Made for Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines

Book Description

A gracefully written treatment of the mutualistic relationship between pine trees and jays, this book covers a wide range of regions, focusing on the Rocky Mountains and the American Southwest, but also ranging from the Alps to Finland, and from Siberia to China. The book treats one of the more satisfying stories of syumbiosis and nautural history from perspectives of evolution, ecology, and animal behavior.

Customer Reviews:

A delightful book but with physical problems.......2005-07-28

I have no problem with the review presented by "A Reader" but the paperback version of the book presents some physical problems. First, the illustrations are not in color and would, in fact, be considered poorly done if they were printed on newsprint. This detracts significantly from the pleasure of reading the book. Secondly, a number of pages display small areas of missing ink. The resulting dropped characters are quite annoying. There apparently is a cloth edition (at least the ISBN is shown) and that may be the source of the previous review.

A well researched and elegantly presented nature study........1998-08-07

Ronald Lanner is a professor of Forest Resources at Utah State University. He became fascinated with the ecology of the whitebark pine, the only member of the "stone pine" family in North America, commonly found in high elevations. Its wide distribution, and that of the other stone pines was puzzling, because they tended to have large pinecones that did not open by themselves, and their seeds were large and wingless, and could not be distributed by the wind. Clearly some other agent was responsible for the way these trees would appear in fire ravaged areas, and at very high elevations. But what?

Lanner concludes that Clark's Nutcracker, and related birds around the world, were and still are the instruments of these trees distribution throughout the northern hemisphere, and that this might well be a case of co-evolution; two entirely different species (in this case of two entirely different kingdoms of life), adapting to fill each others needs, to the ben! efit of both.

This is a short and well argued analysis of this relationship, clearly and entertainingly written. Lanner draws not just on his own work, but on the studies of many other scientists and field researchers, and it is one of the hallmarks of his book that he describes their research in some detail, giving you a feel for how science works, with seemingly unconnected studies of plants and wildlife around the world being put together in an increasingly coherent answer to Lanner's original question. It is impeccably scientific, but not dry in the least.

Lanner concludes, as almost any student of nature has to do in this era, with a warning that this beautiful relationship between birds and trees is endangered from several quarters, most notably a virulent man-introduced fungus that is devastating the whitebark pine, and thus also endangering the future of the creatures that depend on it.

The book has color photographs and is elegantly illustrated. As is the cas! e with any really well done book of this kind, you feel as ! if you have learned about a lot more than just the specific topic at hand. The book is really about interdependence--how different life forms, over time, create a network of relationships, so that removing any piece of the puzzle disrupts the whole. It's one thing to hear this line endlessly parroted in the media; it's another thing to have the intricacy and beauty of such an ecosystem laid out before you.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wilson Bulletin, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on June 1, 1999. The length of the article is 840 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Made for Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines.(Review)
Author: R. Todd Engstrom
Publication: Wilson Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 1999
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: 111 Issue: 2 Page: 297(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Made for Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines

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Made for Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines
Ronald M. Lanner
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKJ3OU

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Chemistry Today: The Portrait of a Science

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Chemistry Today: The Portrait of a Science
Alfred Neubauer
Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General & Reference | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Designed for use in a two-semester course on abstract analysis, REAL ANALYSIS: An Introduction to the Theory of Real Functions and Integration illuminates the principle topics that constitute real analysis. Self-contained, with coverage of topology, measure theory, and integration, it offers a thorough elaboration of major theorems, notions, and constructions needed not only by mathematics students but also by students of statistics and probability, operations research, physics, and engineering. Structured logically and flexibly through the author's many years of teaching experience, the material is presented in three main sections: Part 1, chapters 1through 3, covers the preliminaries of set theory and the fundamentals of metric spaces and topology. This section can also serves as a text for first courses in topology. Part II, chapter 4 through 7, details the basics of measure and integration and stands independently for use in a separate measure theory course. Part III addresses more advanced topics, including elaborated and abstract versions of measure and integration along with their applications to functional analysis, probability theory, and conventional analysis on the real line. Analysis lies at the core of all mathematical disciplines, and as such, students need and deserve a careful, rigorous presentation of the material. REAL ANALYSIS: An Introduction to the Theory of Real Functions and Integration offers the perfect vehicle for building the foundation students need for more advanced studies.

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Real Analysis: An Introduction to the Theory of Real Functions and Integration
Jewgeni H. Dshalalow
Manufacturer: CRC Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MV4G5C

Book Description

Six well-plotted and suspenseful tales by the noted British critic, author and debunker extraordinaire feature the "little cleric from Essex" in "The Blue Cross," "The Sins of Prince Saradine," "The Sign of the Broken Sword," "The Man in the Passage," "The Perishing of the Pendragons" and "The Salad of Colonel Cray."

Customer Reviews:

Six Delightful Father Brown Stories - Great Introduction.......2003-10-21

G. K. Chesterton created more than fifty entertaining Father Brown stories. This Dover Thrift Edition offers six delightful short stories illustrating the deductive genius of this quiet, amusing, slightly eccentric, contemporary of Sherlock Holmes.

Written in the early 1900s, these short stories move more slowly than many modern mysteries. Chesterton may even sidetrack to explore a moral issue or moral ambiguity. But beware. Father Brown, a man of the church, is not entirely naïve and innocent. Like Sherlock Holmes, he is a keen observer. The reader will need to remain alert to keep pace with his remarkable deductions.

The first two stories, The Blue Cross and The Sins of Prince Saradine, come from the first twelve Father Brown stories, published as The Innocence of Father Brown (1911). The earliest stories often feature Flambeau as a dazzling, brilliant arch criminal. Later, Flambeau abandons his risky career and becomes a constant companion to Chesterton's remarkable cleric.

The last four stories are taken from the second Father Brown collection, The Wisdom of Father Brown (1914). The Sign of the Broken Sword reveals a startling crime. The Man in the Passage offers a surprising and amusing solution to conflicting testimony. The Perishing of the Pendragons provides mayhem and danger in an unlikely setting. Hopefully, The Salad of Colonel Cray will not be found in most cookbooks.

I highly recommend this little Dover edition to anyone new to Father Brown. Once acquainted, the reader can then look elsewhere for larger collections.

Great stories that will have you wanting to read more!.......2002-11-24

Six classic tales featuring the priest-sleuth, Father Brown. Excellent tales, they are engaging and addictive, and will leave you looking for more!

Stimulating mysteries.......2000-07-03

These stories by G.K. Chesterton were very enjoyable reading. Father Brown is an endearing character, and his intellect is impressive (but then again, what literary detective's isn't?). His companion Flambeau is equally enjoyable. I was disappointed with one thing: I had the impression that Father Brown was a detective in the sense that he solved crimes for the police, like Sherlock Holmes. Actually, this was only the case in a couple of the stories. Instead, he put his mind to solving mysteries that weren't necessarily crimes.

Collection of stories packed with meaning and literary power.......1998-07-02

After reading The Hammer of God, one of the Father Brown stories, I found myself both perplexed and enlightened. Chesterton is one of the few short story authors I have encountered that can consolidate a global message into a short parable. In the Father Brown stories, he uses his superb wit and literary elegance to send readers through innumerable epiphanies, usually with the aid of some very potent metaphors. One quotation that I will always remember from this story is "humility is the mother of giants; one sees great things from the valley, only small things from the peak." For me, G.K. Chesterton has always been able to manipulate landscape and concrete images into a meaningful, and lucid, metaphor. The Hammer of God, in particular, is inundated with these powerful metaphors that tackle the essence of man's struggle with his outside world, and with himself. I found many of the other stories to be very stimulating, although the Hammer of God was clearly my favorite. If you seek literay merit and powerful lessons, but have neither the time nor the inclination to read a novel or anything else over one hundred pages, G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories are perfect for you.

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Favorite Father Brown Stories
Gilbert K. Chesterton G. K. Chesterton
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU7GHI

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