Product Description
"Political ecology is a strong and growing interdisciplinary field of inquiry, and this book makes a welcome and unique contribution. Susan Paulson and Lisa Gezon have put together an engaging and well-written collection that is full of fresh ideas and applications related to current theoretical debate, concepts, and methods."—Marianne Schmink, director, Tropical Conservation and Development Program, University of Florida

"Political ecology and ecologists are sure to benefit from this splendid array of rigorous, richly contextualized, and far-reaching accounts that injects a masterful blend of political analysis and attention to the lifeworlds of diverse peoples worldwide into environmental studies."—Karl Zimmerer, professor and chair, department of geography andInstitute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"An ingenious mix of genealogy and the unfolding future of political ecology, bringing fresh insights to the dynamics of place, power, and people across the globe."—Dianne Rocheleau, coeditor of Feminist Political Ecology: Global Issues and Local Experiences

As environmental issues become increasingly prominent in local struggles, national debates, and international policies, scholars are paying more attention to conventional politics and to more broadly defined relations of power and difference in the interactions between human groups and their biophysical environments. Such issues are at the heart of the relatively new interdisciplinary field of political ecology, forged at the intersection of political economy and cultural ecology.

This volume provides a toolkit of vital concepts and a set of research models and analytic frameworks for researchers at all levels. Pointing to the entangled relationship between humans, politics, economies, and environments at the dawn of the twenty-first century, opening chapters trace rich traditions of thought and practice that inform current approaches to political ecology. The twelve case studies that follow explore sites located around the world as they describe uses of and conflicts over resources including land, water, soil, trees, biodiversity, money, knowledge, and information.

Contributors include Mette J. Brodgen, William Derman, Michael R. Dove, Arturo Escobar, Anne Ferguson, Andrew Gardner, Lisa Gezon, James B. Greenberg, Josiah McC. Heyman, Alf Hornborg, Fiona D. Mackenzie, Susan Paulson, Charles J. Stevens, Hanne Svarstad, and Michael Watts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An engaging analysis of social/environmental problems
Political Ecology across Spaces, Scales, and Social Groups is an important advance in work being done in the interdisciplinary field of political ecology.The two introductory chapters provide an extensively referenced outline of the field's historical emergence, as well as consideration of various new paths and concerns taken up by the field.The volume's contributors emphasize the importance of viewing social processes in relation to and of consequence for environmental processes and outcomes.Several pieces in the volume nicely address concerns raised by several scholars critical of political ecology approaches, such as the claim that, by apparently privileging analysis of political processes and struggles in their work, political ecologists have forsaken ecology.This particular critique appears unfounded in the end.The volume's contributors solidly reaffirm the place that attention to political processes-as one of several analytical points of consideration-holds in the holistic analysis of environmental problems.(It might be kept in mind that political ecologists do not claim to be doing `strict' ecological analyses, but this in no way means that these scholars eschew ecological analysis as part of an interdisciplinary field requiring the collaboration of researchers and analysts from a broad range of disciplines).The volume offers a new set of case studies (of a broad geographical range), analytical concepts, and addresses various methodological problems throughout, all of which will be satisfying for scholars and practitioners already familiar with the field.Excellent editing makes the volume enjoyable to read, and accessible to students becoming acquainted with the perspectives of political ecology.I highly suggest this book to anyone interested in the relationship between social and environmental processes and problems! ... Read more

Product Description
Molecular Ecology provides a comprehensive introduction to the many diverse aspects of this subject. The book unites theory with examples from a wide range of taxa in a logical and progressive manner, and its accessible writing style makes subjects such as population genetics and phylogenetics highly comprehensible to its readers. The first part of the book introduces the essential underpinnings of molecular ecology, starting with a review of genetics and a discussion of the molecular markers that are most frequently used in ecological research. This leads into an overview of population genetics in ecology. The second half of the book then moves on to specific applications of molecular ecology, covering phylogeography, behavioural ecology and conservation genetics. The final chapter looks at molecular ecology in a wider context by using a number of case studies that are relevant to various economic and social concerns, including wildlife forensics, agriculture, and overfishing
* comprehensive overview of the different aspects of molecular ecology
* attention to both theoretical and applied concerns
* accessible writing style and logical structure
* numerous up-to-date examples and references

This will be an invaluable reference for those studying molecular ecology, population genetics, evolutionary biology, conservation genetics and behavioural ecology, as well as researchers working in these fields. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good for Classroom
This work is directed towards graduate students and makes a good text for introductory materials.

Well Rounded Introductory Book.
The past few years has seen almost explosive growth in the techniques and equipment of gathering molecular genetic data. And with this growth has come the need for readily available material on the subject. This book, intended as a general introduction is suitable for use in an advanced undergraduate class, in an early graduate level course, or for a researcher moving into this area.

The book provides a complete introduction to the field. It discusses the history of the development of the field up until now, and discusses the ways that it is being used today. This is a rapidly changing field, and the book provides for a series of additioal web stites that can be consulted for more recent information.

More than just a 'how to' text, the book gives several examples where the use of molecular ecology has led to a greater understanding of specific areasl ... Read more

Product Description
Wildlife researchers and ecologists make widespread use of multivariate statistics in their studies. With its focus on the practical application of the techniques of multivariate statistics, this book shapes the powerful tools of statistics for the specific needs of ecologists and makes statistics more applicable to their course of study. Multivariate Statistics for Wildlife and Ecology Research gives the reader a solid conceptual understanding of the role of multivariate statistics in ecological applications and the relationships among various techniques, while avoiding detailed mathematics and underlying theory. More important, the reader will gain insight into the type of research questions best handled by each technique and the important considerations in applying each one. Whether used as a textbook for specialized courses or as a supplement to general statistics texts, the book emphasizes those techniques that students of ecology and natural resources most need to understand and employ in their research. Detailed examples use real wildlife data sets analyzed using the SAS statistical software program.

The book is specifically targeted for upper-division and graduate students in wildlife biology, forestry, and ecology, and for professional wildlife scientists and natural resource managers, but it will be valuable to researchers in any of the biological sciences.

Kevin McGarigal is Assistant Professor and Sam Cushman is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management at the University of Massachusetts. Susan Stafford is Head of the Forest Science Department at Colorado State University. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Applied, don't need a PhD to understand; lacks theory
This book is very applied and the practitioner with little statistical knowledge will be able to benefit from it.It is easy to read and has many examples.I would say that it is written for MS level grad students.I find it very useful for examples of application.
There is not much theory and if you are looking to see how the techniques are founded in first principles, this is not the book for you.If you just want to know how to do it and not concerned too much with underlying theory, you will enjoy this.
This is a good overview of the techniques and what they can do.If you end up using a technique, you might want to find a different text to explore the theory more if that is your desire.

Invaluable for a grad student!
This book is easy to read and includes many real world examples. I appreciate that it is not too heavy on the statistical semantics which I can get from other books. I like the fact that people on many levels can read this book and understand the statistical methods without being overly intimidated by them. I return to this book time and time again during the course of my graduate studies.

A good introduction to multivariate statistics
This book is fairly easy to understand, even with little knowledge of multivariate statistics. The author uses specific examples relevant to ecological fields and does not focus on theory (which is a rarity in statistical manuals). It is, however, starting to get a bit outdated with some of the techniques gaining favor in the literature recently.

grad students
I am an ecology grad student and I have returned to this text again and again. ... Read more

Product Description
Ecological principles are explained while introducing students to some of the mathematical techniques and tricks used to develop ecological models. The book builds models beginning with first principles, and then gently makes each formulation accessible to students through a step-by-step development of equations paired with lavish illustrations. Theoretical developments are then applied to practical issues in conservation to provie a more visceral understanding of the purpose and utility of the theory, where it might need modification to fit the real world and future directions. The book's great advantage is in its visual presentation of conceptual issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Valuable text
The previous reviews of this text do not reflect my experience as an ecology graduate student whose research emphasizes modeling community dynamics.

Case provides a clear review of important topics in the field that is suitable for self-teaching by the motivated reader.While maintaining his emphasis that the biological questions must ultimately dictate the mathematical approaches (for the ecologist, if not for the applied mathematician), he manages to introduce straightforwardly a variety of fairly advanced concepts relying on methods in calculus, linear algebra and differential equations.This is quite a challenge, and the totally unfamiliar reader will likely struggle, despite the effort to include most of the intervening steps in derivations and the abundance of graphical representations.Case clearly admits this in the preface, and the combination of the appendices, side topic "boxes" and outside materials allow this struggle to be overcome.Alternatively, the reader with a strong math background (e.g. familiarity with stability analysis for non-linear dynamical systems) may unsurprisingly find some of material too basic or insufficiently detailed.Both of these concerns relate primarily to the task of meeting the needs of a diverse audience, however, and my primary specific criticism of the text is that most answers to the (often quite thought-provoking) exercises ending sections/chapters are provided.

In general this book is quite successful and considerably improved my understanding of a number of issues.If anything, it deserves a second edition with attention to and incorporation of recent research.

School book
Took a VERY long time! If you are selling text books it might be good to send them asap!

Not worth it.
I only bought this textbook because it was required for my population biology class. The book is poorly written, alternating being being complete gibberish to over-explaining the simpliest concepts. This book has more errors than the average undergraduate assignment. Other members of my class have bought a second population dynamics textbook just to explain this one. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first introductory volume to outline the fundamental ecological principles, which provide the foundation for understanding environmental issues. A strong framework of applied ecology is used to explore specifics such as habitat fragmentation, acid deposition, and the emergence of new human diseases. The volume addresses all aspects of biodiversity and physical setting, population and community ecology, ecology and society, environmental legislation and peering into the future.For those interested in pursuing knowledge in ecology and biodiversity. ... Read more

Product Description

At the center of Deep Blue Home is Julia Whitty’s penetrating exploration of the World Ocean as a single body of water connected by a vast and powerful threedimensional current encircling the globe. This undivided body of water profoundly controls and is controlled by Earth’s climate; its fate determines our own.

Whitty’s career—first in science, later as a documentary filmmaker, and always as a writer and diver—has given her sustained access to the scientists dedicated to the study of an astonishing range of ocean life, from the physiology of “extremophile” life forms to the strategies of nesting seabirds to the ecology of “whale falls,” or what happens in the afterlife of a behemoth.

No stranger to extreme adventure, Whitty travels the oceanside and underwater world from the Sea of Cortés to Newfoundland to the Galápagos. Her book provides extraordinary armchair entree to gripping adventure, cutting-edge science, and an intimate understanding of our deep blue home.

Customer Reviews (17)

Homage to the Sea
Part science, part poetry, part Greek and Norse mythology, 'Deep Blue Home' is an homage to the oceans of our world, their inhabitants, and the sea birds above, all built on the experiences of its author, Julia Whitty.This work both celebrates the oceans' creatures and laments man's impact on them, with a focus on decline created in the past 300 or so years.Ms.Whitty merges prose with science, footnotes with endangered species status, facts with opinions.Ægir, a sea giant, god of sea and king of the sea creatures in Norse mythology is in constant reference in the latter half of the book.At first focusing on experiences at Isla Rasa, then moving on to further research and filming in other parts of the world, 'Deep Blue Home' gives insight into the world of marine biology research, coupled with a conservationist's viewpoint, and an appreciation of nature, art and prose.Highly recommended.

General libraries need this!
DEEP BLUE HOME: AN INTIMATE ECOLOGY OF OUR WILD OCEAN offers a fine survey of the World Ocean as a single body of water connected by three currents circling the globe. This body of water is a greater influence on the world's climate than carbon emissions: its fate determines ours, and Whitty's background in science and as a writer and documentary filmmaker offers a survey of the ocean's physiology and importance that can't be beat. General libraries need this!

A Companion to Places of Wonder

Sometimes a book is so good that I'd like to simply say "Don't bother with what I have to say, just go read it". Julia Whitty's Deep Blue Home fits in that category. But for those that need a bit more convincing....

Deep Blue Home is a collection of 32 science and nature essays that are provocatively named (The Very Air Miraculous, Bone Rafters, The Tempest from the Eagle's Wings), and even more deeply provocative and evocative in the reading.Lowering her creative bucket into the well of her own scientific training, her wide travels, her multiple professions, her life experiences, and the richness of human mythology, Julia Whitty brings up into the light a payload that is astoundingly rich in content, content that is potent enough to alter the world view of those who choose to drink it in.

Whitty's style of prose can be compared to, well, probably to NO other writer.Her graceful, seamless, and fluid blending of hard science, love of nature, wry humor, keen observational skills, and all things good that come from estrogen, bring forth a book that powerfully delves into the relationship of mankind to the world that we dwell in.At times Whitty's dramatic use of metaphor can be almost overpowering, such as this description ofbeing in a boat off the coast of Newfoundland:"Yet our comforts are largely forgotten, in this numinous theater when white eyelids of fog open to undress the nudes of the landscape: the loins of an Irish-green fjord, a hank of blond kelp bound to the seashore and tongued by waves, the clattered bones of a ghost village sagging to driftwood.In one blink of mist a muscular cliff materializes, tagged with the orange tattoos of crustose lichens hundreds of years old."At other times, her language is more suited for an article in Scientific American, such as when she gives a detailed description of the aerodynamic design of fish-eating bats, whose high aspect wing ratios allow them to fly low and slow, carrying heavy payloads of fish.

Dreamy and magical descriptions of enormous sea turtles methodically chomping their way through clusters of jellyfish give way to graphic (and also magical) descriptions of the life-giving journey of a whale carcass on its way to the seafloor, where it will nourish a carcass dependent community for decades.

Each of the chapters is illuminating, and many are startling.But lest we forget that nature is not a series of zoo-like exhibitions to be viewed in tidy parcels, but rather an inextricably woven web of interdependence, Whitty ends Deep Blue Home with a descent into a Baja California cave that is richly illustrated with Lescaux-like pictograms.Antelope, octopi, whales, tuna, deer, sardines, pelicans, mountain lions, eagles, and humans swirl around each other in the cave's murals.And over them all is a depiction of an event that occurred in 1054: a supernova that was visible during the daytime. What is it that Whitty sees in these ancient murals?She sees a dark mirror of the human past:"On convex walls darkened by soot we read the broader perspective---of disparate exploded realms of sea, air, land reassembling into wholes.We see the numinous interplay among whales, pronghorn, sardines, lynx, eagles, sea turtles.We see ourselves and know that we are part of the landscape, the seascape, the airscape, and can never be apart from them."This is something we once all seemed to know, and have somehow often forgotten. Deep Blue Home, once read, will never let you forget again.

TRANSPORTING AND VIVID COLLECTION!
Deep Blue Home


Having been very moved by and smitten with Julia Whitty's firstnonfiction book, The Fragile Edge, which explored the bustling realm of coral reefs in the South Pacific, I couldn't wait to enter the watery world of her latest, Deep Blue Home. Already the title suggests an intimacy with the ocean that few of us are lucky or driven enough to experience first hand.But fear not. No dry exercise in esotericism this, but miraculously, a non-fiction book that manages to both move and educate in a prose that consistently reflects the author's passion for her subject.
The book is divided into three sections, the first being the hot, squawky, guano-filled Isla Rosa, a remote outpost of the Baja Peninsula and nesting grounds for over three hundred thousand sea birds, plus the three young women studying their behavior, Julia and Monica and Enriqueta.Immersed in this isolated world of bird mating and nesting, and far from their own mates, the women gleefully begin to shed the trappings of the western civilization, with Whitty "bemoaning my species advancements- the loss of fur, the insistence on bipedalism" and the three going "completely feral.....learning to see in another language...Gull or Tern or Falcon."Whitty makes frequent observations and experiences the occasional epiphany perched on her "flattish rock" and the reader, thanks to the immediacy of her writing, is often sitting right there beside her.
Early on in Deep Blue Home, Whitty introduces us to something called The Red List, a way of tracking the fate of life on earth. Hence every subsequent mention of any fish, bug, bird, or beast is followed by their Red List status: which ranges from "Least Concern" to "Extinct." It is a very powerful device, and makes it quite a different experience to hear of a first thrilling sighting of, say, a massive leatherback sea turtle,in the same breath as the parenthesized words that inevitably follow: Red List: CriticallyEndangered 2000.
In fact, as Whitty moves from the teeming shores of Rasa to the chilly mists, "...Part sea, part air, part land..." of Newfoundland, to the high desert of Baja's Sierra de San Francisco in these pages, she stops to contemplate the history of the falcon or whale or turtle she is observing, filling the book with fascinating and well-researched facts about its progression alongside, and often in spite of, human civilization. She speaks of a long ago time of abundance for some of the creatures, and perhaps the most striking instance is in her description of the sperm whales, which in the 1700's numbered in the millions. Then follows an up close and personal encounter underwater with this giant mammal that is one of the most breathtaking moments in the book: "The whale surges toward me, his boxcar so huge that I have to look up and down to take it all in....I cannot see his eye...I am awaiting my fate with resignation, some interest, and surprisingly, no fear when- only a few feet away from me-he suddenly bows his great head, an almost courtly introduction...I am about to learn the answer to my long-standing question: what would happen to a person in the water if a whale sounded directly alongside her...?"She answers: "He has not salted this lean missionary and I am grateful."
Whitty `s forte is that she consistently allows herself to marvel and be humbled by the creatures she is researching. There is a spunkiness, as she and her partner Hardy Jones start out in their fledgling documentary film business on a wing and a prayer, in the Newfoundland section, and it is often the chance encounters and surprises that come her way that leave the most lasting impressions. And in the final chapters, as she studies the largest and mostly inaccessible collection of ancient cave art on the planet, these "chapels of prehistory,"looking for insights into that long gone civilization never tainted by "horses, ships, or guns," that did not separate themselves but rather "straddled all worlds with equal awe," the book has come full circle, acknowledging the huge role mystery plays even in a world full of data and science. A wonder-full book.

Stream of Conscious writings on Nature
Deep Blue Home is a collection of essays on the author's experiences with the ocean and generally with marine/insular environments. The book contains numerous anecdotes describing fragile environments that have been or are being ravished by human activities.The book is not a one focused on marine ecology and environmental problems.Rather, it is a series of only vaguely related essays, divided into three very distinct parts.

My biggest problem was with the author's stream of conscious style of writing.There is very little organization to it.As the book is a amalgamation of different writings, it does not read like a traditional narrative.Rather, terms are repeated, bizarre observations stated, and you often feel like you are reading the author's diary or personal notes rather than something designed to be read by anyone.The book contains an almost equal amount of biological descriptions and the author's often irrelevant personal thoughts.

The author feels the need to go into bizarre, useless details, such as describing her provisioning on an island off the coast of Mexico, or listing the scientific/Latin name for every animal in the book and its conservation status.She also, mainly in the earlier essays, goes into descriptions of various mythologies, such as Hindu and Norse, and tried to make haphazard analogies with current ecological problems.These types of things seriously interrupted the flow of the book and made it much more difficult to focus on what the writings were supposed to be about.

The book describes many awful environmental catastrophes and pending ecological crises which should be causes of concern for all.But the style in which they are presented made the book overall uninteresting for me.I would recommend this book to those who like Whitty's other writings.But otherwise, you'd be much better off skipping this. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Not Your Average Book on Amphibian Ecology or Behavior
No other book on amphibian ecology or behavior comes even close to the breadth andrigor of this work.The extraordinary wealth of real, peer-reviewed data that the author has gathered is simply staggering, and its seamless incorporation into the material is a testament to Kent Wells' unique grasp of amphibian biology.As amphibian populations face unprecedented challenges globally, it is more crucial than ever that we understand how amphibians interact with their environment, and each other, so that we may better preserve and protect their remaining populations in meaningful ways. I have no doubt that this book will remain the ultimate treatise for this task.

Its value is worth more than its weight in gold (~5lbs)
The author invested more than 20yrs in its making, and I would have to invest equal time to write a review that compliments this book enough!To say this book is too technical blows my mind (other reviewer).I have rarely seen a book that meshes "technical" information in such a readable fashion as Kentwood Wells has done in this monumental volume.

the ecology and behavior of amphibians


chegou 15 dias antecipado ao dia marcado. bem embalado e com o conteudo esperado. fiquei muitooooooooo satisfeita. parabens!!!

a hobbyist's perspective
Amphibians might be considered to be a somewhat neglected sector of the herp hobby, which itself, unfortunately, is still looked upon as being on the fringes by many people. In reality, most types of reptiles and amphibians in captivity are best treated as display animals to be admired as a part of a functioning ecosystem. The challenge in keeping them healthy and content lies in recreating these ecosystems as faithfully as possible, so that the animals, in the most ideal case, do not realize they are in captivity! Some species, like poison dart frogs, may be rather demanding, whereas others, like fire bellied toads or tiger salamanders, may be surprisingly simple to keep. Some, like the tropical palm salamanders (Bolitoglossa) seem to have some very particular requirements that make them difficult captives even for specialists. But in every case, a working knowledge of how they live in the wild can definitely be a great asset to the aspiring herpetoculturist, as well as anyone who likes to observe them in their natural habitats.

This book is divided into chapters on various topics about amphibians such as their classification, geographical distribution patterns, feeding and reproductive behavior, survival strategies, conservation issues, and so on, and does a very good job of compiling all of the latest scientific findings in each of these areas. At first I thought that some of the material went a bit over the head of the average amateur naturalist or herp hobbyist like myself, but upon further inspection I realized that much of it is quite accessible to the average reader. There are quite a few illustrations and pictures demonstrating unusual and provocative behaviors. One disappointing issue to me was the lack of color photos of the animals and their habitats. The pictures are still quite good, but fail to totally do justice to these creatures when it comes to such topics as aposematic coloration, camouflage, etc. Additionally, some color photos might have done more to draw the attention of the average reader to these fascinating creatures, many of which are threatened by various environmental problems, not all of which have yet been clearly identified. The section of the book addressing these problems is compelling reading to anyone interested in these animals, but leaves the reader realizing that there is still a lot to be learned about how to solve them.

In spite of some minor quibbles that I have mentioned, I believe this book is a superb reference, which contains the kind of material you wish you would find under "Amphibians" in the Encyclopedia Brittanica, but wouldn't.

A definitive treatment of amphibian ecology
At a moment when amphibians are undergoing declines and disappearances and being held up as indicators of environmental health, the appearance of this book could not be more timely.While there area number of textbooks that capably treat the biology of amphibians, their coverage of behavior and ecology is usually brief and superficial.

Neither adjective fits this well organized book.I am sure some will end up usingit in support of graduate and upper level undergraduate courses, however I would hesitate to call it a textbook.Instead it reads much more like a literature review, or really a set of literature reviews.Each is enormously comprehensive and all are written accessibly given their subject matter.In the areas I know best, the author has gone to great lengths to be both thorough and balanced in his presentation of competing evidence and shows shrewd judgment in his conclusions.The frequent use of figures and other graphics from primary literature is also effective.

It is increasingly uncommon for an academic to dedicate this degree of effort to a single publication.The scholarship is extraordinarily thorough and the writing invites the reader to plunge ahead.Even specialists will find it amazing how much work is being done on amphibians and in such a wide array of topics.That one person could master all of this literature is staggering.For the rest of us that have not, this book is a tremendous bootstrap to amphibian literacy.

If you are interested in the ecology and behavior of amphibians this is the book. ... Read more

Product Description
Elements of Mathematical Ecology provides an introduction to classical and modern mathematical models, methods, and issues in population ecology. The first part of the book is devoted to simple, unstructured population models that ignore much of the variability found in natural populations for the sake of tractability. Topics covered include density dependence, bifurcations, demographic stochasticity, time delays, population interactions (predation, competition, and mutualism), and the application of optimal control theory to the management of renewable resources. The second part of this book is devoted to structured population models, covering spatially-structured populationmodels (with a focus on reaction-diffusion models), age-structured models, and two-sex models. Suitable for upper level students and beginning researchers in ecology, mathematical biology, and applied mathematics, the volume includes numerous clear line diagrams that clarify the mathematics, relevant problems throughout the text that aid understanding, and supplementary mathematical and historical material that enrich the main text. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a completely revised second edition of Design for the Real World, which has since its first appearance twenty years ago, become a classic.Translated into twenty-three languages, it is one of the world's most widely read books on design.In this revised edition, Victor Papanek examines the attempts by designers to combat the tawdry, the unsafe, the frivolous, the useless product, once again providing a blueprint for sensible, responsible design in this world, which is deficient in resources and energy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Way Better Than All the Modern Design Thinking "Guides"
Way ahead of his time. Design for the Real World contains all of the messages about creativity, design thinking, sustainable design, appropriate technology that are being echoed all around the design community now...but he wrote this THIRTY YEARS AGO. And the amazing thing is that nearly every one of his comments is still just as applicable today. If only everyone had listened the first time.

Much more interesting than the IDEO guides and other "creativity" authors such as Ken Robinson.

The Classic Social Model Approach
Victor Papanek's book is not only readable, it might just change your life.This should be required reading for students of design everywhere as the ideas presented are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago.Papanek's writing style is accessible and his passion is contagious.Although some of the language is dated, it doesn't interfere with the basic message of the book:design is good and as such, it should be shared with as many people as possible.

Politicizing design
Papanek, like his mentor Fuller, took on a guru like status where rhetoric became more important than the reality. He bends facts and contradicts himself several places in this book.

Here are a few that jumped out at me

Misrepresentation of the facts -

Page 89 - The Hyatt collapse wasn't bad design rather the builder changed the construction and inspectors weren't doing their job.

281 - He talks about farm implement companies' negative reaction to his walking tractor proposal. Troy-Bilt Rototiller has around since 1937,was and is building a 10 HPtiller very similar to the one pictured.

Contradicts himself -

Page 6 he says, "Design must be meaningful. And meaningful replaces such semantically loaded expressions as ... "ugly"... "cute"...

Page 93 - he describes gum as "tawdry

Page 246 - He asserts that humidifiers are bad because they are "costly, ugly,and ... wasteful of water"

Granted there are a lot of dangerous, overpriced, impractical, and generally unnecessary products on the market, but except for ranting about what he considers to be wrong, he doesn't offer much in terms of direction to others who want to be socially responsible.

An inspiring book on environmental design
I first heard a lecture by Victor Papanek about 20 years ago, shortly before this revised edition was released.He was a very impressive speaker, drawing from a seemingly bottomless well of ecological design ideas.His work has taken him far and wide and in the process allowed him to revamp many of his views on environmental design.This book is an extensively updated version of his seminal book on the subject.It has become a bit dated in the 20 years since its release, especially in regard to computer software design.But, most of the material he covers is still relavent to the present, as we have only begun to scratch the surface of sound ecological ideas.

Having read the more recent books on ecological design by Sim Van Der Ryn and William McDonough, I was surprised to see that neither mentioned Papanek, who prefigured many of the ideas they present in their current books.Papanek long ago advocated the lease/use principle, which makes much more sense in a rapidly changing technological world than does the buy/own principle that continues to dominate our social thinking.Papanek notes the many cultural and psychological blocks we have created for ourselves when it comes to ecological design, but also illustrates how we can overcome these blocks with methods such as bisociation, first proposed by Arthur Koestler.But, what really makes this book stand out are the great number of illustrations that Papanek uses to demonstrate his ideas.This is one of the most practical books written on environmental design.

While Papanek was an industrial designer, his ideas are equally germaine to the field of architecture and biology.He advocated a multi-disciplinary approach, feeling that our universities had become too compartimentalized and were stifling creativity, which needs cross-pollination in order to thrive.The book is as inpiring as his lectures.Papanek challenges the reader to explore new avenues, not continue to follow the status quo, which only results in creative dead-ends.

The Design Bible, Even for Architects
I first spotted this book while studying in Denmark last year, where my host parents had studied under Victor Papanek. I would have studied under him at the University of Kansas, if not for his untimely and unfortunate passing. This book is one of the best books on the principles and ethics of design.It illustrates both the designer's responsibility and the potential to affect real change in the world through design.This most renowned of works by Papanek focuses on industrial design in two parts: How It Is, and How It Could Be.Papanek encourages radical thinking in design, and most of the topics in the book are easily translated to architecture.To my knowledge, reading this book has never been a required part of the core curriculum at the School of Architecture and Urban Design here at KU, but in my opinion, it should be. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents a comprehensive overview of all aspects of ecology, including evolution, ecosystems theory, practical applications, plants, animals, biogeochemical cycles, and global change. This balanced approach has made Ecology and Field Biology, Sixth Edition the best-selling ecology book on the market. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great book for class, but...
The text itself is fine and wonderful for class but unfortunately as soon as I opened the book half the table of contents and preface can apart from the spine and the rest are just as easy to pull out.

Ecology Text
Textbook in great condition.Was here in a timely manner.Needed for a college course and will come in handy.

A Very Useful Book
For a book that attempts to survey such a vast field, this does a good job. I find myself picking it up for reference purposes at least once every few months. Clear, concise explanations of ecological concepts and plentiful illustrations make this a useful volume.

If you are actually interested in ecology (rather than just getting a textbook for a required course), this is one of those textbooks that you will probably end up keeping on the bookshelf rather than selling at the end of the semester.

Did not receive it, but got money back
I did not receive my book because it was out of stock.Some weeks later, I got my money back.

Great Deal
Fast delivery.Book was in great shape for a great price.Thanx! ... Read more

Product Description
Community ecology is the study of the interactions between populations of co-existing species. Co-edited by two prominent community ecologists and featuring contributions from top researchers in the field, this book provides a survey of the state-of-the-art in both the theory and applications of the discipline. It pays special attention to topology, dynamics, and the importance of spatial and temporal scale while also looking at applications to emerging problems in human-dominated ecosystems (including the restoration and reconstruction of viable communities).

Community Ecology: Processes, Models, and Applications adopts a mainly theoretical approach and focuses on the use of network-based theory, which remains little explored in standard community ecology textbooks. The book includes discussion of the effects of biotic invasions on natural communities; the linking of ecological network structure to empirically measured community properties and dynamics; the effects of evolution on community patterns and processes; and the integration of fundamental interactions into ecological networks. A final chapter indicates future research directions for the discipline.

FEATURES
* Incorporates the latest developments in the field and complements the existing textbook literature on community ecology
* Includes a mix of theoretical and applied chapters and a balance of emerging and established research topics
* Covers future research directions and provides ideal reference material for graduate courses in community ecology ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

disappointing book
I bought this book with the intention of using it for some classes of community ecology and ecosystems, and had a high expectation that this book would be very useful. However, the content and style of it does not meet my expectations. I think that is very focused on food webs and as such, the editors must be more honest to acknowledge this in the title. There are several current issues about the ecology of communities that are ignored in this book and in this sense is not useful as a general reference.

Great resource
Great resource for graduate students and researchers. Provides a solid background in the current understanding and uncertainty surrounding community ecology.

Disappointing
I teach a university course in community ecology.There aren't that many recent texts on the subject, so I was quite excited to receive this one.However, it was profoundly disappointing at nearly every turn.First and foremost, despite its broad title, this is not a book for anyone without extensive pre-existing knowledge in community ecology.Second, it is an edited volume, with some chapters that are so specialized (e.g. one on salt marsh management) as to render them useless for most readers.Third, the cited references are not given at the end of each chapter, nor are they compiled in an overall alphabetical list at the end of the book--it's something in between, with references grouped by chapter at the end of the book, a clunky way of doing business.Finally, there are two common conceptual approaches in most of the chapters, pertaining to network theory in food webs and metacommunity theory (still unsatisfyingly theoretical), with little else to glean from this book.

So, if you are a student or teacher looking for a general or introductory book on the subject of community ecology, look elsewhere.If you are a community ecologist looking for the hot trends of the field, look elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description
In its analytical interpretation of the ecological responses of plants and animals to their environments, this classic and highly influential text draws upon studies of energy exchange, gas exchange, and chemical kinetics. The opening chapters discuss energy and energy budgets and their applications to plants and animals and define radiation laws and units. Succeeding chapters cover radiation, convection, conduction, and evaporation, and the book concludes with methods for the study of photosynthesis in plants and energy budgets in animals. This text will prove of value to students and environmental researchers from a variety of fields, particularly ecology, agronomy, forestry, botany, and zoology. 1980 edition. 174 figures. 30 tables.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Biophysical Ecology
I am reading this book in conjunction with a graduate course in ecophysiology that focuses on biophysical processes affecting plants and animals.The book provides expanded information on topics that are covered in class.The formulas seem daunting at first but can be understood with careful reading and simple algebra.However, the value of the book is the verbal explanations of the processes involved and how they affect plants and animals in the environment.

A fascinating book
I am a physicist, not an ecologist, but still found this book fascinating.It deals with the interface between physics and biology, focusing primarily on heat and mass transfer in living organisms.A large section of the book is devoted to radiative heat transfer, which is the dominant heat transfer mechanism in many every day situations.Gates has many interesting examples sprinkled through the text.For instance, there is an interesting discussing of evaporative cooling of birds and mammals, including the relative importance of panting versus sweating.An accompanying graph, from the author's research, shows the evaporative losses of a ground squirrel as a function of ambient temperature.There are also formulas given for estimating evaporative losses.There are many other interesting discussions (evaporation losses of lakes, body temperatures of birds, skylight irradiation on sloped surfaces, etc.).Lots of interesting stuff.The book requires knowledge of trigonometry.It would also be very helpful to have had exposure to heat transfer concepts, especially radiative heat transfer.Without that, book may be tough going for some.Overall, I found the book well written and very enjoyable ... Read more

Product Description
Among the most far-reaching effects of the modern environmental movement was the widespread acknowledgment that human beings were inescapably part of a larger ecosystem. With this book, Linda Nash gives us a wholly original and much longer history of "ecological" ideas of the body as that history unfolded in California's Central Valley. Taking us from nineteenth-century fears of miasmas and faith in wilderness cures to the recent era of chemical pollution and cancer clusters, Nash charts how Americans have connected their diseases to race and place as well as dirt and germs. In this account, the rise of germ theory and the pushing aside of an earlier environmental approach to illness constituted not a clear triumph of modern biomedicine but rather a brief period of modern amnesia. As Nash shows us, place-based accounts of illness re-emerged in the postwar decades, galvanizing environmental protest against smog and toxic chemicals. Carefully researched and richly conceptual, Inescapable Ecologies brings critically important insights to the histories of environment, culture, and public health, while offering a provocative commentary on the human relationship to the larger world. ... Read more

Product Description
This new practical guide provides a "hands-on" approach to learning the essential concepts and techniques of landscape ecology. The fundamental knowledge gained will enable students to usefully address landscape-level ecological and management issues. It is an ideal companion to the text, Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice by Monica G. Turner, Robert H. Gardner, and Robert V. O'Neill, also published by Springer-Verlag. The book is organized into nine sections comprising 20 chapters, each of which consists of a lab focusing on an important point in the text. A variety of approaches are presented: group discussion, thought problems, written exercises, and modeling. Each exercise is categorized as to whether it is for individual, small group, or whole class study. Appendices of additional exercises using specialized technical tools of landscape ecology (for example, GIS) are supplied for instructors with appropriate equipment. The book includes a CD-ROM containing spatial data sets and modeling software for use with a number of the exercises.

About the Included CD: Many of the labs use only Excel (.xls) files or Adobe (.pdf) files (or no files at all) and as such are compatible with computers running on either Mac or Windows platforms, as long as the computers have Excel and/or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.Chapters 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 and part of 7 fall into this category. Several other programs require a PC running Windows: Markov, HarvestLite, Rule, Fragstats, ReserveDesign and Folio are DOS executables; ArcExplorer and Bachmap must be installed on a Windows PC. These programs require a Windows emulator for use on a Macintosh platform. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting book
Great introduction and resource on field of landscape ecology. Presents both concepts and methodology to study relationship between pattern and ecological process. ... Read more

Product Description
KEY BENEFIT: The first book of its kind devoted completely to industrial ecology/green engineering, this introduction uses industrial ecology principles and cases to ground the discussion of sustainable engineering–and offers practical and reasonable approaches to design decisions. KEY TOPICS: Technology and Sustainability; Industrial Ecology(IE) and Sustainable Engineering (SE) Concepts; Relevance of Biological Ecology to Technology; Metabolic Analysis; Technological Change and Evolving Risk; Social Dimensions of Industrial Ecology; Concept of Sustainability; SE; Industrial Product Development; Design for Environment and for Sustainability; Introduction to Life-Cycle Assessment; LCA Impact and Interpretation Stages; Streamlining the LCA Process; Systems Analysis; Industrial Ecosystems; Material Flow Analysis; National Material Accounts; Energy and IE; Water and IE; Urban IE; Modeling in IE; Scenarios for IE; Status of Resources; IE and SE in Developing Countries; IE and Sustainability in the Corporation/Government/SocietyMARKET: A useful reference for professionals in environmental science, environmental policy, and engineering. ... Read more

Product Description
Marine fishes have been intensively studied, and some of the fundamental ideas in the science of marine ecology have emerged from the body of knowledge derived from this diverse group of organisms. This unique, authoritative, and accessible reference, compiled by 35 luminary ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and ichthyologists, provides a synthesis and interpretation of the large, often daunting, body of information on the ecology of marine fishes. The focus is on the fauna of the eastern Pacific, especially the fishes of the California coast, a group among the most diverse and best studied of all marine ecosystems. A generously illustrated and comprehensive source of information, this volume will also be an important launching pad for future research and will shed new light on the study of marine fish ecology worldwide.
The contributors touch on many fields in biology, including physiology, development, genetics, behavior, ecology, and evolution. The book includes sections on the history of research, both published and unpublished data, sections on collecting techniques, and references to important earlier studies. ... Read more

Product Description
Dharma Gaia explores the ground where Buddhism and ecology meet, with writings by over twenty-five Buddhists and ecologists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A wide range of views for not just Buddhists
Badiner, ed., Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology, Berkeley, Parallax Press, 1990.
265 pages, $18.00
ISBN: 0938077309

More a collection of meditations or prose poems than essays, this book contains a wide range of short pieces from prominent writers and practitioners in the fields of Buddhism (Thich Nhat Hanh and Robert Aitken, for example), East Asian philosophy and religion (Padmasiri De Silva and Joanna Macy), and the environmental and ecology movements (Bill Devall and John Seed). There are even selections from the Beat poets who introduced Buddhist ideas into the pop culture of the mid-twentieth century, Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg.

Some titles of a few essays will provide a good indication of the nature of the contents: "Orphism: the Ancient Roots of Green Buddhism;" "The Perceptual Implications of Gaia;" "Rock Body Tree Limb;" "Animal Dharma;" "Women and Ecocentricity;" "Earth Gathas;" "Haiku & the Ecotastrophe."

As a whole the collection is a little dated only in that one might wonder how recent developments such as acts of global terrorism and the now confirmed understanding of the dire effects of human activity on climate are viewed in the Buddhist ecological context. Otherwise, all the readings are superlative. Care of the earth is a long-established precept among Buddhists; Dharma Gaia offers enlightenment not just to Buddhists but also to anyone of any faith interested in the spiritual ground for environmental awareness. Suzanne Head, one of the contributors, prays that "other human beings of this planet would also find the confidence, courage and integrity to honor inner Nature and outer Nature.... Realizing the sacredness of the Earth that supports us and the sky that inspires us,...we would find ways to live that could be sustained by the biosphere. Instead of poisoning and plundering the Earth until all life expires, we could fulfill our Nature by being warriors for the Earth."

for every thinking person and those who wish to be
Everyone I've recommended this book to has loved it.It will either be an introduction of new ideas that are pleasant to think about or a conformation of thoughts the reader already has worded in a way that makes them more accessable.The list of writers contains many sparkling souls.Anyone can read this without being offended, and everyone should read it at least once.

Fabulous, it will expand your mind
The book's premise is that buddhism is the perfect religion for an eco-centric based society & culture. It does very well in proving the compatibility and similarities between buddhism & ecology. The sectionon shifting views of perception is highly enlightening. The variety in thisbook is amazing, there are over 30 contributors. Books like this one, inwhich the book is merely a collection of essays on the same topic are greatbecause you can read it in one sitting, or read an essay at a time. As youfinish the last essay of the book, you will never see Smokey the Bear inthe same light again, now there's a teaser!. But seriously folks, this bookis great.

Well written, insightful, thought provoking
Dharma Gaia is a collection of essays offering different perspectives on human/Gaia interaction. These perspectives tie in with Buddhist philosophies to offer readers a sane and well reasoned spiritual approachto ecology. Short introduction by the Dalai Lama, essays and some poetry.

An excellent and original read
Overall, this is an easy read which addresses some complex issues.By the end of the book I developed a greater understanding of both environmental conservation and buddhism.Too many books jump on the"buddha-chic" or "eco-cool" bandwagon, but offer littlemore than a rehash of general facts - this isn't one of them. ... Read more

Product Description
This extensively revised new edition of Wildlife Ecology, Conservation, and Management provides a succinct and clear introduction to general ecological principles, and then goes on to show how those principles can be applied to wildlife management and conservation.

The unique feature of this book is that general ecology is explained first, allowing those students who do not have an ecology background to get to grips quickly with applications to real world situations. This said, the book is appropriate to both undergraduate and graduate classes in applied ecology, conservation, and natural resource management. The book will also be valuable to professional wildlife biologists in developing their research and management.

This edition includes new chapters on foraging and on community and ecosystem ecology. Recent developments in the use of computer modelling are explored in several of the chapters and an overview of how to choose between different models is provided in a separate new chapter. An accompanying CD with worked examples allows students to develop skills in computer modelling and practical problem solving. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

School Book Purchase- Satisfaction Gurantee
I am completely satisfied with my purchase.The book is in perfect condition and came with a cd.My purchase arrived quickly, which is exactly what I needed.Thank you Amazon for another job well done.

Good deal for a Textbook!
This book was in great condition and arrived on time as stated. It was less expensive than the texts available at the University, a great deal!

VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Are you studying at the graduate and undergraduate level in the area of wildlife management and conservation? If you are, this book is for you! Authors Anthony R. E. Sinclair, John M. Fryxell and Graeme Caughley, have written an outstanding 2nd edition of a book about how conservation has become an increasingly important component in the management of animal populations and their habitats.

Sinclair, Fryxell and Caughley, begin with an explanation about what wildlife management is, how it relates to conservation, and how it should operate. Then, they provide a brief overview of the main ecological divisions in the world and supply a background of natural history. The authors continue by outlining the mechanisms by which the evolutionary process of speciation , convergence, and radiation come about. In addition, they also discuss food and nutrition. The authors also consider how ecological constraints shape the behavior of individual organisms and, conversely, the effect of individual behavior on the dynamics of populations and communities. Then, the authors deal with the internal workings of a population that result in a change of population size. Next, they explore some of the reasons why populations are found where they are. Then, the authors describe the theory and evidence for the stability of populations through regulations. Next, they review the competition and facilitation between species. The authors continue by describing the behavior of predators with respect to prey. They also introduce parasitism and disease within wildlife populations. In addition, they also explore those things an animal needs to eat to survive and reproduce resources. Next, they deal with the counting of animals. Then, the authors explore age and stage structures. Next, they explore the methods for choosing between such alternative models or hypotheses. The authors continue by explaining how a technical judgment can be evaluated, by posing it as a question. They also deal with theory that has been developed to account for why and how populations become extinct. In addition, they review actual extinctions or near extinctions to show what are the commonest causes of extinction in practice. Next, the authors consider how to estimate an appropriate offtake for a wildlife population. Then, they show you how a control operation is similar to a sustained-yield exercise but is conceptually more complex. Finally, the authors put the various aspects that they have discussed throughout the rest of the book into the context of the ecosystem to show how these are pertinent to management and conservation.

The authors have also provided a CD that illustrates in close detail how to calculate most of the mathematical concepts discussed in this most excellent book, including all of the simulation models. To further the development of problem-solving skills, the authors also included a series of computer labs, touching on several key concepts.

An excellent text
This is a most excellent book. Aimed at the intermediate to advanced student Sinclair et al.'s book covers an enormous amount of ground with detail and grace.The authors manage to pull the best out of the lessons that wildlife ecology, conservation biology, and habitat management should have taught us over the past 30 years, and present the results in clear insightful prose.While this book is not for the faint of heart -it does NOT scrimp on mathematical modelling- the examples presented are straight and to the point, and running it by a small seminar of (admittedly clever) undergrads I found them well able to keep up with what was going on.What I really like aboutWECAM (excuse the abbreviation) is the real attempt to integrate the three often all-too-disconnected "disciplines" of the title.Throughout one gets the sense that these folks are professionals who have been out in the field AND ALSO in front of the computer and are presenting stuff that has really worked for them. Beyond the text itself there is a useful glossary of terminology plus an exhaustive Lit. Cited that is worth the price of admission by itself. -oh yeah, speaking of price.this book is significantly cheaper than other texts in the field, has a CD with working examples of the models attached, and even in paperback is well constructed & won't fall apart in student backpacks when you tell 'em to "bring the book" on overnight field trips.Most Excellent! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Wisdom and Joy (and a Stupid Introduction)
Actually, given the content of the book, it's organization, and the need that it fills, "The Ecology of Wisdom" merits four and half stars in my opinion. Naess (I wish I knew how to pronounce his name)comes across in this anthology as an urbane, moderate man who nonetheless is passionately committed to his cause, and therefore brings all his intellect and reading to bear on it. Any reasonable human being would have to admit the cause itself was worthy: reformulating our relationship with the inhuman world and putting an end to the shameful degradation of the environment.

Also, the means for such a reformulation (and its deeper convictions about what the human subject is), while controversial, are simultaeneously as radical and yet more nuanced than the puffery-moguls at (say) the National Review are evidently willing to admit. Rather than the all-to-easy stereotype of the Deep Ecologist as a human hating eco-terrorist, this book shows Naess as a deep and complex thinker on the relationship between humanity and the rest of the world. The conclusion he advocates throughout-- that the environment deserves an autonomous place in our thinking, while human welfare must nevertheless always come first-- is decidedly mild and reasonable.In other words, it's a far cry from arguing that we should be exterminating humans and living in huts in order to protect a living earth.

On a personal level, I feel a certain (distant) kinship with Naess because of our shared love of Spinoza, who is my intellectual hero (as well as Naess's apparently). Like Spinoza, Naess aspires to a philosophy of joy in spite of a certain pessimism about the immediate future.

The most goading thing about the book, by far, is the introduction. The guys who wrote are apparently philosophy professors but you couldn't tell it by the tone or depth of their introduction to Naess's thought. Rather than providing a critical look at his intellectual and political development all we get are hosannas about how smart, talented, nice, spontaneous, etc. he was. Even the section that purports to be an overview of his philosophy is far too hagiographic and insubstantial to be of any use to a serious student.

All the same, Naess seemed to be a brilliant guy (he died in January 2009) as well as a formidable thinker and, like all anthologies, this one did its job by whetting my appetite for more. ... Read more

Product Description
This is one of the standard textbooks in community ecology and population and community ecology courses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Poorly written and organized but full of terrific examples and information
This is a very important book but unfortunately it's a very hard book to read. It is poorly organized and there are way too many examples with names and studies flung around with out much care to the actual ideas that are presented. Even as an advanced ecologist I found this very difficult. Many of the figures are pulled out of papers without giving much context or help to understand the purpose.

It is too bad. I read the whole thing and was able to parse down the important, main ideas. I doubt I'll go back to this book as a reference. It would be just too hard to find the information.

Classic reference
This book is a classic in community ecology. It provides a thorough background in all of the major areas in community ecology and is useful for undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers alike.

Community Ecology Review
The product itself was exactly what I wanted.I was a little disappointed it didn't come sooner.I ordered it for my classes and thought it would come within 5-10 business days but ended up taking almost two and a half weeks to come, which was frustrating.

Great book!!!
Great book. First comprehensive book in community ecology from both theoretical and empirical perspective. ... Read more