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Customer Reviews (12)

Love this book
This is a wonderful series.You will enjoy it whether you are of the age for which it is recommended or older.

The latest must read in the Bloody Jack series!
I've read all of Meyer's Jacky books, and the eighth one, "The Wake of the Lorelei Lee", is another hit.As Jacky "matures", she continues to entertain the reader with her guile, her humor, and her lust for life.

I was hooked from the very first page with the clever description of the Lorelei Lee itself, Jacky's beloved ship.Her past adventures have resulted in her acquiring, somewhat questionably, an impressive amount of gold.As usual, she shares her good fortune with others, like the orphans in the home managed by her grandfather.And as usual, her plans to marry Jaimy are thwarted once again.

Things go so awry that Jacky ends up a prisoner on her very own boat, now heading to Australia rather than to England and her Jaimy.The plot is replete with numerous dangers that Jacky, with Houdini-like finesse, manages to escape.

What I love about these books are the characters, both the recurring ones (such as Ian and the Irish boys, Miread, and Higgins) and the introduction of new ones like the magnanimous Captain Augustus Laughton and the Shantyman Enoch Lightner, the ship's musician.But my favorite new character is Ravi, the endearing imp Jacky meets in India.In some ways, Ravi's personality mirrors Jacky's own; they are both unscrupulous rascals, impossible not to love.

Evidence of Jacky's maturing is her quandry over marriage.As she gains self-knowledge, she realizes that marriage and motherhood may not fit into her itinerant life at sea and her love of adventure.She loves Jaimy, yes, but she makes no apologies for her attraction to others.

I'm sure that these issues will be addressed (with Meyer's superb skill) in the future accounts of Jacky Faber.I can't wait to read them...nor can the rest of my family, which is a testament to the appeal of these books to readers of any age.

A spectacular book, that everyone should read..
I just finished one of your most stunning, spectacular and enthralling book! Last night at about 12 am (September 18, 2010) I finished "The Wake of the Lorelei Lee". This book was engrossing and I never wanted to put it down. Everyone should read this magnificent series. I hope to read more of this series. I am 18 years old and I very much enjoy reading this series and I hope everyone, who is looking for a good book reads this.

Love It
Best book series ever!!! i always reread the whole series before i pick up the newest version =)

Favorite of the Series (Again!)
Keeping you on the edge of your seat, Meyer does it once again with his latest Bloody Jack novel of the series, The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (Book 8).The novel starts off with Jacky thinking that finally everything is going right in her life- she's staying out of trouble and is on her way across the vast Atlantic Ocean into the arms of her future husband, Jamey, but course this is not to be.After being framed for a crime (that she sort of committed in the last novel of the series, Rapture of the Deep) Jacky is sentenced to life in the newly formed penal colony of Australia, leaving Jamey behind in England (so she thinks!), along with a ship full of other female convicts - most of them guilty of their crimes.To make matters worse, she is being shipped to Australia as a criminal on her very own boat that she acquired after "stealing" some of the King's gold that she found for him in the Rapture of the Deep.Along her long journey to the other side of the world, Jacky (and the reader) are reacquainted with many pervious characters that Jacky has encountered throughout her life, some even dating back to her days on the streets, along with many new characters that she meets along the way.One of my favorite new characters is a boy named Ravi that she meets in India, after seeing and riding a real life elephant for the first time!I was very happy to read that Ravi will continue to make appearances in at least the upcoming Bloody Jack sequel, and hope that he becomes a staple for future sequels as her sidekick and sort of a son to her in some sense.

Just like any of the other novels from the Bloody Jack series, you could pick this book up and not be lost if you have not read any of the other novels in the series, but what fun would that be?This book, like the others, is packed full of adventure, suspense, action, and of course some romance thrown in for those who like me, are still hopeful that one day that Jacky and Jamey will finally get their day in the sun together.

I am a middle school language arts teacher and I have numerous students that are hooked on this series and I know can not wait to read this great book.This series is easily the most popular book in my classroom library - beating out Twilight and Harry Potter any day of the week.Like my students and myself, if you buy this book, I promise you, you will not be able to put it down until the very last page.
... Read more

Product Description
Now you can cut years off the process of learning aboutplants.Learn how related plants have similar features foridentification.Discover how they often have similar properties andsimilar uses.Toms book takes you beyond the details towards agreater understanding of the patterns among plants.Most plant bookscover only one or two hundred species.Botany in a Day includes morethan 100 plant families and over 700 generaincluding edible andmedicinal usesapplicable to many thousands of species.

With this book you will be able to recognize patterns inplants everywhere you goin the wild, in your garden, among houseplants, even at the florist.Understand the magic of patterns amongplants, and the world will never look the same again!

Many people recognize plants from the Mint family becausethey have square stalks, opposite leaves and most of them smellminty.I like to start my classes with a discussion of thethe Mints because this pattern is so well known.What people dontrealize is that similar patterns exist for other families of plants aswell.Simply put, the study of botany is the study of patterns inplants!

Learning patterns in plants is fun, and you only need tolearn about 100 broad patterns to recognize something about virtuallyevery plant from coast to coast across the northern latitdudes.

In a two hour plant walk we typically start with the MintFamily, then progress through the Mustard, Pea, Parsley, Borage, Lilyand Aster Families, so that every student can easily recognize thesecommon families representing several thousand species.Ive hadpeople tell me they learned more in that two hour walk than in anentire semester of botany in college. Thomas J. Elpel, Botanyin a Day AUTHORBIO: Thomas J. Elpel had the rare opportunity as achild to spend hundreds of hours with his grandmother, exploring thehills and meadows of Montana.Toms grandmother helped him tolearn about the native plants and their uses, igniting a passion fornature that has inspired Tom ever since.

Tom is now the director of Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School(HOPS) in Pony, Montana where he teaches classes on stone ageskills, including botany.Botany in a Day grew from Toms desireto provide an easy means for other people to discover a closerconnection with the natural world.Tom is also the author of threeother books inspired by nature, including: Participating in Nature,Direct Pointing to Real Wealth and Living Homes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Tremendous help to this novice
When I started a new hobby of photographing wildflowers, I had no clue on the importance of learning plant families in order to identify them. If I couldn't tell from the picture in a field guide, I was up a creek. "Botany in a Day" was the first book I found that organized the families in a simple, clear way that I could understand and this system has become my main guide for grouping and identification. The herbal information is interesting, but not relevant to my project. I'm very grateful for the help I've received from this book

Good intention, disappointing result
This book could have been a gem for people interested in botany and healing plants, but it does not manage to fill this void.The text is not read by a professional botanist (I assume) and incorrect or dubious facts are common.Furthermore, the text is filled with typos and misspellings that could easily have been caught in a simple spell-checking program. The figures are from older literature and are not well reproduced.The aim with this book, to explain botany in a day, is highly recommendable, but I cannot recommend this book in its present shape and quality-level. A completely corrected, re-formatted, and revised edition of this book is needed. For people interested in the plant families of North America I instead recommend the high-quality work of Zomlefer: Guide to Flowering Plant Families.

A comprehensive guide to plant families
Though definitely *not* a field guide. This book is intended to be an introduction to plant families, and it does a good job at that. All the vascular plant families present in North America are briefly described and identification tips noted. Very few actual species are thoroughly described, though the "medicinal" properties of many species, mostly collected from other sources, are recounted here. This book would be better titled "Herbalism in a Day" as it's long on lists of medicinal uses and short on detailed botanical information. I'm pleased I purchased it, but it would be a inadequate substitute for an actual field guide or flora.

Covers over 100 plant families and over 700 genera
Most plant books cover a few hundred species: Botany In A Day covers over 100 plant families and over 700 genera, from edible plants to medicinal plants, providing a focus on herbal plant families which users will find easy and important. No color photos; black and white line drawings serve as the illustration for descriptions which are detailed, from the plant's appearance to the author's experiences using the plant in applications. Botany In A Day is simply packed with information and an invaluable reference for aspiring gardeners and neophyte horticulturalists.

Let the cover be your judge!
Contrary to the old axiom, this book actually delivers what it promises on the cover.By spending just one day with this book you'll get a fairly comprehensive understanding of the evolution of plants, their general classifications, and unique properties. The author writes in a very straightforward, concise, easy-to-read style that lets you absorb the information quickly and easily without being burdened with excessive detail.I also thoroughly enjoyed his Gestalt approach to Botany.I purchased this book as a supplement to my college course in Field Botany and discovered a wonderful resource. ... Read more

Product Description

In the early modern world, botany was big science and big business, critical to Europe's national and trade ambitions. Tracing the dynamic relationships among plants, peoples, states, and economies over the course of three centuries, this collection of essays offers a lively challenge to a historiography that has emphasized the rise of modern botany as a story of taxonomies and "pure" systems of classification. Charting a new map of botany along colonial coordinates, reaching from Europe to the New World, India, Asia, and other points on the globe, Colonial Botany explores how the study, naming, cultivation, and marketing of rare and beautiful plants resulted from and shaped European voyages, conquests, global trade, and scientific exploration.

From the earliest voyages of discovery, naturalists sought profitable plants for king and country, personal and corporate gain. Costly spices and valuable medicinal plants such as nutmeg, tobacco, sugar, Peruvian bark, peppers, cloves, cinnamon, and tea ranked prominently among the motivations for European voyages of discovery. At the same time, colonial profits depended largely on natural historical exploration and the precise identification and effective cultivation of profitable plants. This volume breaks new ground by treating the development of the science of botany in its colonial context and situating the early modern exploration of the plant world at the volatile nexus of science, commerce, and state politics.

Written by scholars as international as their subjects, Colonial Botany uncovers an emerging cultural history of plants and botanical practices in Europe and its possessions.

Customer Reviews (1)

Ask the botanist
Botany became an important science during three centuries of European empire-building, from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Ships from England, France, the Netherlands, and Spain sailed to make discoveries in the service of storing up riches. Those riches weren't just precious metals such as New World gold. They were also luxuries whose sales made fortunes for peoples and empires. So Columbus sailed west, to break into successful spice-, silk- and dye-trading China, India and the Moluccas.

Riches were also made from garden and field plants, fruits, forest products, and flowers from Africa, the Americas, and the East and West Indies. So in 1494 Columbus brought sugarcane cuttings into the West Indies. That gave Spain a start on one of the world's most successful cash crops. Great fortunes awaited those who grew and handled non-native luxuries and cash crops such as cinnamon, cloves, coffee, maize, nutmeg, pepper, Peruvian bark, rubber, sugar, tea, and tobacco. Europeans needed to know what plants looked like and where they grew, to make sure they got the correct plants.

So botany grew hand-in-hand with European voyages. For science, settlement, and trade all drove collecting, classifying, and naming plants in the late 17th and 18th centuries. In fact, one reason behind Linnaeus classifying and naming plants was Sweden's standing in the world. His country needed to close their borders against a gold drain. Linnaeus' botanical contributions helped Swedish business and government choose which of the luxuries and cash crops grew in Sweden's climate and soils. What grew wouldn't have to be imported at high prices.

Editors Londa Schiebinger and Claudia Swan, along with their contributing writers, offer readers a beautifully indexed, organized and written book. Their chapters give strong examples, facts, figures, historical illustrations, interpretations, and references. It's history. But what botanists, naturalists, planters, politicians, and traders did then affects us today. Seeds, plants, and cuttings were shipped, to become non-native exotics every which place but home. They were studied, pigeonholed, and named. But their natural settings and controls, such as diseases and pests, weren't. It wasn't naturally matching correct soil, correct plant, correct environment, correct controls. But, fortunately, science and its solutions have jumped way beyond the limits of COLONIAL BOTANY. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1906.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A New England coastal cabin reference
Published in the 1960s but still a worthwhile addition to a beachside cabin bookshelf.Botanist Loren C. Petry provides 50 pages of scientific background that covers plant types, habitats, and various idiosyncracies. The focus is on New England shore plants and seaweeds, especially those found on Cape Cod.That information is followed by 95 pages of lovely black and white plant sketches by Marcia Norman.Newer and more colorful guidebooks are better suited for taking along on shoreline strolls.This volume is the one you'll page through when you're home later that night, reminiscing.The illustrations are so realistic that you're sure to recognize something you saw in the dunes or salt marshes earlier that day.

A book for those who love Cape Cod
The exquisite drawings and careful, readable, text will give any one overthe age of 6 an understanding of the sometimes strange but alwaysinteresting plants that grow on the beaches, dunes and salt marshes of CapeCod.No salt water taffy or guide to T-shirt shops here--just the realCape Cod, a vital part of what people came to Cape Cod for anyway.Nohouse on the Cape should be without it.

It is what it says; and for the non-botanist, too.
Two summer activities keep me going through the depths of winter:herb growing and going to the beach.During our annual outing to Virginia's Eastern Shore, at Assateague, I ran across this book.It was perfect. It was just the thing for carrying along to identify marshmallow and dog fennel.The wonderful reproductions of simple pencil line drawings made on the spot recognition easy for the non-specialist like myself.Unfortunately it was unavailable!The only copy was the desk copy at the visitor's center.I was told it was out of print.Now it's not.Besides which, the trade size paperback fits nicely in the back pack next to Peterson's bird book.Oh, alright, let's call this one a 10! ... Read more

Product Description
* Organized by body system and ailment makes it easy to locate appropriate therapies.
* Includes background on the physiology of major systems and ailments so readers can understand how and why a pharmaceutical, botanical, or dietary supplement works.
* Broad coverage includes green plants, fungi, and microorganisms.
* Includes extensive references and citations from both conventional and complimentary-alternative medical systems when natural products or their derivatives are involved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Medical Botany textbook
Book was actually in excellent condition, better than I anticipated. Two thumbs up to the seller... Thanks! ... Read more

Product Description
This definitive book represents the life's work of the late Richard Evans Schultes, one of the fathers of modern ethnobotany and the greatest plant explorer of our age, including nearly 50 years of field research in the Northwest Amazon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Entheogens: Professional Listing
"The Healing Forest" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

Excellent
Technical, but excellent. Photos are stunning ... Read more

Product Description
By Richard Evans Schultes, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Albert Hofmann, Basel, Switzerland. With Forewords by I. Newton Kugelmass and Henrich Kluver. The Second Edition of this book encompasses all of the advances that have been made in this field since publication of the original text. Newly discovered hallucinogenic plants have been incorporated into the discussions along with new information on some well-known drugs. The authors continue to focus on the botany and chemistry of hallucinogens, although they also consider ethnobotanical, historical, pharmacological and psychological aspects. Initial chapters delineate definition, botanical distribution, and structural types of hallucinogenic plants. Plants of known, possible and dubious hallucinogenic potential are then covered in separate sections. The bibliography for this new edition has been enlarged to accommodate all of the recent activity in botanical and chemical investigation of psychoactive plants. Readers will also appreciate the excellent illustrations that accompany the text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Comprehensive, and then some.....
Weighing in at just over 400 pages, this seminal work by Drs. Schultes and Hofmann is the definitive guide to hallucinogenic plant compounds.Detailed information is included about plant classification, chemical properties, and historical background concerning use.Although written in an academic tone, a book like this can't help but be interesting.Nevertheless, due to its overwhelming amount of information (and the expense and difficulty required to actually obtain a copy), it's probably best left to the most obsessed and/or diligent of psychonauts.For a less technical and more layman-friendly read, try Schultes/Hofmann's other book, Plants of the Gods.

Excellent source of information on plant hallucinogens
This book is a very extensive source of information about plant hallucinogens. It gives historical backgrounds on the plants used as hallucinogens.It also gives very extensive informaton about the moleculesthat are responsible for their hallucinogenic activity.It covers themolecular structures and their abundance in the plant sources.There isalso information about how the plants are used as ethnobotanicals.I wouldsuggest obtaining this book to anyone interested in ethnobotanicals.

Excellent book worth seeking out.
This book is an excellent source of information on the chemistry behind ethnobotanicals.It covers a vast amount of material and the lenghty reference section is worth the trouble of locating this book. ... Read more

Product Description
Written specifically for the horticultural student, this new text presents an ideal introduction to botany for the nonscience major.The book's systematic organization around the five-kingdom system effectively covers the botanical basics, while the many illustrations make new scientific concepts easy to understand.By clearly presenting such topics as respiration, fermentation, photosynthesis, and physical properties of protoplasm, the text builds a solid biological foundation for further study in the plant sciences. ALSO AVAILABLE Lab Manual, ISBN: 0-8273-7380-5 INSTRUCTORS SUPPLEMENTS CALL CUSTOMER SUPPORT TO ORDER Lab Manual - Instructor's Guide, ISBN: 0-8273-8047-XInstructor's Manual, ISBN: 0-8273-7379-1 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beyond Basic Gardening
This book is an excellent choice for anyone wishing to better understand how plants function and grow.The reading level and scientific information seem appropriate for those with a basic knowledge of science or gardening.What makes this book special is that it contains in-depth, usefulinformation about plant form and function, plant needs and requirements,how to propagate plants, basic gardening info, pest and control practices,and an excellent guide to planning and maintaining landscape plants. I usethis book as a textbook in my high school Plant Science course - thestudents enjoy the reading level,(the key vocabulary terms are displayed inbold print), the drawings and pictures, and the fact that this book is anexcellent reference book that they can actually use outside of school. Thecopies we use have black and white illustrations and photos - if you'relooking for pretty pictures for the suburban garden this is the wrong book- but if you love plants and wish to help your knowledge about plants growand blossom this is the best book I've seen for the novice and pro alike. ... Read more

Product Description
Volume: 1918.Publisher: Urbana, The authorPublication date: 1918Subjects: Woody plantsTrees in winterNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Identify trees in winter?Impossible, not with this.
A lot of people find it near impossible to ID trees in winter.Ok, some have distinctive bark, or shape, but then there's the whole realm of trees out there that are just near impossible to identify without leaves.This really help work your way through tree taxonomy.

good but older key, coniferous evergreens missing
I'm a gardener at a botanical garden, but I have no formal training in botany, so take my remarks accordingly.

I've found this book useful, although the key sequence is longer than the other two keys I use regularly. The book uses line drawings, which for buds & leaf scars actually works pretty well.

The keys use quite a bit of plant science terminology- most of it is covered in the glossary at the end of the book.

The biggest disappointment for me was the exclusion of coniferous evergreens from the book.

On a day to day basis, I used another book "Fruit & Twig Key to Trees & Shrubs" more often, but this one covers more species. ... Read more

Product Description
Pyramid Books X-1091. "A lusty adventure of strong men and their women by the authors of Mutiny on the Bounty." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"Sundowner"
I got on a "re-read Nordhoff & Hall" kick recently and decided to write a rewiew on another one of my N/H favorites of long ago, "Botany Bay".It is a most excellent book, well worth recommending as solid, captivating literature.One of the main features of this book is it's historical accuracy woven carefully into a novel about fictional people who played the parts of non-fictional history in what is surely a captivating story.

"Botany Bay" concerns the colonization of Austrialia, but what is different about this "pilgrimage" is the type of immigrants that undertook the effort; hardly the same kind that we read about in American History. When one thinks of colonization, an image comes to mind of people seeking a better life of their own volution, such as those that came across on the Mayflower or who moved West on covered wagon trains.These newcomers were not going there because they wanted to; they were going because England had decided the best way to clean out Newgate Prison was to send the prisoners to the new land of Australia that was badly in need of such a population.A motley crew they were - and while some were simply petty criminals or merely debtors that had been victimized by England's strict financial code of ethics, there were also convicts convicted of more serious crimes, thieves and murderers, prostitutes and all the rest of a population that had existed on the fringes of society and finally made their way into Newgate.

Thrown together with little distinction between the classes of crime, they were banished to the "land down under". The story itself is an accounting of all of the above as we follow them while they were herded aboard the ships that set sail for the shores of Australia; but centers around a cast of mostly honorable characters that were there under unusual circumstances, including one good hearted woman whose only crime amounted to "guilt by association". The one man who landed all of them in a peck of trouble was a charismatic highwayman who practiced his craft until it practiced him and those unfortunate enough to be connected to him.In carefully choosing these types of people to form the basis of the tale, it clearly demonstrated a system that lumped all types of indiscretions into one giant category that ultimately ended in filling the English prisons to overflowing.

There isn't a dull moment, as one might imagine, in setting off with such a gathering and reading about them all the way across the sea, foibles and all.The trip itself, the mishmash of the landing, when every type of human form was unleashed, free at last and running amok everywhere;the frustrating attempts to bring law and order to these outlaws by the long-suffering Captain Bligh-type sea captains entrusted with the same task that had failed miserably on the home soil.

Somehow, the colonization was a success as evidenced today, proving that there is hope for salvation in different forms if enough patience and tenacity is practiced. But on the other side of the same coin, the ending is one that will make the reader pause in sorrow. ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1870.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduction to Botany's comprehensive coverage captures readers' attention by showing them why plants are a fascinating and essential part of their everyday lives. The clear, concise text focuses on four major themes¿lants and people, conservation biology, evolution, and biotechnology¿nd gives readers practical and relevant information about the world of botany. Thematic boxes throughout each chapter further highlight the relationship between plants and readers' lives. Nabors' clear and engaging writing style keeps students interested in the science without ever becoming encyclopedic.Plants & people, conservation biology, evolution, and biotechnology.For college instructors, students, and anyone interested in plant biology or botany. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

botany
it's really great book with reasonable prices also the conditions of the book as mentioned in description!

Like new quality, very prompt service!
I ordered this product for one of my college classes.My college book store marked it up over a hundred dollars used.I ordered this early in the morning on a business day and by afternoon I got a shipment notification.The product came to my house in about 3 business days.The book came with the online code as well, so it was like new!

Great Book
Great text book, not confusing. Reading is engaging and interesting.Very good examples, color pic.s, and diagrams.Make sure you double check the condition (email your buyer) the book I ordered was supposedly in "good" condition.The book i got was in heavily used condition, with the binding taped on... thats my only complaint; Thats the issue with buying used from independent sellers.The book it self is a good text book. not to complicated.

Wonderful (except for the website)
This book is fantastic--very clear, concise, overall well-written.I have absolutely no background in botany but feel very satisfied and confident with what I've learned from this book.The illustrations are especially well done and are useful in understanding the nuts (no pun intended!) and bolts of plant structures and biological processes.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the website is often not functional or is down. ... Read more

Product Description
Acclaim for Carolly Erickson

"Carolly Erickson is one of the most accomplished and successful historical biographers writing in English."
–The Times Literary Supplement

The First Elizabeth

"Even more readable and absorbing than the justly praised works of Tuchman and Fraser. A vivid and eminently readable portrait of history’s favorite Tudor."
–The New York Times Book Review

"A masterpiece of narrative, a story so absorbing it is as hard to put down as a fine novel."
–Los Angeles Times Book Review

Alexandra

"Gifted . . . breathless . . . heartbreaking . . . Erickson excels."
–Chicago Tribune

Josephine

"An intimate, richly detailed, and candid portrait . . . [Erickson’s] scholarly insights combine superbly with a mastery of period manners more often found in the best historical fiction."
–Kirkus Reviews

Mistress Anne

"Carolly Erickson is a most admirable biographer, and this book is highly enjoyable as well as being reliable and acute; indeed, it is popular historical biography at its best."
—The Times (London) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

DIsappointing
Too much speculation by the author - and then a page later she says something that completely contradicts what she speculated might have occurred.The author's own note refers to the lack of historical information, and it shows.This would have been an interesting article - stretched to book length (and I'm being generous, since the pages are small, type is large and there is lots of empty space on the pages) it is thin and not satisfying.

For Want of an Orange...
I was barreling through this quasi-historical, fictional "nonfiction" biography of Mary Broad when I came across this incredible declaration on page 52. "Efforts were made to prevent the scurvy from spreading; decks were washed with vinegar and smoked with brimstone. But with the constant flying spray and the sloshing water along the decks and in the hold, such attempts at improving hygiene were pitifully feeble, and soon the scurvy spread to the crew, some of whom became too weak to go aloft." The declaration is incredible because, as anyone who has read ANY nautical history book or novel knows, the spread of scurvy has absolutely NOTHING to do with bad hygiene and no amount of swabbing the decks will curtail it. Now, the British didn't know this back in the time of Mary Broad and this may be what the author is trying to indicate, but the way the sentences read, it appears that the author is the one who has no idea of cause for the most common and infamous scourge of the Royal Navy. This is either a bit of unforgivable ignorance or an extremely unfortunate choice of wording. This is also the point I put the book down and quit reading it.

I'm disappointed, Ms. Erickson.
A quick read. A disappointed Erickson fan am I! I thought the book was juvenile in comparison to Erickson's other works. Don't get me wrong--it wasn't horrible. I guess I expected more. More detail, more facts, more story, more depth. This book as no 'meat'. I do HIGHLY RECOMMEND Carolly Erickson as an author though.

Fiction masquerading as history
This is undoubtedly one of the worst books I've ever read on Australian history and I've read a great many including several on Mary Bryant by authors who knew what they were talking about.
Almost everything about Mary Bryant in this book is just plain wrong. Or, to put it more clearly, most of it didn't happen that way. Don't waste your money.

Shocking, compelling
A gripping page turner illustrating incredible endurance and survival of an eighteenth century English convict sent to Australia's Botany Bay.

Found guilty of highway robbery in 1787, Mary Bryant was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at England's newest penal colony in Botany Bay (Sydney Cove).She was one of more than a hundred convicts onboard the harrowing First Fleet.

The voyage out to Australia and then the trial and errors of establishing a settlement are alive with all the unbelievable horrors one can imagine.Their escape to Indonesia is an unsurpassed human feat of courage and determination.Scurvy, malaria, ocean storms, inhumane and cruel treatments, brutal living conditions, thirst and hunger, it's all here.

This is Mary Bryant's astonishing story and Carolly Erickson's descript narrative is of the highest caliber.Highly recommend.
... Read more

Product Description
First published in 1988, Sara Stein's unique book explores the traditional garden. The author discusses the history, behavior, reproductive habits, and anatomy of the most common weeds--a problem every gardener encounters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

My Weeds
Sara Stein shares her amazing in-depth knowlege of the botany of weeds with a sense of humor that makes this book a "I can't put it down" volume.

great book
I love this book.I am amazed by her depth of knowledge.Plus it's a good read.I am re-reading it now, keeping it by my bedside to read a few paragraphs each night.Such a wealth of knowledge.

I am so bummed that this is out of print
I first read this a year or so ago and just loved it.This book gave me an even greater appreciation for the intelligence of plants, their adaptability, and the information we can gain from the presence of certainweeds if we know what we are looking at.The author talks about herongoing struggle with the weeds that inhabit her gardening space.Thereare no winners or losers in this war, but a definate relationship iscreated between the two.

This book is very enjoyable to read as well asbeing full of great, and accurate, information.

wonderful to read and botanically accurate
This book will delight any and all who have done or will do battle with weeds. Mrs. Stein has a delightful style that is warm and personable.Her research was excellent and the reader will discover much about the secret lives of these much maligned plants. Anyone that is thinking about startinga garden should read this book ... Read more