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The Weeping Goldsmith : Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar
by Kress, W. John
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0789210320
- ISBN 13
- 9780789210326
- Seller
-
Dunedin, New Zealand, New Zealand
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Abbeville Press. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (2009). First Edition. Hardcover. 0789210320 . No signatures. Dust-jacket protected in archival mylar cover. A nice copy of this title.; 272 pages. Green cloth boards with gilt lettering on spine, blind-stamped lettering on front board. Page dimensions: 252 x 189mm. Numerous beautiful colour photographic illustrations, some black and white historical photographic illustrations. The author was a botanist and spent 9 years working on a botany of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), first visiting the country in 1996. The author also writes about and quotes from Frank Kingdon-Ward, who was also a botanical explorer of Burma in the early-mid 20th century. "Dr. Kress explored many areas in this enigmatic country, surveying its teak forests, bamboo thickets, timber plantations, rivers, and mangroves to document its incredible botanical diversity. Myanmar is one of the great biodiversity "hot spots" in Asia, but because of its social isolation and reputation for political repression it has been closed to or avoided by many scientists. Nevertheless, Dr. Kress was determined to search for and record plants that had not been studied since they were first discovered by Western botanists over a century ago. Among the rarities he came upon was a new species of plant called "the weeping goldsmith," a ginger flower whose Burmese name was derived from the legend that the local goldsmiths were reduced to tears because none of their own creations could rival its exquisiteness. Dr. Kress also relates how he came to appreciate the people and culture of Myanmar through an understanding of their flora, natural habitats, and human-dominated environments. Included are fascinating excerpts from his field journals that serve as counterpoints to the accounts of earlier plant explorers. Illustrating the text are some 200 of Dr. Kress's own color photographs of the incredible plants, people, landscapes, and temples he witnessed in his travels as well as 30 archival images of Burma taken by past explorers. The back matter features an illustrated portfolio of representative native plants. This lively armchair exploration should appeal to a general readership as well as to botanists, conservationists, and environmentalists." With a two page Foreword by Wade Davis. .
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Renaissance Books
(NZ)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 24907
- Title
- The Weeping Goldsmith : Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar
- Author
- Kress, W. John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0789210320
- ISBN 13
- 9780789210326
- Publisher
- Abbeville Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- (2009)
- Keywords
- 0789210320
Terms of Sale
Renaissance Books
Any book not as described may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a full refund.
About the Seller
Renaissance Books
Biblio member since 2005
Dunedin, New Zealand
About Renaissance Books
We are located in Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. We have in stock over 8,500 books. We are a general antiquarian and out-of-print home-based bookseller, with some specialty areas in English literature, Maori, Travel, Tibet, and New Zealand history.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...