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List Price: £40.00
Our Price: £24.26
Author:
Sylvia A. Earle, Linda Glover
By National Geographic Society
 Dreaming of the deep sea, 2008-11-11
National Geographic has long been at the forefront when it comes to mapping the ocean so this latest effort is immediately of interest. It exceeds expectations especially considering the reasonable cost of the volume. Brief check of a few areas, e.g. the Ross Sea in the Antarctic and Saya de Malha Bank in the Indian Ocean where I am working with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society on marine protected area proposals, to see how they are treated. Answer: with great accuracy.
With photographic glimpses of undersea flora and fauna and extensive background to complement the maps, this is an essential reference for everyone who cares about the sea. The Deep Ocean, the mare incognita, less well known and less visited than the Moon, will be the story of this century. I can imagine a child devouring this book and becoming captivated, growing up to make the discoveries that will render this book obsolete...but for now it is state of the art.
-- Erich Hoyt, WDCS Senior Research Fellow and Author Creatures of the Deep: In Search of the Sea's Monsters and the World They Live in
List Price: £19.95
Our Price: £6.62
Author:
Jeffrey L. Rotman
By Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
 Disapointing Book - Room For Improvement, 2007-07-25
This book promises a veritable look at the undersea world with 365 photographs captured at many exotic locations, as a diving instructor I felt it would make a good addition to my book collection, it was however, a bit of a disappointment.
I felt that many of the photographs appear darker than they ought to be. In the more temperate waters of the British Isles diving photographers have to contend with the lack of available light. However the photographs in this book are a selection captured throughout many tropical locations where the available light is far greater.
I would also point out that around 80% of the books content is attributed to macro photography and unfortunately a significant number of the subjects are clipped from the top or bottom of the pages. There is of course a big market for this type of subject matter but I felt it was too restrictive and given the exotic locations I would have preferred more wide angle photographs.
The overall quality of the book is adequate but there is room for improvement one page in particular (page 62) is too big and has not been trimmed, someone strangely came up with the idea to leave it as is and chose to simply fold the excess inward resulting in a large crease on the illustrative side?
My overall impressions of the book are that there was scope for more improvement and I would unfortunately not really recommend this book.
List Price: £17.99
Our Price: £10.49
Author:
David Quammen
By Pimlico
A global trek seeking survivors, 2005-08-03
Over a couple of cold ones at the local pub, the good doctor and i burst out simultaneously: "I found this incredible book! You've got to read it!" It was, of course, Quammen. That's the kind of reaction this writer generates. His prose seizes your attention as he gently leads you into deserts, mountainous jungles, riverside woodlands and isolated islands in the Pacific. His quiet courage forces you to remind yourself that he's not gleaning his information from the vast list of sources in the back of this book, but from the researchers in the field. And he's right there with them as he relates their stories to him for you. Quammen writes books you want to carry around, waving at people, urging them to enjoy the superior writing and the critical message. It's all about our survival.Quammen's resurrection of Alfred Russell Wallace was long overdue. Others have tried to bring this figure back into common knowledge, but the revival was either to accuse Darwin of plagiarism or taint Wallace's accomplishments with the flaws of penury and spiritualism. Quammen handles him as a total human being who achieved through inspiration in a delirium, what Darwin took two decades to accomplish. Quammen doesn't need to balance the two, he's more concerned with explaining the concepts in ways we can understand. It's Quammen's ability to make you feel you are accompanying him on his quest to see how Nature that places him far above other science writers. He understands the issues, recognizes the value of the research being done and presents the methods and events alike with unblemished clarity. As a writer concerned with the impact of humanity on the world's environment, Quammen exhibits a unique talent. While the ongoing extinction of species remains the central issue of this book, Quammen is able to show how dedicated researchers given support from concerned and caring people can begin to slow that eradication of our fellow species. Quammen's concern doesn't translate into alarmist rhetoric. He calls to us softly but urgently: "There's work to be done. There's people out there doing it. Help them how you can. They're our symbol of hope." [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
List Price: £20.00
Our Price: £11.61
Author:
Theodore Schwenk
By Rudolf Steiner Press
A classic - relationship between nature and feminine maths, 2000-12-12
Schwenk's book is to me a landmark achievement, many years ahead of all books on fractals, on exploring the fluid forms of air, water and living things, not least of which is through finely calibrated choices of photographs. Perhaps benefitting from Rudolf Steiner's intuitive and spiritual approach to science, the book is wonderful from everything from scholastic and in-depth study of nature's forms to pre-bedtime reverie. I can't praise this book sufficiently.
List Price: £40.50
Our Price: £31.91
Author:
Tim Ormsby
By ESRI Press
...and getting to like ArcGIS!, 2002-07-04
As a software instructor I was very impressed with the structure and clear content of this book. I recommend it to everyone who wants to taste GIS. Although, you must have some interest in spatial analysis and geographical issues. The exercises are very well chosen and explained, guiding you through the trial copy of the ArcGIS software, which is included in this textbook and enables you to achieve a very good basic knowledge. Good enough to make you want more!!
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