The Amateur Naturalist: Explorations and Investigations (Amateur Science)

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book for the new Conservationist!.......2005-04-25

MANY projects to try at home using basic supplies, within two weeks of buying the book my three year old and I started all sorts of Science experiments and are now keeping a detailed Nature/ Bird/ Plant journal and have decided to turn the back yard into a Natural Habitat. Well written and easy to understand, even for the newbie like myself.

Covers:
1.) How to get started
2.) Items you will need
3.)How to keep track of your records

Our next project is to grow our own moss on flower pots from spores. This book made my daughter and I both more aware of nature and the animals around us. Wish I could find more great books like this one for our collection.

Book Description

This new edition provides a comprehensive and solid presentation of the geography of the US and Canada, bolstered with material on Mexico and NAFTA. The book presents conceptual insights and interpretations, along with thought-provoking perspectives on North America's land and people.

Across This Land: A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada (Creating the North American Landscape)

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Across This Land: A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada (Creating the North American Landscape)
John C. Hudson
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801865670

Book Description

Based on decades of research and written in clear, concise prose by one of the foremost geographers in North America, John C. Hudson's Across This Land is a comprehensive regional geography of the North American continent.

Clearly organized, the book divides the entire United States and Canada into six major regions, then further subdivides them into twelve smaller areas. Hudson emphasizes each region or area's distinguishing place-specific attributes, including -- to a larger degree than previous regional geographies -- political considerations. In this way, the book tells the story of each region, relying on a brisk narrative that reveals the dynamic processes of their distinctive characteristics.

The first extensive regional geography of the North American continent in over seventy-five years, Hudson's Across This Land will become the standard text in geography courses dealing with Canada and the U.S. as well as a popular reference work for scholars, students, and lay readers.

Native Trees for North American Landscapes

Average customer rating:

excellent for serious gardeners
Represents a lifetime of research and work
A Garden Book Classic
This will become a premier reference on woody plants......
Outstanding book for tree lovers and everyone else, too!

Native Trees for North American Landscapes
Guy Sternberg , James W. Wilson , and Jim Wilson
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0881926078

Book Description

Many common native trees are just as beautiful as cultivated exotics. Since they have evolved with local conditions and are well adapted to their climate, they often require less maintenance and won't escape to invade a balanced ecosystem. The authors' extensive horticultural knowledge is distilled in this comprehensive cross section of trees native to North America, from the Atlantic to the Rockies and from northern Canada to the Gulf Coast. The main section of the book is divided into tree profiles, each describing flowers and fruit, native and adaptive range, culture, and problems. The authors also list the best seasonal features — whether a tree has striking bark in winter, for example, or bright fruit in fall. In all, more than 650 species and varieties, and more than 500 cultivars, are discussed.

Customer Reviews:

excellent for serious gardeners.......2007-02-13

Highly recommended for landscape design and
development of native gardens

Represents a lifetime of research and work.......2004-05-03

Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson's Native Trees For North American Landscapes represents a lifetime of research and work: the authors provide an in-depth technical catalog of detail on native trees and their environments, providing tree 'profiles' which describe flowers, fruit, plant ranges, and culture. Sections outlining best seasonal features are particularly useful, telling gardeners which plants are showiest per season. Stunning photos and outlines of common cultivation problems and solutions make Native Trees For North American Landscapes a solid, invaluable reference for landscapers, libraries and home gardens alike.

A Garden Book Classic.......2004-03-17

I am a plant freak, and I am a gardening book freak. I have many, many books, probably too many. Literally. So many books that I've bought that looked interesting at the store have wound up sitting on the shelf, never to be opened again. This is one that will never even get to the shelf.

This book is so comprehensive, so informative, so beautiful to look at, and so danged readable that I find myself seeking it out whenever I've got a free moment. How many gardening books have you bought lately that poured forth all the information you could possibly want? How many have you bought lately that were a lot of fun to read? Now, how many can you name that do both at the same time? A precious few, but this one does.

Timber Press celebrated their 25th Anniversary this past year, and I did something I never do, I wrote the company a letter. In essence, what I said was this, "I never mind buying a Timber Press Book, often sight unseen, because I know it will be good." This book is excellent, even by Timber Press standards.

If you have any interest in trees or gardening, you will find this book a "must have." Informative, enjoyable, beautiful. What else could you want?

This will become a premier reference on woody plants.............2004-03-17

This outstanding new book will become one of the primary references for all kinds of information about native woody plants of North America. Many of the plant descriptions have far more detailed information on culture, diseases, and ornamental characteristics than the widely known reference books by Michael Dirr (the 'standards' by which all other woody plant references are judged). While the intent is to provide information and promote the ornamental characteristics of native woody plants, for home gardeners and landscape professionals, this will also prove to be a valuble reference for naturalists and others mainly interested in these plants in the native, rather than the cultivated, landscape. The photographs are outstanding, and will certainly promote interest in many little known and underutilized woody plants. I never knew there were so many native North American oaks! As a botanist and later home gardener with a life-long interest in woody plants, there are few books in the past decade which have been published with this level of detail and value.

Outstanding book for tree lovers and everyone else, too!.......2004-03-16

Guy and Jim have done it again!

I have one of Guy and Jim's other books: Landscaping with Native Trees and I am so excited to finally have their new book: Native Trees for North American Landscapes.

This book is well written and is written in a style that both the plant-person and the novice gardener can easily understand and appreciate.

Guy and Jim provide a breakdown for each of the trees listed in the book. This is a listing of the information given for each tree:

-Description (includes size)
-Leaves
-Flower and Fruit OR Cones and Seeds
-Best Season
-Native and Adaptive Range
-Culture
-Problems
-Cultivars
-Similar and Related Species
-Comments

The above information makes it very easy for anyone to decide whether a particular tree is suitable for their site (and USDA growing zone) and how they want to use the tree, whether it be as a specimen, screen, etc.

I read Ben Johnson's review of this book and I don't quite understand his vendetta against Guy and Jim and this book.

Ben had (has) some problems with some of the technical words that Guy and Jim have used periodically through the text. Ben must not be able to use the glossary that is included in the back of the book because all of the words that he has a problem with are included there along with their definitions. Don't be frightened by Ben's fear of new words. If you find a word that you are not familiar with, then check the glossary in the back of the book for the definition - it's that easy. It's how we learn.

After reading Ben's review of this book it is clear that he is not really reviewing the book so much as trying to attack Guy's character. This is not the place for that sort of thing.

I, too, frequent the forums on GardenWeb and I have found Guy to be very generous with his advise and help. I read the thread on GardenWeb regarding the removal of a tree because of a problem with the birds pooping on vehicles and, again, Ben has twisted and taken words out-of-context to attack Guy. I have never met Guy in person, but I have the utmost respect for Guy because of all of the help I have received from him through the forums on GardenWeb.

If you want help sorting out which native trees you might want to include in your landscape or you simply want to learn more about the wonderful native trees that grow in this great country of ours, then this is the book for you!

Guy and Jim have written this book about native trees because of their love for our native trees and to get people to, hopefully, include some native trees in their home landscapes.

The photography in the book is outstanding, too.
You will not be disappointed if you purchase this book.
Mike

Average customer rating:

Great for "regular people" despite a couple of goofs!

Mostly good for garden formation ideas, but needs help.

It genuinely does make a few mistakes

A Real Keeper and Invaluable Source

Engaging, well written reference... with a few gaps

Easy Care Native Plants: A Guide to Selecting and Using Beautiful American Flowers, Shrubs, and Trees in Gardens and Landscapes
Patricia A. Taylor
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation

Native Plant Primer, The: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers for Natural Gardens

Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants

ASIN: 0805038612

Book Description

North America's magnificent plant life has a peculiar history in that it is generally regarded as weedy material in its native meadows and woodlands and viewed as a horticultural treasure trove abroad. In Easy Care Native Plants, Patricia A. Taylor seeks to change this situation by emphasizing the elegant beauty, rather than the common naturalness, of American flora and by urging gardeners to capture the exquisite essence of its blossoms and foliage in artistic compositions.The book is divided into three sections, each filled with color photographs and containing special lists of plant recommendations from horticultural experits in the United States, Canada, and Europe. These suggestions include natives for city patios and decks, shrubs for winter interest, colorful flowers for drought situations, and prairie plants for a formal front yard display.The first section reviews the history and current use of native American plants and includes a brief primer on garden design. The second presents profiles of eighteen public and private gardens in Canada and the United States and highlights the crucial role of horticultural organizations and garden clubs in spreading the good news about native flora.The last section is devoted to detailed descriptions of over 500 plants, chosen not only for their handsone appearance but also for their ability to flourish without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. With them, gardeners everywhere will have yearlong beauty requiring minimal maintenance.While many of the plants cited in the book are little known, all are commercially propagated and available. The Appendix lists sources for each plant category and describes a select number of mail-order firms, including ordering information.Easy Care Native Plants has been written and designed to be a usable, definitive resource for the full specturm of those who love and appreciate beautiful plants, from weekend gardeners to landscape designers and architects.

Customer Reviews:

Great for "regular people" despite a couple of goofs! .......2006-08-24

The outstanding characteristic of this book is that it is USABLE by regular, non-professional busy people who love gardening and nature and especially want to respect native plant communities and plant with sensitivity to their own region.
The Bittersweet confusion is terrible, but it is offset by good organization, good photos, and short descriptions on the outside of pages.
Another outstanding feature is that the author includes trees, shrubs, and vines, as well as flowers. This increases the value of this book significantly.
Flowers are wonderful, but people need to get a bit beyond flowers--flowers--flowers. For example, many butterfly species depend upon TREES as host plants and then use flowers for nectar. The distinctive Red Admiral uses trees at all stages of life and leaves the flowers for others.
Thanks to the author for a good down-to-earth reference that answers practical "ordinary" questions. I have recommended this book to a number of people in "wildlife/habitat gardening" classes and have given several as gifts . . . inserting a note about the Bittersweet :-)!

P.S. Yeah, I really should change that ridiculous name. I was under the influence of busy visiting grandchildren when I first reviewed a book here. . . and we do have a great goofy time!

Mostly good for garden formation ideas, but needs help........2005-04-03

I bought this older used book (1996) and find it remains quite relevant. One of the reasons we gardeners end up planting invasive species is because they are easy to grow. In EASY CARE NATIVE PLANTS Patricia Taylor addresses one of the biggest issues for gardeners... "I would grow native species, but I don't have time."

Well, Taylor suggests low maintenance creatures that will be no more work than the invasive plants you intended to install. With Taylor, we visit public and private gardens where individuals are making a difference one plant at a time. From these gardeners, we learn how to construct various gardens including a woodlands garden, a drought tolerant native garden, and a front yard native garden. Taylor provides lists of plants for each of these gardens. For a complementary book, you might consider buying both Taylor's book and 100 EASY-TO-GROW NATIVE PLANTS by Lorraine Johnson which is a kind of annotated plant directory (although it focuses mainly on non-woody plants, whereas Taylor includes trees, shrubs and plants). Alternatively, you can contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service for a free monograph on plant invaders and substitutes at www.nfwf.org. Do that and you are sure to find 'Celastrus orbiculatus' or Oriental Bittersweet on the "No-no" list. Also the latter monograph suggests several native alternatives to bittersweet, such as 'Campsis radicans' (trumpet vine) and 'Passiflora incarnata' or Passion Vine.

It genuinely does make a few mistakes.......2001-06-26

Not to belabor a nitpicker's criticism, but this book does include a few gaffes that compromise its use as a reference. I do very much enjoy the book, and my review below reflects that. But it just gets some things wrong.

For example, the species of Bittersweet southern gardeners have trouble with is Celastrus Orbiculatus -- oriental bittersweet. Yep, it's highly invasive, and yes, it can "consume entire forests" as this author says "bittersweet" does. The native American Species is Celastrus Scandens. The two differ in the position of the berries on the vine, partly... and they also differ in that the native one isn't swallowing entire forests. They're hard for an intelligent amateur to tell apart when looking at an individual plant... which is exactly the problem that this book has, too.

There's a HUGE difference between American chestnuts -- enormous trees now nearly gone from their native range due to blight -- and the shrubby asiatic Chestnuts that were brought in by nurseries and that carried the blight into this country in the first place. That's exactly the sort of distinction a gardener interested in native plants wants to know about, and it's basically the one this book misses with the two Bittersweets. In a lot of cases it's that sort of thing that got us into native gardening in the first place. So, see, it's bad to make this kind of error in a book on native plants.

Again, this is a decent book that just slips up in a few spots.

A Real Keeper and Invaluable Source.......2001-03-05

This is a top-notch gardening book, one that all gardeners can use to enrich their properties. While some may find recommendations by plant experts to be a disadvantage, I like knowing that top horticulturists have carefully selected the plants in this book (southern gardeners tell me that Taylor is right on the mark in describing the American bittersweet). The garden profiles, particularly, for me, the California one, are not only good reads but also packed with useful information. The book is designed to be useful - very easy to look for a yellow flower that blooms all summer or a small shrub with white spring flowers. I turn to it again and again to learn about and find beautiful, interesting and low maintenance plants. I have bought and given 14 of these books as gifts to friends and have received unanimous 5 star reviews from the recipients!

Engaging, well written reference... with a few gaps.......2000-02-26

This is a good choice for the beginning native gardener who needs a sense of the range of native plants available. It's a pleasant browse, and provides a representative sample of the choices you might make with natives. I appreciated the straightforward tone of the writer, who studiously avoided the pretensions of some of the more unctious coffeetable books. Let's just say she's gardening in urban New Jersey, not in northern California, and leave it at that.

On the other hand, there are some gaps in Ms. Taylor's knowledge that make this a less than definitive reference. The short version is that she's often recommending a plant based on the sendup of an arboretum or public garden with which she's corresponded, and that sometimes she hasn't done the research to back that recommendation up. For an egregious example, she describes the American form of Bittersweet (Celastrus Scandens) in a way that clearly demonstrates that she doesn't know the difference between it and the invasive asian form. That sort of slip is a real problem, both philosophically and practically, for someone who's into native plants. Oops.

All in all, I'd say this is a useful book that gets you interested in the plants, but that you should do a healthy amount of leg work elsewhere before you plant. The research is half the fun anyway...

For another native plant reference, with less species but more reliable context and detail, try C. Colston Burrell's A Gardener's Encyclopedia of Wildflowers.

Average customer rating:
Changing trade landscape: exports to China rise; Canada's share falls.(FOCUS: International Trade and the Global Economy) : An article from: Fairfield County Business Journal
Kathy Kahn
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000BR6JNE
Release Date: 2005-10-13

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Fairfield County Business Journal, published by Thomson Gale on October 4, 2004. The length of the article is 585 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: Changing trade landscape: exports to China rise; Canada's share falls.(FOCUS: International Trade and the Global Economy)
Author: Kathy Kahn
Publication: Fairfield County Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 4, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 43 Issue: 40 Page: 21(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada

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Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada
Stephen S.; Florin, John W. Birdsall
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J4U6E2

Customer Reviews:

Emphasis here is on symmetries........2006-10-31

I was expecting something along the lines of an updated Lanczos (The Variational Principles of Mechanics). But the emphasis here is very much on relativistic symmetries. Actually the book reminds me somewhat of Penrose's _Road to Reality_ and -- perhaps a better comparison -- Longair's _Theoretical Concepts in Physics_, with a mix of popular and semi-popular exposition, historical background, and more detailed mathematical exposition, but with a focus on relativistic symmetry (which still allows for a pretty wide-ranging number of topics in physics).

One complaint: the paper, printing and artwork are rather poor for a $45 paperback. Oxford and Cambridge Press, for example, produce much higher quality paperbacks in this price range. I've knocked off a star for that.

A superb book.......2001-10-24

This is work is comprehensive, easy to follow, and well-formatted. It is an excellent introduction to the action principle. It also serves as a great primer for the mathematics of special relativity, 4-vectors, vector fields and tensors. It is a shame that it doesn't go very far into GR (from the least action perspective) though.

Very good introduction to Lagrangian mechanics........1998-06-19

I highly recommend this book to undergraduate and graduate students in physics and astrophysics. It's clearly written, with a very modern approach (and book design!).

An excellent readable introduction to Lagrangians in physics.......1998-05-27

This is an excellent book. It is an introduction to Lagrangian mechanics, starting with Newtonian physics and proceeding to topics such as relativistic Lagrangian fields and Lagrangians in General Relativity, electrodynamics, Gauge theory, and relativistic gravitation. The mathematical notation used is introduced and explained as the book progresses, so it can be understood by students at the undergraduate level in physics or applied mathmatics, yet it is rigorous enough to serve as an introduction to the mathematics and concepts required for courses in relativistic quantum field theory and general relativity.

Symmetry in Science: An Introduction to the General Theory (Springer Study Edition)

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The Best Book on Symmetry

Symmetry in Science: An Introduction to the General Theory (Springer Study Edition)
Joseph Rosen
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Symmetry and the Beautiful Universe

ASIN: 0387948368

Book Description

Symmetry plays an essential role in science - not only in crystallography and quantum theory, where its role has long been explicitly recognized, but also in condensed-matter physics, thermodynamics, chemistry, biology, and others. This text discusses the concept of symmetry and its application to many areas of science. While it includes a detailed introduction to the theory of groups, which forms the mathematical apparatus for describing symmetries, it also includes a much more general discussion of the nature of symmetry and its role in science. Many problems serve to sharpen the reader's understanding, and an extensive bibliography concludes the book.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Book on Symmetry.......1997-08-14

This is the most wonderful and facinating book on symmetry I have ever read! Everyone who applies symmetry concept should read it. There are many many books on symmetry. Many of them simply treated symmetry as a mathematical attribute. Joe Rosen is the first one firmly treated symmetry as a property of a system (very similar to a thermodynamic properties). The author has rediscovered the symmetry principle (Effect is more symmetric than cause), as some of the most important literature was published 90 years ago and not in English. I recommended many colleagues to read it. You will like it! Shu-Kun Lin, PhD http://mdpi.org/lin.htm

An Introduction to Riemann Surfaces, Algebraic Curves and Moduli Spaces (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)

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An Introduction to Riemann Surfaces, Algebraic Curves and Moduli Spaces (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)
Martin Schlichenmaier
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540711740

Book Description

This book gives an introduction to modern geometry. Starting from an elementary level the author develops deep geometrical concepts, playing an important role nowadays in contemporary theoretical physics. He presents various techniques and viewpoints, thereby showing the relations between the alternative approaches.

At the end of each chapter suggestions for further reading are given to allow the reader to study the touched topics in greater detail.

This second edition of the book contains two additional more advanced geometric techniques: (1) The modern language and modern view of Algebraic Geometry and (2) Mirror Symmetry.

The book grew out of lecture courses. The presentation style is therefore similar to a lecture. Graduate students of theoretical and mathematical physics will appreciate this book as textbook. Students of mathematics who are looking for a short introduction to the various aspects of modern geometry and their interplay will also find it useful. Researchers will esteem the book as reliable reference.

Introduction to Symmetry Analysis (With CD-ROM)

Average customer rating:

good introduction into dealing with nonlinear pde's
A decent introductory text on symmetries for fluid physicists and engineers
Readable and Useful

Introduction to Symmetry Analysis (With CD-ROM)
Brian J. Cantwell
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521771838

Book Description

This text offers a broad, self-contained, introduction to the basic concepts of symmetry analysis and is intended primarily for first and second year graduate students in science, engineering and applied mathematics. Mathematica-based software for finding the Lie point symmetries and Lie-Bäcklund symmetries of differential equations is included on a CD along with more than forty sample notebooks illustrating applications ranging from simple, low order, ordinary differential equations to complex systems of partial differential equations. The software requires Mathematica 2.2 or higher. MathReader 4.0 is included to permit the user without access to Mathematica to read the sample notebooks and follow the procedure used to find symmetries.

Customer Reviews:

good introduction into dealing with nonlinear pde's.......2005-08-05

Like the introduction says: Symmetry methods based on Lie group theory is the most important method for solving nonlinear problems aside from numerical computations. Have you always wondered why you need a computer to solve something 'simple' like the nonlinear Burgers equation? Well, this book shows you how far you can go using pen and paper. It is a very good book, but I highly recommend studying it together with an Abstract Algebra book.

A decent introductory text on symmetries for fluid physicists and engineers.......2005-06-30

The book does a very good job of relating symmetry methods to fluid mechanics applications using physical interpretations of the results.

However, it lacks the clarity of algebra that the book by Bluman and Kumei offers. Also, author misses out on citing certain important contributions to symmetry methods by other workers (identities are protected to avoid animosity).

Readable and Useful.......2004-06-23

This book is useful as both a primer on the subject and a research reference. It succeeds on both counts where a book by G. Baumann with a similar title fails.

The author does not assume any level of mahematical knowledge or sophistication beyond standard mathematical course work required of engineering students. It may be of importance to know that Professor Cantwell uses this book to teach a course at an engineerng department.

What makes this book especially valuable is the Mathematica package included on the CD-ROM. The symmetry calculations are often very tedious and complex. Thereore, there is a strong need to automate at least some of the work. A beginner can simply use some of the sample notebooks provided by the author and understand the method. A researcher can start with any of those notebooks, replace the author's equations with the ones of interest, and follow through the steps of the procedure.

Book Description

This substantially revised and expanded new edition of the bestselling textbook, addresses the difficulties that can arise with the mathematics that underpins the study of symmetry, and acknowledges that group theory can be a complex concept for students to grasp.

Written in a clear, concise manner, the author introduces a series of programmes that help students learn at their own pace and enable to them understand the subject fully. Readers are taken through a series of carefully constructed exercises, designed to simplify the mathematics and give them a full understanding of how this relates to the chemistry.

This second edition contains a new chapter on the projection operator method. This is used to calculate the form of the normal modes of vibration of a molecule and the normalised wave functions of hybrid orbitals or molecular orbitals.

The features of this book include:

A concise, gentle introduction to symmetry and group theory
Takes a programmed learning approach
New material on projection operators, and the calcultaion of normal modes of vibration and normalised wave functions of orbitals

This book is suitable for all students of chemistry taking a first course in symmetry and group theory.

Customer Reviews:

Best in its field.......2007-02-13

I bought this book because it is advised from one of my classmates of Transition metal chemistry.
If you need to learn molecular symmetry, this book is very good. It teachs in a logical order. The only not good part may be its size. I prefer bigger books so you can easily bend. So you should be polite to this book when reading.
It is also expensive for its size but if you need to learn the molecular symmetry and/or group theory, this book is strongly recommended :)
I hope this review helps.
Happy wishes

Pretty good reference and quick read.......2006-03-28

The text does a good job of covering the subject material. It is not so advanced as to be difficult to master symmetry, matrices, and applications to vibrational spectra. The book is designed as a programme. The reader follows along and is interrupted to test his/her ability. After successful mastering of topics, the reader goes on, but if the reader does not answer the practice questions well enough, there is a guide to do more review. This is a great intro text for undergraduates, or as a reference for graduate students studying in the Inorganic field.
The text also uses great examples and has good step by step instructions. The reader can get up to speed on most of the subject material within one weekend. It is also not necessary to read the book cover to cover to get useful learning out of the text. It has a good ability to modulate the different aspects of the different subjects. Overall, worth the money.

Great for beginners.......2000-05-25

If you don't have the math background it often takes to penetrate Cotton, this book could be the answer. For learning the quick and dirty basics of the use of group theory for molecules, this is the book. The only problems are its sparseness and the high price for a 156 page book. Excellent for self-teaching, though.

Exam tomorrow, and still in confusion with group theory...?.......1999-09-26

Cotton's(or Bishop's or like that...) book on group theory is too wonderful for me to grade. But, you may agree with me, in that it really takes times! You must read those books to understand the internal structure of group theory, but if you have exam tomorrow, Vincent's will be an emergency measure. Just follow him about 5 hours. Then you can solve some crucial spectroscopy problems, make MO's, and so third. But don't forget to check the books of details. This book is just for an emergency measure. But truly great enough for that.

Book Description

Oscar Wilde-witty raconteur, flamboyant hedonist, and self-destructive lover-is most familiar as the author of brilliant comedies, including The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and the decadent novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This selection of critical writings reveals a different side of the great writer-the deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and the eloquent and original thinker about society and art. This illuminating collection includes "The Portrait of Mr. W. H.," "In Defense of Dorian Gray," reviews, and the writings from Intentions (1891), including "The Decay of Lying," "Pen, Pencil, Poison," and "The Critic as Artist."

Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Linda Dowling.

Customer Reviews:

The only book you need ever own........2002-01-11

It may seem wilful to lead a selection of Oscar Wilde's major critical prose with an essay on left-wing politics, but 'The Soul of Man under Socialism' is more concerned with aesthetics than ethics: Wilde found socialism 'beautiful' because it encouraged freedom and individualism, freeing man to develop his emotional and imaginative lives. Wilde's Utopian scheme, as he admits, is gloriously impractical and contrary to human nature, but that's the point - it's because reforms are based on what is considered practical, rather than what might be possible or even unthinkable, that inequality and suffering persist. His vision of a future in which men dream and absorb Art as vaguely-imagined machines do all the menial work, reads like a delightful lampoon of HG Wells. Favourite Quotation: 'the moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist and becomes a dull or amusing craftsman, an honest or dishonest tradesman').

The selection begins with examples of Wilde the professional reviewer at work, attending art lectures by Whistler, reading books by Pater and Swinburne, drawing attention to poetry anthologies by labouring socialists, praising an actress's memoirs. Some of the pieces are more theoretical, arguing, for instance, the importance and legacy of actors as critics of great theatre. Each article presents difficult and often radical ideas in an accessible and witty manner. FQ: 'where there is no exagerration there is no love, and where there is no love there is no understanding'.

'The Portrait of Mr. W.H.' (printed here in its extended 1889 revision) is quite simply one of the greatest achievements in the world literature of short fiction. 'Short story' doesn't begin to describe this work about a young scholar who commits suicide after being caught forging evidence to 'prove' a theory claiming that Shakespeare dedicated his Sonnets to a young actor-lover. 'Portrait' is mostly a dazzling exercise in critical play, but it is also a touching gay fantasy, a Nabokovian study of mad academics, a defence of 'forgery' as an aesthetic mode, a literary detective story, a history of the Elizabethan stage, an anthology of Elizabethan gossip, a Borgesian metaphysical puzzle and so much more. FQ: 'he always set an absurdly high value on personal appearance, and once read a paper before our Debating Society to prove that it was better to be good-looking than to be good'.

'In Defence of Dorian Gray' collects letters written by Wilde to hostile newspapers that branded his only novel immoral, decadent and demanded its interdiction. While it's depressing to see our hero stoop to these tedious non-entities, we must remember the dangerous influence of the reactionary press, and at least the letters make galvanising reading, helping Wilde formulate ideas that would shape the novel's famous 'All art is quite useless' preface. FQ: 'Good people exasperate one's reason; bad people stir one's imagination'.

But the major achievement here is the four-part collection 'Intentions', a still explosive series of critical dialogues, memoirs and essays which are only 'safe' today because they are labelled 'classic' - if anyone actually absorbed these radical, liberating pieces, with their provocative, teasing, shifting, playful, ironic, contradictory, unsystematic, aphoristic, hilarious assertions on Art, Beauty, Life, Philosophy, Morality, Ethics, Crime etc., the whole world would implode, or at least irrevocably change. 'The Decay of Lying' demolishes the depressing modes of realism and naturalism and the tyranny of facts; 'Pen, Pencil and Poison' is a portrait of Wainewright the Poisoner, Wilde discussing his crimes with the same aesthetic detachment as he does his art and writing; ''The Critic as Artist' is his masterpiece, a credo and a gauntlet; 'The Truth of Masks' is an essay on the importance of costume and historical accuracy when staging Shakespeare, and seems to contradict eveything else in the volume, with Wilde winningly admitting, 'Not that I agree with everything I have said in this essay'. FQ: 'The truth of metaphysics are the truth of masks'.

There are (at least) two Wildes in this volume; one whose address is utterly contemporary and congenial, intellectually curious, blasting all that is deadening, hypocritical and humbug, an alien in his own time. The other is startlingly Victorian, passionately engaged with elitist subjects that have little importance or (ugh) 'relevance' today (Classical literature, Aesthetics, the importance of form etc.), couching his theories in language that is often ornate, oritund, exotic, even verbose, a lush challenge to his fusty, pedantic peers.

Linda Dowling's introduction rescues Wilde from his earnest post-modern apologists and returns him fruitfully to his original context, the Oxford debates about 'Art for Art's sake' and the function of poetry and criticism,. Her copious notes are a blessing and necessity, as well as recreating a strange, wonderful, intellectually audacious cultural world, one that shames our depleted, dead-end, theory-strangulated, accept-anything age. I know you've heard this before, but this time it's true: BUY THIS BOOK AND LET IT CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

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New Wilde anthology.(Oscar Wilde. The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose) (book review) : An article from: English Literature in Transition 1880-1920
Josephine M. Guy
Manufacturer: ELT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B0009FT01Q
Release Date: 2005-07-30

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This digital document is an article from English Literature in Transition 1880-1920, published by ELT Press on June 22, 2002. The length of the article is 2349 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: New Wilde anthology.(Oscar Wilde. The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose) (book review)
Author: Josephine M. Guy
Publication: English Literature in Transition 1880-1920 (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 2002
Publisher: ELT Press
Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Page: 338(6)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose (Penguin Classics)

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The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose (Penguin Classics)
Linda Dowling Oscar Wilde
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJD9LE

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