because, as the author summarizes it, modern man is in a very different situation today: "individuals can travel around the world rapidly by airplane, and overpopulation and the growth of megacities have created entirely new 'disease pools' that will allow new pathogens to emerge and flourish."

The author has done a fine job of documenting how "human-induced worldwide environmental destruction" is both releasing pathogens from their hiding places in rain forests, launching new microbes that wreak havoc on aquatic life, and proliferating resistant strains of micobial terrorists we do not understand. Bacteria, in brief, are a thousand to a million times more deadly that any terrorist gang, and we would be wise to get our priorities straight as we set about pretending to govern.

As a general statement, the author appears to have done very very well as identifying intervening variables that could be analyzed, and his conclusions on what needs to be done are "President ready." He not only makes his case, he ends by calling for a massive increase in "health intelligence," and thereby demonstrates a wit lacking in most academics.

The notes are excellent, there is no bibliography, and the index is so mediocre it might as well not have been included--there is also no biography of this talented author, a grevious lack. The book should be reissued with this deficiencies being corrected.

For vexing reasons, political scientists have long neglected the role of health in understanding societal stability and regime transitions. Price-Smith begins to fill this void by offering this excellent genesis for the field of health security. Using some of the models developed by Thomas Homer-Dixon regarding nonrationality and complex causality, Price-Smith critically examines how HIV, malaria and TB, among other, could have potentially devastating consequences--for the developing and the developed world.

What makes this book all the more useful is that Price-Smith goes beyond the anecdotal or journalistic accounts that have dominated our understanding of public health's relationship to politics. He provides both rigorous statistical analysis and compelling case studies to prove his points. His writing style is clear and unassuming, a welcome approach for those without an extensive public health/biology background.

Hidden Montana appears in its third edition to cover inns, tours, drives, and outdoors explorations throughout the state. From Glacier Park to Yellowstone, this is packed with lesser-known byways. Recommended.

Braeking the state up into sections, the author does an excellent job of describing and presenting the various highlights of each. Equal treatment is given to popular and off-the-beaten-path areas, with sufficient detail for each. It made my recent visit more enjoyable!

Ralph Friedman hitchhiked his way to Oregon in 1933 as a 16-year-old. He spent the next six decades or so lovingly chronicling the unique people and places of his adopted state.

"In Search of Western Oregon" is really a culmination of his life's work. Yes, it's structured as a travel guide; but it's also much more. Friedman covers the well-known sites and history, but his clear emphasis is on the forgotten faces and places that are such an essential part of the Beaver State. Many of the photographs in this book are by Friedman's wife, Phoebe, his partner in both life and work.

Friedman's earlier "Oregon For The Curious," also still in print, offers a similar, but less comprehensive, treatment of both halves of the state. Separately, or together, they provide a unique overview of this diverse, beautiful, often still wild state, and the people who have attempted to find a life in harmony with it. It's wonderful for the armchair traveler and invaluable for anyone who has the desire and opportunity to travel off the beaten path.

People from other states should settle for something thin, like Scenic Driving Oregon, but for natives who are looking to explore deeper, who have wondered what's up that pigpath, this is the very best. Too bad he didn't do Eastern Oregon in the same manner.

Last summer, I traveled to the Twin Cities to see my Twins play at the Metrodome for the first time (having only caught road games in the past). Taking a three day weekend from work, I wanted to take advatntage of being in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for more than just a couple of baseball games, and boy did this guide help!

I browsed over a couple of guides in the local bookstore before settling on the Insider's Guide. The information inside was as up to date as could be expected, and using it and a few web sites, I was able to work in two baseball games, the obligatory trip to the Mall of America, a Twins autograph session, trips to the Science Museum of Minnesota (to see the Questionable Medical Devices exhibit), a trip down the part of town featured in the Mary Tyler Moore show, and a quick tour of the Wabasha Street Caves, formerly the hideout of gangsters and the scene of a shootout featured on a History Channel program--all in less than 72 hours!

I even located restaurants near the attractions I wanted to see that served the kinds of food I was interested in--Japanese and Italian at the time--without any difficulty.

Take it from the Insiders when you make your trip to these wonderful cities in the upper Midwest. Minnesota is a hidden treasure that few in the US make it their goal to see--I went for baseball, and came back quite impressed, largely thanks to the Insider's Guide's information.

This book is definitely the most comprehensive guidebook to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, containing over 800 listings of local parks, attractions, accommodations and restaurants (both with price scales included). The kids'section is especially great, with much attention focused on how to get the most bang for your buck when taking the family out to play or dine. Also interesting are the interviews with local personalities featured in the book, including a television horror show host, the former mayor of St. Paul, the owner of Minnesota's Baseball Museum, and the director of St. Paul's Como Zoo.

As a longtime resident of the Twin Cities, I appreciate guidebooks such as these that take into consideration things that I personally have considered local "secret" treasures, such as the beautiful Swedish Museum, Minneapolis' Stone Arch Bridge and the adjacent parklands, the fossil beds in St. Paul's Lilydale Park, and just a ton of other things that there just isn't room to mention. The book makes for a fun read, too, with a great chapter on the history of the Twin Cities and information on the geological makeup of the region in general.

The Journals of Lewis and Clark are about as fundamental a Western American treatise as you will find. Tackling this leviathan is a daunting challenge but one with great rewards. Clark copied Lewis word for word on many entries so it takes true dedication to read every word of the text. Throw in the maps, the preparatory work of Lewis and related ephemera for good measure. This will not only require a huge investment in time but several feet of book space. At [the price] per volume you will also limit out your credit card. Is it worth it? No other work can provide the background for understanding the ensuing growth of the West. Every single day of the journey is accounted for and there are tediously detailed accounts of the geography and navigational coordinates. Be prepared for some of the most creative spelling ever recorded. Once read it is an experience never to be forgotten and you will not regret the effort.

The author of the most-recent biography of Meriwether Lewis recommends this series by Moulton as the best available collection of the Journals.

During the period covered by this volume, Lewis and Clark were beyond the portage around Great Falls. During the time described in the subtitle to this volume, July 28 - November 1, 1805, L&C were leaving Three Forks, crossing the continental divide, and meeting the Shoshone Indians, with whom they traded for horses with which to cross the Bitteroot Mountains. The portage around Great Falls is described in Volume 4 of Moulton's edition of the journals.

This volume details the thoughts of Lewis and Clark, and others as they determine which major waterway to follow to the Great Falls of the Missouri, their first significant obstacle. The portage around the great falls is more than they imagined, and is explained in great detail. It explores the many new discoveries in the interior of what is now central and western Montana. This volume also further expounds the growing problems with the unpredictable 'white bear', and the harshness of spring and summer weather in Montana.

From Samiin Scandanavia to Native peoples of Montana and the Amazonian rain forests, the health of indigenous peoples is being compromised in the name of economic development. This book is a series of interviews, case studies, and stories told by indigenous peoples themselves and offers solutions to the problems of environmental degradation facing all of us. With a Forward written by Dr. Eberahrd Wenzil, Deputy Director of the School of Public Health, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, and a Preface by Hopi educator, Dr. Gregory Cajete, this readable yet academic work provides a forum for indigenous peoples to speak out and adds an exciting dimension to any environmental health curriculum.

This is another book by an amazing woman: she covers "both sides" and she does it well. This is a book with frightening news, and the unfortunate thing is, the news won't get any better unless we, i.e. White Man, learn to change the way we do business in each and every domain. Looks like Colomeda wants to tell us to change. Looks like we will have substantial difficulties to follow her advice. But it's just that difference which makes the book a valuable read ... get it now.

As a classroom teacher of a high school level field biology/ecology/limnology class I just purchased this book as a classroom text to use! As someone else said, it has some beautiful, awe-inspiring pictures, but the content is what sets it apart. The pictures allow you to feel the moment, but the word allow you to smell it, touch it and feel it.

After reading Lake Superior: Story and Spirit.., we visited and interviewed the authors and publishers John and Ann Mahan and were overwhelmed with the research behind the development and eventual publishing of this outstanding book on the greatest of the great lakes! We rec. this book to anyone who seriously wants a dynamic combination of beauty AND content. The romance and reality of Lake Superior are wonderfully combined and shared with the reader.

I'm not one of the sort of people who falls often for heart warming. I'm too bitter, too jaded... too educated to be able to gush openly about kindly regard for many things. This book, though, deserves that kind of praise.

As you could gather from the blurbs from magazines, this is a hundred year old book that seeks to illustrate the lives of typical, everyday (not to say uninteresting) Americans. The book is short; it's stories are realistic. Thus, it gives great insight into our collective 'ancestry': a voice to the long-dead.

I'm inclined to think that every time I mentally want to destroy America, in this book, again, could be found renewed hope and exploration. In this book one can find the stories of Lithuanians who set out to cross the ocean, of free black women finding for the first time life in a segregated south, of Greek pushcart workers who end up with $50,000 in the bank. More or less, these are the voices that give our community continuity.... and, well, I'm starting to ramble and make little sense....

Just read the book....

This book should be more widely available. I find it full of the kind of detail about peoples' lives (in this case, immigrants to the United States) that are cogent, relevant, and delivered with considerable charm and lack of artifice. Everyone to whom I have given a copy of this book has raved about it.