Review: The View from Lazy Point

The View from Lazy Point
A Natural Year in an Unnatural World
by Carl Safina
Henry Holt and Co., 2011

Following the course of four seasons and the four directions of the compass, this philosophical memoir chronicles a year of the author's life as he travels from his coastal home on Long Island to Antarctica and the Arctic, and from islands in the Caribbean to the western edges of the Pacific Ocean trying to understand, as a scientist, how the natural world
is faring in the face of serious environmental challenges and what role humans have in its fate.

As he follows scientists studying troubled parrotfish in the coral reefs off the coast of Venezuela, managing salmon populations in Alaska, maintaining the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard (an archipelago halfway between Norway and the North Pole) and documenting the decline of penguin populations in Antarctica he concludes that old notions and beliefs of humans are compromising the survival of species and the ecosystems that support them.

"Science has marched forward. But civilization's values remain rooted in philosophies, religious traditions, and ethical frameworks devised many centuries ago," he writes, making the same observation in different words at several points in the book.

What is needed, he concludes, is greater development of the uniquely human trait known as compassion.

"Compassion doesn't simply mean caring for poor people or putting band-aids on need. It seeks to remedy sources of suffering," he explains. "It means we require a clear, peaceful way of providing what the world can bear - and knowing when enough is too much. In part, it means realizing that far fewer people would mean far less suffering."

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Review: Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in any home, anywhere

Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in any home, anywhere
by Laurelynn Martin and Byron Martin
Storey Publishing, 2010

For those of us living in cool, northern climates, the idea of growing tropical fruit at home for consumption has been a dream that few have dared pursue... until now.

Laurelynn and Byron Martin, third-generation greenhouse growers in Connecticut, have recently started supplying tropical plants to home gardeners who are growing them on decks, patios and in containers indoors all across North America.

"Growing Tasty Tropical Plants in any home, anywhere" documents their conviction that almost everyone can enjoy the taste of the tropics without leaving home, provided they have the proper cultivars.

"One of the keys to success with tropical container fruits is providing the right environment for the plants as they grow and mature," they explain. "Some types need a winter cool period, while others do best in warm conditions year-round. Some tropicals do well in partial sun, but many of them will produce fruit only when the grow in very bright conditions, such as a sunny windowsill, sunroom, or conservatory during the winter. If you don't have a sunroom or some large south-facing windows, then you'll need to explore using supplemental lighting for these plants."

The Martins profile 47 fruiting tropical plants in their text, from the well-known citrus fruits to the exotics like acerola, dwarf pomegranate and papaya and even chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, vanilla and sugarcane plants. An artist’s sketch and close up photograph of foliage, fruit and flower is included with each featured plant along with detailed instructions on cultivation, care and harvest.

"If you're brand new to container gardening, it's a good idea to start with plants that grow quickly and can tolerate a range ot temperatures," the Martins advise. These include coffee, fig, ‘Meyer’ lemon, naranjilla, orangeberry, tree tomato, and yerba mate plants.

This book invites readers to a gardening adventure rich with sunny flavors and exotic fragrances, growing fruits once forbidden beyond the tropics.

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Review: The Startup Game

The Startup Game
Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs
by William H. Draper and Eric Schmidt
Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

Co-authored by one of the best known and most respected venture
capitalists, William Draper, this book is an autobiographical account of
40 years of investing in entrepreneurs and their ideas.

Draper uses stories of risky investments, cagey CEOs and rancorous board
meetings to illustrate how he evaluates innovations and their innovators.
Object lessons drawn from his involvement with Skype, OpenTable, Hotmail,
Prolacta BioScience, Baidu, Selectica and dozens of other high-tech firms
make for fascinating reading.

Draper sums up much of his message in "The Top Ten Avoidable Mistakes of
Entrepreneurs" where he elaborates on the following preventable blunders:

* Creating overly optimistic projections about market size and
customer acquisitions.
* Underestimating timelines.
* Trying to do everything yourself.
* Failing to master the elevator pitch.
* Not downsizing when necessary.
* Being inflexible.
* Not developing a clear marketing plan.
* Building a board that consists only of friends.
* Not taking action in a recession.
* Not knowing the right way to approach venture capitalists.

Anyone expecting to meet with venture capitalists now or in the future
would be well advised to read this text carefully and take its lessons to
heart.

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The View from Lazy Point

A Compassionate Mind

"In the panic among the fishes and in the frenzying terns, it’s also evident that nature has neither sentiment nor mercy. What it does have is life, truth, and logic. And it strives for what it cannot have: an end to danger, an assurance of longevity, a moment’s peace, and a comfortable death. It’s like us all, because we are natural.

"What anyone needs to know about mercy, one can learn by watching nature strive, seeing people struggle, and realizing what a compassionate mind could add to the picture. So I’m also struck that we who have named ourselves “wise humans” — Homo sapiens — haven’t quite realized that nature, civilization, peace, and human dignity are all facets of the same gemstone, and that abrasion of one tarnishes the whole."

The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World by Carl Safina
Review: The View from Lazy Point

Classic Cookbooks: Selections From Betty Crocker's Dinner For Two Cookbook

Selections From Betty Crocker's Dinner For Two Cookbook
by Betty Crocker
General Mills, 1973

Every recipe in this cookbook has beenm tested and retested in the Betty Crocker Kitchens and in homes all across the country.

Cooking for two?

Here are hundreds of new dining ideas for every taste and occasion.

Every menu is complete - main courses, vegetables, breads, desserts - all especially for two.

Selections From Betty Crocker's Dinner For Two Cookbook
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Now in Review: Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares

Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares
The Love, Lore, and Mystique of Mushrooms
by Greg A. Marley
Chelsea Green, 2010

Throughout history, people have had a complex and confusing relationship with mushrooms. Are fungi food or medicine, beneficial decomposers or deadly "toadstools" ready to kill anyone foolhardy enough to eat them? In fact, there is truth in all these statements.

In Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares, author Greg Marley reveals some of the wonders and mysteries of mushrooms, and our conflicting human reactions to them.

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Now in Review: Fire in the Forest

Fire in the Forest
by Peter Thomas and Robert McApline
Cambridge University Press, 2010

How destructive or beneficial are forest fires to wildlife? Should we be trying to reduce or increase the amount of fire in forests? How are forest fires controlled, and why does this sometimes fail? What effect will climate change have?

These and many other questions are answered in this richly illustrated book, written in non-technical language.

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