Therapeutic Potential of Melatonin: 2nd Locarno Meeting on Neuroendocrinoimmunology, Locarno, May 5-8, 1996 (Frontiers of Hormone Research)

Book Description

Sediments and sedimentary rocks cover 70% of the Earth's surface, and make up a significant portion of the geological record. Understanding the processes (physical, chemical and biological) that lead to formation of sedimentary material is key in disciplines ranging from geology to environmental science to archaeology. But before interpretation must come observation and identification: Stow's Field Guide is a must-have for this distinctly visual process

Professor Stow has culled his extensive research experience into a succinct guide designed for students and professionals in geophysics, geochemistry, paleontology, soil sciences, environmental sciences and more. Sections on field techniques and reader-friendly descriptions also make this guide accessible to amateur geologists.

* More than 400 color photographs and diagrams
* Extensive cross-referencing for ease of use in the field
* Examples from more than 30 countries
* Focus on economic applications

Customer Reviews:

very useful.......2007-01-11

Very practical. A essential tool for field trips for students of geology and postgraduate or enthusiasts of sedimentology

Superb introduction to sedimentary rocks and structures........2006-09-08

This book is one of the best introductions to sedimentary rocks and their structures that I have come across in 25 years.
It begins with a section on the structures found in sedimentary rocks. The diagrams are clear, concise, and very well explained. The photographs that go with them are among the best I've seen for demonstrating sedimentary structures. They are almost professional in their quality, and the features you are meant to see are actually visible in the photos (no 'eye of faith' required, unlike some other textbooks).
The rest of the book is divided into chapters dealing with each group of sedimentary rocks in turn. Ironstones, conglomerates, evaporites, limestones: you name it, it's in there. Again, the diagrams and photographs are faultless.
Finally, the book finishes with a section on how to interpret sedimentary structures in the field.
If only this book had been available when I was an undergraduate! I would thoroughly recommend this book to any undergraduate (or even post-graduate) geology student as the first thing to pack in their bag before setting off on field work.
As a final thought for geology students, the University of Southampton (where Dr. Stow works) has a superb website on the geology of the south coast of England. If you like the book, you'll love the website.

Sedimentary Rocks in the Field: A Color Guide

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Sedimentary Rocks in the Field: A Color Guide
Dorrik A.V. Stow
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHTWC6

Book Description

In this, the only book available to combine both theoretical and practical aspects of x-ray diffraction, the authors emphasize a "hands on" approach through experiments and examples based on actual laboratory data.
Part I presents the basics of x-ray diffraction and explains its use in obtaining structural and chemical information.
In Part II, eight experimental modules enable the students to gain an appreciation for what information can be obtained by x-ray diffraction and how to interpret it.
Examples from all classes of materials -- metals, ceramics, semiconductors, and polymers -- are included. Diffraction patterns and Bragg angles are provided for students without diffractometers. 192 illustrations.

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The introduction is worth the purchase price . . .

A good collection, but...

Pick Up A Copy To Own!

For Whom Is This Book Compiled?

I have all this stuff already

The Malcontents

Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer Generation

Red Lobster, White Trash, & the Blue Lagoon: JOE QUEENAN'S AMERICA

True Believers: the Tragic Inner Life of Sports Fans

Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler: Celluloid Tirades and Escapades

Satire: A Critical Reintroduction

ASIN: 0762416971
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Book Description

Popular satirist Joe Queenan, "the lunch-pail Voltaire of our times," proves that cynicism in literature flourished long before Generation X in this acerbic compendium of the best satirical writing through the centuries. Now in paperback, it includes engaging, readable works by Wilde, Twain, Machiavelli, Swift, de Sade, Rabelais, Molire, Ben Jonson, Aristophanes, and Jane Austen.

Customer Reviews:

The introduction is worth the purchase price . . ........2006-11-03

This thick collection of satire and cynicism is worth having for the selections alone, which range from short stories by Saki of two or three pages, to long exerpts from much longer works like the Rape of the Lock. But the introductions to each piece, and the general introduction to the book itself, are a real treat. You might collect many of these works on your own with alot of effort, but missing out on Queenan's comments would be a terrible shame. Buy this, browse, and enjoy.

A good collection, but..........2004-10-06

For starters, I can't fault that there is indeed a vast amount of excellent literature in this book, including full editions of some shorter novels. While some of it is familiar, there's a good amount of obscure or hard-to-find inclusions.

On the other hand...there was almost too much familiar ground. I skipped over probably close to half of it for having already read it. While authors such as Voltaire and Wilde are almost necessary inclusions for a book with this title, why include their best-known books rather than throwing the spotlight onto some of their more obscure works? (Though I admit Jane Austen was certainly served well in that department.) Also, 20th-century authors are shamefully neglected (where on earth was James Thurber, who I personally would consider one of the best if not the best satirist of his time?).

Still, despite the uneven selection, this is overall not a bad collection, though I would use it more as a jumping-off point to authors.

Pick Up A Copy To Own!.......2004-06-07

The Malcontents is intended as a definitive anthology of the greatest satirical writing the world has ever seen. Yet right from the start, it becomes apparent that the book has one major flaw.

It's not big enough.

That might seem like an odd observation to make about a book that is 1048 pages in length and covers a span of twenty-four centuries worth of writing (Nineteen writers covered in all, going all the way back to Aristophanes). Yet by trying to shoehorn loads of classic satire in (most often in its full incarnations) Joe Queenan may lead readers to believe that there has been no great satire written after the 60s. And that would be a grace disservice to the likes of Philip Roth, Veronica Geng, Fran Lebowitz, Kurt Vonnegut, David Sedaris and so on.

Even counting the period covered, there's still a lot of great stuff missing. We don't see anything from HL Mencken or James Thurber or SJ Perelman or Roald Dahl. So I propose that Mr. Queenan either compile a second volume or get someone else to do so (If you happen to read this Joe, feel free to e-mail about that compiler position).

Putting these obvious objections aside, one must admit that what is included in this anthology is great. We get satirical classics from writers ranging from Voltaire ("Candide") to Jonathan Swift ("A Modest Proposal") to Irish humorist Flann O'Brien ("Selections From The Irish Times). The works cover the gambit from full-length novels (Oscar Wilde's immortal "The Picture Of Dorian Grey") to plays (George Bernard Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession") to short stories and essays (The seven Mark Twain pieces). There is even a poem thrown in for good measure Alexander Pope's "The Rape Of The Lock").

Most literary connoisseurs will doubtlessly be familiar with much of the material contained here. Yet some of it will come as a surprise. Having been familiar with Jane Austen mainly from high school English classes, I was shocked to discover her early acerbic satirical side. A very worthwhile discover however. And having read "Don Quixote" a long time ago, I was pleased to find that Queenan was right when he observed in the introduction that the writer, beneath his gentle and bittersweet satire, had a sharp disappointment with the world around him. For the record, the only writing Queenan (himself a malcontent) actually does in this anthology is the introduction and the brief bio of each author that precedes a piece.

All of the writing contained in The Malcontents would fall into the category of classic. All classic, all good, even if some of it is overly familiar (Twain's classic "The Literary Offenses Of Fennimore Cooper" for instance). So I can recommend the book to all fans of classic satire, as well as those looking to get a crash course in how to write great satire.

Consider the following from the introduction: "Other writers were chosen because they were masters of getting up people's noses. Rabelias was always in trouble with the church. Moliere was always in trouble with the church. Voltaire was always in trouble with the church. The Marquis De Sade was always in trouble with everybody... Sooner or later we come to believe we are fighting on the same side, that the miscreants he torments and the abuses he denounces are miscreants we want to see tormented and abuses we want to see denounced."

Today, we still see many of the same abuses going on and the same miscreants getting elected to public office and of course the ever-stifling Puritanism that seems to have been cropping up. So we need to keep the malcontents we do have. As long as idiots rule, malcontents will drool. And we're all the better for it (the latter not the former). Don't miss this terrific book! Another recommended Amazon quick-pick is THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez

For Whom Is This Book Compiled?.......2003-01-25

The cover says that this is the "Best bitter, cynical, and satirical writing in the world." That such is the case is highly questionable, but let's not quibble about that. I already own much of this material so I was a bit let down about that.

If you have a decent library of the classics you may well find yourself in my position. Voltaire's Candide; Machiavelli's The Prince; Pope's The Rape of the Lock; Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. They are all sitting on a shelf in my library. What I do not have is Jane Austen's obscure Lady Susan which was not even published until more than 50 years after her death.

I would also note that the selections do not contain any explanatory notes. Many older works use terms and references unknown to the contemporary general reader. If you read Pope's Rape of the Lock in the Norton Anthology of Poetry you will find approximately 75 notes that help the reader understand the classical or eighteenth century references. In "The Malcontents" you get no aids to understanding.

I realize that there may be a certain intellectual snobbery in saying that these works should all be on your bookshelf. I don't think that they need be there, but if you don't already own them, do you want to own them? This book contains a wide smattering of literature from Aristophanes' play The Birds, written around 400BC, to essays by Mark Twain, to short stories by Saki. Whole novels and plays are presented, bulking up the book and limiting the possible variety that could be found in an almost 1100 page volume of satire and cynicism. Indeed only 19 authors are represented.

I really don't think this is a collection that would appeal to the average reader. On the credit page it should be noted that most of this material was taken from Dover editions. As you may know Dover Publications sells very inexpensive copies of the classics. You could get most of the works in this expensive book by purchasing Dover reprints of each of these works for a couple of bucks a piece. And the little Dover books can be easily held when reading in bed, while this compilation can barely be lifted at all.

I have all this stuff already.......2003-01-19

I bought this book sight unseen, knowing neither what was in it, nor having any reviews to go on. But then, the fact that it's a Joe Queenan compilation of funny writing was all I needed to know. How could I go wrong ?

The choices in this book undeniably live up to the claim of being the best bitter, cynical and satirical writing in the world. But they will already be well familiar to anyone who seeks out this genre.

The first item presented is "The Birds" by Aristophanes. A great play, but I have it already. Then there's a short satire by Juvenal. Then "The Prince", by Machiavelli, is presented whole. I already have "The Prince". It's one of the first books I ever bought. Then there are short excerpts from "Gargantua and Pantagruel" and "Don Quixote". I already have these books in complete editions. Then there's "Volpone" by Ben Jonson. Then there's Moliere's "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme". Then there's Jonahtan Swift's "A Modest Proposal", which I have read many times by now. Then there's Alexander Pope's "The Rape Of The Lock". Then there's "Candide", by Voltaire, which I have already. Then there's an excerpt from "Justine", by de Sade. Then there's "Lady Susan", by Jane Austen, which I have already. Then there's "The Nose", by Nikolai Googol.

Then there are some lesser-known Mark Twain pieces, which I don't have. That's good, because I already have "Huckleberry Finn" and "Puddnhead Wilson". This is the only author for which Queenan is doing what I think he should, by compiling shorter and uncollected works with which someone might not already be familiar.

Then there are some pieces by Ambrose Bierce, which I have already, in that fairly-priced Dover edition. Then there's "The Picture Of Dorian Gray", by Oscar Wilde. Then there's "Mrs. Warren's Profession", by George Bernard Shaw. Then there are some Saki stories. Finally, there are some pieces by Flann O'Brien.

Book Description

What role does ritual play in the everyday lives of modern
Africans? How are so-called "traditional" cultural
forms deployed by people seeking empowerment in a world where
"modernity" has failed to deliver on its promises?

Some of the essays in Modernity and Its Malcontents
address familiar anthropological issues—like witchcraft,
myth, and the politics of reproduction—but treat them in
fresh ways, situating them amidst the polyphonies of
contemporary Africa. Others explore distinctly
nontraditional subjects—among them the Nigerian popular
press and soul-eating in Niger—in such a way as to
confront the conceptual limits of Western social science.
Together they demonstrate how ritual may be powerfuly
mobilized in the making of history, present, and future.

Addressing challenges posed by contemporary African
realities, the authors subject such concepts as modernity,
ritual, power, and history to renewed critical scrutiny.
Writing about a variety of phenomena, they are united by a
wish to preserve the diversity and historical specificity of
local signs and practices, voices and perspectives. Their
work makes a substantial and original contribution toward the
historical anthropology of Africa.

The contributors, all from the Africanist circle at the
University of Chicago, are Adeline Masquelier, Deborah
Kaspin, J. Lorand Matory, Ralph A. Austen, Andrew Apter,
Misty L. Bastian, Mark Auslander, and Pamela G. Schmoll.

Customer Reviews:

A Collection of Good Essays.......2002-03-25

This book contains a collection of essays concerning withcrafts effect on things ranging from gender issuses to the cocoa trade. If you are a beginner looking for a basic background this is not the book for you. However, if you want to learn the specifics of isolated rituals or experiences that serve as microcosms for witchcraft in general than this is a great work for you. Many of the rituals are described in detail including some secret initiation rituals. All in all the work is fascinating and a good read for anyone interested in witchcraft or postcolonial Africa.

Average customer rating:

Good Reading - Betrayals and Unexpected Twists
A Fun Play!

The Malcontent (RSC Classics)
John Marston
Manufacturer: Nick Hern Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1854596969

Book Description

The Malcontent, usually considered to be John Marston's masterpiece, is one of the most original plays of the Elizabethan theatre--complex in genre, structure, and language. A major reason for the play's preeminence lies in the balance it achieves between the opposite claims of laughter and horror. This edition has notes designed for modern undergraduate use and the introduction has been rewritten to take into account the most recent scholarship.

Customer Reviews:

Good Reading - Betrayals and Unexpected Twists.......2005-01-24

In 1601 John Marston, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and George Chapman were described as "the best and chiefest of our modern writers". Today, only English majors are likely to be acquainted with John Marston's works. Even his most popular play, The Malcontent (1604), is seldom encountered.

The Malcontent is often categorized as a revenge play, although it is quite unlike Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, or The Revenger's Tragedy (uncertain authorship). Even though deceit, betrayal, disguises, and attempted murders are essential elements of the plot, The Malcontent lacks the brutality that characterizes other Elizabethan and Jacobean revenge plays. Unexpectedly, as the play develops, Malevole, the disguised Duke of Genoa, shows some willingness to forgive others for their past injustices. The recovery and restoration of character becomes more important than revenge.

The Malcontent makes good reading. Cascading betrayals and unexpected twists maintained my interest throughout all five acts. Unlike many contemporaneous plays, the plot is not complicated by extraneous subplots. The action, although sometimes convoluted, is all tightly connected. All in all, I found the The Malcontent to be easier reading than most Elizabethan and Jacobean plays.

Induction: Act I is preceded by an Induction by John Webster, a six page witty discussion among five of the Globe Theatre actors (including Richard Burbage) regarding the author's intentions and recent modifications to the play itself. Apparently, The Malcontent had been previously staged by a rival theatre, the Children of the Queen's Revels at Blackfriars. While of interest to scholars in unraveling the early history of Marston's play, this induction is not germane to the plot itself.

Staging: In the introduction Bernard Harris, the editor of the New Mermaids edition, describes The Malcontent as "a theatrically ambitious and bewilderingly active play, rich in details of staging." Scenes require attendants, pages, lights, ladies, processions, music, dancing, costumes, jewelry, feasts, and even the devising of a masque.

A Fun Play!.......2001-08-04

Malevole, the title character of Marston's masterpiece, has good reason to be a malcontent: he is the disguised, deposed rightful ruler of Genoa. The play is a collection of intrigues, questions as to who knows what about whom, and disguises. It is a great joy to read and one of my favorite pieces of Renaissance literature.

Book Description

What does it mean to be a man? To be manly? How has this changed throughout history? This text examines the manly stereotype, which stresses courage and athletic comportment, which from the eighteenth century onwards became representative of normative modern society. By using the ideal of the "man of action" as a focal point, a wide range of hitherto neglected aspects of the male body are brought to the fore, from styles of bodily comportment and medical concerns about health, energy and sexuality to more contemporary issues pertaining to body shape, muscularity, athleticism, and age. This book argues that the loudly proclaimed "crisis" of Western manhood has been marked by attempts to compensate for the gap between the historic bodily ideal of manly action and the banalities of material prosperity and conveniences of modern existence.

Civilization: Contents, Discontents, Malcontents, and Other Essays in Social Theory (Studies in American Sociology, Vol 2)

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Civilization: Contents, Discontents, Malcontents, and Other Essays in Social Theory (Studies in American Sociology, Vol 2)
Stanford M. Lyman
Manufacturer: University of Arkansas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 155728136X

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CLAMOROUS MALCONTENTS
Trevor Reese
Manufacturer: Beehive Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HDKNY8

The Clamorous Malcontents, Criticisms & Defenses of the Colony of Georgia

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The Clamorous Malcontents, Criticisms & Defenses of the Colony of Georgia
Trevor R., Editor Reese
Manufacturer: The Beehive Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M1ILR6

A Concordance to "The Malcontent" (Salzburg Studies: Jacobean Drama Studies)

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A Concordance to "The Malcontent" (Salzburg Studies: Jacobean Drama Studies)
James X. Ward
Manufacturer: The Edwin Mellen Press Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0773405941

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