The coverage is pretty comprehensive. The only problem with this book is that specific technologies are dated because the book was written over 20 years ago.

SECTION ONE: PRIVATE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS
GROUNDWATER
Types of Wells
Selecting the Proper Pump
Pressure/Storage Tanks
Disinfection and Filtration
Natural Springs
SURFACE WATER
Cisterns
Farm Ponds, Lakes, and Rivers
Distillation
CONSERVING WATER

SECTION TWO: BEYOND THE SEWER LINES
THE 5-GALLON FLUSH
SOIL PERCOLATION TEST
SEPTIC TANKS
AEROBIC SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEMS
WASTEWATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS
COMPOSTING TOILETS
GRAYWATER DISPOSAL
LOW-FLUSH TOILETS
Portable Toilets
Urinals

SECTION THREE: HEATING AND COOLING

INSULATION
Windows
Doors
VENTILATION
PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING
Direct-Gain Systems
Indirect-Gain Systems
Isolated-Gain Systems
Earth-Sheltered Houses
ACTIVE SOLAR HEATING
Solar Water-Heating Systems
Solar Space-Heating Systems
Going Solar Without Getting Burned
ACTIVE SOLAR COOLING
HEAT PUMPS
Air-to-Air Heat Pumps
Groundwater-to-Air Heat Pumps
Solar-Assisted Heat Pumps
HIGH-EFFICIENCY FIREPLACES
Heat-Circulating Fireplaces
Curved-Tube Convection Heaters
FREESTANDING FIREPLACES AND FIREPLACE/STOVES
AIRTIGHT STOVES AND HEAT CIRCULATORS
Wood to Burn
MULTI-FUEL FURNACES
BOTTLED GAS

SECTION FOUR: GENERATING YOUR OWN ELECTRICITY
HARNESSING THE WIND
Wind Energy Conversion Systems (WECS)
Windmills
INDEPENDENT WATER POWER
ENGINE-DRIVEN POWER PLANTS
FUEL CELLS
SOLAR CELLS

For Further Reading
Product Source List
Index

This book is a lovely introduction to tea, its production and consumption, and its place in custom and everyday life, in China, Japan, India, and Sri Lanka. It is not quite the "handbook" that the publisher claims, however; the author has aimed at a representative, rather than a comprehensive anthology of tea lore and information. For example, she has not described the Japanese tea ceremony in any detailed way. The lists of teas said to be produced in each country are summaries, rather than exhaustive catalogues. The color photographs are most attractive, and the few recipes seem inviting. "Tea in the East" offers a taste of the exotic, and will succeed in tempting many readers to further explorations.

In financial transactions, land use and coffee production, the blunders of the fazendieros and the coffee society at large were exposed. The author summarized his sentiments by stating, 'The prosperous edifice erected by coffee planters in the years immediately preceding and following 1850 held within it elements of destruction.' (page 213) Stein effectively brings the view that coffee production in Vassouras was fraught with lack of forethought as evidenced by the rapid and irreconcilable decline of the economy. Attached to the main themes were reports that gave a glimpse into the daily lifestyle and the routine of plantations. The details supplied were very successful in giving a clear, visually dynamic illustration of the town of Vassouras, the plantation house and the coffee fields in terms of physical appearance, daily activities and even special occasions. There was a reasonable degree of balance of the themes discussed as far as it concerned the relations between masters and slave and, barring to the shortcomings of the fazendieros, the insurmountable obstacles that were faced such as transportation of goods to Rio de Janeiro and climatic conditions. It is an excellent source for almost any information concerning coffee plantation life during that period. There was some bias against the fazendieros however, I believe that the account given was reasonably fair and, with the evidence given, that bias seems totally justifiable.

I was greatly impressed by the author use of sources mainly because there was quite a large amount of primary sources used. Primary sources included newspapers, oral interrogations, proceedings from Agricultural Congresses, documents stored in archives of Vassouras and national archives and information stored at notarial offices such as police reports, wills, advertisements, sales of goods, posters and pamphlets. This enabled the author the report specific details of the fazenda architecture, purchases daily routines and interactions between members of the province. There was very limited use of secondary sources.

For descriptions of the fazendas, mostly documents obtained in the archives were used and fortunately plantation owners were very thorough with their records. These details served to enhance the images construed by the reader. For example the inventory of the fazenda belonging to Antonio Vieira Muchacho in 1825 (page 23) details furniture, tools and household items. Inventories complied later in the century were used to show the increase in prosperity in the Province by 1850, as in the case of the inventory of the household of Polucena d'Oliveira Serra (page 44). In reading the book I sometimes found it difficult to put things in perspective as it related to time. Whether it was master-slave relation, purchase of new machinery, methods of recapturing slaves or the departure of townsmen there was insufficient mention of how it related to aforementioned themes such as transportation. It was not easy to use the development of a particular chain of events as a timeline for another, for hardly was any mention of other aspects of the society alluded to when any one theme was being discussed.

If a topical search for information in the book implemented, it would be useful in its present format. However the format falls short if it is used for a clear, chronological picture of events unless the reader is familiar with events which took place in Brazil in the latter half of the 19th century.

Admittedly, there are some poems here that need polishing--Huffstickler was a poet who took big risks, and not all of these poems succeed. I would even say (with all respect) that some are downright bad, but there are many many others that achieve a poignancy that is genuinely breathtaking. I discovered Huffstickler by chance, but reading this book made me glad to be alive.