Book Description
George W. Bush, a self-proclaimed straight-talking Texan, has been roundly lampooned for his weak grasp of the English language: "subliminable," "resignate," and transformationed" being only a few of his malapropisms. As ridiculous as Bush sometimes sounds, we shouldn't underestimate him or the right-wingers who put him in power, because they never say what they mean or mean what they say.
Over the past few decades, the radical right has engaged in a well-funded, self-conscious program of Orwellian doublespeak, transforming American political discourse to suit their political ends. "Private accounts" became "personal accounts." "Massachusetts liberal" was used to slur John Kerry's record. And their "compassionate conservative" tax cuts were neither conservative nor compassionate, unless you happen to be a Republican fat cat.
Sick and tired of their sinister deceptions, celebrated Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel set out to explode their verbal gymnastics by asking her readers to suggest satirical definitions of Republican jargon. The result was a grassroots groundswell of hilarious submissions from Americans who are mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more. She has collected the best in this very funny and very necessary book.
Customer Reviews:
Preaching to the Choir.......2007-03-02
This is a book of self congratulatory leftie quotes and ideas that does not add up to the sum of its parts. Preening, over earnest, boring. I like Ms vanden Heuvel when she is on TV duking it out with say, George Will - but this is not a book that is contributing in any way to the current political debate. Snide, glib, preaching to the choir.
Cute but not enough material for a whole book........2006-05-31
This sort of stuff should be posted on a website rather than being published in a book. It's fun, and the book format probably serves to help fund good causes (anything anti-Bush). Nonetheless, I'd expect something less flippant from a scholastic heavyweight like vanden Heuvel.
Is this really WIT? ...because it smells of --IT........2006-05-26
Every once in a while I enjoy getting political propaganda books from right and left and familiarize myself with the biggest heads on the block. What people are thinking, what they are seeing, and the loudest voices framing and influencing the modern American mind were always fascinating... but this isn't.
K. Vanden Heuvel, for some unknown reason, dredged up her supply of 'humor' in this book from every little giving hand in the country. And when assembled, this ark of the liberal covenant seems like it was made from half heartedly recycled cardboard rather then finely crafted from golden drops of wisdom. The reason is that Vander Heuvel, like a great deal of her entrenched left, is still so ignorant to the liberal's own political philosophy housed within her ark. Hint: there's nothing in there, so don't try and peek.
Generally, the book is a collection of all the greatest misperceptions and slander slang of the past couple decades. Crafted, yes, these bits of valuable Democratisms merely define the lack of logic and attention to issues forcing the left backward politically. And now, when you would think leaders like K. Vander Heuvel would 'get it' and rise into actively articulating constructive plans for the future based on precedent, rousing people through their disappointment in the status quo conservative devils, she as those around her slips into juvenile misperception for humor.
It reads like every stale joke heard from any aging party animal, hipster or deluded fashionista; it makes you pity them for being so crusty. As a political book declaring the voice of a fairly major player on her side of the fence, it really embarrasses. If the left ever revives, it will be when the younger generation finds how to make it WORK instead of relying on it CRITICIZING the opposition as the full extent of content.
Don't get me wrong, I really dislike 90% or more of these 'keep the rabid, angry sorts fed on blood' books made by the political cheerleaders for a quick buck. Most sell with covers that have crap titles, like this one, degrading someone, or espousing hate. But, of all of them, this was beyond lame, worse then pathetic, it was just... sad.
Waste of time and money.......2006-03-04
I want to start off by saying that I like Katrina. I've seen her on the morning news shows and she seems like an intelligent, attractive, soft spoken representative of liberalism. The first thing that struck me about the book was the amazingly unflattering photo of Katrina on the front. She looks very severe particularly compared with the more demure appearance she projects on TV and they dressed her up in a leather jacket and mini skirt that stops well above the knees. I know that Conservatives seem to enjoy the chiseled in stone teutonic look ala' the cadaverous Ann Coultier but I think that Katrina could have served her self better going with a warmer look. I wouldn't normally get so petty as to complain about the appearance of the author on the cover photo but in this case the cover seems to capture the content of the book perfectly because it's awful.
You'll find few people who criticize the Bush administration more than myself but bad is bad. In her intro Katrina writes that she intends to "skewer their [Republican's] deception with the fine tipped sword of satire". She doesn't. Apparently The Nation asked for suggestions from readers in their quest for the definitive guide of Republican definitions and she gleaned through batch to find the most "hilarious submissions". Shannon Wagner of Brooklyn, NY sent in a definition of Death tax as `Estate tax'. Not only is that not `hilarious' it doesn't even classify as mildly interesting since it's a statement of fact so painfully obvious that it crosses the threshold into insulting. Some definitions are completely banal like the one for DeLay, Tom defined as `Past tense of De Lie'. It's just bad humor. There were a few mildly clever ones like the compassionate conservative defined as `poignant concern for the wealthy' and healthy forest defined as `No Tree Left Behind'.
Dictionary of Republicanism commits the biggest crime a book can commit. It's just flat out boring. This is NOT a good representation of liberalism or progressivism. It's childish and unfunny. The only saving grace is that it is SO short it can be blown through in less than an hour (which makes the $14.95 price tag even more insulting). I recommend this book to no one and I hope that Katrina and The Nation can work to improve the quality of the books they produce because this is horrible
Amusing Republicanisms.......2006-02-26
As a life-long liberal Democrat, I purchased this book in order to have a good laugh at the conservative Republicans beliefs. Unfortunately, some of the outrageous beliefs and actions of the current Bush Administration are not really that funny.
However, some of the submissions to the book are very telling and for anyone who is not happy with the events in Washington, this short book (it really is only a dictionary!) will validate the concerns felt by many Americans today.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of pictures.......2007-10-14
This was a gift for my Dad to help him identify the birds outside his window. It is a very good beginners book with lots of pictures. I really like that the catagories are arranged by the color of the birds. It makes it an easy guide for him to use.
Wonderful book.......2007-08-30
This was the best of the three books and was a greatly appreciated gift. I became so wrapped up in it that I was not sure I could part with it. It contained so much information in such a little space that I read every word. I would highly recommend it to both the avid bird watcher as well as a beginner. Children would have no trouble using this book
Good book for children and teens.......2007-07-28
This little book is packed with great pictures of the most common birds. However, it is on a rather simple level for anyone who is going to take birding seriously as an adult. I rather liked the information on preferred foods, nesting, and calls.
Good book for basics.......2007-07-10
My 6-year-old daughter and I have just started bird watching and found this book to be very helpful. The illustrations are great and the information given is basic but is just what we're looking for at this point. It's a great starter book.
Perfect for both novice and experienced bird lovers.......2007-02-20
My oldest son gave me this for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. I have watched birds for years, and learned to attract them from my wife, knowledge that I transferred to my office with a deck overlooking a very large pond that has its own heron. This book sits on the office kitchen table overlooking the range of feeders (two suets, one peanut butter, one standard feeder, and three trays for bluebird worms, bluejay peanuts, and ground-feeder mixed nuts. Two water features, one of them running water.
This lovely little book has first-class photos (and as one reviewer pointed out, is organized by color with the color visible on the edge of the book), and provides short blurbs on appearance, song, preferred areas, and nests, as well as on attracting them--what to put out. Also a regional diagram that is helpful is distinguishing between birds common to the north east versus the south east.
We just participated in the national bird count, and this book surprised me with something I did not know: the difference between the downy woodpecker and the hairy woodpecker (only difference is the latter's longer bill).
This is a great portable reference and from my point of view, the best possible bird book to give to anyone with an interest in observing and attracting birds (provided they live in the Eastern United States).
Book Description
The Stokes Beginner's Guides, intended for beginning nature lovers of all ages, offer a wealth of identification and behavior information in a portable pocket-sized format. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs and range maps, each Beginner's Guide is organized according to the Stokes' easy-to-use and popular color-tab system.
Customer Reviews:
Shorebirds are NOT all alike1.......2007-05-23
Prior to reading this book, I gave up on shorebird identification. This book makes it very easy for a beginner like me to ID shorebirds. I love the easy way you identify birds by size and then picture. I'm finding it is now fun to try to ID the shorbs!
Outstanding field guide but not just for beginners.......2007-03-19
This is an outstanding field guide for shorebirds and it is not just for beginners. I have been birding for more than 20 years but I have had limited experiences with shorebirds and I found this small book comprehensive and organized in such a way that it has now become the only book I carry when I'm watching shorebirds.
Very Helpful.......2007-02-06
This book is very helpful for a quide in identifiying shorebirds but still can't figure out what the shorebird with a dark head, light underneath, and a straight bill is.
A good guide for both beginners and more advanced birders........2006-11-10
This is an excellent shorebird guide -- and not just for beginners. I bought this guide for a specific purpose: I lead tours in a wetland refuge and wanted an easy-to-carry guide I could use to show pictures of birds to people on the tour. This book fits my needs perfectly, but many others should find it useful. It is small and easy to carry. The book uses photo illustrations: I believe photos are better than paintings for depicting shorebirds since silhouettes are so important for shorebird identification and it is hard to get the proportions exactly right in a painting. The photos in this book are excellent. Shorebirds can vary greatly in appearance because of plumage variations. This book has multiple photos of most species and does a good job of depicting the plumage variation. This book is less comprehensive than some larger guides, but since it is designed as a beginner's guide, it wouldn't make sense for it to be too long and complicated. An excellent little book.
Stokes Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds.......2006-03-16
I'd actually rate this 41/2 stars, but that choice wasn't available. It's organization is based on a neat color tabbed guide that breaks the birds down by body size and further refines this by bill size. This rapidly narrows choices and speeds comparitive evaluations. The migration maps, both spring and fall, though general in their timing, further help narrow selection. I love this little book! It's lightweight, thin design makes it easy to carry into the field, yet it is wonderfully illustrated with summer, winter and juvenile characterists depicted for nearly every bird. It's only shortcoming - and this would perhaps alter it's small, light, handy character - would be insufficient pictures of the birds in flight.
I purchased this book as a companion to Shorebirds of North America by Dennis Paulson and use the Paulson book as a reference when Stokes leaves me still wondering. The Paulson book, however, stays in the car, both because the Stokes book is that good and because I don't want the more extansive pictures and more elaborate descriptions in the Paulson book getting wet, dirty or ruined.
Book Description
The Stokes Beginner's Guides, intended for beginning nature lovers of all ages, offer a wealth of identification and behavior information in a portable pocket-sized format. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs and range maps, each Beginner's Guide is organized according to the Stokes' easy-to-use and popular color-tab system.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Book.......2007-01-08
This book is worth getting for the pictures alone, stunning in detail and glorious of color. Most of the book gives information about the various types of hummingbirds, almost none of which we'll ever see here in the East other than the ruby throated. For those of you on the other coast, it may be useful for identification of backyard sightings.
Book Description
The Stokes Beginners Guides, intended for beginning nature lovers of all ages, offer a wealth of identification and behavior information in a portable pocket-sized format. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs and range maps, each Beginners Guide is organized according to the Stokes easy-to-use and popular color-tab system. Acclaimed bird and nature authorities, Donald and Lillian Stokes have written more than 22 books. They divide their time between Carlisle, Massachusetts, and Sanibel, Florida.
Customer Reviews:
good quick reference.......2006-06-27
I picked this little book up at a retail store while in the process of renewing my birding interests from years ago.Some things have changed over the years but it's mostly just new knowledge and expierience renewed from things learned over time.The book can be used as a guide also as it lists about 60 some pages of the common birds you would most likely see at the backyard feeder,it lists identification,feeding, landscaping,and breeding.The first half of the book goes into feeders,set ups for feeding,bird food, and suet,and a color coded range map that is used in the identification section of the book.There is also the necessary section on what to do about squirrels, and some commonly asked questions pertaining to commonly asked things about this pastime or hobby, whichever you prefer.There is a lot of easy to absorb information in this little book,a lot of info is packed into this little book,and if you are restarting you're interest or just starting out in this hobby, this is an excellant way to start.By the way, I got this book at Meijers, a chain store in Michigan.
Average customer rating:
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Hummingbirds: A Beginner's Guide
Laurel Aziz
Manufacturer: Firefly Books
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Stokes Hummingbird Book : The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds
ASIN: 1552093727 |
Book Description
The hummingbird brings a whole new meaning to the word "unique." Boasting the smallest bird in the world, this family ranges in size from the two inch long bumblebee hummingbird to the giant hummingbird, which reaches a length of eight inches. The hummer's metabolism is as powerful as the engine of a high-performance race car, its heart pumping at a stunning 1,260 beats per minute to maintain a steamy body temperature of 105 degrees F. Its mighty chest muscles account for more than one third of its weight and allow it to flap disproportionately large wings at a dizzying 50 to 200 times per second. No wonder a hummingbird sighting in a backyard garden is cause for delighted celebration. In
Hummingbirds: A Beginner's Guide, award-winning writer Laurel Aziz explores these details and many more, bringing to life this tiny force of nature.
Hummingbirds is illustrated throughout with stunning full color photographs.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent introduction to birding!
- Not "just for the birds"!
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Birding for Beginners
Sheila Buff
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Birds
| Field Guides
| Outdoors & Nature
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General
| Birdwatching
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ASIN: 1558212094 |
Book Description
Birdwatching is for everyone. No other outdoor pursuit yields so much enjoyment of nature's ways with so little effort, and BIRDING FOR BEGINNERS is the ideal introduction to the pleasures to be found from birdwatching.
All the essentials for the beginner to enjoy birdwatching are covered:
¸ equipment
¸ identification techniques
¸ field guides
¸ optics for birders
¸ birding by 'ear'
and much more.
Making this guide uniquely valuable for the novice are chapters on viewing bird behaviors such as feeding, flight, feather care, nesting, and migration so the birder understands not just what kind of bird it is, but what the bird is doing. Clear black and white illustrations as well as an exquisite four-color photographic insert, bring this exciting world vividly to life. In addition, a selection of appendices cover everything from birding organizations to birding publications.
The most important qualification for birdwatching is a desire to do it--and BIRDING FOR BEGINNERS is just the guide to help make that desire a pleasurable reality.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent introduction to birding!.......2003-09-26
I am a neophyte birder and this book was perfect as a beginning guide in identifying and recognizing common birds in the western region. The other bird guides I have purchased (National Geographic and Audubon) were exceptional, but for a novice, they presented too much information and too many birds. This book struck a nice, comfortable compromise. The photos of each bird are excellent and provide you a good look at the features and characteristics of each. They also tell you succinctly where the habitat would be and where you would most likely see each bird.
The best feature was that each bird was divided by color. So if you see a Wilson's warbler in your backyard but don't know for certain if your call is correct, you can quickly thumb to the "yellow" section of the book and see all the yellow birds. Thus you can quickly confirm your identification.
This book would have limited, or no value to an experienced birder, but for the beginning birder, this is a fine introduction to the hobby of birding.
Not "just for the birds"!.......2000-12-03
This bird book is for you! I saw it at a friend's home and knew it was the beginner's book for me. The illustrations are colorful and the information on the many birds is well organized. I found it not to be overwhelming, but easy to use. This is the book to inspire you to start birding--alone or with a friend or child, at your window or outdoors. With this book as a reference you can satisfy your curiosity and develop your skills at identification.
Average customer rating:
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Beginner's Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
Heimerdi
Manufacturer: Publications International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Birds
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General
| Birdwatching
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ASIN: 1561732613 |
Average customer rating:
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Beginner's Guide to Birdwatching
Manufacturer: Publications International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 1561731013 |
Average customer rating:
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Birdwatching: A Guide for Beginners
Joan Easton Lentz , and
Judith Young
Manufacturer: Capra Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Birdwatching
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Reference
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Ornithology
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ASIN: 0884962318 |
Book Description
Contents Include: The Cages Considered - Perches and other Fitments - The Bird Room - The Bath - First Principles in Mating - Building the Home - The First Egg - Commencement of Incubation - Egg Food - At Close of Incubation - Feeding the Young Canaries - Plucking the Young - Young about to eave the Nest - Preparing for the Second and Third Nests - The Young when Weaned - The Moult - Moulting Cages - Training for Show
Customer Reviews:
Excellent collectible.......2007-07-15
I wouldn't recommend this as a reference book, it is too outdated. Mine doesn't have a date but it is before refrigeration, so that tells you something. But it is highly of interest to the avid canary breeder as a collectible and to see how far we have come in the "cult" of canary breeding, as the book calls it....
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