Investigative Lab Manual for Biological Science: Computer Based Applications

Customer Reviews:

Decent--but Not cohesive..........2007-10-08

My main gripe about this book is that it is organized in such a fashion that it makes it difficult to outline. The chapters don't develop in a manner that lends itself easily to straightforward interpretation of main ideas. Instead, the authors rely primarily on providing definitions of terms, and then presenting information that is of secondary consequence.

The book is informative, but not linearly coherent.

To address the issues raised by another reviewer about Islam, after some more scrupulous reading of those sections, I believe the reviewer let his anger get the best of him. For example, on the section dealing with the "Sour Grapes" reaction, he automatically combined the imposition of pork-eating taboos with the "sour grapes" reaction, which the authors clearly didn't do. They develop the idea and geographical importance of pork-eating, and gives the "sour grapes" reaction as a possible explanation to the eschewing of pork--and they offer others as well. The idea was to show that we don't know where it began, from a cultural stance. The author attaches from an early stage that eschewing pork was part of Judaism, a much older tradition than Islam or Christianity, and makes the point that the distribution of the taboo follows in line with areas that pork isn't easy to cultivate, since a nomadic lifestyle is not suitable for pork farming.

Note that this is different than saying "Islamic people made conquered peoples eschew pork because Islamic people were jealous of those who raised pork." This statement is almost nonsensical, but if you were to simplify the claim raised by the other reviewer, this is what you get.

Did later islamic kingdoms impose the non-eating of pork in the regions of Babylon and those cities near rivers? Yes they did. The author was wrong to use the language of "for revenge," as it puts a slightly moral stance on the books position, and does paint Islam in a negative light--which a good textbook shouldn't do.

And in dealing with the oft-violent histories of all three monotheist religions, the authors spent a great deal of time on the christian enslavement and mistreatment of Indians by the sword here in the Americas--showing that Christians did bad things in the name of their faith, just as Muslims did.

As far as religions go however, the treatment of buddhism and hinduism is even more sparse than it is on Islam, though I have yet to read a western-written book that covers eastern traditions in an interesting fashion. Most of them have a sudden style-shift from seeming interested in the subject matter to suddenly seeming more like an encyclopaedic regurgitation of well-known facts.

This book is guilty of this as well. Docked one star for its non-linear style, and one star for its poor treatment of eastern religions.

Excellent textbook!.......2007-09-29

I purchased this book for my university level cultural geography course and it's very up to date with excellent explanations of the many aspects of cultural geography. I highly recommend this textbook!

The Human Mosaic.......2005-09-23

Thank you for being so prompt. I am really enjoying the book and class.

Disappointed When Received.......2004-08-19

The condition was listed as "Very Good" but when received it was marked up with yellow highlighter along with other mark-ups. I feel the condition should have been rated lower. I have to say the book was received in a timely manner.

informative but biased.......2001-02-04

I took courses with Dr. Lester Rowntree during 1981 and 1990 at San Jose State University. I found him to be very knowledgeable except about Islam. This textbook which is co-authored by Dr. Rowntree contains misleading or inaccurate statements about Islam. For example, It stated in page 180 and 181 (fourth edition), that Islam spread by militaristic conquests while christianity spread by contact conversion. This is not accurate. In page 185 the authors contended that, despite the Muslims belief, the black stone in the Holy Mosque in Mecca is a meteorite. In the next page the authors stated, under the picture of the Ka'aba, that pilgrims come from afar to Mecca, for they believe that the black stone was sent down from heaven by Allah, the Islamic god. The problems with this understatement are, first: Muslims believe that Allah is the personal name of God the creator and lord of all creatures not just Muslims; second: Muslims come to Mecca not for the sake of the black stone, but because they were commanded in the Holy Quran to perform Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetimes. It is also appropriate to mention that the pilgrimage was first initiated at the time of the prophets Abraham and his son Ismail who built the Holy Mosque in Mecca long before the advent of Islam. Unlike the case with Judaism in page 191 this book ignored, in pages 192-193, the fact that the Islamic taboo on eating pork meat was also decreed by devine revelation in the Holy Quran. It stated that it was a "sour grapes" reaction to the inability of the Muslim nomads to raise and own pigs. Professor Rowntree and his co-author also stated in page 193 that in the seventh century A.D., the Muslim nomads imposed their religion, complete with the pork taboo, on the farming people of the river valleys as a final "revenge". In conclusion, this is a very informative and useful book. However, on behalf of the one billion Muslims in the world today, I strongly suggest rewriting the parts dealing with the Islamic culture. Thank you in advavce.

The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology, Ninth Edition

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User Friendly Text Book

The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology, Ninth Edition
Frederick K. Lutgens , Edward J. Tarbuck , and Dennis Tasa
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0131015672

Book Description

This reader-friendly book offers current and comprehensive information about the atmosphere—its components, problems, and applications. It features everyday examples to help the reader understand weather and climate, with incredible photographs, satellite images, and line art. Broad in scope and clearly and concisely written, this book features such topics as temperature, moisture and atmospheric stability, condensation and precipitation, air pressure and winds, circulation, air masses, weather patterns, thunderstorms and tornadoes, hurricanes, air pollution, world climates, and optical phenomena. For readers interested in a book that discusses up-to-date weather and climate issues that affect the world's people everyday; can also be utilized as a reference text for those in the field of meteorology and other earth sciences.

Customer Reviews:

User Friendly Text Book.......2006-02-25

Clear, easy to understand. Dvd and online bonus. And, I got an A in the class!

The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Study Guide: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography

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The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Study Guide: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography
Mona Domosh , and Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Human Geography | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Earth Science: Ninth Edition
Edward J. Tarbuck
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 013050985X

The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition, Study Guide & Rand McNally Atlas: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography

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The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition, Study Guide & Rand McNally Atlas: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography
Mona Domosh , and Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Life in Society: Readings to Accompany Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Ninth Edition (3rd Edition)

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Depends...

Life in Society: Readings to Accompany Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Ninth Edition (3rd Edition)
James M. Henslin
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 0205578756

Customer Reviews:

Depends..........2007-01-29

This book I had with a sociology class. Its basically a bunch of articles that top notch sociologist have written about different ideas or topics.
I would say if you love sociology than you will love this book, if you hate sociology then some of the articles will be pleasing to you however half of them will not.
Some are very easy written, which provides with easy reading.
However on the other hand some are very long and drawn out as you keep counting how many pages you have to go. I liked it, however some people may not!

The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Atlas of World Geography: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography

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The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Atlas of World Geography: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography
Mona Domosh , and Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Exploring Human Geography with Maps

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The Human Mosaic, Ninth Edition & Exploring Human Geography with Maps
Margaret Pearce , Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov , and Mona Domosh
Manufacturer: W. H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Introduction to Physical Science, Ninth Edition and Mathematics Review CD-ROM

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Introduction to Physical Science, Ninth Edition and Mathematics Review CD-ROM
Shipman
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Book Description

Complex interacting networks are observed in systems from such diverse areas as physics, biology, economics, ecology, and computer science. For example, economic or social interactions often organize themselves in complex network structures. Similar phenomena are observed in traffic flow and in communication networks as the internet. In current problems of the Biosciences, prominent examples are protein networks in the living cell, as well as molecular networks in the genome. On larger scales one finds networks of cells as in neural networks, up to the scale of organisms in ecological food webs.

This book defines the field of complex interacting networks in its infancy and presents the dynamics of networks and their structure as a key concept across disciplines.

The contributions present common underlying principles of network dynamics and their theoretical description and are of interest to specialists as well as to the non-specialized reader looking for an introduction to this new exciting field.
Theoretical concepts include modeling networks as dynamical systems with numerical methods and new graph theoretical methods, but also focus on networks that change their topology as in morphogenesis and self-organization. The authors offer concepts to model network structures and dynamics, focussing on approaches applicable across disciplines.

Customer Reviews:

Crosses Many Disciplines.......2004-01-03

The attraction of this book is the chance of serendipity. The sheer joy and possibility of thumbing through it and stumbling across something germane to your research, but totally unforeseen by you or others.

The book sits astride several disciplines. Mostly biology. But also computer networks, of which, of course, the Internet is the primary and largest example. But the book also covers some portions of sociology. The classic six degrees of separation between any two people in the world. Actually this is more a metaphor than the literal truth. But still useful in understanding human networks.

If you are currently working with some type of network, your expertise in it, while being a strength, may also be a weakness if it makes you unaware of qualitatively different networks that yet have some commonality with yours.

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Handbook of Graphs & Networks - From the Genome to the Internet
S. BORNHOLDT
Manufacturer: JOHN WILEY AND SONS LTD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N5F1YW

Customer Reviews:

Leisurely and Intellectual.......2006-12-12

Although Those Barren Leaves is technically a novel, it has no central plot. It is a series of interconnected and interweaving stories that are only slightly developed. All are left hanging. The setting is Italy sometime between WWI and WWII. The characters are vacationing at the Italian villa, a castle really, of a wealthy English woman, Mrs. Aldwinkle, and all are upper-class British intellectuals. Nothing much happens, there is a bit of love play and romance; no violence, no intrigue or crime, many lengthy polite conversations. Typically the characters are referred to as Mr., Mrs., or Miss so-and-so throughout. Amusingly Mrs. Aldwinkle plays a central and dominant role in the book but Mr. Aldwinkle is never mentioned, not once. Is he dead? On vacation elsewhere? One never knows, on one asks or seems to care. And so life drifts on serenely in the Italian sun among the Roman and medieval ruins.

I liked several things about this book. The characters are interesting and Huxley has a way of bringing them to life. There are interesting and evocative descriptions of Italy, Tuscany in particular. I found the fact that momentous and terrifying world events were hanging over the scene silently in the background added poignancy to the setting and conversations. I kept thinking as I was reading how this world would soon be wrought by such unthinkable upheavals as the holocaust and Hiroshima.

This is a leisurely book with many lengthy conversations about intellectual and philosophical topics. It is an opportunity for Huxley to vent his many ideas and theories in an informal way and to explore various upper-class characters in a satirical but still sympathetic way. Usually I am impatient with lengthy philosophic musings in a novel, but Huxley is so interesting that I found myself less irritated than absorbed, although I must admit that I skimmed much of the discursive portions.

This is early Huxley, like Chrome Yellow and Point Counter Point. Those Barren Leaves is not a book for those who want a fast-paced, exciting story.

Reflections in Italy.......2006-01-23

A variety of English people arrive at the Italian estate of Mrs Aldwinkle. This gives rise to some animated discussion by the characters on a number of themes, for example, modern literature, religion, the meaning of life and death and so on. Mrs Aldwinkle's companion Mary Thriplow is hopeful of finding true love among the newcomers, and the indolent yet clever and witty Mr Cardan can see a way out of his money problems through Grace Elver.

This is a lesser Huxley work and having read it, I could see why, because it seemed to me that Huxley never really resolved how it was to take form: there are long and interesting dialogues between the characters (which seem really designed to allow Huxley to explore themes and theories rather an attmept at realistic social intercourse); then there are comedic passages; then some intrigue; there are bits of travel writing; and flash-backs written in the first person, and so on.

It's true that the themes Huxley explores redeem this novel - they are interesting and deserve careful reading. But the novel as a whole never really settles into a sustained rhythm and because of that is less satisfactory than other of Huxley's works I've read.

G Rodgers

Stunning and stimulating.......2003-11-07

Even better than the wonderful and somewhat similar CROME YELLOW, this novel of ideas can be alternately entertaining and exasperating. However, Huxley surprisingly drops mini-bombs of flashing insight here and there. In particular, the final chapter is a brilliant analysis (and prophecy) of the world-wide prevalence of suburban stupidity in place today. The fact that this book is out of print in the US in only one face of this stupidity.

A book that demands--and repays--careful reading........2001-12-08

"And then you must remember that most readers don't really read...We all read too much nowadays to be able to read properly. We read with the eyes alone, not with the imagination." Thus speaks Mr. Cardan, a character in Aldous Huxley's "Those Barren Leaves," and all I can say in reply is, "Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa." Wanting to rush into the plot, I found myself annoyed with Huxley's slow, careful unfolding of the characters--the upper-class English guests at the Tuscan castle of the pretentious, amorous Mrs. Aldwinkle--and their long-winded conversations about Balzac and Diderot. I started to agree with Elizabeth Bowen's comment that Huxley was "the stupid person's idea of the clever person." After I had slowed down, however, and started to really read Huxley's painstaking dialogue and careful descriptions of the Italian countryside, I began to appreciate his brilliant evisceration of the motley crew around the impossible Mrs. Aldwinkle: Mr. Cardan, the Epicurean philosopher; Calamy, the amorist who is beginning to wonder if there is more to life than bedding women; Mary Thriplow, the novelist who never stops writing, even when making love; Chelifer, the disillusioned poet; and the hapless Grace Elver, a sort of female Forrest Gump without Forrest's lucky star. This wickedly funny yet meditative book repays the work of thoughtful readers, it has much to say about what is really important in life, and how expert people are at self-delusion. People who liked "My Dinner with Andre" or Robertson Davies' Cornish Trilogy should like "Those Barren Leaves."

A brilliant, funny and poignant novel.......1998-08-26

A hard-to-find book--I came across it as a yellowed old paperback at a rummage sale, and I'm glad I did. Full of characters you're ready to hate, you end up loving nearly every one. Extraordinarily beautiful language, the writing is the cream of the crop. Not much of a plot, to be sure, as it is filled mostly with conversation that asks all of life's profoundest questions. He doesn't answer all the questions--no one can!--but gives you ample food for thought. The book is set in Italy after WWI, and abounds in beautiful scenery. Read it when you're relaxed and have time to chew on it.

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The House party novels
Angus Wilson
Manufacturer: Chatto & Windus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007K8H12

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