Subjects:  1. Business Software - General    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computers - Integrated Software    4. Earth Sciences - Geography    5. General    6. Human Geography    7. Information Systems (Geography)    8. Science    9. Transportation Research    10. Geographical information systems (GIS)    11. Transport Technology    12. Computers   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geography    2. Great Britain    3. Human Geography    4. Imperialism    5. Iraq War, 2003    6. Middle East    7. Relations    8. Science    9. Social Science    10. Sociology    11. United States    12. War on Terrorism, 2001-    13. ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT    14. Colonization & independence    15. GREAT BRITAIN_FOREIGN RELATIONS_MIDDLE EAST    16. MIDDLE EAST_RELATIONS_GREAT BRITAIN    17. MIDDLE EAST_RELATIONS_UNITED STATES    18. POSTCOLONIALISM    19. Political Science / International Relations    20. UNITED STATES_RELATIONS_MIDDLE EAST   

Subjects:  1. Human Geography    2. Human-animal relationships    3. Nature / Animal Rights    4. Nature / Animals    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - General    8. Animal rights    9. Animals    10. Animals & society    11. Cultural studies    12. Human ecology    13. Inspirational    14. Nature    15. Quotations, maxims, etc    16. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Reviews (2)

An excellent book
This book is the best comparative treatment of early state political dynamics yet published. Smith (no relation) is erudite and a sophisticated thinker. He has great insight into all sorts of issues relating to ancient and modern states and political systems. Many past archaeological works on early states are in for serious criticism here. The level or thinking and writing can be difficult in places, but the book is well worth the effort. Political Landscapes and Plain English
There are some extremely interesting ideas within this book, and Adam T. Smith also provides some useful discussion of past landscape (and archaeological) theory.However, my big complaint is about the language the author uses throughout.While I agree that sometimes it is necessary to express complex ideas in a complex way, as a general rule the simpler the language, the better the work.It is almost always harder to write well using simple words and sentence structures, but surely being instantly intelligible makes this effort worthwhile?Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology    4. Archaeology / Anthropology    5. Earth Sciences - Geography    6. History & Theory - General    7. Landscape archaeology    8. Landscape assessment    9. Political anthropology    10. Political aspects    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Anthropology    14. Human ecology    15. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    16. Political geography    17. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Subjects:  1. Congresses    2. Democracy    3. Essays    4. Government policy    5. Political Freedom & Security - General    6. Political Science    7. Political aspects    8. Politics / Current Events    9. Politics/International Relations    10. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    11. Public spaces    12. Political Science / City Planning & Urban Development   

Subjects:  1. Atlases    2. Development - Economic Development    3. Earth Sciences - Geography    4. Economic Conditions    5. Geography    6. Politics / Current Events    7. Development studies    8. Social Science / Human Geography   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Culture    4. Development - Economic Development    5. Economic development    6. Human Geography    7. International Relations - General    8. Social Science    9. Social change    10. Sociology    11. Cultural studies    12. Development studies    13. Language Arts & Disciplines / Readers    14. READERS_GEOGRAPHY   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Ecology    5. Effect of environment on    6. Effect of human beings on    7. Environmental degradation    8. Human Geography    9. Human beings    10. Nature    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. HUMAN BEINGS_EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT ON    14. Human ecology    15. NATURE_EFFECT OF HUMAN BEINGS ON    16. Science / Environmental Science   

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geography    2. Rural development    3. Rural geography    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - Rural    8. Sociology, Rural    9. Human geography    10. Regional geography    11. Rural communities    12. Science / Geography   

Reviews (1)

Beyond Classroom Textbook
I came into contact with this book in a graduate level class "Globalization of World Cities." I have read numerous books and text on the subject matter, and this book is far the best I have ever come into contact with. Read more

Subjects:  1. Cultural relations    2. Earth Sciences - Geography    3. Globalization    4. International Economic Relations    5. International economic relatio    6. International relations    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - Urban    10. Urbanization    11. Economic geography    12. Political geography    13. Science / Geography    14. Urban communities   

Reviews (2)

The Power of Place in Planning
The Historical Perspective: Nuanced Spatial Critique
Dolores Hayden's book, The Power of Place, is a comprehensive guide for anyone whose goal is to engage in an examination of spaces and places.It retains a historical perspective that allows the reader to apply the placesfocused upon by Hayden to his or her own specific spatial examination. While she focuses specific attention on the Los Angeles area, I found herwork compatible with any examination of spatial use or spatial history andcontextualization.I highly recommend this book to anyone interested inthe power of place. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Human Geography    3. Planning    4. Sociology    5. Architecture / Planning    6. City & town planning - architectural aspects    7. Theory of architecture    8. USA    9. Urban communities   

Reviews (2)

Check covers
Comparing this book with others purchased before this is in a very bad condition. I have to fix the cover.

A must-own.
A new revision of a work I already thought perfect. Adds population genetic approaches using new molecular techniques. Superb. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Genetics    2. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    3. Population Genetics    4. Problems, exercises, etc    5. Quantitative genetics    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Genetics (non-medical)    9. Human geography    10. Probability & statistics   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (81)

Memes are not the end of the story
Starting in 1976, when the biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term "memes" (an analogy of "genes") to designthe basic unit of cultural transmission (ideas, stories, concepts, etc.), meme theory has been developing, even though it is still in its infancy. In this book, Blackmore puts forward the thesis that, in many and crucial aspects, memes have taken up the leadership over genes in determining and driving human evolution. According to her, for all the cases when both "replicators" cooperate, increasingly it is memes and not genes who drive evolution, starting at the time when speech appeared.
Some Bad Ideas
The first part of the is book explains memes fairly well. The problem is with memes rather than with the explanation which is clear. Memes are cultural units which reproduce via imitation independently of any positive effect on genetic fitness. Blackmore completely fails to establish that these memes exist as independent entities. Second of all Blackmore fails to unpack imitation which is the hypothesized mechanism via which memes reproduce. All one can do to unpack imitation as used here is go to the dictionary. The last part of the book pontificates a theory of living. One is just suppose to sit back and watch the memes reproduce. Clearly Blackmore fails to follow this advice as Blacmore holds a responsible position, has a family and writes books. The book gets two stars as memes were presented clearly but only two stars as memes are a bad idea.

REDUCTIONISM CARRIED TO ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION
Richard Dawkins ends his book "The Selfish Gene" by telling us, "We alone on earth can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators."For those of us who thought it peculiar that dead chemicals could devise complicated machines that rebelled against their constituent parts, Susan Blackmore now assures us that there is a second replicator, memes, that function entirely separately from genes, though like memes, they care neither for "our" welfare, nor for that of genes.In fact, she suggests that Neanderthals went extinct because memes might be naturally detrimental to survival.The ultimate rebellion is using the process of science to "distinguish true memes from false ones."Though we cannot help but wonder what a "true" meme is supposed to be.Wouldn't it simply be the meme most successful at replicating itself?
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Behavior evolution    3. Developmental - General    4. Imitation    5. Life Sciences - Biology - General    6. Life Sciences - Evolution - Human    7. Memetics    8. Organic Evolution    9. Psychology (Specific Aspects)    10. Science    11. Science/Mathematics    12. Social psychology    13. Sociobiology    14. Sociology    15. Sociology - Social Theory    16. Evolution    17. Learning    18. Life Sciences | Evolutionary Biology    19. Popular psychology    20. Science / General    21. Science: General Issues   

Editorial Review

J.R. McNeill, a professor of history at Georgetown University, visits the annals of the past century only to return to the present with bad news: in that 100-year span, he writes, the industrialized and developing nations of the world have wrought damage to nearly every part of the globe.That much seems obvious to even the most casual reader, but what emerges, and forcefully, from McNeill's pages is just how extensive that damage has been. For example, he writes, "soil degradation in one form or another now affects one-third of the world's land surface," larger by far than the world's cultivated areas. Things are worse in some places than in others; McNeill observes that Africa is "the only continent where food production per capita declined after 1960," due to the loss of productive soil. McNeill's litany continues: the air in most of the world's cities is perilously unhealthy; the drinking water across much of the planet is growing ever more polluted; the human species is increasingly locked "in a rigid and uneasy bond with modern agriculture," which trades the promise of abundant food for the use of carcinogenic pesticides and fossil fuels.Read more

Reviews (16)

More People, Bigger Cities
The issues of population growth are politically charged and center on social forces behind environmental changes.Indians and Africans argue that population growth matters little; Americans and Europeans argue that it matters greatly.McNeil argues that population growth matters vary dependent on effective environmental management of resources.
So it's not a dry history...
It's ideas are sound, but it's all stats. This year there was this much and hey look now it's tripled, quadrupled, whatever... Just reading the conclusions of each chapter will give you everything that you need to know.

YES SIR!!!!!
Yet another book I just love sitting down with to read along with a fat glass of milk right beside me!!Wish I had a hardcovered copy of it because it is an invaluable reference.Also if I spill my milk on it, it would be safer.You might want to cancel your subscription of People magazine and pick this book up.It just could be time to pour yourself some of your own cow juice and enjoy learning the reality of a whole world of people and nature.Enjoy the milk. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Environmental Science    2. Environmental Studies    3. General    4. Human Geography    5. Modern - 20th Century    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Applied ecology    9. History    10. Environmental Conservation & Protection    11. Human ecology   

Reviews (4)

Provocative
Picking up on a few key theoretical points not included in other reviews. Harvey is pressing an academic point within the broad Marxian tradition-- a point which also has broad practical consequences for confronting imperialism's latest incarnation. A central contention is that the capitalist world has been experiencing a crisis of overaccumulation since about 1973, as evidenced by a lack of opportunities for profitable investment (for which, by the way, he offers no statistical data, but which is not at issue here). Growth prior to the 1973 watershed, he argues, was driven by expanded reproduction with the US exercising hegemonic authority as a result of its WWII reorganization ofold European colonialism. However, for various reasons (chiefly Vietnam era inflation) this regime broke down. At that point, he argues, the much-marginalized neo-liberal thinking of von Mises and von Hayek began to get a sympathetic hearing and commenced its long march through the institutions of the capitalist world. This new strategy utilizes neo-liberalmeasures, such as trade and finance liberalization (IMF, World Bank, GATT, et al.) to force open hitherto closed or regulated foreign markets, thereby helping to employsurplus capital. A related tool is to force devaluation upon a target economy, enabling foreign investors to buy cheaply and improve opportunity for increased profit margins. Thus, in broad outline, a new form of imperialism has arisen, one that remains similar to its classic colonial predecessor in that it still seeks to relieve accumulation problems at home by shifting profitability problems abroad, sometimes forcibly so.
American Empire on a New Course?
Excellent book...
Right on the money, though tough reading.
In the last thirty years or so, there has been a growing body of thought and literature in the world that America is the next Empire, maybe not in the Roman mold, but surely as powerful as the old English empire.Contributions to this train of thought have come from numerous corners; peace activists protesting the Vietnam War, anti-globalization groups protesting US corporations, French farmers protesting McDonalds, Muslim scholars and clerics throughout the world, and isolationists within American politics. These groups and their arguments have tended to emphasize the how of empire; how America came to empire, how it is an Empire, and of course, how we will fall like other Empires.This book tries to give a why, and does so from the oldest of corners opposing the American Way: socialism, and the writings of Marx and his followers.As such, it does an impressive job within a very short number of pages.
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Subjects:  1. Globalization    2. International Relations - General    3. Political Science    4. Politics / Current Events    5. Politics/International Relations    6. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    7. Geopolitics    8. Historical geography    9. International business    10. Political Science / International Relations    11. Political geography    12. Politics | Political Theory    13. USA   

Subjects:  1. Biogeography    2. Earth Sciences - Geography    3. Human Geography    4. Science    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Geography    8. Social Science / Human Geography   

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geography    2. Geographical perception    3. Human Geography    4. Landscape assessment    5. Science    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Study and teaching    9. Cultural studies    10. Geography | Cultural, Social, Human    11. Historical geography    12. Human ecology    13. Social Science / Human Geography   

Subjects:  1. Asia - Japan    2. Earth Sciences - Geography    3. Economic Geography    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Ina Valley (Japan)    8. Japan - History    9. 20th century    10. Asian / Middle Eastern history    11. Economic history    12. Historical geography    13. History / General    14. Japan    15. c 1700 to c 1800    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (2)

Award-winner
PETROLIA recently was awarded theGiddens Prize as the best newwriting on oil history, 1996-2000.

Bravo Brian Black
Never before have I read such an eloquent and informative journey throughthe oil boom of Pennsylvania. Thephotographic images that Dr. Black haschosen for his book are as captivating and clear as his text. Anoutstanding and brilliantly written book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. History - U.S.    3. Human Geography    4. Landscape    5. Petroleum    6. United States - 19th Century    7. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic    8. Pennsylvania    9. Petroleum & oil industries    10. Regional geography    11. Social history    12. USA    13. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Hauntingly beautiful without the least bit of romanticism
Gary Nabhan's book has images in it that are complex and, judging by some of the reader's reviews, too fine-grained for some people's tastes.Like all great written works, Gary has taken the time not to oversimplify or over-generalize, but the resulting ambiguities and lack of forcing these essays into a pre-ordained thread has left me with images that will stick with me for a long time.They, like the ecosystems and cultures that he describes, point to a complexity which reveals itself slowly and over time--lifetimes, in some cases.It is this complexity that he celebrates and mourns the loss of as the cultures and languages that have evolved close to the land become increasingly diluted and discarded in the rush of assimilation that has overtaken so many cultures,languages and landscapes.His case for breathing life back into our landscapes THROUGH our culture and language is compelling, and a challenge to us all, wherever we live.

Interesting ideas but too loosely written
While I found his concepts very interesting and many of his stories beautiful in and of thesmelves, Nabhan fails to bring his book into a cohesive argument. He vaguely alludes to his concepts of the importance of biodiversity to cultures, and how a diversity of cultures promotes biodiversity, I felt as if I were drowning in nostalgia as he told this and that tale without making their significance clear and... significant. We all need to see culture this way
So few nature writers (Barry Lopez being one notable exception) are concerned with dissolving the artificial wall between humanity and nature. Nabhan takes this objective one step further by showing that biodiversityactually depends on the survival of human communities.In specific, humancommunities that have adapted to and depended upon natural systems fortheir own survival.For those who are interested in conservation,environmental science, human cultures, Native American societies,ethnobotany, archaeology, and anthropology, this book is a must-read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Physical    2. Essays    3. Human Geography    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Applied ecology    7. History of ideas, intellectual history    8. Management of land & natural resources