Voices from the Amazon (Kumarian Press Books for a World That Works)

Book Description

The author takes us on a trek through one of the earth's last great frontiers and reveals the complexity of the lives and the problems facing the Amazon and its inhabitants.

Customer Reviews:

Brazilian peoples fighting to survive in the AMAZON.......2000-12-02

This very readable and well researched book explains the daily struggles of the people who actually live in the rainforest: the Indians, the rubber tappers, the loggers, the ranchers, the miners, and the river people. The author traveled across the vast Amazon areas to talk with the forest people and hear their stories. This book is very moving because it offers a real insight into the lives of the people that are suffering them most from the destruction of the rainforest. That the forest peoples trusted Ms. Lebreton is wonderful, and the stories they share are truly fascinating. Kudos to LeBreton for making the somewhat dangerous trek across the country of Brazil so that readers could have an accurate and honest view of the problems that plague the area.

Effective presentation of the views of ordinary Amazonians........1998-12-29

This book does a fine job of letting the ordinary men & women of Brazilian Amazonia speak for themselves. While it does not have the analytical or scholarly depth of some other books on the subject (e.g. Hecht & Cockburn's "Fate of the Forest"), its strength comes from the author's ability to listen to the people she meets. For both the general public & college undergraduates, it is a handy & accessible introduction to issues of environment & development in Latin America. It definitely stimulated discussions in my course on Global Environmental History, & it would work equally well in courses on Modern Latin America.

Voices of Northern Ireland: Growing Up in a Troubled Land

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Voices of Northern Ireland: Growing Up in a Troubled Land
Carolyn Meyer
Manufacturer: Gulliver Books Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Europe | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 0152006362

Book Description

“The author provides good historical background, which makes the origins of the troubles clear, and is sensitive to the ordinary lives of those who must live with the threat of violence.”--The Horn Book Bibliography; index; maps.

Voices of the Poor: From Many Lands (Voices of the Poor)

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Voices of the poor from many lands

Voices of the Poor: From Many Lands (Voices of the Poor)

Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Economic Policy & Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Sustainable Development | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0821350498

Customer Reviews:

Voices of the poor from many lands.......2002-02-25

This book is the third in a trilogy of books on the issue of poverty and human development undertaken by the World Bank. This last book will tell you the case studies from 14 countries. In all three books information was gathered from more than 60,000 poor men and women from sixty countries, the true experts on poverty with many stories to tell together with relevant and important observations. The study is different from other poverty studies in the fact that participatory and qualitative research methods were used. The voices of the poor from the whole world can be heard from each page you read. The task for the research team and authors has been enormous, but they have passed with flying colours.
This book has 16 chapters with the story of poverty in 14 countries (Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian federation, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Jamaica) with each country chapter organized with a brief life story followed by the issues and discussions that emerged in the group sessions and individual interviews in each country.
The book ends with advice for politicians and lawmakers, who have failed to address the issue of poverty that in many countries seem to make the rich more rich and the poor more poor. States should work towards reduction of poverty by promoting pro-poor economic policies, invest in poor people's assets and capabilities, support partnership with poor people, address gender inequity and children's vulnerability and protect poor people's right.
We hope the three books and the material presented will be used in international forums in order to formulate efforts and plans to reduce global poverty, instead of collecting dust on the shelves...

This Troubled Land: Voices from Northern Ireland on the Front Lines of Peace

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Very good
Excellent read

This Troubled Land: Voices from Northern Ireland on the Front Lines of Peace
Patrick Rucker
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Non-US Legal Systems | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

When American journalist Patrick Michael Rucker learned of the Northern Ireland peace accord signed on Good Friday, 1998, he knew he had to return. Rucker had last seen this torn country in 1991, when “the troubles” raged at a fever pitch of daily bombings and murder. Could such a violently divided society truly live in peace? What had changed? In the fall of 1998, Rucker returned to Belfast to see for himself, and this stark, gritty, spellbinding book is his report.

A fearless and brilliant reporter, Rucker sought out victims and killers, leading IRA terrorists and the loyalist counterparts bent on assassinating them, British soldiers and innocent bystanders swept helplessly into an endless undeclared war. Rucker watched as Michelle Williamson chained herself outside a prison to protest the release of the IRA prisoner whose bomb killed her innocent parents. He visited the hospital room of Liam Cairns, a young man abducted by an IRA “punishment gang” and beaten beyond recognition. He tracked down the children of Jean McConville, a widow abducted and killed decades ago for aiding a British solider–a tragic mistake that the IRA finally was ready to admit. There are scores of encounters like these in the pages of This Troubled Land, shocking portraits of a society caught in a nightmare of rage and despair.

But as Rucker discovers, despair has now begun to give way to a different mood–not forgiveness and reconciliation, exactly, for the wounds are still too raw, but a weary longing for closure. Rucker sees glimmers of hope in a Protestant mother murmuring an apology to a Catholic widow, in talk of forgetting the past, in the jarring vision of a glass-roofed double-decker bus carrying tourists down Belfast’s Madrid Street, where just a few years ago bullets flew between the Catholics and the Protestants.

In vivid, electrifying prose, Rucker captures the soul of a country at a critical juncture, a country finally putting the darkest moments of its past behind and daring to look ahead.

Customer Reviews:

Very good.......2002-05-09

In the autumn of 1998, journalist Patrick Rucker returned to Northern Ireland to see how things have changed since the Good Friday peace accord. Interviewing many different people, he paints the picture of a land that is still not at peace, but filled with the bitterness from the long struggle, but too exhausted to keep the fighting up.

This book is quite interesting, showing the reader a side of Ireland that is just not visible in most books. Allowing the people to tell their own stories gives this book a powerful grip, which makes it hard to put down and harder to forget.

My one complaint is that Mr. Rucker focused heavily on the Catholic community, showing their bitterness against the Protestants, the British government and army, and against the IRA (which is painted in stark colors that are not flattering). However, even with those limitations, this is a very good book, one that I highly recommend to anyone interested in the condition of Northern Ireland.

Excellent read.......2002-04-06

Gripping, inciteful, fast moving account of daily life in N Ireland today. Can't put it down once you get in to the book. Great history lesson and description of how life is lived so soon after all the violence that occurred during the Troubles in Belfast and N Ireland

National Parks and the Woman's Voice: A History

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National Parks and the Woman's Voice: A History
Polly Welts Kaufman
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0826339948

Book Description

A decade has passed since the publication of the first edition of National Parks and the Woman's Voice: A History. Polly Welts Kaufman thought it time to revisit the subject of activism of women citizens in preserving national parks and to learn how far the promise of the inclusion of career women in the Park Service hierarchy has progressed.

Kaufman discovered the staff in a national park can no longer fulfill the Park Service mission without outside support. Both this new reality and the acceptance of women as leaders have affected Park Service culture, making it more collaborative, more inclusive, less paternalistic, and more open to partnerships.

What was said about the first edition:"[Polly] Kaufman used extensive sources from women's, environmental, and national park history; she interviewed almost four hundred women. . . . She analyzes effectively the ways in which various women dealt with the male-deﬁned Park Service culture, contemporary patterns of service in which women are superintendents primarily in small to medium sized historic parks, problems of dual-career marriages, and ways in which women's perspectives and values, which often differ from those of men, helped shape today's national parks."--Sylvia W. McGrath, H-Net, the Popular Culture and the American Culture Associations

In this updated study, Polly Kaufman discovers that staff are no longer able to fulfill the National Park Service mission without outside support.

Average customer rating:

Gorgeous, reflective pieces abound

Voices of the Land

Manufacturer: Chelsea Green Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animals | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Natural Resources | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1931498504

Book Description

A visual and written tribute, Voices of the Land brings together a diverse community who speaks out for greater stewardship of our landscape. The authors, whether ecologist, farmer, chef, mushroom gatherer, architect, or writer, share of their own unique relationships to the land. Together with evocative photographs that detail the intricacies of nature, Voices of the Land encourages homeowners to be responsive to the existing character and ecology of the land as it becomes a home. All royalties will go to land conservation and preservation efforts.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous, reflective pieces abound .......2005-04-14

What does it mean to really know the land, or a wild space? The essays compiled and edited by Jamie Crelly Purinton for Voices Of The Land go well beyond commercial or economic values to consider the ecological and social meaning of land stewardship, from getting to know the underlying ecology of a projected building site to moving beyond concepts of land possession. Each individual chapter offers articles and reflections by builders, landowners, ecologists, students and others from different walks of life. Gorgeous, reflective pieces abound in Voices Of The Land from beginning to end.

Voices From This Long Brown Land: Oral Recollections of Owens Valley Lives and Manzanar Pasts (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

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Voices From This Long Brown Land: Oral Recollections of Owens Valley Lives and Manzanar Pasts (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)
Jane Wehrey
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japanese | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In this engaging oral history, residents of California's scenic, sparsely-populated Owens Valley reflect on their varied experiences with the region's turbulent past. Contested themes of Native American removal, water transfers, and wartime internment are interwoven with remembrances of the valley's multicultural communities, its cattle ranching and agriculture, and its Western filmmaking, railroad, and mining enterprises. Together, author and narrators create an accessible and richly textured work of history, memory, and place.

Voices of Ireland: Classic Writings of a Rich and Rare Land

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Literary Brilliance from the 17th C. to 20th C.

Voices of Ireland: Classic Writings of a Rich and Rare Land
Malachy McCourt
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0762417013
Release Date: 2004-01-20

Book Description

This marvelous anthology edited by New York Times bestselling author Malachy McCourt collects fiction, poetry, and essays by esteemed Irish writers over three centuries. From Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Gaol and Other Poems to James Joyce's Dubliners, these literary masterpieces form a collective record of the modern Irish experience. Now in paperback, Voices of Ireland includes biographies that bring each writer into focus.

Customer Reviews:

Literary Brilliance from the 17th C. to 20th C........2004-02-14

Malachy McCourt created a wonderful compilation of Irish classical writing. This book reveals one of Ireland's finest treasures ... its literature and dazzling writers. Often this Irish "traditon" is pushed aside by the headlines that shout about the political and religious conflicts. The literary geniuses are *both* men and women who are recognized in this volume by their carefully selected classic writing to be world class authors ... authors who give Ireland permanent status as an artistic and creative society.

Jonathan Swift, famous for his book, "Gulliver's Travels", was a genuine humanitarian who wrote a tongue-in-cheek satire, a short story titled, "A Modest Proposal" which was absolutely shocking in its day -- but which brought much needed attention to the plight of poor children who were starving. In short, he proposed all the valid reasons they should be fed, housed and clothed ... so as to be a delicacy, a meal for the wealthy, who feed, house and otherwise treat their animals and live-stock better than they do human beings. Another very important piece of literature is "Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry" by William Carleton. He provides true descriptions of the peasant life of the 18th C. ... we learn of feuds between families, the reaction of a clan when one of their members is murdered, the funeral and keening, along with the customs of the times, and even the burial. The importance of the Catholic clergy, the role they play in village life, and the influence they have over the people is detailed. Another entertaining piece is the abduction of a school master from a neighboring village ... a town went to this extreme to provide education for their children, something very highly valued and respected. Carleton's writing is filled with the Irish brogue and use of language by the common people which makes you feel you are living within that century and experiencing the customs, traditons and life-style of that era.
So far, my favorite writing is what would be a best selling novel, surely in the top 10 on the New York Times list ... "Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh" by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu. This literary masterpiece, contains a heroine, Maud Ruthyn, whose father dies, and leaves her in the care o her guardian Uncle Silas. He is a recluse and mysterous because there was an unexplained death which occured many years ago nin his mansion, considered a suicide but rumors still circulate if it wasn't really a murder. This novella includes, a rogueish male cousin, who is a reckless playboy ... a handsome rich widower ... a talkative free-spirited cousin Monica ... and a tom-boyish female cousin, the daughter of Uncle Silas. There is an educated, highly cultured French governess -- who is a bit creepy and sinster at times ... The characters, plot, mystery and story-line are all superbly written as suspense builds. It is a non-stop page-turning novella that grabs the reader's attention and will not let it go until the end. This story has all the ingredients for an Academy award winning film ...

Book Description

This handbook of locally based agricultural practices brings together the best of science and farmer experimentation, vividly illustrating the enormous diversity of shifting cultivation systems as well as the power of human ingenuity. Environmentalists have tended to disparage shifting cultivation (sometimes called swidden cultivation, or "slash-and-burn agriculture") as unsustainable due to its supposed role in deforestation and land degradation. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that such indigenous practices, as they have evolved over time, can be highly adaptive to land and ecology. In contrast, "scientific" agricultural solutions imposed from outside can be far more damaging to the environment. Moreover, these external solutions often fail to recognize the extent to which an agricultural system supports a way of life along with a society's food needs. They do not recognize the degree to which the sustainability of a culture is intimately associated with the sustainability and continuity of its agricultural system.

Unprecedented in ambition and scope, Voices from the Forest focuses on successful agricultural strategies of upland farmers in the Asia-Pacific Region. More than 100 scholars from 19 countries -- including agricultural economists, ecologists, and anthropologists -- collaborated in the analysis of different fallow management typologies, working in conjunction with hundreds of indigenous farmers of different cultures and a broad range of climates, crops, and soil conditions. By sharing this knowledge -- and combining it with new scientific and technical advances -- the authors hope to make indigenous practices and experience more widely accessible and better understood, not only by researchers and development practitioners, but by other communities of farmers around the world.

Our Sacred Land: Voices of The Palestine-Israeli Conflict

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Our Sacred Land: Voices of The Palestine-Israeli Conflict
Kenize Mourad
Manufacturer: Oneworld Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

General | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Israel | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

In 2002 celebrated novelist and journalist Kenize Mourad traveled through Israel and the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, interviewing ordinary Palestinians and Israelis who have been extraordinarily touch by the conflict between their peoples. This book tells their stories.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!

This book deserves 10 stars

This book is so worth reading!!!!!!!

Amazing Book!!

The best book EVER!

Landing on My Feet: A Diary of Dreams
Kerri Strug , and John P. Lopez
Manufacturer: Andrews Mcmeel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books
Gymnastics | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
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Shannon Miller: America's Most Decorated Gymnast : A Biography

Dominique Moceanu:: A Gymnastics Sensation

ASIN: 0836237080

Book Description

Kerri Strug comes to life as the brave young gymnast who secured her place in the Olympic pantheon for her brilliant success under fire. The 88-pound, 4-foot 9-inch Strug seems larger than life as she follows her personal dream-from her home in Tucson, Arizona to years of tenacious training with several different coaches, and finally to her amazing vault at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2005-01-27

This is definitely the best gymnasics biography I've read! In this book, published right after the 1996 Olympics, Kerri really opens her heart to the reader...we learn about her passion for gymnasics which started at a VERY young age, her progression through the sport, what it was really like training under Bela Karolyi, and about her family. One thing that impressed me about Kerri was how she is truly self-motivated...I think many gymnasts are pushed by parents living their own dreams through their children, but this was NOT the case with Kerri. It was refreshing to read of the loving, supportive family she has, and how completely sane her parents are (as opposed to other gym parents we've heard about, like in "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes" which I also think is an important book). I think people who are THIS driven, as Kerri is, are incredibly rare...which is why she flourished under Bela's harsh training instead of cracking like so many other girls did. She is honest about the often-times brutal training under Bela, but obviously loves and deeply respects both him and Marta and she gives them credit for contributing to her successes. There are great photos included of Kerri through the years. Awesome!!

This book deserves 10 stars.......2004-05-12

Before I read this book, I didn't really know much about Kerri, except that she had hurt her foot doing a vault at the Olympics, and had somehow become America's darling.

But after reading this book, I now know Kerri for who she is: a marvelous gymnast who was always in the shadows and never seemed to pull everything together during competitions. How she came so close to making the All-Around competition in Barcelona, only to be edged out by .14 of a point.

This book will make you laugh, cry, and wonder how she could come back after injury upon injury and still continue gymnastics. This book will tell you about her joys and triumphs, and her defeats and despairs.

Since I have read this book, Kerri Strug has become my favorite gymnast, not just because of what she did at Atlanta, but what she did to get there. I promise you, if you read this book, you will be left with a profound respect of the girl who could continue on, despite the pain and setbacks.

My only recommendation is read it!

This book is so worth reading!!!!!!!.......2003-05-04

I do gymnastics and love to read about is so this book is great for me! This book is full of pictures and useful information. It has from when she was a baby to when she stuck that wonderful vault. If you are looking for a good gymnastics book or just a good book I would buy this one. If you do buy it I hope you enjoy reading it like I did!

Amazing Book!!.......2003-02-10

I really enjoyed reading Kerri Strug's autobiography. Her legendery vault, the Yurchenko with a one-and-a-half twist, helped the USA 1996 Olympic Team win a gold medal! I really thought this was a terrific book. Kerri talks about her triumphs, struggles, victories, experiences and so much more. She tells her complete story, starting from baby years, all the way up untill after the 1996 Olympic Games. Her story is a great inspiration to all gymnasts. If you enjoy gymnastics or are a fan of Kerri Strug, then this book is a must-read!

The best book EVER!.......2000-06-23

Okay, this is the best book on planet Earth. I loved it so much! I've idolized Kerri ever since '96. I got the book for Christmas. I read it, and I absolutely was amazed. A whole new aspect of her came through in the book. It's like she was my best friend and she was spilling her guts to me. I mean, there are tons of things in the book that I have never known about. I cried, I actually cried, when she fell at the 94 US Classic. I almost cried tears of joy when her dreams came true. I really connected to her! THE MOST INSPIRING BOOK EVER! It inspired me! It changed my life. It made me look at life a whole new way. I mean, all the things Keri went through make me feel lucky, make me feel like I can do anything!

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