Member: benjfrank

Hi - I haven't visited for a while, but I had to try out that new "What should you borrow?" feature, because you have one of the best PNW collections around. I found 137 titles on my side of the list, and several of them magically transferred to my ever-growing wishlist.

BTW, was that your cover on Mount St. Helens Holocaust? I tried to grab a copy, but nothing happens when I click on the image.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 4:39 pm (EST) on Jun 25, 2011

FYI, I uploaded a cover for "New Found World" in case you want to use it.

posted by casebrad at 9:58 pm (EST) on Aug 16, 2010

I'm not very good at keeping my librarything account up to date. So my profile is probably pretty unreliable. If only I hadn't thrown out my old CueCat barcode scanner! :-) That would make it so much easier to keep up. I keep hoping that I didn't really toss it and it's hiding in a box somewhere. Going to be nosy now and look through your library.

posted by pollyalida at 1:19 pm (EST) on Feb 8, 2009

I actually have driven to Alaska 6 or 7 times, the last 2 times were by myself, but not in winter!! And my last trip was probably about 5 or 6 years ago.
"In the Heart of the Sea" is great. It is what the book "Moby Dick" was based on. The Essex was actually sunk by a whale, and it seems as though every myth you've ever heard about disaster on the high seems, or what you thought was only myth, actually happened to the crew of the Essex. The discriptions of whale hunting are also brutally graphic. Like me know what you think once you read it.
I read the "Endurance" book you mentioned a long time ago and I seemed to have read so much on this subject I need to read it again one of these days. I see you have 2 of the 3 named Endurance, and Shackletons "South". The stories about his Nimrod expedition are also pretty good. The 3rd Endurance book was written by his Captian on the Endurance by the name of Worsley. I just got it recently and haven't read it yet!
I noticed you mentioned hiking in Washington. It is so beautiful there. I did about 4/5ths of the Pacific Crest Trail in Washington a few falls ago. Didn't make to thru Goat Rocks before the snow started seriously falling. The Cascades sure are beautiful. I have friends out in your area and hope to move out there one of these days. You guys sure have had some crazy weather lately!!

posted by walton at 9:29 am (EST) on Jan 15, 2009

Hey!
Let me know what you think about the Leonardo book. I have several books on him but nothing recent. It wasn't rated really high in reviews but did sound interesting. Paula

posted by walton at 1:27 pm (EST) on Jan 14, 2009

Oh, you asked what I am reading now: "Life with the Esquimaux" by Charles Francis Hall, it is his account of his travels vs other published stories about him like "Weird and Tragic Shores" and "Trail by Ice" about his Polaris expedition. I actually do have several favorite books but sometimes have to add another one. I really loved "In the Heart of the Sea" about the whaling ship the Essex--I couldn't put that one down, I was drivng home by myself from Alaska and had to pull over to the side of the road to read more of it! "Touching the Void" about a climbing accident where the injured climber really should have died, it's quite incredible. A movie was made of it and it is the first time I've seen a movie that did the book justice, but it is probably because they did it much like a documentary. And I really enjoyed "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" about the history and discovery of the sunken ship S.S. Central. Too many books, too little time aye!!

posted by walton at 1:21 pm (EST) on Jan 14, 2009

Yes, I've read "Adrift" and thought it was really good. I got it as part of an adventure book series. I just love polar stuff, especially Shackleton. He did seem to be a unique and extremely effective and competent leader. There are actually 3 different books named "Endurance" on the expedition by 3 different authors! I checked out the NF site you mention in your profile and ended up ordering more books. I have a little book addiction problem. If books were heroin I'd be dead by now!! Thanks! (I noticed you have a lot of the time/life and Easton Press series I have)

posted by walton at 1:03 pm (EST) on Jan 14, 2009

I think truth is stranger than fiction and so I noticed that you also like non-fiction. I would be curious what some of your favorite non-fictions are,

posted by walton at 2:09 am (EST) on Jan 13, 2009

Hi Ben,

As I'm cataloging my library, I look to see how closely it matches that of others. One thing that I've come to realize is that when Librarything tells me that someone's library closely matches mine, most of the time all that means is that that individual has many books in common with me but only on one subject. Sometimes that can be 22 out of 200 (big percenteage) but all on Roman history, or space science, horror, etc.

What I like about perusing your library is that it not only shares a relatively high number for a large but but not huge library (55, so far), but that the range of subjects in common exhibit is quite varied. I'm Sure that you enjoy your diverse library as much as I do mine.

Cheers,
John

posted by jmchez at 5:13 pm (EST) on Aug 14, 2008

Hi Steve,

I'm glad you remembered my username! It was nice to meet you, too!

posted by vfranklyn at 3:10 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2008

Nice job on adding GHM to librarything local, I just added EAT. Isn't this cool!
Michelle Angell

posted by angellreads at 11:53 am (EST) on Mar 8, 2008

Nice of you to send well wishes! If you're interested in the Franklin catalog, be sure to check back later. I'm gearing up to recruit volunteers and get things rolling on the entry of every book Benjamin Franklin is known to have owned. The Thomas Jefferson library catalog was entered in 3 months; it would be nice to get Franklin's done as quickly, but we'll see...

posted by BenjaminFranklin at 8:16 pm (EST) on Jan 20, 2008

Re: Peck's mathematics book - I ask because he is my grandfather, and I know the book was used as a university text for some time. It would have been neat to find a former student of his, however distant the tutelage might have been. Regardless, it's great to find someone outside the family who has a copy at all any more! This one was written to put my mother through college, but I won't bore you with more information than you need. Thanks for your reply.

posted by thewhitts at 11:49 pm (EST) on Jan 1, 2008

Hi - I notice we two are the only ones who share copies of Lyman C. Peck's Secret Codes, Remainder Arithmetic and Matrices. Might I ask how you came by your copy?

posted by thewhitts at 6:56 pm (EST) on Dec 31, 2007

This is too much fun- thanks for sharing this at class! I could get really carried away here. :) Last night I was tossing and turning, thinking about what other books I would like to add to my catalog. See you again soon!
Sarah

posted by thelearninggarden at 7:16 pm (EST) on Nov 30, 2007

Hi, my name is Dawn and I am a librarian and the host of Toronto Public Library’s online book club: Book Buzz and a fellow LibraryThing member.

This month we are reading Thunderstruck, by Erik Larson. I noticed that you include Thunderstruck in your library and I’d just like to invite you to visit us and share your thoughts about Larson’s book. It’s a friendly easy-going book club with over 400 members and we are always looking for new points of view.

If you are interested, visit us at http://bookbuzz.torontopubliclibrary.ca .

Thank-you for your time,
Dawn
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/BookBuzz

posted by BookBuzz at 6:27 pm (EST) on Sep 12, 2007

Thanks for visiting my library. Right now I'm reading T. H. White's "The Once and Future King", but other books recent read and enjoyed include Harry Potter #7, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, "Saints and Villains" by Denise Giardina, "The Yiddish Policeman's Union" by Michael Chabon, and "Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank. I see you're a hiker; have you traveled to Alaska yet?

posted by alaskabookworm at 11:25 pm (EST) on Jul 28, 2007

Dear benjfrank: Thank you. I'd love to hear more about the Passion Play that you saw in the Northwest ... like where it was ... whether it will be presented again ... if any info on a website ... etc. I just started reading a delightful book, recommended to me by an LT friend ... "John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: Themes & Issues". Based on what I have read thus far, it is excellent! Enjoy the beauty of the Northwest. I certainly miss it. yangguy

posted by yangguy at 9:02 pm (EST) on Jul 12, 2007

Hi Benjfrank: I first noted that we share a book on "Oberammergau", which is something that I would love to see in person some day. Have you been there? I'm delighted to see that you love the Northwest. Between the ages of four and ten, I lived in the Coastal Range of Oregon, half way between Eugene and Florence ... a place called Triangle Lake, near Blachly. It was a resort area, but many in the community were loggers and farmers. I see that we actually share twenty books. The size of your library, albeit "weeded", is quite a challenge and inspiration to me. Larry (yangguy)

posted by yangguy at 12:31 am (EST) on Jul 4, 2007

Hey, it was great to see that somebody visited my library, but I do see that I need to spend much more time on the computer, I don't have any reviews and boy do I have opinons!!!

posted by llrmurph at 10:45 am (EST) on Jun 25, 2007

Hi - I just wanted to say that I read your review of the Intellectual Devotional book and I found your method of reading it quite funny. I too have been unable to stick to the schedule and find myself reading 10 pages at once and then not opening it for a month. But when I do read it, I am learning quite a lot, so I guess it works out ok. :)

posted by fannyprice at 2:09 am (EST) on May 30, 2007

plus I can do magic

posted by wolf8 at 12:53 am (EST) on May 2, 2007

I'am a person of high authority

posted by wolf8 at 12:52 am (EST) on May 2, 2007

I work in a further education/community college. We seem to do a bit of everything. There are two photographs on Flickr (one of each campus library) though they're not great. I have to admit that I've been neglecting Flickr a lot because of LT and Blogger - bit of a short attention span at the moment!

posted by deargreenplace at 11:04 am (EST) on Mar 28, 2007

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your comment. It's nice to be in a community where librarians aren't thought to be weird :)

deargreenplace

posted by deargreenplace at 7:05 am (EST) on Mar 27, 2007

When I said "tearing up," I didn't mean literally (given that I've done everything on the computer, it would be rather difficult.) What I've been doing is massive, massive editing - rewriting giant sections of the plot, adding and deleting characters, and gradually piecing things back together. (And, actually, I keep the originals, along with copies of any significant editing. I'm the sort of person who saves everything - I can't really imagine destroying any of my writing.) The Austen sequel is only a few pages, at the moment - the last two weeks haven't given me much time to write anything. What do you like to write about in non-fiction? I have to admit, I've never tried writing anything in non-fiction for fun; since I write to relax, it seems a little too much like doing a research project.

I think that, now, there are a lot more strong female protagonists than there used to be - and not only those written by women (the Thursday Next books are an excellent example of this.) There also seems to be a trend featuring strong Biblical female characters that does pretty well - Marek Halter's trilogy, The Red Tent, etc (although the last book in the Halter trilogy was largely a disappointment.)

I do think, though, that there are also a lot more female characters, but a lot of time, the biggest best-sellers feature men as primary characters; women are strong characters within the novels, but not the "hero." This is especially true in fantasy, and particularly in YA fantasy (Harry Potter, Eragon, etc.) I've got a stack of recently published novels to read featuring female protagonists - Artemisia, The Witch of Cologne, Patriot Hearts, The Gilded Chamber - and maybe I'll have a different opinion after I've read all of them.

Exams went well, by the way.

posted by julieryc at 9:38 am (EST) on Mar 24, 2007

Midterms are over and I'm (at least marginally) saner, so feel free to write.

posted by julieryc at 1:14 pm (EST) on Mar 22, 2007

Read your book blog on Joan of Arc, and I pretty much agree. I'm always browsing the Borders science section, too - I'm lucky in that there's a huge Borders on campus and a two-story Barnes and Noble maybe fifteen minutes away, so between them, there's usually something. Next up on my list for biology (well, it's probably going to end up like biology-theology) is "The Science of God" by Francis Collins. Normally I'm a bit wary of the science-religion blending genre, but I've read interviews he's done in Discover and elsewhere, and he seems moderate enough. (Dawkins is an excellent evolutionary biologist but rather like an annoying Bible-thumper, but for atheism. There needs to be a term for that, but "Letter to a Christian Nation"-thumper seems a little long. And people like Lee Strobel who attempt to use science to make a case for intelligent design are too easily demolished.)

Mostly I write fantasy and/or science fiction for myself. Right now, I'm in the process of tearing up some old stuff (I've been writing since I was 12, and you can imagine how bad some of that is.) Actually, I'm never really happy with anything I've finished, so I'm constantly in the process of revising old things. Most of it features strong female characters; it's always bothered me that there aren't more of them around in literature. When I first read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I used to pretend that Fili and Kili (the beardless dwarves) and Merry and Legolas were female, because there weren't too many women in the story. (I was 5 when I read The Hobbit and 6 or 7 with LotR, so pretending all this was slightly easier.) Even Harry Potter, with characters like Hermione, McGonagall, and Tonks, is still...well, *Harry* Potter. I know male main characters are seen as far more marketable, but since I'm writing for myself, that doesn't matter. (Books and/or media with ensemble casts generally do better in this regard, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Animorphs being the first examples of this that come to mind. The latter is YA series that was really, really good until about the last 10 books - a piece of short fiction I wrote after the last book came out back in...the 90s?...is one of the only pieces of fanfiction I ever did, and tried to correct my disappointment with the series' end. While fanfic itself is a slightly embarrassing genre to have written anything in, I haven't deleted it, either - at the time, it was sort of cathartic to write, I guess.)

I took a creative writing course last semester in which I did some completely different stuff - since I was writing for a peer review group of mostly girls, I did some humorous chick-lit short stories (which the peer group liked, although Chris, the grad student instructor, didn't; he was more a fan of Hemingway. Never, ever tell a professor you hate their favorite author.) Since Chris was getting his MFA in poetry, we spent over half the semester writing poems; since I can't write poetry and know it, I did poems to make my group laugh.

I've also decided to start trying to write an Austen sequel (about Col. Fitzwilliam from Pride and Prejudice.) Modern sequels to 18th and 19th century novels seem pretty popular now, but no one does them well - Darcy's Story is the closest I've seen to a decent one, although in many places it simply seemed like a regurgitation of P&P, while Thornfield Hall (about Adele from Jane Eyre) was utterly wretched, perhaps one of two or three books I've attempted to read in my life that I couldn't finish. I'd rank it among the worst novels I've ever read. I would sign up on a book exchange site to give it away, but I don't really want to inflict it on anyone else.) I know, obviously, I can't do as well as Austen, but I'm having a lot of fun playing with that signature ironic style. I'm giving it a shot, anyway; the worst thing that can happen is that it winds up unfinished in a subfolder on my computer, after all.

At the moment, progress on anything is probably going to be slow; I have the second of three cell bio exams on Wednesday night, and class average on the first exam was a 66%. (To make things fun, the professors are saying they won't make any decisions on a curve until the end of the course. Given that this is one class every cell bio major needs to pass to graduate - and it's only offered in the winter - they're obviously going to have to do something. Even so, just to be on the safe side, I'm studying like mad.)

posted by julieryc at 1:58 pm (EST) on Mar 11, 2007

I'm in the last semester of my senior year at the University of Michigan. The Cell & Molecular degree is a general overview of just about anything having to do with life at the molecular stage, so I've had courses on neurobiology, plant molecular biology, and human physiology, just to name a few. This semester my only course for the major is Cell Biology, which covers things like how proteins and other things are transported and how cell signalling works. This fall I'll start pharmacy school. I also love to write, but, as my parents pointed out, it's easier to write on the side, for fun, than to try to eke out a living as a published writer. In the meantime, it's one of my major hobbies.

I have so much respect for you for the physics minor (even an almost-physics-minor.) I have two friends who were physics majors (one a physics/history double major, the other physics/econ) and, although I find popular books about quantum physics interesting, that's one subject I have to admit I was glad to leave behind after sophomore year.

posted by julieryc at 11:50 am (EST) on Mar 2, 2007

I finished Joan of Arc yesterday. (Anything that's unrated in my library is something I haven't finished yet.) I thought it was pretty good, although a little light. It's by no means the worst or best book I've read recently (worst goes to The Book of Splendor, a novel - not terribly written, but I never felt involved with any of the characters, or even interested in the story. Best is hard to say - probably Rubicon in non-fiction, Pilate's Wife in fiction. Usually, I'm happy with whatever I end up getting, so it's a lot easier to identify books I don't like instead of ones I do.)

Thanks for the compliment about my library; I'm interested in almost everything (I guess this is why I'm getting my BS in Cell & Molecular Biology and Classical Civilization - and taking English lit classes wherever I can fit them in.)

I read some of your reviews. It makes me want to go out and get more than a few of them, particularly Ultimate High, Beethoven's Hair, and The Children's Blizzard. Of course, I already have a huge backlog of books to read lying upstairs, and Alison Weir just came out with a new book on Jane Grey that I want to go get...well, I guess that the best part about reading just about everything is that I'll never run out of books.

posted by julieryc at 12:54 pm (EST) on Mar 1, 2007

Dodger Thoughts is the one I regularly read, but I think I found the Scully clip at another one called 6-4-2, which is a combo Dodgers-Angels blog.

If you're into film/television, the Dodger Thoughts proprietor also writes a blog about that at Screen Jam. He works for Variety, so he's got a better feel for the industry than most.

posted by Linkmeister at 4:55 pm (EST) on Feb 26, 2007

Read your review of The White Cascade. Very nicely done - one of the true pleasures of LT is encountering so many well-informed and articulate people. If you found this on a par with The Children's Blizzard, I will be very eager to get to it. But I am paperbacking for the next couple of weeks. Hate to do that - I much prefer hardcovers - but I will be traveling.

If you enjoyed The Children's Blizzard, check out Bad Land by Jonathan Raban. It's about the homesteaders who were lured into Montana and the Dakotas by the railroads, and the realities they confronted with the arid climate.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 3:29 am (EST) on Feb 24, 2007

Am I a baseball fan? You bet. The family moved to LA in 1959, just as the Dodgers were winning the WS in their second season there, and the newspapers' sports sections were going crazy, so this nine-year-old was too. I've been living and dying with the team's fortunes ever since, even though we moved into Senators' territory three years later.

In fact, I got that clip from a Dodgers blog I frequent. Are you aware of the number of baseball blogs in the blogosphere? Baseball Musings is a good generic one with a huge link list; if you're a Mariners fan you can find a link to several bloggers focusing on the team there.

posted by Linkmeister at 12:48 pm (EST) on Feb 23, 2007

Your compatriot Steve posted a review of a baseball book about perfect games on 1/27/07 at the NF Blog. I just left a comment for that entry with a link to an .mp3 of Vin Scully's call of the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965. I don't know how often y'all look at comments from old entries, so I thought I'd let you know.

posted by Linkmeister at 12:50 am (EST) on Feb 23, 2007

Re the book on Rose Windows: the preface mentions a website (www.therosewindow.com) which reproduces many of the colour plates. Try it out sometime!

posted by job2007 at 10:37 am (EST) on Feb 22, 2007

I haven't had a chance to do more than browse White Cascade yet, so will watch your blog for the review.

My catalog is private right now because I went nuts when I saw my user name proliferating across cyberspace. Prior to LT, I had managed to be totally invisible on Google - you might find my name, but it would be for "twins" who actually have a public presence. I used the comment field to note first/rare editions, estimated values, and other info I don't want in front of the whole world. I see in Recommended Site Improvements that I am not the only one asking for a private field to store non-public info in a public catalog. As soon as we have that one field, I will have no problem with a public catalog.

Not much to see yet anyway. So far I have tagged only about 30 books as "PNW", but I have a couple of shelves full that I will eventually get to. I use a rather loose definition of PNW, including MT, ID, BC, and AK (the old Ecotopia?). I have a few early books - Ezra Meeker, Burlington Strike (1889), Klondike stuff, etc. and some recent - Egan, Dietrich, Raban, etc. The usual outdoorsy stuff - Cascade Alpine Guides, hiking guides, X-C ski routes, bike routes, river rafting guides, region specific gardening books, etc. The rest is a grab bag of early exploration, Lewis & Clark, Oregon Trail, gold rush, Sasquatch, Mount St. Helens, logging, mining, serial killers. (Not that I am particularly interested in serial killers, but we do seem to have more than our share!)

Speaking of serial killers, do check out Starvation Heights - it is fascinating!

posted by oregonobsessionz at 10:15 am (EST) on Feb 22, 2007

Thanks for the comments. I shall get back to you on the Rose Window which is a very useful basic introduction giving all the main developments in a relatively compact text.

posted by job2007 at 4:13 am (EST) on Feb 21, 2007

Approaching 300 books and we share 35 so far. (I am still waiting for one private comment field before I go public.) I can't believe you don't have these titles on your PNW bookshelf!

Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen

Bold Spirit: Helga Estby's Forgotten Walk Across Victorian America by Linda Lawrence Hunt

Both are nonfiction PNW stories by Washington authors. Bold Spirit won the PNW Booksellers' Award, Willa Cather Award, AND WA State Book Award! And Starvation Heights took place right down the road from you in Olalla. (Then again, maybe you aren't interested in women's stories from the Victorian era. You have Alice in Wonderland but not Isabella Bird.)

posted by oregonobsessionz at 4:51 pm (EST) on Feb 18, 2007

Thanks for the links to your "White Cascade" review and especially the "to be published" list. "Washington Disasters" looks good, and I think I will have to have the Einstein too. I just bumped up against the limit for a free account, and had to upgrade to lifetime.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 7:25 pm (EST) on Feb 13, 2007

Must be nice to know about these books pre-publication! I was returning from a business trip, and read a review of "White Cascade" in USAToday on the plane. Since it covers two of my favorite genres, PNW and disasters, I marched right into Powell's when I got off the plane. I prefer the main store downtown (so I can hyperventilate in the Rare Book room), but the two small shops at the airport will do when I am on a specific mission.

I lived in Seattle 1979-96, and the whole time I was there I missed Portland's quirky, laid-back attitude. Now that I am back here, I miss Seattle's scenery, cooler weather, and the North Cascades.

What is "Washington Disaster" - some kind of publication? I didn't see an LT group.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 2:31 pm (EST) on Feb 11, 2007

Thanks for the additional covers! You'll notice that I've got a lot of books on the Northwest. It's my playground.
I loved it when I lived there, it's a beautiful part of the world. I've just found another we have in common: Sons of the Profits by William C Speidel. I was actually surprised that you didn't have The Land That Slept Late: The Olympic Mountains in Legend and History by Robert L. Wood.

I've never climbed a peak higher than 6000 feet and never been higher than the Muir Snowfield on Rainier (how many times have you climbed it?) but Rainier is my home away from home during the summer.
I've only climbed it the one time. Shortly after moving to Washington I hiked up to the Paradise Ice Caves (which I gather are now gone?), and from there the summit looked so close that I resolved to hike to the top one day. The summer before I moved to England was my last chance, and (by good luck with the weather, and training and guidance from RMI) I made it. I can't recommend it enough, it's hard work but well worth it. I started training in January, unable to run a mile without stopping to catch my breath, but I did a lot of running and quite a few training hikes (often with my son on my back, once carrying a 6' 2x6 half-way up Mt Si for a walkway building project). If I could do it, pretty much anyone could, really!

posted by r.orrison at 7:25 am (EST) on Feb 11, 2007

We share 25 titles so far, but I have entered only ~175 of mine. You are the only other user (so far) with Ezra Meeker. I have "The Busy Life of 85 Years", signed and inscribed by the author - what a guy! I also have Kate Mulhall, but haven't entered that one yet.

Also I notice that you grabbed The White Cascade right out of the box. Same here - I entered the first copy in LT. Ruby El Hult covered this event in 1960, in "Northwest Disaster: Avalanche and Fire".

I panicked and went private when I saw my user name proliferating all across cyberspace. I have been invisible there up to now, and will have to think of a different user name before I am ready to switch my LT account back to public.

posted by oregonobsessionz at 3:42 am (EST) on Feb 11, 2007

I've found two more books we share: "Exploring Mount Rainier" and "Sunrise to Paradise: The Story of Mount Rainier National Park" both by Ruth Kirk. I've uploaded the cover of my Exploring Mount Rainier; Amazon has Sunrise to Paradise.

posted by r.orrison at 3:28 pm (EST) on Jan 8, 2007

I lived in Redmond for 7 years before moving to England (if I gave you one guess where I worked you'd probably get it right). I picked up my copy of Snoqualmie Pass while I was there, as well as a couple others that you might have that will make it on here eventually. I bought my copy of Lou's book at the bunkhouse; he signed it for me the day before I climbed Mt Rainier.

posted by r.orrison at 6:08 pm (EST) on Jan 7, 2007

I don't know if you have the same edition as I do, but I've just uploaded a cover for "Snoqualmie Pass: From Indian Trail to Interstate" by Yvonne Prater. (I mention it since you're the only other person on here that owns it!)

posted by r.orrison at 3:45 pm (EST) on Jan 7, 2007

Thanks for your note and recommendation: that's the first comment I've received, apart from some spam, so was really welcome.

If I wasn't on holiday in New Zealand at the moment, I'd take your starting work on your boxed books as some inspiration to start on mine, but I'll have to see if that thought lasts until I get home. The friend I am staying with has a bunch of BB's books, so I'll see if he has the one you recommended. (Apparently he does - but under the UK title of 'Down Under'.)

We do indeed have a fair overlap in the popular science field, but I see that there is a recommendation I can respond with, which is for 'The Crucible of Creation' by Simon Conway Morris which gives another take on the story told by Gould in 'Wonderful Life'.

Thanks again for the note.

posted by Noisy at 4:11 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2007