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One River Review

One River
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"One River" will take you on a journey that you will never forget. It will introduce you to one of the twentieth century's most remarkable men--Richard Evans Schultes, as well as one of the world's most fascinating places--the Amazon.
The book is the story of the work of Schultes and two of his students, including the author Wade Davis. It will take you as close as you can ever be to lost cultures and lost ecosystems along with cultures and ecosystems that are very much endangered. Wade Davis is a champion of both human and ecological diversity. "One River" is probably the most eloquent testament to ethnic and biological diversity I've ever read.
As the modern world encroaches on every last nook and cranny of this beautiful earth, "One River" serves as a primer about what once was and about the price we pay as we lose one more species, or one more human culture forever.
This book is an adventure story. It is a story of incredible academic accomplishment. The term academic, with its connotations of being hopelessly removed from the real world does not apply here. Schultes and his students could not be more connected to the real world.
"One River" is the story of man and nature and how the two interact, each forever changing the other. Read this book and then tell your friends about it. While it is hard to make such a claim (there are so many good books), I'd have to say this is my favorite book.

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Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest Review

Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice: An Ethnobotanist Searches for New Medicines in the Amazon Rain Forest
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If you're a student of ethnobotany, you've come across the works and influence of Richard Evans Schultes who not only got the discipline on the charts but also spawned all of its major researchers. Plotkin, like many of the other ethnobotanists out there, never imagined going into this area but after attending a lecture by Schultes was forever hooked. And who wouldn't be? There are few tracks of study that harken back to the great era of discovery when large swaths of maps were inscribed "TERRA INCOGNITA" and strange tales of lost tribes, hidden ruins, and secret rituals abounded. In short, ethnobotany is a calling card for the last terrestrial adventure. Reading any of its texts one gets to take part in this adventure vicariously.
Like "One River" (Wade Davis), Plotkin's "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice" takes us to the most remote areas of the Amazon and allows us to sample the last vestiges of traditional cultures where, in the words of Plotkin, the arrival of Columbus in 1492 is just being felt. It's taken 500 years for European civilization to finally penetrate the canopy of the deep rainforest but the Conquest is now nearly complete and the very last of the holdouts are starting to wear ratty jeans and tossed off t-shirts, sing cheesy Bible hymns, and guzzle down Coca-Cola. For all the adventure and good writing, a long sad tune is heard as one reads this book; a threnody to bemoan the last gasp of wise-old cultures as their vision goes dark. And with each of these cultures is lost all the knowledge of plants that they have come to know so well. But, in truth, the loss of this knowledge is not so important since the plants themselves are disappearing into oblivion even faster. As was recently reported, the Amazonian rainforest lost 10000 square miles in 2004 alone. It seems that all one can do is stand tall at the funeral to pay respect.
Lest one lash out too quickly at the misguided missionaries or encroaching campesinos, Plotkin does a majestic job of introducing us to these characters and showing how each is doing what is right in its own way. It's just that the rainforest was never meant to take on modernity and humanity's billions. As the two clash, modernity-as has been its record-wins, even at the loss of irreplaceable natural resources.
The book is hard to put down and if one needs more of the same, "One River" should be the next read. With enough interest in the Amazon and its issues perhaps, just perhaps, a critical mass of people can come together to better protect this ecological and anthropological treasure trove.


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Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Revised 10th Anniv 2nd Edition) Review

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (Revised 10th Anniv 2nd Edition)
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Patricia Hill Collins exemplifies a practitioner's and theorist's point of view on black feminism as it relates to Africa American and our African sisters. She references critical and inspiring data and quotes from a varied repetoire of authors, historians, and philosophers. The author explains the context and format of her subject upon initial reading. This book also draws commonalities among the issues and concerns among African American women and our international sisterhood (i.e., African, Carribean, etc.,) It illustrates the social and cultural values among all groups, the commonalities among the values while focusing on the African American feminist aspect. This is a must read for any person, be it woman or not, African American or other. It brings about a social and cultural understanding that is pertinent to the "holonomy" of understanding and appreciating varied cultural, social and historical values and experiences while commencing to the building of community. Please add this title to your collection of literature. You won't be disappointed; if for nothing more than to open your world to receive another perspective.

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In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. The result is a superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought.

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A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life Review

A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life
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Like most of you I know Bethenny Frankel first from the 'Housewives of New York' television show, and then her own show, 'Bethenny Getting Married' and now 'Bethenny Ever After'. This new year of Bethenny's show I felt like we were finally getting to know the real Bethenny. She was sharing her life, but also sharing a lot more of her feelings, and letting us in to those places we often keep private. I was surprised how much I liked this book. In this book Bethenny has given us a very entertaining, informative and fun book. She exposes herself, and her family to all of us with some real lessons learned.
Bethenny has framed her book and chapters with 10 rules that she shares for a happier and more productive life. She incorporates each chapter with a 'Quote to Remember' that are quite inspirational and some are downright funny. One of the most important aspects of this book is when she starts talking about 'noise'.' She says,
'Noise is what gets in your way. It's a self generated obstacle, the negative talk inside your head that keeps you down.' Each chapter contains examples of noise that has hindered Bethenny's life in some manner, and a method to over come the noise. Her advice is excellent and every single rule comes with stories on how Bethenny has met her devils and overcome them. She gets very personal about her life with her parents and the difficult childhood. Her problems with her mother and father, and the relationships that changed her life. She had gone from relationship to relationship to feel complete. She tells us her stories of her engagements, her first marriage and how she came to find real love with her husband, Jason, their baby, Bryn and Cookie, their dog. Bethenny relates her experiences out on her own, how she failed and found success with business and the entertainment world. She goes into detail about her time on Martha Stewart's Apprentice Show. The lessons learned and the personalities she met. She discusses how she came to be on 'Housewives of New York' and what that experience was really like. And, then she talks very openly about her marriage to Jason, and the obstacles they met. Her marriage, the birth of Bryn and now the life she has always wanted. She talks about not always being happy, and that 50% of the time she may feel crappy, but has a method to overcome her negativity. Bethenny talks about her new adventures and business that she is initiating- what we have to look forward to. Bethenny is a busy gal, but a happy one. I found this book quite illuminating, with lessons learned, and the humorous and sad parts of life that we all know so well. We can relate to Bethenny and she relates to us.
The writing is superb. It is a very well constructed book. The introduction and chapters follow each other well.
The book holds our attention. Wonderful, open feelings are shared. Intimate stories of Bethenny's life are explored. No kiss and tell, except for her own life and loves. I have a new appreciation for Bethenny. She has built a life for herself, and her family that is based on honesty and owning her feelings, owning her mistakes and owning what is important to her. When you make a mistake, suck it up and move on. Bethenny tells us we can make our lives Heaven or we can make it Hell, by our actions. She tells us to take what we want from her book, apply it our lives and move on.
Highly Recommended,. prisrob 03-22-11
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A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life

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Bethenny Frankel's no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is personality won over countless fans, and made her a nationally bestselling author and the star of her own hit Bravo show Bethenny Getting Married? Now Bethenny opens up and shares the obstacles she overcame and the great success she has enjoyed while discovering how to approach life from "A Place of Yes." Bethenny's path was not always clear as she overcame a difficult childhood, failed relationships, entrepreneurial efforts that never quite got off the ground, and lifelong money struggles. To deal with these challenges, Bethenny developed ten rules for pursuing her goals with authenticity and drive, including:
* Find your truth: Dig deep inside and figure out what is authentic for you, not anybody else.

* Act on it: You don't have to have a master plan. But unless you do something, you've done nothing.

* Everything's your business: Treat every job, person, and experience as if it could lead to your next big opportunity.

* Own it: If you do it, say it, think it—then own it. Stand up for yourself and fully acknowledge who you really are.

Each rule is illustrated with compelling, sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous examples that are pure Bethenny. It's easy to say no, to say "I can't," to expect the worst, and to doubt yourself. But your life can be better than "not bad" or "good enough." It can be amazing. And by putting Bethenny's rules together, you can use them to be more successful, more fulfilled, healthier, and happier than ever before.


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How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Review

How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
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"How Successful People Think" by John Maxwell is a great little book and a timely read, particularly in a day where media and others encourage us to follow our feelings almost to the exclusion of thinking.
The book covers thinking in several areas:
1. Focused thinking.
2. Creative thinking.
3. Realistic thinking.
4. Strategic thinking.
5. Possibility thinking.
6. Reflective thinking.
7. Question Popular Thinking.
8. Shared thinking.
9. Unselfish thinking (get outside yourself!).
10. Bottom-Line thinking.
Each chapter is around 10 pages and usually contains the following that applies to the area of thinking being discussed:
1. Sayings by famous people.
2. Benefits of the particular type of thinking.
3. Principles to apply to improve your thinking in that area.
This is not one of those "touchy-feely" books designed to make you feel good about yourself. If that is what you are looking for, then do not bother to read.
Instead, if you want to improve your thinking in any of several areas, then this book is for you. The narrative flows freely and contains great information to inspire and challenge you.
Read, enjoy, and be challenged. Highly recommended!

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