pdfebookbot.net

From Publishers Weekly In this comprehensive sequel to his History of Wine in America: From the Beginning to Prohibition (1989), Pinney delves into the legislation that has produced, and hampered, the creation of great American wine. It is a story of setbacks, confusing laws, bankruptcies and buyouts. Figures and statistics about all parts of the industry-from growers to wine makers to middlemen to connoisseurs-expand the focus beyond Napa. The tragic story of New York's Finger Lakes wineries sits alongside statistics on Washington's humble berry-wine beginnings, for example. After a careful analysis of the Volstead Act, Pinney traces the shift in grape plantings (from fine wine grapes to shipping-friendly seedless grapes) that resulted in a dominance of sweet fortified wine for decades after Prohibition. The Supreme Court decision in May that wine could be shipped across state lines makes this book particularly timely since confusing state laws and how they've created or destroyed local winemakers is a reoccurring theme. While Pinney's focus on law rather than on luminous personalities or colorful terrine can result in some dry chapters, his sentences often sparkle with wry humor: "the fact that he prospered at brokering stocks during the Depression says a great deal about him" he writes about Martin Ray, an obsessive gentleman winemaker in California's early history. And the final chapters still have the feeling of magic about them: so much of American's wine future is yet unwritten. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From More than a decade after his history of the beginnings of American winemaking appeared, Pinney brings his comprehensive treatise up to date with a second volume covering the period from Prohibition to the present day. The explosive growth of winemaking, particularly in California, since the middle of the twentieth century has been recorded anecdotally in many an introduction to wine appreciation and in any number of vintners' memoirs, but Pinney's work scrupulously documents how vineyards multiplied and adds careful research and statistical measures to the record. Most of this history addresses wine professionals and economists, but some of Pinney's prose will intrigue the more casual reader. His account of Prohibition's impact on wineries, as growers went gradually from initial despair to active involvement and unprecedented success in actually repealing a constitutional amendment, provides an object lesson for other change movements. Although the volume's narrative focuses on California, Pinney in no way neglects the Great Lakes and other lesser-known grape-growing regions. Extensive footnotes and bibliography. Mark KnoblauchCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

"This book represents a milestone in the synthesis of temporal and spatial database concepts and techniques. It unifies and organizes the existing research into a coherent whole and presents substantial new results and approaches in many areas. In each case it begins with what is known, then it introduces the new concepts in an abstract and general model, and then it translates the ideas into a pragmatic representation of data structures or SQL-like query language extensions. As such, the book makes both an excellent text and an excellent reference. It also takes you to the frontiers of our understanding, so it is a great point of departure for a new researcher who wants to advance this field." --from the foreword by Jim Gray, Microsoft Research Book Description First uniform treatment of moving objects databases, the technology that supports GPS and RFID.

China is the third largest country in the world, holds nearly a quarter of the earth's population and claims a recorded history going back more than 3000 years. Foreigners' reactions to China and its people veer from one extreme to the other, as if the gargantuan size of the place demands a sweeping response. Simon Myers spent years in the Middle Kingdom trying to fathom just an inkling of China. Firstly as a Western student, still preoccupied with searching for much-missed dairy products; then as a businessman selling the capitalist icon, Coca-Cola, inaugurated to Business Drinking and losing face; and finally, independence - on the road on a Chinese motorbike and sidecar. In this work he offers an informed and personal account of China, aiming to go behind the cliches and provide a different take on life in this fascinating and frustrating country.

From Publishers Weekly Roby's disappointing sixth entry in her Rev. Curtis Black series (after 2008s Sin No More) focuses on Alicia Black Sullivan, his beautiful and spoiled 22-year-old daughter. Accustomed to getting anything she wants, Alicia shops like daddy still picks up the tab. This is a source of endless agitation for her new husband, young pastor Phillip Sullivan, a genuinely good man. Though he tries to set limits, Alicia stubbornly plows forward, and her self-centered ways result in deceit, infidelity and, finally, divorce. Unsurprisingly, Alicia learns nothing from her tragedy except that she should strive to marry a wealthier man. Robys message of Christian forgiveness, a common theme in her work, doesn't succeed here: characters tolerate situations until they become untenable and then walk away. Alicias selfish behavior is alienating, and her unwillingness or inability to learn from her mistakes leaves readers wondering why they should care at all. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Alicia has chosen to follow in the scandalous footsteps of her father, the womanizing spendthrift Reverend Curtis Black. Newly married to her father’s protégé, she routinely covers her shopping addiction by lying about her activities, and events rapidly escalate when she is robbed the same day several credit card statements arrive in the mail and her husband confronts her. In response, Alicia not only perversely spends even more, she also embarks on an affair with a drug lord. Refusing to admit that her marriage is in jeopardy, this reverend’s daughter behaves like a spoiled child rather than a responsible married woman living by the tenets of her faith. Roby’s thought-provoking novel continues the Reverend Curtis Black series (Too Much of a Good Thing, 2004) with the second generation’s mistakes. As was the case with her father, Alicia still has far to go to become an admirable character, so watch for at least one sequel if not more. --Lynne Welch

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

From Besides the familiar lorry and pub, the approximately 5,500 Briticisms covered in this dictionary include words and phrases that will be unknown to many Americans as well as terms used in both the U.S and Britain but that have different meanings (lame duck, for example, which in Britain means a person unable to cope). Entries indicate the American equivalent for each Briticism and usually provide additional explanation. Appendixes outline the basic differences between British and American English regarding syntax, pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling, and provide a means of identifying terms in specific areas, including cricket, currency, and weights and measures. An index to American equivalents completes the volume. New to this edition are armcake, gastropub, and lager lout, among others. Cheers! Mary Ellen QuinnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Norman Schur is without doubt the outstanding authority on the similarities and differences between British and American English. BRITISH ENGLISH, A TO ZED attests not only to his expertise, but also to his undiminished powers to inform, amuse and entertain. Laurence Urdang, Editor, VERBATIM, The Language Quarterly, Spring 1988 --This text refers to the edition.

Amazon.com Review The Art of War is the Swiss army knife of military theory--pop out a different tool for any situation. Folded into this small package are compact views on resourcefulness, momentum, cunning, the profit motive, flexibility, integrity, secrecy, speed, positioning, surprise, deception, manipulation, responsibility, and practicality. Thomas Cleary's translation keeps the package tight, with crisp language and short sections. Commentaries from the Chinese tradition trail Sun-tzu's words, elaborating and picking up on puzzling lines. Take the solitary passage: "Do not eat food for their soldiers." Elsewhere, Sun-tzu has told us to plunder the enemy's stores, but now we're not supposed to eat the food? The Tang dynasty commentator Du Mu solves the puzzle nicely, "If the enemy suddenly abandons their food supplies, they should be tested first before eating, lest they be poisoned." Most passages, however, are the pinnacle of succinct clarity: "Lure them in with the prospect of gain, take them by confusion" or "Invincibility is in oneself, vulnerability is in the opponent." Sun-tzu's maxims are widely applicable beyond the military because they speak directly to the exigencies of survival. Your new tools will serve you well, but don't flaunt them. Remember Sun-tzu's advice: "Though effective, appear to be ineffective." --Brian Bruya --This text refers to the edition. Review "The most useful and important book ever written for aspiring leaders."--Toronto Sun TimesFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

Review "Quoting from and bringing together evidence from a very wide range and long list of references, Bill Burroughs presents a compelling argument for the profound effect of the stabilisation of climate into and through the Holocene on humanity using, in particular, ice-core proxy data as a measure of climate. Intended for a general readership of interested readers, I recommend this well-written, readable overview to all."Jim Galvin, Royal Meteorological Society "...covers an amazing range of relevant topics and does not shirk from controversy...the story the author weaves is up to date and utterly fascinating, and it captures the excitement and promise in combining studies of climatic and human history." The Quarterly Review of Biology, David Rhode, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada "The central virtue of this book is that it asks big, provocative questions about the possible effects of climate on our species. These attempts at cross - disciplinary theorizing expand our horizons and lift us beyond the limits of our specific disciplines."William Ruddiman, American Meteorological Society Book Description This book explores the challenges that faced humankind in a glacial climate and the opportunities that arose when the climate improved dramatically after the Ice Age. It weaves together studies of the climate with anthropological, archaeological and historical studies, and will fascinate all those interested in climate and human development.

From Publishers Weekly With another bleak vision of the zombie apocalypse, Keene makes a triumphant return to the still-thriving subgenre he helped revive with his 2004 debut The Rising (a movie version of which is currently in the works). Trouble begins when a virus infecting the rat population of New York City begins spreading among animals and humans alike—one bite, one drop of blood or one string of saliva is all it takes to kill its victims, within minutes, and instantly revive them as mindless, flesh-eating zombies. Narrating this grim tale is gay 30-something Lamar Reed, who makes a hair-raising trip through the carnage of zombified Baltimore before he and a small group of survivors manage to commandeer a Coast Guard ship and get it out to sea. Together, the eclectic group search the coast for a safe harbor; meanwhile, an endless parade of zombies search the survivors' floating haven for a way in. Keene piles on the gory thrills as Lamar and his shipmates struggle through this diseased world, though they can be overly chatty at times (dialoging on everything from religion to Joseph Campbell). Delivering enough shudders and gore to satisfy any fan of the genre, Keene proves he's still a lead player in the zombie horror cavalcade. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.