Palaeobotany is blooming: 1970–1979, a review

During the ten years covered by this review, the foci of studies in palaeobotany of plant megafossils and certain non-palynological plant microfossils included Precambrian palaeobotany, early vascular plants, Palaeozoic pteridosperms, conifers, and angiosperms. Botanically orientated investigations displayed an increasing use of the electron microscope. Interpretations of palaeoecology and reproductive biology of fossil plants gained increasing momentum. Biostratigraphic studies underwent some new activation but generally took second place to the amount of morphological work. The number of palaeobotanists who completed or received their training during the decade augurs well for the future; there is still much to be done.     

The caliphs’ last heritage: a review

EUROPE

The British Isles. By A. Demangeon. Translated and revised by E. D. Laborde, PH.D., F.R.G.s. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xviii +434. 80 figs. 56 plates. London : William Heinemann Ltd. Second edition, 1949. 21s.

British Canals : An Illustrated History. By Charles Hadfield. 8 1/2 × 5 1/2. Pp. 259. 44 text illustrations. 8 plates. 17 sketch maps. London : Phoenix House Ltd, 1950. 16s.

The Scottish Countryside in Pictures. Foreword and Introductions by F. Fraser Darling. Illustrations described by Alasdair Alpin MacGregor. 9 3/4 × 7. Pp. 128. Illustrated. London : Odhams Press Ltd, 1950. Reprinted, 1951. 125s 6d.

Glossary of the most common Gaelic and Scandinavian Elements used in Place‐Names on Ordnance Survey Maps of Scotland. Compiled by The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. 8 1/4 ×5. Pp. 12. Chessington : Director General of the Ordnance Survey, 1951. 2s.

A History of Scottish Farming. By T. Bedford Franklin. 7 1/4 ×5. Pp. ix+194. 14 plates. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1952. 12s 6d.

Highlands of Scotland. By Seton Gordon. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. 328. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London : Robert Hale Ltd, 1951. 18s.

Kayak to Cape Wrath. By J. Lewis Henderson. 7 1/4 ×5. Pp.230. 21 photographs.

The Fame Islands : Their History and Wild Life. By Grace Watt, M.A., M.B.O.U. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. 236. 4 figs. 33 photographs. London : Country Life Ltd, 1951. 30s.

Wanderings in the Pennines. By William T. Palmer, F.R.G.S., M.B.O.U., F.S.A. SCOT. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 288. 31 illustrations by G. Douglas Bolton. End‐paper map. London : Skeffington and Son Ltd, 1951. 15s.

Cheshire. By Fred H. Crossley. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp. xii+376. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1949. 15s.

Leicestershire. By Guy Paget, D.L., F.R.HIST.S., and Lionel Irvine, M.B.E., M.A.(OXON.). 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xii+307. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1950. 15s.

Forgotten Ports of England. By George Goldsmith Carter. 8 3/4×5 5/8. Pp. x+206. Photographs. 3 maps. End‐paper plan of Rye. London : Evans Brothers Ltd, 1951. 21s.

Dorset. By Eric Benfield. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. x+232. 49 illustrations. Map. [The County Books.] London : Robert Hale Ltd, 1950. 15s.

The Bailiwick of Jersey. By G. R. Balleine. 8 ×5 1/4. Pp. xxxi+170. 114 photographs. End‐paper sketch map. [The King's Channel Islands.] London : Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

Færoerne : Folk og Erhverv. By Aa. H. Kampp. 8 1/2×5 3/4. Pp. 112. 40 figs. [Geografkredsen.] København : Det Danske Forlag, 1950.

The West European City : A Geographical Interpretation. By Robert E. Dickinson, M.A., PH.D. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xviii+580. 129 figs. 29 plates. [International Library of Sociology and Social Reconstruction.] London : Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, 1951. 42s.

Belgium and Luxembourg. By Tudor Edwards. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. vii+128. 109 illustrations. 2 sketch maps. London : B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1951. 15s.

Luxembourg: Land of Legends. By W. J. Taylor‐Whitehead. 7 1/2×5. Pp. xiv+130. 17 illustrations. End‐paper sketch map. London : Constable and Co. Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

French Châteaux. By Henri Lemaître. 12 ×9 1/2. Pp. 39+224 photographs. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1950. 50s.

Mediterranean Background. By Bernard Newman. 8 1/2 ×5 1/2. Pp.286. 64 illustrations. 10 sketch maps. London: Robert Hale Ltd, 1949. 16s.

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS

Geography of Russia. By N. T. Mirov. 9×6. Pp. xii+362. 34 maps. New York : John Wiley and Sons Inc. London : Chapman and Hall Ltd, 1951. 52s.

ASIA

The Scottish Himalayan Expedition. By W. H. Murray. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xiii+282. 4 colour plates. 32 half‐tone plates. 11 sketch maps and diagrams by Robert Anderson. London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1951. 30s.

The Far East: A Social Geography. By A. D. C. Peterson, O.B.E., B.A. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 336. 43 illustrations. 25 and end‐paper sketch maps. London : Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd, 1949. 21s.

INDIAN OCEAN

Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times. By George Fadlo Hourani. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp.viii+131. 8plates. 7sketchmaps. [Princeton Oriental Studies, Vol. 13.] Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1951. $3.00. London : Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. 20s.

Fourteen Men : The Story of the Australian Antarctic Expedition to Heard Island. By Arthur Scholes. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. x+273. 21 illustrations. 2 sketch maps. London : George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1951. 15s.

AFRICA

Mauretania : Warrior, Man, and Woman. By Sacheverell Sitwell. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 328. 21 photographs by Lady Alexandra Metcalfe. London : Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd. Third impression, 1951. 21s.

Ex‐Italian Somaliland. By E. Sylvia Pankhurst. Foreword by Peter Freeman, M.P. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 460. 21 illustrations. 5 sketch maps. London : C. A. Watts and Co. Ltd, 1951. 12s 6d.

Congo Eden. By Mary L. Jobe Akeley, A.M., LITT.D., F.R.O.S. Foreword by Professor William King Gregory. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xv+356. 13 illustrations. Map. London : Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1951. 18s.

South African Scenery : A Textbook of Geomorphology. By Lester C. King, Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.S.(S.A.). 8 3/4×5 5/8. Pp. xxxi+379. 79 figs. 267 plates. Coloured map. Edinburgh and London : Oliver and Boyd Ltd. Second edition, revised, 1951. 45s.

Journals of Andrew Geddes Bain. Trader, Explorer, Soldier, Road Engineer and Geologist. Edited, with biographical sketch and footnotes, by Margaret Hermina Lister. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xxxix+264. 19 illustrations. 4 maps. Cape Town: Van Riebeeck Society [Vol. 30], 1949. 20s.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

North Atlantic : Boat against Boat over 3,000 Miles. By Adlard Coles. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 191. 9 figs. 30 plates. End‐paper chart. Southampton : Robert Ross and Co. Ltd. London : George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd. Second edition, 1951. 15s 6d.

AMERICA

The Westward Crossings : Balboa, Mackenzie, Lewis and Clark. By Jeanette Mirsky. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xv+365+xiii. 21 illustrations. 3 maps. London: Allan Wingate (Publishers) Ltd, 1951. 21s.

An Introduction to the Geography of the Canadian Arctic. By J. L. Robinson, N. L. Nicholson, J. K. Fraser, B. V. Gutsell, and D. Leechman. 9 1/4×6. Pp. xiii + 118. 18 maps and diagrams. 17 plates. [Canadian Geography Information Series No. 2.] Ottawa : Geographical Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, 1951. $0.50.

Chile. An Outline of its Geography, Economics, and Politics. By Gilbert J. Butland. 8×5 1/4. Pp. vii+128. 7 figs. London and New York: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1951. 12s 6d.

OCEANIA

The Pacific Islands. By Douglas L. Oliver. 9 1/2×6 1/4. Pp. xi+313. Decorations and sketch maps by Sheila Mitchell Oliver. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1951. $5.00. London : Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press. 32s 6d.

Beyond the Southern Lakes : The Explorations of W. G. Grave. Edited by Anita Crozier. Foreword by Sir T. A. Hunter. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. 124. 11 illustrations. End‐paper sketch map. Wellington, N.Z. : A. H. and A. W. Reed, 1950. 12s 6d.

POLAR REGIONS

I married an Explorer. By Miriam MacMillan. 8 1/4×5 1/4. Pp.238. 31 illustrations. London : Hurst and Blackett Ltd, 1951. 15s.

BIOGEOGRAPHY

Zoogeography of the Land and Inland Waters. By L. F. De Beaufort. 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. viii +208. 10 figs. [Text‐Books of Animal Biology.] London : Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd, 1951. 30s.

A World Dictionary of Breeds, Types, and Varieties of Livestock. By I. L. Mason, B.A. (CANTAB.). 9 3/4×6 1/4. Pp. 272. [Technical Communication No. 8 of the Commonwealth Bureau of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Edinburgh.] Farnham Royal : Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, 1951. 30s.

EDUCATIONAL

Geography in the Secondary School, with special reference to the Secondary Modern School. By E. W. H. Briault and D. W. Shave. Foreword by Leonard Brooks. 9 1/2×6. Pp. 36. Sheffield : The Geographical Association, 1952. 2s. post free.

Outlines of General Geography. By E. O. Robinson, m.a. 7 1/2×5 1/4. Pp. xi+239. 101 photographs, diagrams, and maps. London : Macmillan and Co. Ltd, 1951. 7s 6d.

The Earth's Crust : A New Approach to Physical Geography and Geology. By L. Dudley Stamp, C.B.E., B.A., D.Sc. Foreword by Isaiah Bowman, 9 3/4×7 1/2. Pp. viii+120. 74 figs. 32 coloured plates. London: George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd, 1951. 18s.

Physical Geography. By Arthur N. Strahler. 11×J 1/2 Pp. ix+442. Illustrated. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1951. $6.00. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd. 48s.

France : A Regional and Economic Geography. By H. Ormsby, D.Sc.(ECON.). 8 1/2×5 1/2. Pp. xiv+525. 103 figs. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co. Inc. Second edition, revised, 1950. 25s.

A Regional Geography of Ceylon. By S. F. de Silva, B.A. Foreword by L. McD. Robison. 8×5 1/2. Pp. xi+264. 97 figs. Colombo : The Colombo Apothecaries’ Company Ltd. Revised edition, 1949. Rs 4.

Exploration and Adventure. By Clifford Collinson, F.R.G.S. 7 1/2×5. Pp. 151. Illustrated. Decorative end‐paper maps. London : George Alien and Unwin Ltd, 1951. 3s 6d.

GENERAL

Vergleichende Länderkunde. By Norbert Krebs. 9×6. Pp. xx+484. 18 maps. [Geographische Handbücher.] Stuttgart : K. F. Koehler Verlag, 1951.

Geography, Justice, and Politics at the Paris Conference of 1919. By Charles Seymour. Introduction by Roland L. Redmond. 8 3/4×6. Pp. iv+24. [Bowman Memorial Lectures, Series One.] New York : The American Geographical Society, 1951. $1.50.

Exploration and Discovery. By H. J. Wood, B.Sc., Ph.D. 7 1/2×4 3/4. Pp. 192. 10 figs. End‐paper sketch maps. London : Hutchinson's University Library, 1951. 8s 6d.

ATLASES AND MAPS

The Oxford Atlas. Edited by Brigadier Sir Clinton Lewis, O.B.E., Colonel J. D. Campbell, D.S.O., with the assistance of D. P. Bickmore and K. F. Cook. 15 1/2×10 1/2. Pp. 96+xxvi (Distribution Maps) +90 (Gazetteer). London: The Oxford University Press, 1951. 30s. School Edition, 25s.

A Palaeographical Atlas of the British Isles and Adjacent Parts of Europe. By Leonard J. Wills. 8 1/2×11. Pp.64. 22 plates. Glasgow and London : Blackie and Son Ltd, 1951. 21s.

Atlas von Niederösterreich. Issued by the Kommission für Raumforschung und Wiederaufbau der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Verein der Landeskunde von Niederösterreich und Wien. Edited by Dr ERIK ARNBERGER. 16×22¼. Part I, 20 map‐sheets. Wien: Kartographische Anstalt Freytag‐Berndt und Artaria, 1951.

Main Areas of Tea Production. 18×28. Prepared by Geographia Ltd. London: The Tea Bureau, 1950.     

Regional development processes and policies in Australia: a review of research 1990–2002

This article offers a selective review of Australian research on regional development. The themes reviewed include divergence and convergence, resource dependent regional growth, the spatial centralization of the economy, spatial divisions, the social construction of regional identity and regional problems, differentiation between the capital cities and between rural areas, indigenous issues, the suburbanization versus centralization debate, the regional effects of economic reform, regional policy debates, and industry clusters. Australia illustrates regional development processes in a low population density, resource dependent, medium sized economy, managed by neo‐liberal economic policies and with limited government intervention in regional policy.     

Atmospheric tides—a review

Studies on atmospheric tides are reviewed with an emphasis on theory and recent important observations. Numerical simulation seems to be promising to elucidate the variability of observed tides. Radar observation will be powerful to obtain the precise vertical structure of tides in the middle atmosphere as well as the thermosphere. Various unsolved problems are pointed out.     

Equatorial scintillations—a review

The scintillation technique, as is well known, provides an integrated measure of phase and amplitude fluctuations imposed on radio signals over a wide range of frequencies during their propagation through the ionosphere. The large amplitude of equatorial irregularities necessitates the use of frequencies in the GHz band to obtain unambiguously the temporal variation of irregularity intensity and the effect of irregularity anisotropy. Recent observations of equatorial scintillations will be reviewed with an emphasis on GHz measurements. The steep spatial gradients observed in in-situ data and their relationship to intense GHz scintillations will be explored. Co-ordinated measurements of equatorial irregularities by such techniques as radar backscatter, in-situ rocket and satellite, total electron content and 6300 Å airglow will be discussed, insofar as they provide a better understanding of the scintillation phenomena. While it is difficult to critically assess results that are so recent and constantly evolving, we have attempted to focus attention on the outstanding problems that still remain in the field.     

Neutral atom precipitation—a review

The production of energetic neutral atoms by charge exchange of ring current ions with neutral hydrogen in the geocorona was predicted many years ago, and there are now a number of measurements of the effect of the impact of these energetic atoms on the thermosphere. Theoretical models of the process have been developed. The latitude variation of the precipitating flux depends very much on the pitch angle distribution of the ions in the ring current, and on the L shell on which they are located.The production of a belt of trapped particles at low altitude near the magnetic equator may occur when neutral atoms re-ionize and become trapped on impacting the thermosphere, and this belt has been found in particle measurements near the equator and is enhanced during periods of magnetic activity.A region of enhanced optical emission due to precipitating neutrals is found in the thermosphere near the magnetic equator in both disturbed and quiet times, implying a low L value and/or pancake pitch angle distribution for the ring current particles that give rise to these neutrals. An isotropic pitch angle distribution is present in parts of the ring current at time during magnetic storms. This gives rise to neutral atom precipitation at all latitudes, and particularly of particles near 90° pitch angle in the region of SAR arc occurrence, about 10° in dip latitude equatorward of the isotropic region.The rate of energy deposition and the rate of production of ionization in the thermosphere depend on the ion species present in the ring current; their energy spectra, and on the distributions of the ions with L value and pitch angle. The rate of energy deposition may at times reach 10⁻² to 10⁻¹ mWm⁻², sufficient for significant heating and wind generation. The rate of production of ionization in the thermosphere at night may be much greater than that of other low latitude night-time ionization sources.     

The MST technique—a brief review

The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the MST (mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere) radar technique for remotely observing the atmosphere in the height range 1–100 km. Particular emphasis will be directed here toward aspects of the subject related to the equatorial atmosphere—a region in which the overall circulation and dynamics is poorly understood. Some of the current MST capabilities will be demonstrated via data obtained from existing observatories located in the tropics. A case will be made for the necessity of having additional equatorial-region observatories, and an example of a reasonably economical system will be discussed.     

Critical review of desalination in Spain: a resource for the future?

There have been significant territorial changes in the Spanish Mediterranean in the last few decades because of the important growth of residential tourism functions. The Spanish National Hydrological Plan ( 2001 ) and, to a greater extent, the Action for Management and Use of Water Programme ( 2004 ) advocated large‐scale desalination of seawater to guarantee a supply for urban, tourism, and even future agricultural demands. The paralysis of urban development planning caused by the financial crisis (2007/08), together with the downward trend in the consumption of drinking water in the last decade, highlighted a capacity to produce desalinated water that was far superior to actual needs. This study reviews the current context in which desalinated water is produced in Spain, weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of this method of water management, and considers the potential role that this non‐conventional source of water could play as a strategic resource in the future. The main findings of the study are that desalination is not a panacea; rather, it should be considered in terms of technological parameters tailored to the circumstances of each geographical and socioeconomic environment.     

The siege of Barbastro 1064–65: a reassessment

In 1064 a large army of foreign troops, especially Normans and Catalans, fought against the Muslims at the fortress city of Barbastro, located in Zaragoza. The siege of Barbastro is, for several reasons, one of the most controversial battles of the early reconquest in Spain. Some of the problems that historians of the crusades and the reconquest have struggled with are: the indulgence letter that Alexander II allegedly granted to the soldiers at Barbastro and whether this makes Barbastro the ‘First’ crusade preceding the one called by Pope Urban II. In addition, the extent of involvement by Pope Alexander and the Cluniacs in propagating the ‘crusade’ has been debated. Equally problematic has been the identification of the leader of the Christian soldiers. Candidates chosen for the enigmatic leader have been Duke William VIII of Aquitaine, William of Montreuil, and the Norman, Robert Crispin. A review of the secondary and primary sources reveals that many long-held conclusions are in need of re-evaluation. A complete reassessment of these and other related problems is the intent of this study.     

Furry families: making a human–dog family through home

The last fifty years have seen dogs increasingly drawn into the home as family members. While the health and social implications of these relatings have been the focus of much research, the everyday practices by which more-than-human families are constituted have received little attention. The paper draws on interviews with, and diaries recorded by, new dog owners in 2006–2007. It highlights three ways that dogs became family in and through the home. First, describing dogs as ‘furry children’, participants emphasised the time spent caring for dogs. Second, engaging with dogs as ‘pack animals’, participants discussed an inherent ‘otherness’ that shaped family relations, and reconceptualised the human-family as a pack relation. Third, the individual agency of dogs was recognised as shaping family and home. However, these familial relatings were often tenuous as humans were faced with the particular character and ‘otherness’ of dogs. While the majority experienced a strengthening of family ties following the introduction of a dog, a number of individuals discussed the divisive impact of this experience. The paper extends debates about family and home, broadening family beyond biological relations to include more-than-human relationships forged through cohabitation and interaction.     

Judd's China: a missionary congressman and US–China policy

Congressman Walter Henry Judd was an active player in Sino–US relations in the twentieth century. Unique for an American Congressman, he served for 10 years as a medical missionary in China. This article examines his motivation for going to China, his perceptions of Chinese culture, society, and politics, and the impact of Chinese culture on him. It demonstrates that cultural influence is not a one‐way process, but reciprocal. Judd's views of China and his ardent Christian beliefs made him in turn a liberal missionary and a conservative anti‐Communist congressman with a significant role in Sino–US relations. His political behavior was profoundly influenced by both ideology and the attitudes and judgments shaped by his 10 years in China.