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1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Charles C. Mann

October 10, 2006
Mann's book, while entertaining, is nothing more than speculative revisionism. The book does not read very easily because it jumps around from one topic to the next without warning frequently. Mann's intentions may have been good, but it doesn't excuse the fact that you can't rewrite history simply to promote an idealistic view of native cultures based on circumstantial evidence. He offers no hard facts to promote his patronizing image of Native American civilizations prior to Europeanization. Nonetheless I enjoyed the book because it does offer some new or "fresh" perspectives into Native American cultures prior to (but mainly after) 1492, but I treated it more as fictional entertainment rather than an authentic historical account.

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SAS Survival Guide Handbook (Collins Gem)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: John Wiseman

March 28, 2006
This book is great. It tells you basic needs for survival like how to find water, make shelter and purify water. It is just a great book. If you frequently travel to different places like jungles or forests and you want to know how to survive in the wild if you get lost, this is a good book to get.

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Smithsonian Handbooks: Rocks & Minerals (Smithsonian Handbooks)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Chris Pellant

September 01, 2002
If you are not blind this is the book for you. Even if you are blind you could get someone else to tell you just how beautiful the photos in this book are. That is if they can catch their breath after seeing the Photo's. No 99% of the time you will not find the same item in the outdoors that you see in the book. Still if you have the chance even at 1% of finding a specimen that is even close to the photo in beauty it will be worth ten times what you have paid for this book. I have maybe three or four rocks I have found that look as good as the photos in the book. Actually I have three that are better than and one that is as good as the photo's in the book. I keep looking for even more rocks just to find them. Yes for the money I spend on Gas and tires ... Read More:

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Gun Digest 2009: The World's Greatest Gun Book (Gun Digest)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Ken Ramage

August 05, 2008

Not all guns are in Gun Digest. I wonder why alot of guns that continue to be made are not put in these catalogs.

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Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Sophie Uliano

April 08, 2008

If you were thinking about going green, reading this book, will help pave your way. It is easy reading and very informative. I would highyly recommend this book.

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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Candice Millard

October 10, 2006
This is a tremendous book, retelling a significant voyage of discovery in the early 20th century involving the former president; his son Kermit and Brazil's foremost explorer Candido Rondon.

Following his resounding defeat in the election of 1912, when he ran as a third party candidate, and badly splintered the Republican Party, Roosevelt decided, as was his habit, to recuperate by throwing himself into a vigorous physical challenge.

Initially intended as a combination speaking tour/excursion, Theodore Roosevelt's impulsive decision to expand the trip to include exploring the uncharted River of Doubt, turned the journey into a life threatening experience. First time author Candice Millard does a great job of building suspense ... Read More:

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Audubon Engagement Calendar 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: National Audubon Society

June 01, 2008
This is the 10th year I've used this calendar, not because I'm a Society member, but because of the quality of the book. Its size (approx. 10x6)makes it portable, but each page has one week. I use the book as an appointment book and as a diary of events and have kept all back copies. They have helped me when I need to remember specific dates. The wide spaces for each date are convenient.
Oh, and the pictures opposite each week are stunning!

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Thames: The Biography

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Peter Ackroyd

November 04, 2008
When I opened Ackroyd's biography of Sir Thomas More many years ago, and read the pages in which he imagines how his subject wended his way to school through late 15th century London and what he saw and encountered on his way, I was stunned by his uncanny ability to create, de facto, two characters: More and London itself. Happily for us all, he has gone on to write a series of three books that really do serve as "biographies of place", if such a phrase exists. The first was London: The Biography, the second, Albion: Origins of the English Imagination, a tour de force of what is distinctively English. The third in the series is this biography of the Thames River. However unlikely the subject, the book is easily the equal of anything else this eclectic and accomplished ... Read More:

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Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
from: Firefly Books

November 01, 1998
An absolutely wonderful book; however, the numerous printing imperfections encountered (odd smudges, smears, and stains) have significantly detracted from the reading experience.
The book states that it was printed in China and it shows--really bad for a new book.
Perhaps whoever printed the book thought that one would be reading it mainly in the dark and would not notice the blemishes.
A five-star rating for content and 0-stars for print quality equals 3 stars total (more of less).

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Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Outdoors and Nature
by: Alastair Fothergill

March 25, 2007
I think that this book is beautiful. I was pleasantly surprised that there was so much written information. The pictures are lovely and interesting.