I've owned this book a while and find and it to be an excellent source of information on individual species of birds. For some of us, just learning to recognize birds just isn't enough. Behavior is very interesting also, and this book contains interesting informative information on different birds. This is a must have for the library of every birder.

The best thing about this comprehensive and well-researched reference is the illustrations by Amelia Hansen. If the publisher had only printed these pen-and-ink drawings larger, the book would have been more helpful. Hansen obviously understands the way birds move, rest and interact.

This man, an Egyptian, knows whereof he speaks. He has a message vital for the rest of the world, which is being fed many falsehoods now about a "peaceful" Islam.
Let the record speak for itself.
I have personally spoken with other Egyptians, who confirmed many of the accounts related by this author.
Do not pass by an opportunity to see Islam from this angle. We must learn the truth, not just what is "politically correct", and profoundly deceptive.

This little book is a most relevant guide to a Christians understanding of Islam and that with their (Islam's) control of oil or the ocean routes through which oil tankers pass, they can easily bring the West down to its knees.

Amazing amount of research, beautiful writing, great pix and full of respect for the music and the area. Every blues lover should have one.

As well as being a comprehensive travel and music guide, this book provides excellent information about the history of the music of the region. The mapping detail is incredible. A must for all jazz and blues fans. Highly recommended.

I have read many books on I Ching but this is the best byfar. It is the only one which made its history as a text clear tome. The so called Zhouyi is the portion set in writing during the Zhou(later Chinese bronze age). Most of what we consider I Ching is actually commentary from the Han, half a milennium later. Rutt restores the early primitive text which was used for such things as deciding the auspicious occasion for (human?) sacrifices. Rutt sees the Zhou Yi as neither moral or spiritual. We can then see how the Confucian tradition made something quite different of the text with the addition of the Ten Wings. Rutt translates the original Zhou text which consists of what are the hexagram statements and line texts in later forms.He also translates the Ten Wings separately, rather than mixed with the Zhou text as Wilhelm and later Chinese editions do. Rutt's book is the best on the actual, as opposed to mythical text of the Changes. Yet he includes its history in the west and a section entitled, the Fascination of Zhouyi. If you have a serious interest in I Ching, you MUST read this book. It does not supercede the classic Wilhelm/Baynes translation but does far better in letting us see it also as an ancient Chinese text.

There is everything here about the history of the I Ching. Richard Rutt has used among others the studies by Kunst on the oldest meaning of the book (that was lost to the later Confucian commentators of the Ten Wings) to attempt a translation that comes as close as possible to the original meaning. . This brings Bronze Age China back to life, a civilization that even performed human sacrifices. A must for all serious I Ching lovers.

To reclaim its legacy as a paragon of plurality, argues a research associate at Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Lebanon must first climb out of the morass of "isms" into which it has devolved through decades of civil strife and the meddling of others. Though relatively short, Dagher's book covers a lot of ground. It contains a historical overview of Lebanon's myriad communities as well as an analysis of the development of their mutual distrust. By exposing the nation's self-destructive, inter-communal misconceptions, the author aims to dispel them. Among her allies she numbers no less a figure than Pope John Paul II, whose 1997 visit to Lebanon is stirringly described by Dagher, who shows him standing outside a cathedral (with the sun setting into the Mediterranean as a backdrop) and imploring the country's youth to "bring down the walls erected in the painful past". Those walls, in the author's view, are founded on dogmatic ideologies: sectarianism, Maronitism, fundamentalism, pluralism, and pan-Arabism, to name a few. With unabashed passion, Dagher warns that if Lebanon fails in its multicultural mission, it spells doom not just for a nation uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between Christianity and Islam, but for the entire Levant, which looks to the "country of Cedars" as an oasis in a desert of expanding fanaticism. Her book is a model of engaged journalism, combining thorough research with intensity derived from a personal connection to the subject matter. Quoting numerous Christian and Muslim leaders who stress the importance of preserving diversity, she proves that pluralism is not her ideal alone; it is Lebanon's. Documenting the nation's efforts before and after the civil war to build a model democratic society of diverse sects, she makes a convincing case that the current chronic discord is an aberration. A tougher read for the casual Middle East reader than, say, Thomas Friedman's From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989), but far more penetrating and therefore a must for the expert.

"Bring down the Walls" is a truly unique contribution to the understanding of the sublime mosaic that is the Middle East. The author delves with expert understanding into the complexities of Lebanon's post-war efforts to renew itself and rejuvuate intercommunal relations. Unlike many other writers who approach Lebanon with a snide cyncism and stereotypical images of religious and political groups, author Dahger treats her subject with a compelling sense of humanity, realism and dignity. Combining her honed journalistic skills with an obvious scholarly aptitude, Dagher offers the reader that rare literary opportunity: to learn and enjoy at the same time. The book is replete with incisive first-hand accounts of dramatic efforts to rebuild the shattered spirit of Lebanon, and in particular that of its ancient Christian community. With equal skill and finesse,the reader is effortlessly transported inside the walls of the Vatican to listen in on the great deliberations of the historic 1995 Synod for Lebanon, or to Damascus and the discussion between the US Secretary of State and the President of Syria over Lebanon's future, or to Pope John Paul II's emotional and triumpiant 1997 visit to Lebanon; listen to the author's words, "The Popemobile dived into the bubbling cauldron of the jubliant crowd. It was strewn with rose petals and rice. His face turned red by the sweltering heat of May and by the emotion,the Supreme Pontiff scanned with tenderness and attention the faces and hands lifted toward him. He opened the window and reached out to a a child." (p.189) Not only is this a book sparkling with an abundance of literary gems, but it is an important and timely contribution to the fundamental issue of nation-building. Pluralism, civic society, the role of the military, consenual democracy and institutional governance are seriously treated within the Lebanese experience, but are clearly applicable to any society coping with religious, ethnic and racial diversity. So at one level, "Bring Down the Walls" is an unsurpassed examination of the recent trails and tribulations of the Christians of Lebanon, particularily the Maronite Catholics, at another level, it suggests a blueprint for Lebanon's spiritual and intercommunal revival, and finally it provides a universal message, through the prism of Lebanon's long ordeal of suffering, that speaks to the values of tolerance, diversity and co-existance. I highly recommend "Bring Down the Walls" as an historical account of significant events hitherto ignored, as a political and social analysis of modern day Eastern Christians and their role in the great issues of the Middle East and Islam, and as a moving and personal tribute to Lebanon, a land of martyrs, a land of heros.

The weapons that won the Cold War include ICBMs and nuclear bombs flown on B-52s. These were threats, but never had to be deployed into action. But one weapon that did go into action was hotels. Hilton hotels. This is the surprising demonstration in _Building the Cold War: Hilton International Hotels and Modern Architecture_ (University of Chicago Press) by Annabel Jane Wharton. What is even more surprising is that Hilton hotels did not just participate in the capitalist boom that eventually dislodged the Soviet Union. They were deliberately placed, designed, and run to make a profit, to be sure, but also to dislodge the Red Threat. This is not just the author's speculation. Conrad Hilton made it explicit: "Let me say right here, that we operate hotels abroad for the same reason we operate them in this country - to make money for our stockholders... However, we feel that if we really believe in what we are all saying about liberty, about Communism, about happiness, that we, as a nation, must exercise our great strength and power for good against evil. If we really believe this, it is up to each of us, our organizations and our industries, to contribute to this objective with all the resources at our command." He was careful not to disparage our country's military, but said, "I will tell you frankly, satellites and H-bombs will not get the job done."

Wharton has done an excellent job of giving a broad history of the overseas Hilton, while giving case studies of specific ones. The Istanbul Hilton, for instance, had all the usual amenities, like lawns (completely foreign to the area), tennis courts, and a swimming pool. It had the extraordinary feature, common in foreign Hiltons, of iced water piped into every room. However, the marquee covering cars that drove up to the entrance was a wavy horizontal structure that was referred to as the "flying carpet." The interior lobby had a series of domes in the ceiling, a bow to mosque designs, and there were teakwood screens and Turkish carpets. Work by local artisans decorated the public spaces. Nonetheless, you can see in the pictures (and in this book, there are many useful ones) that the Istanbul Hilton is still a concrete, metal, and glass box like nothing else around it. Old hotels concentrated on public rooms inside; the Hiltons looked out, with lots of glass in every room to supply a view. The view was carefully chosen. In Istanbul, it faced East, toward the Soviet Union, daring those Commies to look American modernity and wealth in the eyes.

Wharton is a historian of medieval art. Her family used some of these hotels when she was growing up, and she has returned to them to give an architectural history of the Hilton overseas effort. (She could not visit two Hiltons now lost, the one in Havana and the one in Tehran.) It is a remarkable history, no longer active because the Cold War is over, and because others followed Hiltons into the modernism market. The Hilton hotels still exist, but they are just hotels now, not unique as architecture nor as Cold War armaments. They shaped the way American visitors viewed foreign capitals, and boosted American economic (and therefore political) policies. Conrad Hilton may not have won the Cold War, but he did more than plenty of the generals.

Annabel Wharton has written a stunning and brilliant book about the US, Europe and the Middle East during the 1950s and 1960s, the height of the Cold War. She tells the story of how Conrad Hilton and his hotel empire participated in the rebuilding of Western Europe and key spots in the Middle East in the wake of WWII by establishing the Hilton International hotels--architectural monuments to modernism--as "little Americas" away from home for US businessmen, tourists, and diplomats. She explores Hilton hotels in London, Berlin, Istanbul. Rome, Cairo , Athens and other locales. Wharton is a smart, witty writer, and this book is a great pleasure to read.

This book was a wonderful read, and introduced me to the overlooked Indian Jews. Her descriptions of living in virtually a dual lifestyle were very vivid and educational to say the least. I look forward to more releases by Carmit Delman.

Burnt Bread and Chutney is at one level a biography of a girl/woman who is ethnically and culturally half Bene Israel (Indian Jewish). But it is much more than that. It is also an intimate portrayal of a woman-dominated household where a table full of spicy curry is a traditional Shabbat meal and where women tell stories while men make music. Indeed, it is through these stories as much as through a recounting of her life's many adventures that Carmit Delman explains to us, the readers, who and what she is. For in a book that is ostensibly her biography you will find tales of the generations who preceded her. Here you will find the legend of how the Bene Israel came to India; here too is the story of the Bombay mango that altered destinies; here are the stories of pogroms and miraculous escapes in Eastern Europe; here is the story of Carmit's parents who never considered their bi-racial marriage special or revolutionary; and here too is Carmit's own story. Here, amidst the tales of generations, we find the story of a girl growing up in two countries (America and Israel) and in many worlds. And somehow, all those stories blend into one tale of impossibly varied and unique hues.

Reading this tale was, for me, like listening to a Doors album. For just as it seems impossible that the blues, classical music, traditional tunes, and stories can be blended into one music and one theme, so it seems impossible that so many stories on so many levels can create one unique and varied tapestry. Yet somehow both happen... and reading Carmit Delman's work, like listening to the Doors, helped safeguard me against the wholesale automation of human beings. Against Disney and against automated call centres. For in Burnt Bread and Chutney ageless wisdom not only survives but flourishes. And in an age where our very identities have collapsed into a by-now-all-too-familiar jumble, this wisdom and a safeguard we desperately need.

AS AN AVID CANOEIST AND CANOE BUILDER, I FOUND SHERWIN'S BOOK TO CONTAIN MORE THAN ANY CANOEIST NEEDS TO HAVE A FUN AND SAFE FLOAT TRIP. HER INFO ABOUT THE STREAMS IS CORRECT, COULD ONLY COME FROM HAVING BEEN THERE. THIS IS "MUST" BOOK FOR STREAM ANGLERS TOO.

Canoeing in Tennessee is a great resource for canoers of all levels. The maps of rivers and how to find them are detailed and accurate; the author also highlights the local flora and fauna and historic aspects of each segment of water she illustrates. There are lots of books on whitewater canoeing in Tennessee, but this is the only current one I've found on "quiet water" paddling. I highly recommend it for all levels of canoers

I found a Paperback copy of this book in a S/H bookshop. It was Published in 1958 and since then (judging by its condition ) it had never been read. It caught my eye due to my interest in Mountaineering I spent 10 years Climbing all over the world including a lot of time in Nepal)and the Tibet/Nepal part of the world. For any one who wants a birds eye view of the Modern history of Tibet and how it came to be as it is today the first half of this book is excellent. It is also very easy to read and follow. The second Half after Robert Ford was Captured by the Chinese is it seems to me a very Honest account of how he saw his own experiences. There is no Hype pomp or self agrandiosment. just the straight forward telling of a story which makes this book so much better than a memoires type of book.

A book that should be repinted and marketed.

this book was on my shelf for a few years until i went to see "seven years in tibet", the brad pitt movie based on heinrich harrar's book and experiences. ford and harrar were two of the maybe four westerners in tibet just prior to (and in ford's case during) the chinese takeover. ford's account of the months leading to the fall of tibet are fascinating, but even more gripping is the story that follows - he is imprisoned by the chinese and held for years, while the red army tried to get him to confess his crimes. after several years, when they felt his reeducation wasn't going quickly enough, they taught him chinese. it's an amazing tale by an amazing man. well worth it.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ALL KIDS! Good for all ages. If you don't get it you really missed out.

I really liked this book. I have all the other ones of this series and this was just as good as them all. Mary-Kate and Ashley are on a cruise with their family and take part in the scavenger hunt, they have to find three clues. With each clue is an object to prove they have got the clue, but then the objects start disappearing, can Mary-Kate and Ashley solve this mystery? Of course they can. I higly recommend it!