The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity

Book Description

The Lepidopters (moths and butterflies) are one of the largest groups of insects with over 150,000 named species. This book deals with their structure and function, environmental significance, and diversity. Part I provides a review of the main body parts with discussion of function and importance in the lifestyle of the organisms. Further chapters cover feeding, flight, migration, hearing, sound production, defence, and many other aspects of lepidopteran life. The environmental significance of Lepidoptera, which is summarized in Part II, is discussed mainly in terms of larvae as herbivores and as prey. In part III, the author provides a global conspectus of the Lepidopters. He describes the adults and immature stages of each family, and summarizes their biology, classification, and evolutionary relationships within and between groups. This book will be an indispensable reference work for naturalists, professional entomologists, and conservationists for years to come.

Book Description

Hardbound. Synchroton radiation (SR) is utilized in most scientific fields. This book will therefore be useful not only for researchers engaged in analytical chemistry, and those studying the basic fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, as well as earth science, medicine, and life science but also for those engaged in research for elucidating structure of material and its function in the application fields including applied physics, semiconductor engineering, and metal engineering. The book has a highly interdisciplinary character. The outstanding characteristics of SR have also contributed to the rapid development of new fields and applications in analytical chemistry.

Features of this book:

• Explains the basics of SR

• Facilities and instrumentation are covered to facilitate the planning of experiments using SR.

• Aspects for the future development of SR are included together with an introduction to the latest techniq

Book Description

Focusing on the "why's" of mathematics rather than the "how's," the unique approach of this text will appeal to a wide range of readers, from those taking a first course in calculus, to those seeking deeper insights or needing a transition from calculus to analysis. The author takes care to supply strong motivations for abstract concepts, thereby helping beginners overcome the intimidation often felt when first confronting abstraction. While emphasizing the "why's," the book does not entirely neglect the "how's" and provides sufficient exposure to the techniques through numerous exercises, with answers supplied in the back of the book.

Customer Reviews:

uses infinitesimals instead of epsilon-delta.......2006-07-05

The narrative is deliberately somewhat informal. Joshi wants to avoid intimidating a reader who does not know calculus but needs to remedy that deficiency. So the text has an extended lead into the concept. Along with not using a lot of strict maths formalism. Certainly, the latter is needed for maths majors, and perhaps for some physics students, since physics is the most mathematical of the sciences. But the reality is that the rigourous epsilon-delta approach is not needed by most students.

Hence the use of infinitesimals. Historically this was discovered by Newton and Leibniz. But it is also more intuitive. Though it can be a struggle to understand and accept, when one sees it for the first time. Hence the book carefully and slowly walks over the ways you can use infinitesimals to understand calculus.

Calculus for Scientists and Engineers: An Analytical Approach, Revised Ed

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Calculus for Scientists and Engineers: An Analytical Approach, Revised Ed
K. D. Joshi
Manufacturer: Alpha Science Int'l Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1842654187

Amazon.com

Little appreciated in its day, this 1831 classic by Henri Beyle (that was Stendhal's real name) tells the story of the rise and fall of Julien Sorel, a man of affairs in every sense. It's also a scathing indictment of a materialistic society, France under the Bourbons and an irresistible chronicle of love, politics and manners. The book now resides securely on most short lists of the world's great novels.

Book Description

The son of a carpenter, Julian Sorel is inspired by the writings of Napoleon to conquer the heights of society. His initial plan to work his way up through the church is, however, thwarted when he is forced to accept employment as a tutor--and this rash social entrepreneur certainly has not
considered the dangers of falling in love. Stendhal's novel is an amusing and piquant study of hypocrisy and free will in post-Napoleonic France.

Customer Reviews:

A colourful tale..........2006-01-17

Stendhal's 'Le Rouge et le Noir' (The Red and the Black) is a classic novel that was very important to me in early formation of directions in life. I found I could identify quite strongly with Julien Sorel, who wanted a better life, a life of meaning and importance, and was torn about which direction in which to go.

The Red (symbolising the church, the scarlet of cardinal's robes) and the Black (symbolising the military, the uniform, etc.) were both options held out to me early; in fact, I rejected both for a while, but have found myself drawn back in the red direction.

The story is one of coming of age as a bookish fellow in a working-class family, then ambition (but not overpowering ambition; in fact, Julien's father wishes he had more), then shifting careers (rare in an era and country where one's path is usually set for life early; however, this was the post-revolution era in France, in which some things were giving way, some more than others, it seems). Julien is pulled by events rather than being the director and creator of realities; Julien finds he loves the affect of various roles in life (more than the substance and responsibilities that come with such roles) -- for instance, he loves the swagger and the horsey-ness of being a soldier, but doesn't particularly like to get dirty or have to fight. He likes the trappings of religious office, but isn't inclined so much to spirituality, and Julien ran up against this in seminary:

The seminary director said to Julien: 'Truth is austere, sir. But our task in this world is austere, too, is it not? You must take care to guard your conscience carefully from this weakness: Excess of feeling for vain exterior charm.'

There is love, a love triangle in fact, romance and thwarted desires, and loves fulfilled, if not completely. It ends with a dramatic homicidal act, trial, an execution, and a most bizarre funeral. The melodramatic performance of Mathilde (re-enacting an earlier story with which she was familiar in which the heroine carried the severed head of her lover to his grave) provided the most animated conversation among ministers and psychologists I have ever witnessed.

Stendhal often built a character's name out of words that were descriptive, which is sometimes lost in translation as the names often don't get translated in the same way, or may have lost the immediacy of their meanings over time. Julien may be a play on Julian the Apostate, enemy of Christianity; Abbe Castanede is decidedly Spanish and inquisitional; Noiroud and Moirod come from words meaning swarthy and mottled; many other examples abound.

This is a very hard book to encapsulate in such a small space. It is not easy reading, but it is rewarding reading.

And again, an interior dialogue of Julien in seminary helps inform me, and keeps me thinking (both for and against in many ways):

'In the seminary, there's a way of eating a boiled egg which declares how far one has progressed down the saintly path....What will I be doing all my life? he asked himself; I'll be selling the faithful a seat in heaven. How will that seat be made visible to them? by the difference between my exterior and that of a layman.'

Choose your path wisely.

Great novel of a great novelist.......2004-12-14

I'm a little surprised at some of the criticisms of R&B in these comments, though they seem to reflect that Stendhal is a more penetrating psychologist than some readers recognize. ("Who else, besides Stendhal, has been a psychologist before me?" asked Nietzsche.) Julien's character is a great achievement precisely because he remains, to some extent, a "stranger." Don't we all? N.b. that both Stendhal and Nietzsche were opera fans; I suspect that the shared appreciation of opera's hyperboles and melodramas may have come from their recognition that we are all acting a part.

Stendhal is more readable than even perhaps Flaubert precisely because of his "modernity" as regards plot and character. I have read R&B at least 10 times and will be reading it the rest of my life. I only wish Stendhal had written a dozen other novels.

Slater's translation for Oxford is also top-notch. DO NOT waste your time with Burton Raffel's new translation for Modern Library, or the old Penguin translation. (The new one for Penguin is quite good, but Slater's is better.) It's unfortunate that Oxford doesn't do a better job of getting its editions of this book and "Charterhouse of Parma" into bookstores.

Incidentally, R&B is a favorite of both Al Gore's and Judge Richard Posner's ... go figure!

To the Happy Few.......2004-12-06

Stendhal's THE RED AND THE BLACK tells the story of the relentlessly ambitious carpenter's son, Julien Sorel, as he plots and achieves his climb to the highest levels of French society. What he finds there is a pervasiveness of hypocrisy, duplicity, and callous self-interest mirroring his own character and which eventually destroys him. The novel is Stendhal's contemporary indictment of the chaos and vacuity of post-Napoleonic France.

Some novels hold up remarkably well through the passage of time and the changing of venue, and THE RED AND THE BLACK is one such novel. The story itself is engaging and enjoyable and the social representatives encountered throughout the narrative, including the protagonist Sorel, are very recognizable to the cynics and social critics of today. The truth that Sorel, the climber, uncovers is that these social types are present at all levels of society.

But I don't often look for symbolism when I read and I enjoyed THE RED AND THE BLACK because it is a rollicking good story told with great introspection and wit. For that, I endorse this book with my highest recommendation.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

Lloyd Parks translation is the best..........2002-09-08

The translation done by Lloyd C. Parks is the best, truly rendering the flavor of Stendhal's style into English. Amazon has it - just look for ISBN 0-451-51793-8. As a French major in grad school, I was studying "The Red and the Black" in one of my French Lit courses and the instructor happened to mention that a colleague in the English Dept. had done an excellent translation of it. I was curious enough to buy it and read it so I could judge for myself. I was so impressed that the very next semester I took a 19th Century Lit course taught in English by Dr. Parks. The course included Stendhal's book (nothing like picking a book apart in two languages!) - and yes, he did use his translation of the book! ;-)

WHATEVER IT TAKES.......2001-12-10

Some things never change. In the world today we're used to hearing about corporate climbers who are willing to do anything to move up in the company. Sacrifice their wife or husband, time with their children, and sometimes even their soul. All in pursuit of the American Dream, a.k.a. materialistic eden. In THE RED AND THE BLACK Stendhal shows us that things weren't much different in 1830, when the book was published in France. Julien Sorel is a young man who was cursed with a scumbag, loveless father who has no interest in his family except in what they can do for him financially. After bargaining with the local mayor of his hick town, his father negotiates Julien to be the tutor of the prestigious house of Renal. One thinks of a slave auction as his father milks the mayor for all the money he can connive out of him in return for Julien's services. Of course Julien has bigger plans, after all, his idol is the great destroyer of the aristocracy, Napoleon. Julien glances over the fact that Napoleon set up his own aristocracy. Yes, Julien is a closet revolutionary who despises the very people he has to serve or suck up to. This brings up the largest idea of the book. Namely, that to get ahead in the world, you have to be a chameleon who changes shades according to what influential man or woman's favor you are trying to curry. Kissing butt is a polite way of phrasing it. While he is being bored by the Renal's children he falls into an affair with the mayor's wife. While this might have helped his career he unfortunately falls in love. He seems to start all of his plans of advancement pretty well, but in the end he always messes it up by actually having a conscience. By showing the superficialities of love, he falls in love. One of the most ironic points in the book is when he starts studying to be a priest when in actuality, he is an atheist. Even with this against him, he shows more morality and godliness than his colleagues at the seminary. Julien is feared no matter what circle he travels in, because who better to recognize his below level rebellion than the hypocrites of every level of society. This is ultimately the horrible conflict of Julien. At what point will he be unable to retain his identity? At what point does acting like a sellout make you a sellout even in your own heart? This book is divine. I am shocked that only 4 reviews have been written about it. It is hard to know what to make of it because it is so futuristic, looking more towards the 20th century than the 19th. There is none of the crippling sentimentalism of Dickens or Eliot here. He is more comparable to Thackeray or Balzac. This is a powerful book with flashes of erotic power which I am surprised made it through the censors of his time. It looks more towards Camus but Stendhal is ten times the artist. I highly recommend reading this and will soon move on to THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA. Almost forgot, Catherine Slater does a great job translating this work from French to English.

The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century (Everyman's Library (Paper))

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"Hypocrisy is the respect vice pays to virtue."
a noble book
One of History's Great Novels
A colourful tale...
Dostoevsky must've liked this one

The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century (Everyman's Library (Paper))
Stendhal
Manufacturer: Everyman Paperback Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0460876430

Book Description

In The Red and The Black (1830), young Julien Sorel nurtures anachronistic dreams of Napoleonic glory. However, a post-Revolutionary world of patronage-by the Church, politics, social arrivisme and women-points him toward more orthodox enterprises. This ambitious misfit is nonetheless feared and desired; and his inexplicable attempt at murder turns out to be an unparalleled way of extracting himself from convention. Stendhal, one of France's greatest novelists, fashions this story with a riveting psychological accuracy and a passionate awareness of political exigency.

Customer Reviews:

"Hypocrisy is the respect vice pays to virtue.".......2006-11-21

Hypocrisy, or "frontin," is one of the least respected vices today. However, hypocrisy was much worse during the Victorian age, where its exaggerated concern for the external appearance of virtue led to insincerity and deception. This concept is brilliantly exemplified in The Red and the Black, a magnificent representative of 19th century French literature. Stendhal's claim to immortality lies in his perceptive writing that balances social commentary with psychological insights of the main characters, the arrogant yet clueless Julien, the virtuous Madam de Renal, and the impulsive Mademoiselle Mathilde de la Mole.

What I found most interesting was the portrayal of "hypocrisy" according to the protagonist's perception and as the overall characteristic of society during the Restoration period. The trouble is, Julien despises hypocrisy, but at the same time, he realizes that in order to acquire success he has to give in and be hypocritical. He holds a romantic view of Napoleon, but conservativism has forbidden such sentiments. Since the only possible route for the son of a bourgeois is the priesthood, Julien learns Latin in order to impress Chelan, the local priest, and this is only the first of a long series of insincere acts that helps him to get ahead. Authenticity is cheap.

Rousseau, one of Stendhal's philosophy muses, claims the source of hypocrisy is society itself because it is artificial and its members develop deformed natures. Society is deemed artificial because it imposes inequality among its members, especially when inherited social rank and inherited rank have nothing to do with the innate abilities of the person. Also, the artificiality of language creates a gap between the ideals and behavior in the real world. These ideals such as beauty, freedom, happiness, are all impossible to actualize in the real world because they are indefinable. There is nothing in the real world to correspond to these abstract ideals. The pursuit of abstractions in a socially invented hierarchy of wealth and rank causes psychological damage to people. One cannot truly live in an artificial world and escape the charge of hypocrisy.

Stendhal carefully showed how hypocrisy could betray a secret truth of character, and more importantly how the phony emphasis on piety actually drained all passion from the interactions of people in Parisian society.

a noble book.......2006-05-10

Stendhal's hero is the low-born but intelligent and ambitious Julien, son of a country carpenter. Julien is effectively shut out of power in French Restoration society by virtue of his lowly status.

But Julien is a scheming and calculating kind of guy. He does what it takes to get as far up the ladder as possible. This means stuff like seducing powerful women and hanging around with important bishops.

Stendhal, perhaps reflecting his literary genius, does not allow us (the readers) to formulate a definitive impression of Julien. We see him alternately as a despicable cad, an ambitious over-achiever, and a forlorn lovesick boy.

The book is about the anguish that Julien faces with regard to "how he should live his life." It is an important book to read if you are interested in the conflict between career advancement and personal integrity. This is a conflict that many of us face and, as such, the book is very relevant in today's world.

Stendhal wrote the book in about 1830 (the exact date is controversial) at the time of the Restoration in France. During this period, the nobility are once again in control, but are under constant threat from the masses who orchestrated the orginal revolution in 1789. Memories of the Napoleonic era are also fresh in everyone's mind.

It is a modestly challenging read. Hey, its French romantic (not postmodern) so how difficult can it be?! It offers an interesting glimpse into 19th-century French Restoration society. Go for it! I also recommend The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, which explores the same theme of career ambition. There are a lot of similarities, in fact, between Julien and Rand's hero Howard Roark.

I would be interested if any other Amazon reviewers can comment on the similarities between Stendhal's Julien and Rand's Roark.

One of History's Great Novels.......2006-02-08

The Red and the Black is like no novel that I have ever read. The issues raised, and there are many, dealing with love, marriage, illusion, the role of religion in society, the nature of God, capital punishment, the role of class in society and countless others, are as relevant to life in America in 2006 as they were to France in 1830. The story not only has great intellectual depth, it is also wildly entertaining, as related by the sarcastic, cynical narrator who never seems to be able to decide whether he likes, or despises, his hero and those with whom he comes in contact. If I could give a rating higher than five stars, I would. This was the best book I have read in quite a few years.

A colourful tale..........2006-01-13

Dostoevsky must've liked this one.......2005-11-21

In 1830, a novel appeared in France under the title Le Rouge et le Noir and the subtitle said that it was a chronicle of the nineteenth century. It wasn't really well received in the art and literary world where French Romanticism was the major style, ruled by the likes of Renee de Chateaubriand, Victor Hugo, Eugenie' Delacroix and Louis Hector Berlioz. The new novel was about a very complex character named Julien Sorel and his attempt to rise in post-Napoleonic French society. It is a satire of French society and of the two institutions: the army (the red) and the Catholic Church (the black) whose wrongs Stendhal has as the primary focus in his "chronicle" of post Napoleonic French society.

This masterpiece is probably the most influential novel until Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Stendhal's presentation of the character of Julien Sorel is not only original for 1830, but Stenhal's psychological insight into Sorel's mind was revolutionary for the time. Stenhal is often called the founder of the psychological novel. Tolstoy said it was greatly influential to him and Emile Zola and other realists of his day considered Stenhal to be the founder of their movement. But...did our great friend Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) like it....nobody knows... It's almost like the elusive answer to the eternal question, (of course there is a God) who is the better novelist, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky or Count Leo Nikolayovich Tolstoy (1828-1910)???? Nobody knows...yet everyone cares and wants to know... Who can tell us...how about you, Miss Woolf? Tolstoy?...yeah...well..I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with ya there, yeah, Tolstoy's been kinda flaky with me lately and I don't think one's better than the other.

Count Tolstoy, you are a great friend, and so are you Monsieur Dostoevsky. and you Monsieur Pushkin. My friends, my only friends. I love you guys! Hey bartender drinks all around!!! Hey!! Nikolai Gogol! You are my HERO!!!

Red and black;: A chronicle of the nineteenth century,

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Red and black;: A chronicle of the nineteenth century,
Stendhal
Manufacturer: G. H. Richmond & son
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006FEOQA

The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century

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The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
Stendhal [Marie-Henri Beyle]
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O3T52C

The red and the black;: A chronicle of the nineteenth century, (A Signet classic)

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The red and the black;: A chronicle of the nineteenth century, (A Signet classic)
Stendhal
Manufacturer: New American Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

French | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006DYG1A

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The Red and the Black: a Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
Lloyd C. (translator) Stendhal; Parks
Manufacturer: International Collectors Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQ8QZW

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THE RED AND THE BLACK: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle)
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK4A0M

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The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
Stendhal
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKL91U

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