Book Description
Part foreign affairs discourse, part humor, and part twisted self-help guide, The Geography of Bliss takes the reader from America to Iceland to India in search of happiness, or, in the crabby author's case, moments of "un-unhappiness." The book uses a beguiling mixture of travel, psychology, science and humor to investigate not what happiness is, but where it is. Are people in Switzerland happier because it is the most democratic country in the world? Do citizens of Qatar, awash in petrodollars, find joy in all that cash?Is the King of Bhutan a visionary for his initiative to calculate Gross National Happiness? Why is Asheville, North Carolina so damn happy? With engaging wit and surprising insights, Eric Weiner answers those questions and many others, offering travelers of all moods some interesting new ideas for sunnier destinations and dispositions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

misinformed and morose
my god, this is a book for people who never ever leave their home, not even when they're travelling.

a mis-informed and confused mass of stereotypes and labels, with bits of humor that sound like the Pall Mall Gazette. if anything, the chapters on switzerland, moldova, thailand and india are funny only unwittingly, for they are more about the author's gullible way of looking at things than about the places themselves. I won't even begin talking about his understanding of hapiness through "statistics" :) I don't know what the author has been doing all these years as a foreign correspondent, but he sure as hell didn't get to make ANY friends in ANY of these places, not even in Iceland. talk about a grump indeed. the result is a self-complacent bucketful of stereotypes with very-very vague racist undertones.

bottom-line: unfortunately it seems that bliss and hapiness simply evaded the author himself. surprise surprise: as it turns out, a grump doesn't really know much about happiness. so spare yourself and try some other travel books.

read, relax and be happy :)
The book makes for a nice read - it will definitely make you smile or even laugh. It also has some rather grim bits (i.e. description of Moldova). The book will make you reminisce the places you went to already and make you want to see other places you've never been to..The "research" findings on what makes people happy are nicely intertwined into the narrative..In a nutshell, the book is good for those who love traveling and those who know (but occasionally have to be reminded) that it is the small things in everyday life that makes us really happy :)

Where is happiness, really?
The Geography of Bliss is a book that everyone should read. Mr. Weiner's sense of humor, his way of describing his feelings and adventures takes us together with him on his travels all over the globe. For most of us, travel remains a dream, so reading Mr. Weiner's book transports us to other places, where we think our problems could disappear, or where we believe we could be happier and more fulfilled. Mr. Weiner's epilogue expressed an important truth: no matter where we are (great weather) or what we have (money, wealth), family and friends are the most important elements in generating happiness. Simple truths like living in the present moment or enjoying the little things in life (like waking up in one's bed) reminded me of what is important. You want to know what really made me happy these last few weeks? Reading Mr. Weiner's book before going to sleep (in my bed).

Great book!
This author writes so well! This book is a pleasure to read! He mixes interesting places with theories on happiness. The writing makes the pages fly by, and you feel like you've absorbed some of the energy of each place.

Oversold & Underdelivered
Great title and the comparison to Bryson did, in fact, kick me over the edge to purchase this book.Ultimately, it was not a horrible book, but it certainly did not meet my expectations.The humor occasionally brought a smile to my lips, but never a knee slapping guffaw like Bryson delivers.And, the premise was intriguing, but the dots didn't get connected.Within each chapter (each of which is devoted to a unique country the author visits), I had a hard time remembering what the tagline for the country was (e.g. Happiness is a Contradiction, Happiness is Boredom), an indication to me that the themes were getting lost in the recounting of the people and places he went.I considered not finishing it many times, and did not find it a page-turner.I did persevere, however, so it was not THAT bad, but in retrospect, it was not a book I care to have in my collection, and it will not be one I recommend to friends and loan out.So, all in all, it was not money well spent. ... Read more

Book Description
Study Guide to accompany Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 12th Edition provides readers with a spatial understanding of the human and physical characteristics of the earth and is by nature an integrative discipline that challenges readers to consider the relationships between natural and human variables.  They will learn to think critically about the interdependency of the earths systems and make informed decisions about a variety of highly relevant environmental, cultural and economic topics such as globalization, global warming, deforestation, economic development and resource use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good product, came quite late though
The book is what I expected but it did take a while to arrive at my home.

The Best Textbook I Own
This text is my favorite textbook that I have ever owned, in any subject, from four colleges and universities. It is a tall book--it doesn't fit on any shelf. However, the size allows for many more graphs, maps, tables, and pictures. The paper and colors make for a visually appealing text, and the text does an excellent job of highlighting key terms and concepts.

Professor de Blij is a recognized expert on Geography education in the U.S. and his textbook demonstrates his mastery on every page. He covers physical geography, climate, history, politics, anthropology, economics, and every other relevant subject in the region. The entire package is correlated well, without getting mired in details or glossing over important subjects.

There are many features in this text that you will not find anywhere else. My favorites are the drill-downs on the world's great cities, providing interesting information and a map of Mexico City, Saigon, and many others. Another feature is the "Regional Issue" textbox that presents both sides of a current issue for a region, such as "Who Needs Democracy?" for South America. A final feature I like is his "Field Notes" section that is a paragraph or so of his travelogue and a picture as he continues to research our changing world.

This text was a valuable resource in my Geography class, is still a great reference tool as I continue my international studies, and is a fun book to flip through during "down time". ... Read more

Book Description

Carrying forthTom L. McKnight's well-known thematic focus on landscape appreciation, this best-seller fosters a solid understanding of Earth and its physical geography. Its clear, user-friendly writing style, superior art program, and abundant pedagogy appeal to a wide variety of readers. Updates and expands coverage of global environmental change, including a new section on measuring and understanding climate change. Expands section on human alteration of the atmosphere, including ozone depletion and air pollution. Expands sections on tsunamis and human modification of shorelines. A useful reference for anyone interested in physical geography.

Customer Reviews (1)

GEO Text
Perfect condition and quick delivery. It was quicker to order the book then to drive to the campus across town to get it. And cheaper too. ... Read more

Book Description
Updated to reflect the latest actual exams, the new edition of this manual presents two full-length practice exams in AP Human Geography with answers and explanations, plus a detailed eight-chapter subject review. The new second edition also includes a brand-new diagnostic test to help students target specific areas where they need more study. Topics covered include a description of Human Geography and its applications, map reading and understanding scale, population geography, cultural geography, political geography, economic geography, agricultural and rural geography, and urban geography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A Fair Attempt
Although the authors clearly have a deep command and even affection for their subject, the text in this book is often murky.It is a serviceable work for beginners, but certainly not for novices to the area of physical geography.More strict editing and a more "user-friendly" layout in the text are called for, although the graphics do a generally competent job of illustrating more difficult concepts.I would recommend this book with reservations.

BUYERS BE AWARE 8th Edition Published
Fall 2004 & Spring 2005 Students: the 8th edition of this book is published and comes with a CD, and, in some cases, a free world atlas. Check with your instructor for requirements. In any case, I wouldn't spend $100 for the 7th edition.
Haven't read the book yet, so no rating.

Very well-written and illustrated text with great photos
Obviously written by authors who have a deep appreciation for this subject and a desire to pass on their knowledge, this text is useful not just for students of physical geography, but for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of geopolitics, area studies, anthropology, world history, etc. For example, I would have no clue about the culture, history and politics of Central Asia/Afghanistan and vicinity (my area of interest) without having a comprehensive understanding of the physical terrain and climate of this region--and how its inhabitants have adapted to it. I would not have gained this understanding without reading this text.

My only complaint is that I had hoped for more emphasis on environmental issues. The authors may feel that this is beyond the scope of an introductory text; but problems such as the shrinking Aral Sea and tropical rainforest destruction are so widely catastrophic that I believe they deserve greater attention and understanding even at the introductory level.

still on my bookshelf
I remember this book from when I was an undergraduate, lo these many years ago (OK, so it was an earlier edition)! I'm glad to see it is still available and updated -- I enjoyed it then and I am using it now in answering the questions my children throw at me.

This is an excellent resource book. I probably wouldn't pick it up as a light read at bedtime, but if you are interested in this topic you could do far worse than to get _Physical Geography_.

Book is conundrum
Suffice it to say, this text is awful, an arduous task to understand and conceptualize.I'm taking a lower level geography course with this book as the primary text and find myself ready to punch a wall when attempting to read. ... Read more

Book Description
When psychologist Richard E. Nisbett showed an animated underwater scene to his American students, they zeroed in on a big fish swimming among smaller fish. Japanese observers instead commented on the background environment -- and the different "seeings" are a clue to profound cognitive differences between Westerners and East Asians. As

Nisbett shows in The Geography of Thought, people think about -- and even see -- the world differently because of differing ecologies, social structures, philosophies, and educational systems that date back to ancient Greece and China. The Geography of Thought documents Professor Nisbett's groundbreaking research in cultural psychology, addressing questions such as:

• Why did the ancient Chinese excel at algebra and arithmetic, but not geometry, the brilliant achievement of such Greeks as Euclid?

• Why do East Asians find it so difficult to disentangle an object from its surroundings?

• Why do Western infants learn nouns more rapidly than verbs, when it is the other way around in East Asia?

At a moment in history when the need for cross-cultural understanding and collaboration have never been more important, The Geography of Thought offers both a map to that gulf and a blueprint for a bridge that might be able to span it.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (47)

Buy everything in Amazon
This is the first I bought book from Amazon, I am in China, but it still very convenient for me, and very fast. Thank you for Amazon, you are the best.

Great for Cultural Understanding
This book over-generalizes a bit and is a little outdated compared to how things are now, but it does promote a lot of cultural understanding. As someone who lives in China, this book has a been great help to see the origins of how a lot of things work here. I would recommend it to any westerner living in Asia.

Shuttling in the mental Star Ferry
Once I got my degree in philosophy, I never thought I would read another book about epistemology. I was wrong. Despite being a review of largely psychological research on the functioning of the mind, Richard Nesbett's The Geography of Thought is hard to put down. If you have been brutalized by jargon laden tomes in which it seems that interculturalists are trying to make a profession of themselves by inventing words, here is a straightforward account of experimental evidence from another discipline leading to the conclusion that indeed Westerners and Asians actually do seek, understand, and process information differently.
So, you might ask what value is there in spending over 200 pages to tell us something that we intuitively knew all along and which our intercutlural models already seem to have pointed to?Well, Nesbett is not simply out to prove an assertion but to show us in transparent language how our minds work on different continents and what the relative strengths and weaknesses can be found in how we and others see and understand the world, and, as a footnote what implications this might have on our now and future coexistence on the planet.
Does this explain some of the dynamics of individualism and collectivism, universalism and particularism and other intercultural categories of classification? Yes. But not necessarily in the way we attribute these things to different cultures. Nisbett starts with the dominance of Greek philosophy in Western thinking patterns and discusses the transmission in education and society of the values that tie thinking to language to politics. We get insights in to the nature of rational debate and in particular into our propensity for attribution and dichotomous thinking and behavior.On one hand Westerners are addicted to a view of the world in which things and even personalities are fixed and events are linear, while our Eastern counterparts think of humans as much more malleable and suspect that lines of progress are not linear but invite interruption and contradiction.
The author shows how patterns of early childhood education and language itself both support and are supported by these difference in thinking. As human beings we have the same operating system, but the operating systems are diverse so it is not surprising that the applications programs of our mind bring forth different results.
But, I risk betraying the author by my own classification of the topics he proposes. Let's let him speak for himself in a couple of paragraphs that will illustrate both the lucidity and the pertinence of the discussions he enters into on the basis of what research indicates about our differences:
"The number we get when we divide the lawyer-preference ratio of the United States by the lawyer preference ratio of Japan is forty-one.
"Those lawyers in the U.S. are put to good use. Conflict between individuals in Western countries is handled to a substantial degree by legal confrontations, whereas it is much more likely to be handled in the East by intermediaries. In the West, the goal is satisfaction of a principle of justice and the presumption going into the arena of conflict resolution is typically that there is a right and a wrong and there will be a winner and a loser. The goal in Eastern conflict resolution is more likely to be hostility reduction and compromise is assumed to be the likely result. Westerners call on universal principles of justice to push their goals and judges and juries feel obligated to make decisions that they believe would hold for everyone in approximately similar circumstances. In contrast, in the East, flexibility and broad attention to particular circumstances of the case are the earmarks of wise conflict resolution. As a citizen of prerevolutionary China put it: `A Chinese judge cannot think of law as an abstract entity, but as a flexible quantity as it should be personally applied to Colonel Huang or Major Li. Accordingly, any law which is not personal enough to respond to the personality of Colonel Huang or Major Li is inhuman and therefore no law at all. Chinese justice is an art, not a science.'"
Who's crazy? Who is unethical? Who is smarter? For Nisbett there is not a dichotomous answer to these questions as each system of thinking has its plusses and minuses depending on what the task of the moment may be. Each produces certain things that the other cannot and cannot do some of the things that the other can.
While we are most likely to be dealing with these differences on the micro level of interpersonal interctions, there seem to be significant economic and geopolitical issues at stake as well. The ebb and flow of contemporary events sometimes push us in the direction of Francis Fukuyama's vision of a world where ultimately nothing significantly new will happen and Samuel Huntington's Armageddon of radical divergeance, Nisbett opts for a blended solution resulting from mutual enrichment of our mental styles in conversation with each other.We can only hope that he is right and that the evidence leads Westerners in that direction and the Eastern perceptions of contexts will remain inclusive as we shuttle back and forth on on a mental Star Ferry in a global Hong Kong.

Academic but interesting
Starts with the catchy premise that Asians and westerners actually think differently, and offers quite a lot of interesting evidence. But it becomes a rather repetitive recounting of many years of academic research at the laboratory level.

Great psychology book
This is a book about philosophy and psychology that challenges the idea that there are core cognitive processes across cultures.It compares Eastern (Asian) and Western (European and American) cultures to make the point.It's only about 240 pages and can be read in a day or two.It examines how even our most basic assumptions about core human thought processes don't hold up when viewed across cultues.

This is an excellent book that should be required reading for any psychology student.It not only highlights the power of cultural influences, but is also points out tons of issues to take into consideration while conducting psycholical research.

I give it 4 stars because it might not be as accessable to the casual reader due to the emphasis on psychological experiments. ... Read more

Book Description
The Ultimate Geography Bee Resource Guide
Geography Bees are hot, with millions of fourth through eighth graders competing in National Geographic—sponsored Bees every year! This indispensable guide will systematically prepare your child to beat the competition and win! Inside you'll discover:
·Important rules, the best strategies, and essential insider tips
·How to avoid the most common pitfalls
·Proven study techniques from teachers and parents
·Facts about every U.S. state and every country in the world
·1,001 practice Bee questions and answers
·And much more!
School geography is no longer a matter of simply memorizing U.S. states and capitals. Today's students must also know the physical, political, economic, and cultural geography of the world, with current events thrown in for good measure. Because many states now mandate geography comprehension for students, this must-have resource for students, parents, and teachers will help any child become a geography whiz kid—and maybe even win a scholarship to college! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Winner!
When I took the State Qualification Test after reading and studying this book, I feel confident that this book helped me with large quantities of the questions! If you read this book it will almost ensure you sucsess! It is a nessesity for anything "Geographic" related! Not only dooes it quiz your knowledge like some study guides, but has many, many, many atlases, country informaion, state information; even general geography bee info. like how to study, what to expect for each section, what to expect for each level, and it's information has been right on target so far! Buy it! You'll win for sure!

The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook
This book was the best resource we found for the review of world geography as our son prepared for his school Geography Bee.We reviewed it as a family.We all learned a great deal.

Great choice!!Lots of information about Geography bees & what to expect
My son started showing an interest in Geography in the 3rd grade so we bought him several books & this was one of them!! He is now a walking text book! watch out!! He has won several Geography bees & this is one of the books he has studied from!! Plus he just loves reading the information & sponging up the information!! This book had a lot of great tips about what to expect at & from a Geography bee. Tips for kids & for parents (which I felt helpful.) We recognized several of the study questions were used in the bee to... not his questions :) - But it was enjoyable as a parent too to learn the facts from this book! Enjoy!

Good book
My son is going through this with lot of enthusiasm. Well structured and very popular amongst others.

Great fun!Great knowledge for mom and son!!
This book is really neat.I love it.I learn so much every time I sit down with it.It is divided into parts for US questions, World questions and I can't recall what else.It comes complete with maps and it's very user friendly.I am not so strong in geography.When my son in grade 7 was second in a geography bee, I decided that he and I should brush up.So I got this book from Amazon and I do like it.I think the authors have put a lot of care and interest in this book and if you desire to strengthen your geo knowledge, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Book Description
The Geography of Nowhere traces America's evolution from a nation of Main Streets and coherent communities to a land where every place is like no place in particular, where the cities are dead zones and the countryside is a wasteland of cartoon architecture and parking lots.

In elegant and often hilarious prose, Kunstler depicts our nation's evolution from the Pilgrim settlements to the modern auto suburb in all its ghastliness. The Geography of Nowhere tallies up the huge economic, social, and spiritual costs that America is paying for its car-crazed lifestyle. It is also a wake-up call for citizens to reinvent the places where we live and work, to build communities that are once again worthy of our affection. Kunstler proposes that by reviving civic art and civic life, we will rediscover public virtue and a new vision of the common good. "The future will require us to build better places," Kunstler says, "or the future will belong to other people in other societies."

... Read more

Customer Reviews (46)

A life-changing book
This book still stays with me vividly after first reading it in college more than a decade ago.There are so many insidious ways our landscape and city planning shape us, for better or worse, and this beautiful book is a plea for a saner way to build, or rebuild, our cities. Makes me all the more grateful to live in Portland, Oregon, possibly the most incredibly laid out city this country has ever seen or will ever.

A few oddities, but good.
This is the first book I have read dealing with urban planning and development, and it has opened my eyes to a lot of things that could be done better.My wife and I have talked before about how much we would like to live in a city with good public transportation where we wouldn't need a car, and Kunstler helps me understand why we have those kinds of feelings deep down.We all enjoy being in places that are built on a human scale, where you can actually accomplish something as a person rather than flying by everything in your car.

My main criticism of this book is that he makes some very strong, negative statements about Christianity that in my opinion have nothing to do with his argument, and which are mostly incorrect.In particular, he says several times that various Christian people or groups of people have helped cause the decline of the American landscape because of their beliefs relating to the end times.He makes this accusation against everyone from the Puritan settlers to Ronald Reagan.As an ordained Southern Baptist minister, I know a lot about evangelical eschatology and I haven't got a clue why it would drive anyone to build freeways and shopping malls.I think the real spiritual problems involved in destroying American towns and cities are greed and pride, not faith in Christ.

Still, a reader with half a brain will be able to look past Kunstler's occasional baseless rants and see that he makes a lot of really helpful points.I wish that every mayor and city zoning commissioner in America would read this book and take to heart the idea of building meaningful places on a human scale.

luddite indictment of a car
The book is well written and provides a lot of facts, though many of these may be known anyhow. However, the author's pet idea - that the car is THE reason for aberrations in suburban development - begins to be more and more irritating as we read on; there is one large chapter devoted to the car and road planning, but if this were not enough the point gets reiterated every few paragraphs. Perhaps indeed the car is the ultimate evil of modern civilization; if only we didn't have to reread this again and again.
As a form of compensation, we get very limited look at the social, economic and demographic causes of all landscape changes during past century. Yes, there is a mention of some historical events, such as WWII, but it disappears under the weight of all those cars blamed for commercial strips, parking lots and suburban housing. Somehow, the population growth, which the strips, suburbs, parking lots and cars try to accomodate, gets overlooked. But then, we get also a healthy dose of nostagia after the goode olde times, when towns were small, kids could play in the streets without a risk of traffic accident, and farms were the base of economy. I could not escape the impression that the author's leading motive was to lament the lifestyles gone.

A Worthy Rant
This is book is largely a rant--well-researched and eloquent--but a rant nonetheless.Overwrought with cynicism, it is hard to distinguish Kunstler's reasonable concerns from his own sense of nostalgia.He draws some erroneous parallels (e.g. holding Disney World to the standard of anything but an amusement park) but does make an effective point regarding how U.S. citizens were ill-prepared for the after effects of the heyday of the automobile.

Fundamentally, Kunstler's cynicism aside, he's an advocate for renewed interest in civic planning, decreased dependency on fossil fuels, and models of sustainability.He presents Portland, OR as the best model for a city and the community of Seaside, FL as the model for a smaller town.He sees urban planning as the opportunity to develop while respecting the present landscape and enriching sense of community and public space.

The weakness of the book lies in the author's bitterness, which disguises his very real passion for the topic.The saving grace is that given most of his likely readership, he is preaching to the choir who understands his anger. This choir will understand that Kunstler embeds important lessons in his bleak diatribe--lessons worth embracing.

Kunstler's Gift of Entertaining While Informing
I have little more to add to the many thorough reviews already posted, so I'll just note what grabbed me: it was the rare book that was fun to read, even while dealing with serious societal problems in a thoughtful manner. A great introduction to community development issues. ... Read more

Book Description

Winner in its third edition of the TEXTY award for books in social sciences, this up-to-the-minute revision continues to affirm that what happens at places depends increasingly on what happens among places, and mapped patterns can be understood only if we understand the patterns of movement that create and continuously rearrange them. Introduces the major tools, techniques, and methodological approaches of geography. Presents a wide range of positions currently debated about provocative current issues. Emphasizes both scientific and humanistic analytical skills, and weaves the theme of human-environmental interaction throughout. A useful, comprehensive reference for anyone interested in using geography to understand current events.

Customer Reviews (1)

Exellent text for introducing college students to Geography
I have used this text for approximately a year and found that the students are able to comprehend geography better with asystematic approach than a regional one.One of the things that sold me on this text was theauxillary material, particularly the webpage. The book is very easy to readand has excellent illustrations and photos. Needless to say, I highlyrecommend this text. ... Read more

Book Description
Over the next half century, the human population, divided by culture and economics and armed with weapons of mass destruction, will expand to nearly 9 billion people. Abrupt climate change may throw the global system into chaos; China will emerge as a superpower; and Islamic terrorism and insurgency will threaten vital American interests. How can we understand these and other global challenges? Harm de Blij has a simple answer: by improving our understanding of the world's geography. In Why Geography Matters, de Blij demonstrates how geography's perspectives yield unique and penetrating insights into the interconnections that mark our shrinking world. Preparing for climate change, averting a cold war with China, defeating terrorism: all of this requires geographic knowledge. De Blij also makes an urgent call to restore geography to America's educational curriculum. He shows how and why the U.S. has become the world's most geographically illiterate society of consequence, and demonstrates the great risk this poses to America's national security. Peppering his writing with anecdotes from his own professional travels, de Blij provides an original treatise that is as engaging as it is eye opening. Casual or professional readers in areas such as education, politics, or national security will find themselves with a stimulating new perspective on geography as it continues to affect our world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Occasionally insightful, but generally uninspired
I would describe this book as the rambling--but occasionally insightful--musings of a thoughtful scholar.Unfortunately, many, if not most, of Blij's arguments are not made from a geographic perspective.For instance, his chapter on the European Union rambles on for page after page about the history of the EU from the European Coal and Steel Community, to the European Economic Community, to the European Community, and, finally, to the European Union.That's not to say that's not and interesting and important history lesson for people who are unfamiliar with EU history, but its not geographic!I was hoping for a book of theories explaining human events using reasoning built on spatial orientations or location.Why Geography Matters had some of that, but Blij could have, in my view, omitted much of the voluminous background information.Doing some would have made his book more concise and allowing his genuine insights to be featured more prominently.

And for what its worth, the book could have used a better editor.For instance, on p.160 it refers to "South Ossetia" as a Russian Republic instead of North Ossetia.I noticed a couple errors like this.

Perhaps, I would be more positive about this book if its last chapter hadn't been the low point.The chapter on Africa had absolutely nothing original to say (AIDS is bad, we need to do more to stop it; colonization and slavery were bad too; Africa has been plagued by bad leadership; etc.).

Important book
This is an exceptional and needed introduction to Geography and how it relates to world problems.

What we should have learned in school about the world...
This is essential reading for anyone who should have a sound foundation of knowledge to back up one's social commentary, but doesn't.Geography can be understood and used to understand our world with great clarity.Everyone who watched Al Gore's movie should read this book if only to know that Harm de Blij has been explaining geographic issues for decades better than nearly anyone.

The US Department of Education needs to buy and issue a copy of this book to every teacher in America.

Very informative reading
This is definitely a quality work in the field of Geography with an emphasis on Politics i.e. GeoPolitics.However, it is important to point out a couple of incorrect facts I found while reading this work.

1. On page 190 we have the statement, "On an aircraft carrier off the coast of California, President Bush declared "mission accomplished.", regarding the war in Iraq.If you read the speech that President Bush gave, you will find that he never uttered the words "mission accomplished."The author just regurgitated this line from the biased print media i.e. The NYTimes, Time, Newsweek, etc... Intuitively, if you think about it, George Bush, assigns the mission to the military and after assigning the mission to the military he is not going to turn around and say good"mission accomplished.That is what the military's response, will be, to the President, after they have completed the mission. This is reflected by the fact that the military hung a banner up on the aircraft carrier that said "Mission Accomplished."

2.On pages 193-194 The author states. "The American invasion severly damaged the city, which was for months afterward, and remains as of this writing, without a reliable water supply, power, medical facilities, or schools."It is very true that much of the infrastructure in Iraq is severly damaged, but the author has tried to blame this on American firepower and it is simply not true.The precision guided weapons our U.S. forces utilized were excellent at avoiding collateral damage.Thetruth is more damning for the Saddam regime.THE INFRASTUCTURE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY 30 PLUS YEARS OF NEGLECT ON THE PART OF THE BAATH PARTY AND NOT AMERICAN MILITARY MIGHT.Also, the military planners who provided for getting the infrastructure back online, after the war, grossly underestimated the level of the existing infrastructure of Iraq, before the U.S. military even set foot inside the country.

Overall I recommend this work, but it cannot be given five stars due to these errors.

Debunking the global warming myth!
This is an excellent book based on scientific fact debunking the "global warming" myth.

I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Book Description
Trusted for its timeliness and readability, this book introduces geography by emphasizing the relevance of geographic concepts to human problems. Two years after Rubenstein's Update Edition was created to encompass the events of September 11, 2001, this revision also begins the careful process of putting those events into perspective. Provides new "Global Forces and Local Impacts" boxes in each chapter that explore in depth an issue related to chapter material, focusing on particular regions of the world. Includes new material on medical geography, terrorism, mineral resources, sustainable development, conservation, and biodiversity. Presents new information on gender differences in development . Expands material on Ethnicity, relating ethnicity problems to political conflict; also incorporates material previously found elsewhere in the book, such as U.S. urban patterns and South Africa's history of apartheid. For anyone interested in learning more about world geography. ... Read more

Book Description
The new edition of ESSENTIALS OF WORLD REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY provides both a cultural and physical geographic understanding of the world's eight regions in an easily customizable format designed to fit different course structures while retaining a true global appreciation. The text's hallmark pedagogical feature, "Profile" chapters, provide a brief, thematic overview of each of the eight regions. This pedagogical organization allows an instructor to cover the entire world in thirteen weeks, spending as little or as much time on each region as they need, or even creating a custom book to fit their course.Subsequent regional chapters provide traditional, finer-scale details on a local level, including geographical factors and in-depth observations found in a number of boxed elements; "Problem Landscapes," "Definitions and Insights," "Regional Perspectives," and "Perspectives from the Field." "Geography of…" a new pedagogical feature, introduces students to cultural and regional specifics, with topics ranging from "Ethnic Geography" to the "Geography of Terrorism" and many more. These boxed elements combine to identify common themes across regional boundaries, clarify terms and concepts, and explore controversial world matters. Furthermore, the Fifth Edition integrates active, online learning with GeographyNow, the first assessment-centered student tutorial system developed for any geography course. GeographyNow icons found throughout the book enhance student learning by providing a personalized learning plan that emphasizes the text's global themes through map interpretation exercises, review of chapter objectives, and testing of chapter and regional concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Essentials of world regional geography
this book is very helpful to me to get through my education

Good Text for beginners
If you're looking for something to help you get started in geography, this is the ticket.But if you're attempting to explore more in-depth realms of geography (nature vs nurture) this book will be of little help in getting you on your way. Though it aids in basic understanding of why people in different regions can be different culturally, no one book can adequately encompass the volume of information required to assess such information on a global scale.Feel free to use this book for an elementary college geography class. ... Read more

Book Description
*2 full-length practice tests

*Diagnostic test to target areas for score improvement

*Detailed answer explanations

*Proven score-raising strategies

*New online component with additional practice and help

*Sample essays for Free-Response questions

... Read more

Book Description
This brand new test preparation manual presents an overview of human geography, a history of cartography, and the divisions of geography that focus on population, cultures, political boundaries, economics, agriculture, cities and urban organization, and environmental considerations. Sample test questions with answers appear at the end of each chapter. The book also includes two full-length sample exams that closely reflect the actual AP exam, and include annotated answers to all questions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Great Resource!
I bought this book for my sister, and
it was a great resource for her!
This book breaks down all the major topics
of this class.

VERY HE;PFUL
This book really helped me get ready for the AP exam. I wanted to get a 4 or 5. By using this book to review I think I pulled it off.

Good book
I used this book in my class, and like many people here had a poor teacher, used the Rubenstein textbook, etc.. This book covers the material well, and while I am bound not to talk about any AP Test Multiple Choice questions, I will say that the questions in the review portion of this book may or may not be *very* similar to questions that may or may not be on the test.

In other words, it's a good book to have. I got a five, probably because I used this book.

Great resource, really helped with the exam
This book is a great resource to use for the AP Human Geography Exam, and I also used it to coincide with the rest of the course. Our AP Human teacher was pretty pathetic, just about all he did was check his email all period, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and got this book. Well, did this change things or what. I realized I wasn't really even grasping the subjects, and gained a lot of useful information taking the practice tests and such. As a matter of fact, one of the questions on the test last year was in this book and I remembered it when I saw it! What a coincidence. Well, if you are debating on which book to get (there aren't many choices for this young subject) or whether to get it at all, I think it's worth it, I barely understood the material at first and I ended up with a 4.

Unbelievable
This book is the sole reason I got a 4 on the test. I read through only half of the book because I ran out of time. After the test I went back and looked through the book for answers and every question I remembered was somewhere in the book. Even some diagrams were exactly the same as on the test. This book is a must-buy for anyone taking the test. ... Read more

Book Description

The Complete Book of Maps & Geography offers children ingrades 3 to 6 instruction and practice in basic geography including keymap skills.

Customer Reviews (6)

the complete book of maps & geography
we have started this book, but what we have seen so far is very informitive and interesting. which makes learning a big plus!

Highly Recommend
When they say complete-they mean COMPLETE!It is wonderful.The book is recommended for 3rd-6th grade, but my 6yr old is using it.I homeschool and my children love to work on this book (even for fun). It thoroughly covers maps, U.S. Geography, the U.S. Regions, North & South America, Grid maps, Global Geography, compasses, latitude & longitude, time zones-like I said everything.For the most part it is self teaching, the kids only come to me if they have a question. It's well worth the money!

Map work
This is a pretty good step-by-step tutorial on maps, able to be used over several years.Starts out with fairly general concepts, defining them and moving on to developing good map skills.

good resource, nice intro to Geograhy
I am using this book, along with an inexpensive world atlas, as a Geography course for homsechooling my 1rst grader.My only warning would be that the exercises would be too easy, and thus boring, for any child beyond third grade.I certainly recommend the book for homeschoolers in 1rst-3rd grades.

An excellent introductory geography workbook for grades 4-6
I teach geography to homeschool groups and I have found this to be an excellent beginning level book. It establishes a foundation for understanding the basics of the 5 Themes of Geography: "location,place, people & environment, movement, and regions". Any student(and parent!) who truly completes this workbook will have a solid grasp ofthe essentials of geography. ... Read more

Book Description
This market-leading book introduces college students to the breadth and spatial insights of the field of geography. The authors' approach allows the major research traditions of geography to dictate the principal themes. Chapter 1 introduces students to the four organizing traditions that have emerged through the long history of geographical thought and writing: earth science, culture-environment, location, and area analysis. Each of the four parts of this book centers on one of these geographic perspectives. ... Read more

Book Description
Trusted for its timeliness and readability, this book introduces geography by emphasizing the relevance of geographic concepts to human problems. Two years after Rubenstein's Update Edition was created to encompass the events of September 11, 2001, this revision also begins the careful process of putting those events into perspective.Provides new "Global Forces and Local Impacts" boxes in each chapterthat explore in depth an issue related to chapter material, focusing on particular regions of the world. Includes new material on medical geography, terrorism, mineral resources, sustainable development, conservation, and biodiversity. Presents new information on gender differences in development . Expands material on Ethnicity, relating ethnicity problems to political conflict; also incorporates material previously found elsewhere in the book, such as U.S. urban patterns and South Africa's history of apartheid.For anyone interested in learning more about world geography. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Too tedious and unorganized
Although I recognize the intelligence of the author, I would not recommend this book to anyone who is not assigned to have it. The book does very little to help the reader comprehend the information beyond the "Key Terms." I, too, am taking an AP/IB Human Geography Course, and I found this textbook utterly useless. Please, save your money and time and buy a better book. Of course, if you are in college and like to waste your time reading tedious books, then this is your ticket!

Refund
I realized after placing the order that I wasn't quite ready to buy the book and my money was refunded instantly.

Great customer service and quick response time.

Great for AP Human Geography
Currently I am taking an AP Human Geography class in my high school and this is the book we were assigned to buy.This book has wonderful charts and pictures along with descriptions.This book goes into depth and doesn't only touch the surface.I recomend this book to AP Human Geography teachers and students! ... Read more

Amazon.com
Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, as far as the health care profession is concerned the standard operating design of the human body is male. So when a book comes along as beautifully written and endlessly informative as Natalie Angier's Woman: An Intimate Geography, it's a cause for major celebration. Written with whimsy and eloquence, her investigation into female physiology draws its inspiration not only from scientific and medical sources but also from mythology, history, art, and literature, layering biological factoids with her own personal encounters and arcane anecdotes from the history of science. Who knew, for example, that the clitoris--with 8,000 nerve fibers--packs double the pleasure of the penis; that the gene controlling cellular sensitivity to male androgens, ironically enough, resides on the X-chromosome; or that stress hormones like cortisol and corticosterone are the true precursors of friendship?

The mysteries of evolution are not a new subject for Angier, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biology writer for the New York Times whose previous books include The Beauty of the Beastly and Natural Obsessions. The strengths of Woman begin with Angier's witty and evocative prose style, but its real contribution is the way it expands the definition of female "geography" beyond womb, breasts, and estrogen, down as far as the bimolecular substructure of DNA and up as high as the transcendent infrastructure of the human brain. --Patrizia DiLucchio Book Description
With the clarity, insight, and sheer exuberance of language that make her one of The New York Times's premier stylists, Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Angier lifts the veil of secrecy from that most enigmatic of evolutionary masterpieces, the female body.Angier takes readers on a mesmerizing tour of female anatomy and physiology that explores everything from organs to orgasm, and delves into topics such as exercise, menopause, and the mysterious properties of breast milk.

A self-proclaimed "scientific fantasia of womanhood." Woman ultimately challenges widely accepted Darwinian-based gender stereotypes.Angier shows how cultural biases have influenced research in evolutionary psychology (the study of the biological bases of behavior) and consequently lead to dubious conclusions about "female nature." such as the idea that women are innately monogamous while men are natural philanderers.

But Angier doesn't just point fingers; she offers optimistic alternatives and transcends feminist polemics with an enlightened subversiveness that makes for a joyful, fresh vision of womanhood.Woman is a seminal work that will endure as an essential read for anyone intersted in how biology affects who we are?as women, as men, and as human beings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (139)

Interesting, but...
I liked the concept very much, but it just went on far too long.Basically, it's physiology, psychology, and the author's view on women.

Raging feminism
Really.There's little significant new information in this book that isn't covered in the 30 something pages of sources.Just pick up any anatomy book and you'd get the same information, minus the feminism BS.

One of my favorites!
I just love this book.It gives insight into the possible connections in our lives.Why is painful labor beneficial?Why do we have menopause and other animals do not?...I could go on and on.It provides great insight and a sense of womanly pride.I love science-based books that are not a bore.This is entertaining and I have a new perspective and appreciation for many things that make me a woman!

Very informative and feminist!
After looking for books about female biology and wanting something that did not place women in gendered roles according to their supposed biological nature, I came upon this one.
The author makes several invaluble arguments to counter the 'biology is who we are' theory. I'm a young university student and reading this was indespensable, and informative. All authors who write about women need to be feminists. Recommended for young women, particularly as an informed intelligent book about our body as well as armor forwhat society may be pushing down your throat.

great writing, great info
I'd call this a textbook on Women's Anatomy except it's too well-written to call it that. Still, it's packed with information, every chapter focusing on one area of a woman's body, from breasts to uteruses to how ovaries work. Angier also takes up debates like people like breasts so much, what we "know" about gender roles from anthropological biology, to why breast-feeding goes in and out of fashion. Really, this one is more than recommended, it's required reading for anyone who wants to know how women's bodies work. ... Read more

Book Description
ESSENTIALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY uses the combined expertise of three respected geographers to help bridge the gap between scientific theory, practical application, and the human-environmental interface. The text emphasizes three essential themes to demonstrate the major roles for the discipline--Geography as a Physical Science, Geography as the Spatial Science, and Geography as Environmental Science. With a renewed focus on examining relationships and processes among systems, the text helps students understand how the various systems interrelate like never before.The eighth edition features Physical GeographyNow™ the first assessment-driven and student-centered online learning solution created specifically for this course. Physical GeographyNow™ uses a series of chapter-specific diagnostic tests to build a personalized learning plan for each student, allowing students to focus their study time on specific areas of weaknesses. Each personalized learning plan directs students to specific chapter sections and concept-driven multimedia tutorials designed to augment their understanding. ... Read more