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Frustrated by the lack of well-written essays on software engineering, Joel Spolsky (of www.joelonsoftware.com fame) has put together a collection of his favorite writings on the topic.

With a nod to both the serious and funny sides of technical writing, The Best Software Writing I: Selected and Introduced by Joel Spolsky is an entertaining read and a guide to the technical writing literati.

The Best Software Writing I contains writings from:

• Ken Arnold
• Leon Bambrick
• Michael Bean
• Rory Blyth
• Adam Bosworth
• danah boyd
• Raymond Chen
• Kevin Cheng and Tom Chi
• Cory Doctorow
• ea_spouse
• Bruce Eckel
• Paul Ford
• Paul Graham
• John Gruber
• Gregor Hohpe
• Ron Jeffries
• Eric Johnson
• Eric Lippert
• Michael Lopp
• Larry Osterman
• Mary Poppendieck
• Rick Schaut
• Aaron Swartz
• Clay Shirky
• Eric Sink
• why the lucky stiff

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An essential introduction to the world's living religions by experts from each tradition -- published in conjunction with the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions.

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Combining the well-known characters and stories of A. A. Milne with ideas on how to maintain positive management techniques, a professional engineer presents a lighter look at setting objectives, developing communication and leadership skills, and more. 100,000 first printing. $100,000 ad/promo..
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Until now there has been no single, comprehensive resource on the status of North America's most threatened birds and what people can do to help protect them. Birder's Conservation Handbook is the only book of its kind, written specifically to help birders and researchers understand the threats while providing actions to protect birds and their habitats. Jeffrey Wells has distilled vast amounts of essential information into a single easy-to-use volume-required reading for anyone who loves birds and wants to ensure they are protected. At-a-glance species accounts cover in detail North America's one hundred most at-risk birds; each account is beautifully illustrated by today's top bird artists. The text includes status, distribution, ecology, threats, conservation actions and needs, and references. A distribution map accompanies each entry. Chapters discuss birds as indicators of environmental health, the state of North American bird populations, major conservation issues, and initiatives now underway to improve the health of North America's birds.

Birder's Conservation Handbook is an indispensable resource for birdwatchers, researchers, naturalists, and conservationists. Reading it will inspire you to become an active steward of our birds and the habitats we share.

• A comprehensive guide to North America's one hundred most at-risk birds and how to protect them
• Compact and easy to use, with beautiful illustrations and data organized for convenient, at-a-glance reference
• Detailed species accounts, including distribution maps
• Practical advice on conservation
• Information on leading conservation agencies and resources

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The Physique Photography of Chuck Renslow This book has many forgotten photos made by Chuck Renslow from the very early days of physique photography. Most of the photos are from the 1950's and 1960's..
Price: $39.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Collected here for the first time, the essential essays from Wendell Berry's writings on agrarianism, agriculture, and community

Together these twenty-one essays offer an agrarian alternative to our dominant urban culture. Grouped around five themes--geobiography, an agrarian critique of culture, agrarian fundamentals, agrarian economics, and agrarian religion--they provide an excellent introduction to the wide range of Wendell Berry's work. They also demonstrate that Berry's writing promotes a clearly defined agrarian vision compelling to those dissatisfied with the stress, anxiety, ill health, and destructiveness of media-driven culture.

Readers will find in these essays illuminating discussions on questions such as: Why is agriculture becoming culturally irrelevant, and at what cost? What are the forces of social disintegration, and how might they be reversed? How might men and women live together in ways that are to the benefit of both? And how does the corporate takeover of social institutions and economic practices contribute to the destruction of human and natural environments? Whether it be through his staunch support of local economies, his defense of farming communities, or his call for family integrity, Berry emerges as the champion of responsibilities and priorities that serve the health, vitality, and happiness of the whole community of creation..
Price: $74.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In Alien Species and Evolution, biologist George W. Cox reviews and synthesizes emerging information on the evolutionary changes that occur in plants, animals, and microbial organisms when they colonize new geographical areas, and on the evolutionary responses of the native species with which alien species interact.

The book is broad in scope, exploring information across a wide variety of taxonomic groups, trophic levels, and geographic areas. It examines theoretical topics related to rapid evolutionary change and supports the emerging concept that species introduced to new physical and biotic environments are particularly prone to rapid evolution. The author draws on examples from all parts of the world and all major ecosystem types, and the variety of examples used gives considerable insight into the patterns of evolution that are likely to result from the massive introduction of species to new geographic regions that is currently occurring around the globe.

Alien Species and Evolution is the only state-of-the-art review and synthesis available of this critically important topic, and is an essential work for anyone concerned with the new science of invasion biology or the threats posed by invasive species.

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Louisiana crawfish, cheatgrass, Russian thistle, Hottentot figs, rats, and sweet fennel. These and dozens of other seemingly benign flora and fauna have become some of the worst culprits in the destruction of ecosystems and native wildlife in the American Southwest and Baja California. Although widely publicized threats—such as pollution, land development, changes in the atmospheric condition, fire, and drought—are frequently credited with posing the greatest danger to indigenous animals and plants, invasive species are quickly becoming a far more insidious peril to the survival of native wildlife. A result of both accident and human intervention, the frequency with which exotic species are being introduced into nonnative environments is increasing at an alarming rate. In Unnatural Landscapes, Ceiridwen Terrill combines lucid science writing with first-person tales of adventure to provide a compelling introduction to invasion ecology and restoration management. Traveling aboard her trusty kyak, The Grebe, Terrill brings readers on a firsthand tour of various “islands” in the Southwest and Mexico—both actual islands and self-contained habitat communities. From the islands of Anaho, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa to Isla Tiburón in the Sea of Cortez, Mexicali irrigation canals, and Pyramid Lake, Terrill takes an in-depth look at the damage that invasive species cause. Drawing on field observations, research, and interviews with scientists, resource managers, and local residents, this book provides readers with the background and knowledge they need to understand and to begin combating what is quickly becoming the most important environmental crisis facing the fragile ecosystems of the Southwest..
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