The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and Liberal Opinion (Philosophy and the Global Context)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very thoughtful and well-written
  • Focused, well-argued, important
The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel, and Liberal Opinion (Philosophy and the Global Context)
Bernard Harrison
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0742552276

Book Description

Written by a non-Jewish analytic philosopher, this book addresses the issue of whether, and to what extent, current opposition to Israel on the liberal-left embodies anti-Semitic stances. It argues that the dominant climate of liberal opinion disseminates, however inadvertently, a range of anti-Semitic assertions and motifs of the most traditional kind. It advocates a return to an unrestricted anti-racism which would allow liberals to defend Palestinian interests without demonizing Jews.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Very thoughtful and well-written.......2007-06-24

This is a careful work on the nature of the resurgence of anti-Semitism. We see the ill will, the falsehoods, and lack of logic displayed by the anti-Semites, and there's some speculation on what gets some folks to behave in such a manner.

Bernard Harrison starts by discussing some of the properties of political anti-Semitism. He says that it generally includes, as a minimum, the proposition that Jews are a mysterious, depraved, and conspiratorial society which threatens the well-being of any nation which harbors them. And he reminds us that many of the accusations made against "the Jews" are simply self-inconsistent or incoherent. For example, the blood libel accusations are generally of the form that observant Jews commit ritual murder for religious reasons, something which is, of course, expressly forbidden by their religion. We also generally see anti-Semites simultaneously claim (or imply) that Jews are so powerful as to be responsible for the bulk of the evil in today's society yet are so powerless that they can be attacked with impunity (I tend to believe that those who make such claims are more serious about the latter one).

We also see discussions of the preposterous claim that mere criticism of Israel is sufficient to get one automatically branded as an anti-Semite. As well as another ridiculous claim that almost anyone who finds anything about Israel that is worthy of support is Jewish, and that pretty much anyone who is Jewish supports Israel. And the even more absurd claim that Israel is basically a colonial enterprise is also quickly refuted.

Harrison also is careful to distinguish between explaining why Israel exists and justifying Israel's existence. I agree. The fact that Jerusalem had been (and still was) the Jewish capital city in the 19th century helps explain why many Jews tried moving to the region once they had the opportunity to do so. The White Paper of 1939 helps explain why the number of Jews who demanded a Jewish state quickly became a majority once World War Two broke out. But these facts, by themselves do not "justify" what happened, nor do they "establish" Israel's "right to exist."

The author does write about fascism and the concept of "total war," including war against civilians. Here, he makes an excellent point, namely that claims about the "guilt" of such civilians make no sense. As he explains, even if one assents to the idea of capital punishment, "punishment" makes no sense without the concept of desert, desert makes no sense without a practicable and practiced system of laws, laws require some general acquiescence in their operation, acquiescence requires reconciliation, and reconciliation requires all sides to admit their own errors and as a minimum the right of their adversaries to exist. Obviously, any bunch of gangsters can go around murdering people, but we ought to remind ourselves that they are not necessarily "punishing" those who "deserve it."

There is a discussion about whether or not there ought to be a "Holocaust Day" for remembering that societies can make some terrible moral mistakes. Here, Harrison is careful to explain that the emphasis on the suffering of the victims is probably misplaced, as plenty of people have suffered in all sorts of tragedies. No, the emphasis ought to be on the terrible results, systematic annihilation of groups of people, of a certain kind of corruption which springs from a philosophy of racial superiority. Again, I agree. I'm not so sure we need a Holocaust Day, but I certainly do not buy the argument that such a day makes the Jews special, or makes Jewish blood worth more (or less) than the blood of non-Jews. The author makes the point that some people are envious of the sympathy that they think some Jews receive for the Holocaust and wish to use that word (often without its actual meaning) to get some sympathy for themselves. I find such an idea doubly misguided, as I tend to agree with Herzl that even appeals for sympathy by the genuinely oppressed are futile and dishonorable.

Some folks do insist on "dismantling" Israel, and Harrison discusses this at length. Here, he makes another good point, namely that the would-be dismantlers do not seem to worry much about how to protect the rights of the Jews in the region after the "dismantling." Instead, we see one anti-Israeli claim to be worried about the "fate" of the Jews, as if the Jews ought not have rights and as if whatever happens to the Jews is not only the fault of the Jews, but something the rest of us can't possibly prevent or be responsible for.

The lack of logic of some anti-Semitic claims does get exposed. We see the "mysteriousness" of the Jews used as a means to explain how the Jews can accomplish vast crimes even when they lack both motive and opportunity. Of course, when it gets to claims that "the Jewish lobby" has managed to reduce "the entire American political establishment to a state of bemused sleepwalking" for the past forty years, Harrison explains that we're not only talking about Jews doing the impossible, but about the American people being quite a bit stupider than they really are.

Near the end of the book, the author asks if anti-Semitism matters. Does it matter that the Guardian spouts a fair amount of it? Well, yes, it does. The terror we see is not helping Arabs, Jews, or anyone else. And responsible people ought to feel bound by a duty to support truth and facts. Harrison says that while one can live without understanding world affairs, one can't "live perfectly well on a diet of murderous lies. Europe tried that in the 1930s. It would do well not to try it again."

I highly recommend this book.

5 out of 5 stars Focused, well-argued, important.......2007-01-15

I write as a long-time leftist, writer on Marxist theory, and charter member of the New Left.
Harrison brings a precise philosopher's intelligence to the vexing, frightening, and at times disgusting phenomenon of left-wing anti-semitism. If his history is at times one-sided and his account of the left simplistic, he has nailed the many failures of left moral clarity and intellectual imagination. If you've ever wondered why and how seemingly liberal, left, anti-racist, nice people can hold such distorted views on Israel, this is an excellent book for you. If you think of yourself as progressive and think Israel has no right to exist, or is the sole cause of the conflict, you'd better read it immediately.
Jewish Policies and Right-Wing Politics in Imperial Russia
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    Jewish Policies and Right-Wing Politics in Imperial Russia
    Hans Rogger
    Manufacturer: Univ of California Pr
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    Binding: Hardcover

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    Jews without mercy: A lament
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      Jews without mercy: A lament
      Earl Shorris
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      Germans and Jews: The Right, the Left, and the Search for a Third Force in Pre-Nazi Germany
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        Germans and Jews: The Right, the Left, and the Search for a Third Force in Pre-Nazi Germany
        George L. Mosse
        Manufacturer: Wayne State University Press
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          White Ethnic New York: Jews, Catholics, and the Shaping of Postwar Politics
          Joshua M. Zeitz
          Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
          ProductGroup: Book
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          Book Description

          Historians of postwar American politics often identify race as a driving force in the dynamically shifting political culture. Joshua Zeitz instead places religion and ethnicity at the fore, arguing that ethnic conflict among Irish Catholics, Italian Catholics, and Jews in New York City had a decisive impact on the shape of liberal politics long before black-white racial identity politics entered the political lexicon.
          Germans & Jews (The right, the left and the search for a "Third Force" in Pre-Nazi Germany)
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            George L. Mosse
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            ASIN: B000VHULBA
            Germans and Jews:  the Right, the Left and the Search for a Third Force in Pre-Nazi Germany
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              Manufacturer: Howard Fertig
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              If I Am Not for Myself
              Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
              • Telling it like it is to Jewish liberals
              • Still relevant after twelve years
              If I Am Not for Myself
              Ruth Wisse
              Manufacturer: Free Press
              ProductGroup: Book
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              Book Description

              Religion/Politics

              Customer Reviews:

              5 out of 5 stars Telling it like it is to Jewish liberals .......2005-01-10

              The contemptible practice of selling one's own people out in order to court favor with others is sadly not strange to Jewish history. Ruth Wisse is a tremendously sensible and solid thinker who analyzes the condition of Jewish liberalism and finds it wanting. The case she makes for Jews having the courage to stand for their own interests especially in regard to the defense of Israel rather than curry favor in the eyes of those whose favor they will not have anyway, is very strong. I think that she also understands that underlying much Jewish liberal self- criticism is a real ignorance not only of Jewish history but of present world- realities. This work should be a basic text most especially for all those Jews engaged in civil rights activities.

              5 out of 5 stars Still relevant after twelve years.......2004-12-03

              For quite a while, most Jews, especially European Jews, have been liberals. It is easy to understand why. As the author explains, liberals believe in a rational approach to political questions, individual freedom, progress, and cultural pluralism. Jewish emancipation appeared to require liberalism.

              Wisse points out that there is a problem with all this. Where were the liberals when Jews were slaughtered in World War Two? And where are they now, when antizionists threaten them? Just prior to World War Two, most people underestimated the destructive power of antisemitism. Are we doing the same thing now?

              Wisse also points out the dilemma of many Jewish liberals. In the past, Jews had to agree with many political views of non-Jews to fit more easily into society as a whole. That's true today, as many Jews see support for Israel as politically incorrect. So it makes sense that many Diaspora Jews refuse to support Israel: these Jews are trying to gain acceptance. But Wisse reminds us that it won't work: antisemitism bears no relation to Jewish achievements or behavior.

              I think Wisse's best point is that it makes little sense for Jews to try to arouse sympathy by reminding people of the murder of the European Jews. While it may be a good idea for non-Jews to know about this in order to try to avoid repeating it, it doesn't do Jews much good. As the author explains, all it does is give people the impression that Jews are an easy target, that there must be something wrong with the Jews (or they would not have been picked as a target), and that it isn't a good idea to be a Jew.

              The author points out the significance of the massacres at Sabra and Shatilla. The world reacted as if it were a major crime. So major that it even wanted to blame Israel for its role. But was it major? Did they want to do anything about the actual murderers?

              Wisse discusses the Arab Big Lie. She explains that this is "the attribution to one's target of one's intentions against it." That's why the Arab antizionists had no trouble equating Zionism and racism.

              The author concludes that the ultimate test of liberalism today is whether it will defend the Jews. After all, joining those who blame Israel exacts almost no political price, and it sure is easier than standing up to the antizionists.

              Wisse thinks that many Jews would benefit by some serious soul-searching. And that if they did, they would have to confess to something. Not a false confession to Arab crimes. But a real one to their own idealism and their readiness to sacrifice other Jews in their attempts to be accepted by non-Jews.

              Edward Alexander has a little test for liberals: do you demand for yourselves the same rights that you demand for others? I think Wisse passes this test.
              Israeli Historical Revisionism: From Left to Right
              Average customer rating: 3 out of 5 stars
              • Nine articles of uneven quality
              Israeli Historical Revisionism: From Left to Right

              Manufacturer: Routledge
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0714683132

              Book Description

              The essays in this volume, by leading scholars from within and outside Israel, shed new light on the Israeli historians' controversy of the creation of the State of Israel, the 1948 War and its aftermath, Israel's attitude towards Holocaust survivors, the "melting pot" absorption policy and similar subjects. The attack on Zionist historiography, which initially came from what is dubbed the "post-Zionist" radical left, has recently broadened to include a critique from the right. These essays cover diverse aspects of the critique, exploring its historiographical, political, sociological and educational ramifications.

              Customer Reviews:

              3 out of 5 stars Nine articles of uneven quality.......2004-08-19

              Generally, I like books that consist of several articles. The poor ones can serve to put into perspective the points made by the good ones, adding rather than subtracting from the work as a whole. But in this case, the majority of the articles are unimpressive.

              The first article, by Daniel Guttwein, is about "post-Zionism," and it makes the surprisingly powerful point that post-Zionism strives to make Zionist history loathsome in order to delegitimize any Israeli collective memory. The second article is by Uri Ram, on the role of Zionist nationalism in Jewish thought. Anita Shapira then discusses strategies of historical revisionism from both right and left (in keeping with the title), in a surprisingly unconvincing essay, in which she attacks an equally unconvincing work by Hazony. Next comes another critique of Hazony, this time by Mark Lilla. The fifth article, by Derek Penslar, claims that Zionism was not colonial at all ... until after the 1967 war. I found this quite unimpressive.

              Sixth is an essay by Avi Bareli about why Zionism isn't colonialism. It is well-written, but still, I think the issue of whether Zionism is colonial in nature is rather secondary. The seventh article, by Yoav Gelber, is the best. It is about the status of Zionist and Israeli history at Israeli universities, and it begins with the Tantura thesis scandal, in which a Master's thesis invented a war crime at Tantura in the 1948 war....only to have the accused Alexandroni brigade sue for libel.

              By far the weakest of the contributions is the final one, by Amnon Raz-Krakotzkin, on history textbooks and the limits of Israeli consciousness. It whitewashes all Arab anti-Israeli behavior. It falsely claims that Israeli schoolbooks on all grade levels avoid any mention of the history of the land. It makes a hypocritical plea for more accuracy in discussing Arabs. And it finishes by blaming Israel for the plight of Arab refugees, saying that Israel has refused to help Arab refugees in spite of United Nations demands when the opposite is more nearly the case.

              I expected a work edited by a scholar like Anita Shapira to be much better than this.

              Jewish Socialists in the United States: The Cahan Debate, 1925-1926
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                Manufacturer: International Specialized Book Services
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                Binding: Hardcover

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                My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Rants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalkings, Visions, Songs and Prayers Refracting Light, from Living Rivers, in the Age of the Industrial Dark
                Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
                • Duncan leaves me speachless...
                • Self-indulgent nonsense
                • Stereotypical, obvious, pompus
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                • My Story As Told By Water
                My Story as Told by Water: Confessions, Druidic Rants, Reflections, Bird-Watchings, Fish-Stalkings, Visions, Songs and Prayers Refracting Light, from Living Rivers, in the Age of the Industrial Dark
                David James Duncan
                Manufacturer: Sierra Club Books
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                Amazon.com's Best of 2001

                When David James Duncan was growing up in suburban Portland, Oregon, he had no river to call his own, so he would routinely create one by flooding his mother's garden with a hose. He would then revel in his creation until he received the inevitable scolding. The poor kid couldn't help himself: "Running water ... felt as necessary to me as food, sleep, parents, and air," he explains. In time, he exchanged his nozzle for a fly rod and went in search of grander gardens, eventually developing an "interior coho compass" which he has traveled by ever since.

                As any reader of The River Why knows, Duncan is a master of the art of writing about fishing--which is also to say life, since the two for him are indelibly linked. But these essays deal with far more than leaky waders and rising trout. Part memoir, part activist treatise, My Story As Told by Water is Duncan's love song to wild places and the creatures which inhabit them. The book's highlight is his powerfully convincing essay "A Prayer for the Salmon's Second Coming," in which he argues that saving salmon is crucial to both man and fish alike: "A 'modern Northwest' that cannot support salmon is unlikely to support 'modern Northwesterners' for long," he writes. In this elegant demand for the removal of four Snake River dams (out of 221 on the Snake/Columbia system), Duncan declares the wild salmon "a holiness, a divine gift," a role model rather than a resource: "Salmon are a light darting not just through water, but through the human mind and heart. Salmon help shield us from fear of death by showing us how to follow our course without fear, and how to give ourselves for the sake of things greater than ourselves."

                He also ruminates on the true meanings of "place" and "home"; offers a fable on the 1872 Mining Act, "the most anachronistic and devastating piece of 'corporate welfare' in the world"; and details how Montanans rallied to prevent a giant mining company from extracting gold near the Blackfoot River, the setting of the Norman Maclean classic A River Runs Through It. All in all, My Story As Told by Water is a moving collection by an exquisite writer endowed with wit, compassion, and the rare ability to appeal to both emotion and reason in equal measures. --Shawn Carkonen

                Book Description

                In this remarkable collection of essays, David James Duncan, award-winning author of The River Why, braids his contemplative, activist, and rhapsodic voices together into a potently distinctive whole, speaking with power and urgency about the vital connections between our water-filled bodies and this water-covered planet.
                The twenty-two essays in this collection swirl and eddy around the author's early-forged bond with the rivers of the Pacific Northwest and their endangered native salmon. With a bracing blend of story, logic, science, and humor, Duncan relates mystical, life-changing fishing adventures; draws incisive portraits of the humans and wild creatures who shaped his destiny; attacks the corporate greed and political folly that have brought whole ecosystems to ruin; and meditates on the spiritual and practical necessity of acknowledging our dependence on water in its primal state.

                Customer Reviews:

                5 out of 5 stars Duncan leaves me speachless..........2006-02-26

                The conflicted fiction and non-fiction writer delivers a masterpiece. Thank you David.

                2 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent nonsense.......2005-08-12

                Duncan is a masterful wordsmith; this no one can reasonably dispute. But over the years, he has become so full of himself, so pretentious and self-important, that to me he is almost unreadable.

                I give the book two stars because of a little bit of excellent fly fishing content, and because of Duncan's undeniable writing ability. But before you buy it, you should read Donald Miller's hilarious send-up of Duncan (whom he labels Trendy Writer) in "Blue Like Jazz." Don Miller -- now there's a guy who has something significant to say on metaphysical themes. Duncan is merely showing off; Khwaja Khadir indeed!

                1 out of 5 stars Stereotypical, obvious, pompus.......2004-04-03

                Duncan's textbook rants are so predictable I found myself mouthing the next sentence before I read it. As someone who's work and life is submerged in environmental, water use, and preservation issues I find this type of stereotypical ranting more detrimental to the issues that concern me than most G.W. policies. Duncan preaches to the choir, but his preaching is so over the top it is a turn-off. While I agree with virtually every theme and policy he promotes, his pompus diatribes push me in the other direction. If this book were written 40 years ago it might strike a radical tone and inspire action. In these times it is merely a rehash of the new-age mumbo-jumbo that is so easy for the opposition to tear down.

                This book will apeal to two audiences: new-age sheep, and right-wingers looking to bash environmentalists. The rest will find it harder to wade through than Columbia.

                4 out of 5 stars Henry Bugbee.......2004-03-06

                For those who are interested in the life and teaching of Henry Bugbee, Duncan's account of Henry's last days makes this book worth reading.

                3 out of 5 stars My Story As Told By Water.......2003-11-06

                My Story As Told By Water by David James Duncan was a confusing and overly political way to express the author's love for water. HIs diliverey is good, but he should keep in mind that his readers are reading for entertainment, not to hear about our government's poor decisions.
                Waterbirds of the Northeast
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                  Winston Williams
                  Manufacturer: World Publications (CA)
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                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • Beautiful pictures and great information
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                  ASIN: 0792267397
                  Release Date: 2002-04-01

                  Book Description

                  Naturalist Jim Arnosky's lively first-person text and captivating, full-color artwork give young readers an intriguing close-up look at the habits, habitats, and distinctive features of loons, gulls, herons, and other water birds. Includes lots of fun facts and details that reinforce natural science concepts taught in elementary school.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures and great information.......2007-05-12

                  A beautiful and informative book perfect for all that love birds, especially water birds.
                  Birding in Central & Western New York : Best Trails & Water Routes for Finding Birds
                  Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                  • With tips on where to go to find specific species of birds
                  Birding in Central & Western New York : Best Trails & Water Routes for Finding Birds
                  Norman E. Wolfe
                  Manufacturer: Footprint Press (NY)
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Paperback

                  GeneralGeneral | Excursion Guides | Hiking & Camping | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                  BirdsBirds | Field Guides | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                  GeneralGeneral | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                  ReferenceReference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                  Mid AtlanticMid Atlantic | Northeast | Regions | United States | Travel | Subjects | Books
                  GeneralGeneral | New York | States | United States | Travel | Subjects | Books
                  BirdwatchingBirdwatching | Adventure | Specialty Travel | Travel | Subjects | Books
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                  1. Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R)) Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Field Guides(R))

                  ASIN: 1930480008

                  Book Description

                  This guide shows when, where and how to find and enjoy birds that migrate through Central and Western New York as well as ones that take up year-round residence. There are maps and directions for travel on foot, by canoe or kayak, by bicycle and even a few where you don't have to leave your car.

                  In this guide, you will learn:
                  • Why Central & Western NY is a prime birdwatching area
                  • Where to go to find specific species of birds
                  • When is the best time to look for certain species
                  • Simple keys to bird identification
                  • History of bird development and how it affects where you're likely to find them today
                  • How to have fun outdoors with minimal environmental impact
                  • Recommendations for selecting binoculars
                  • Tips on photographing, video recording, and sound recording birds for added enjoyment
                  • How to keep a personal birding log

                  Birdwatching is a year-round activity that can be enjoyed by everyone. Join the flock with

                  Birding in Central and Western New York.

                  Customer Reviews:

                  5 out of 5 stars With tips on where to go to find specific species of birds.......2003-09-18

                  Compiled and expertly written by dedicated ornithologist Norman E. Wolfe, Birding In Central And Western New York offers bird lovers an excellent and diverse variety of trails and water routes for seeing birds in the New York area. Maps, detailed instructions and landmarks, tips on where to go to find specific species of birds, basic keys for bird identification, and more make Birding In Central And Western New York a first-rate and confidently recommended guide for New York area bird watching enthusiasts.
                  Finding Birds in the Chesapeake Marsh: A Child's First Look
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Finding Birds in the Chesapeake Marsh: A Child's First Look
                    Zora Aiken
                    Manufacturer: Cornell Maritime Press
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover

                    NonfictionNonfiction | Birds | Animals | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
                    WaterWater | Nature | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
                    GeneralGeneral | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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                    ASIN: 0870335332
                    Bird Watching on Inland Fresh Waters (Severn House naturalist's library)
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Bird Watching on Inland Fresh Waters (Severn House naturalist's library)
                      M.A. Ogilvie
                      Manufacturer: Severn House Publishers Ltd
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Hardcover

                      OrnithologyOrnithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
                      ASIN: 0727820044
                      The bird-watcher's guide to the wetlands of Britain
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        The bird-watcher's guide to the wetlands of Britain
                        Malcolm Alexander Ogilvie
                        Manufacturer: B. T. Batsford
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Unknown Binding

                        OrnithologyOrnithology | Zoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
                        ASIN: 0713408472
                        BIRD-WATCHING: ON INLAND FRESH WATERS.
                        Average customer rating: Not rated
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                          Manufacturer: Hamlyn Pbs.
                          ProductGroup: Book
                          Binding: Paperback
                          ASIN: 060020751X
                          East Bay bird guide
                          Average customer rating: Not rated
                            East Bay bird guide
                            Scott A Richardson
                            Manufacturer: Black Hills Audubon Society
                            ProductGroup: Book
                            Binding: Unknown Binding

                            ZoologyZoology | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books | Amphibians | Anatomy | Animal Behavior & Communication | Animal Psychology | General | Genetics | Ichthyology | Invertebrates | Mammals | Ornithology | Pathology & Parasitology | Physiology | Primatology | Reptiles | Research & Ethics | Vertebrates
                            GeneralGeneral | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
                            ASIN: B0006QP8LO
                            Lake watcher's nature guide to Lake Ontario & inland waters
                            Average customer rating: Not rated
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                              Susan Jane Peterson
                              Manufacturer: Whiskey Hill Press
                              ProductGroup: Book
                              Binding: Unknown Binding

                              Fish & SharksFish & Sharks | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
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