I particularly like Gerald Durrell's books because of his humor. I lent it to my sick friend and she laughed so hard she got better. My mom has to yank it away from me before I listen when she wants something done. I am sure you will buy up the whole series when you read one of his books. Be patient at first and then it gets better.

This book is still in print. It is invaluable to anyone who is interested in the Sale and Closure of the first great urban amusement park in the United States.

From the outset, Dustin, McAvoy and Schultz let us know how important recreation is in our lives. As a college major and even professional discipline, recreation management is often met with snickers or skepticism as to its value. This book enlightens the reader to the magnificent responsibilities and rewards that professionals in the recreation/leisure services field are given. A short book, but contained within the 100 or so pages is depth and beauty few other professional books have. These authors have thoughtfully and thoroughly explored the essence of recreation management on public lands in contemporary America. Drawing from such disparate works as Veblen's "Theory of the Leisure Class", Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations", Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America", and numerous contemporary writers, Dustin, McAvoy, and Schultz are able to approach the centrality of recreation from a number of different perspectives.

At the root of their thesis is the idea that recreation management works best when it works for all--including the natural environment. It is no small challenge for recreation managers to attempt to balance the wants and needs of a recreating public with the restraints necessary to protect, in some cases, delicate natural resources.

This book is a must-read for anyone who manages natural resources available for recreation, for those people charged with teaching classes in recreation management and finally for those students who aspire to a career providing recreation opportunities and/or protecting the environment. "Stewards of Access/Custodians of Choice" is at its best when the reader lets go of perceived professional constraints (e.g. budgets, too little time, students who don't seem to care, professors who care only about theory and not about the real world) and soars on the wings of potential. We need not manage for the masses. We cannot continue to evaluate ethical decisions based on economics. And we will never advance as a people while continuing to think of things as dichotomous: culture versus nature. The echoing conclusion is what a magnificent world this would (and could) be if, through recreation, we encourage all people to respect, honor, and care for others and the environment.

This is an excellent guide-book for project managers. It contains very highly organised techniques for measuring the success potential of virtually any project decision.

It been written by two eminently qualified authors - one, trained as an engineer & the other, an architect, but both had worked as principal economists & management consultants & involved in myriad project feasibility studies & new venture evaluations.

Of all the books I have in my personal library over the years that relate to project feasibility studies & new venture evaluations, this one is my personal favourite. It is also the most comprehensive & yet indepth! It has assisted my professional work while I was working in the corporate world.

In a nut shell, this book has a very practical, well-structured & clearly-defined numerical rating system, ranging from rough processing to full evaluation, to help you in your exploration & evaluation, covering:

four (4) broad facets, namely:

- your product/service/activity (in terms of prospective performance, salability, defensibility);
- yourself or your company (in terms of personal traits & relative strengths/weaknesses);
- your environment (in terms of possible effects);
- your venture (in terms of investment considerations & strategic possibilities;

These are broken down into:

- thirteen (13) general aspects;

These are further broken down into:

- sixty nine (69) individual factors;

The authors coin the acronym 'SAVE' (hence the book title, Strategic Analysis Venture Evaluation) to sum up their wonderful model. The model approach will definitely save you from potential failure.

Packed with forms, checklists, questions, it will compel your careful attention to all the factors involved in a new venture, thus preventing dangerous blindspots. It also help to prevent over-valueing a few dominant factors that tend to distort decision/judgement.

As the authors contend in the inside cover of this book: "This is the only book that provide you with immediate answers to such complex questions as, How attractive is this proposed venture, to this company, organisation or individual, at this time, and under this set of conditions."

I highly recommend this book to all project managers!

This book is absolutely amazing. First of all, the pictures are beyond gorgeous. I used to look at them for ages when I was a kid. There's so much happening in them, the colors are so lush, and most of all I thought they captured the spirit of the individual characters quite well. The illustrator deserves commendation.

The story itself is wonderful. In a small space, without a hint of pedantry, it covers "issues" like urbanization, pollution, community, politics, and activism. While being a heartening, optimistic story about community and what it can do for children, the book also manages to be healthily skeptical about politicians. The basic story is that the kids want a playground. After making a big fuss at city hall (and being mistreated in the process), the story becomes a public relations issue for the mayor, so he promises them a playground--and proceeds to do nothing as the newspaper story winds down. Eventually, the kids and parents take action into their own hands and--after doubting themselves--get a wonderful playground together through their collective action.

This retelling can't do justice to the book because it loses all the flavor of what is really a lovely story. I've loved this book since I was very small (for the record, I'm 18 now and I still read kids' book!).

This is a book I've used in several classes, for students who are returing to college, some after many years of non-academic work. The exercises at the ends of the chapters offer a bridge between the reading and their own writing. I particularly like the chapter on coherence.

THIS MAN TACKLES THE WILDFLOWER WORLD AS ONE OF THEM-WITHOUT THE STULTIFYING EFFECTS OF LATIN NAMES, AND WITH THE EXPLANATIONS THAT US ORDINARY GUYS CAN DIGEST..REFRESHING

If you've been through Yellowstone lately, you've seen the path of the 1988 fire. The sadness felt by many about the "losses" in the park will be greatly reduced after reading this fine book. The photos alone are enough to help people realize the good fire can do to a landscape. The well-written text explains, without jargon, the biology of a fire. If you're a Yellowstone fan, wildlife fan or woodland firefighter fan, I'd recommend this book.

Years ago I hiked at Mt. Rainier, took pictures in its flower meadows, and slid in its summer snow. I thought someday I'd climb its glaciers to the summit, 14, 410 feet. That never happened. But this book brings back all the old impressions and delights-and adds to them. Lots of photos (280!). Lot of information, most of it new to me. Richard P. Kratz, M.D. Clinical Professor, Ophthalmology Univ. California, Irvine

Isle Royale is one of the country's most spectacular wilderness areas, and also one of our most remote and least-visited National Parks. It's a delightful place, with an intriguing natural and human history, yet the number of books and publications currently available about Isle Royale is amazingly small. At last, here's a book that does the island justice, essential reading for anyone who is even thinking about a trip to this out-of-the-way paradise.

Shelton does a superb job of describing the island's flora and fauna, devoting plenty of attention to the animals visitors especially hope to see -- the wolf and the moose -- without neglecting the role of humbler species like the gull, the loon, the beaver and the red squirrel. He also gives a good account of the various human activities carried out on the island -- copper mining, fishing, lumbering, resorts and finally running and caring for a National Park. All in all I found "Superior Wilderness" by far the best introduction to the park, better than, for example, Jim DuFresne's "Isle Royale: Foot Trails and Water Routes," though DuFresne's book is very useful in planning hikes and campsites. True Isle Royale aficionados should also pick up Howard Sivertson's "Once Upon an Isle," a series of reminiscences about growing up in the island's fishing community, illustrated by the author's delightful paintings, and "Isle Royale: A Photographic History," which charmingly documents the island's human history.