Geography Faculty Book Gallery

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  Japan in the Bluegrass

  Fifteen years after Toyota announced it would build a manufacturing plant in the heart of the Bluegrass, Kentucky crafts are being used to help sell Camrys at car dealerships in Japan and sushi and Japanese condiments are widely stocked on grocery shelves in a number of cities across Kentucky. In early 2000, the state boasted more than 100 Japanese companies representing a total investment of more than seven billion dollars, employing more than 33,000 Kentuckians.

  Japan in the Bluegrass is the first book to focus on the regional and local impact of the globalization of Japanese businesses, particularly Toyota, in ...Read More

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  Japanese Landscapes: Where Land and Culture Merge

  From the busy streets of Tokyo to the secluded shores of Kyushu, from the volcanoes of Hokkaido to the temples of Kyoto, the treasured landscapes of Japan are brought to life in this concise visual guide. Drawing upon years of observation, Cotton Mather, P.P. Karan, and Shigeru Iijima explore the complex interaction of culture, time, and space in the evolution of landscapes in Japan. The authors begin with a discussion of the landscape's general characteristics, including paucity of idle land, scarcity of level land, and its meticulous organization and immaculate nature. They then apply those characteristics to such favorite subjects ...Read More

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  The Japanese City

  Japan is one of the most crowded countries on earth, with three-fourths of its population now living in cities. Tokyo is easily the most populous city on the planet. And yet, though closely packed, its citizens dwell together in relative peace. In America, inner-city violence—often attributed in part to overcrowding—is frequently emphasized as one of the great social problems of the day. What might we learn from Japan’s situation that could be applied to our own as we approach the twenty-first century?

  In this collection an interdisciplinary group of international scholars seek to understand and explain the process and characteristics ...Read More

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  Rock Fences of the Bluegrass

  Gray rock fences built of ancient limestone are hallmarks of Kentucky’s Bluegrass landscape. Why did Kentucky farmers turn to rock as fence-building material when most had earlier used hardwood rails? Who were the masons responsible for Kentucky’s lovely rock fences and what are the different rock forms used in this region?

  In this generously illustrated book, Carolyn Murray-Wooley and Karl Raitz address those questions and explore the background of Kentucky’s rock fences, the talent and skill of the fence masons, and the Irish and Scottish models they followed in their work. They also correct inaccurate popular perceptions about the fences ...Read More

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  AIDS and the Social Sciences: Common Threads

  Though more than 150,000 AIDS-related deaths have been reported worldwide and between 5 and 10 million people are now infected with its precursor, HIV-1, the deadly and relatively new AIDS virus is still a mystery. AIDS and the Social Sciences: Common Threads, an enlightening examination of the AIDS epidemic from the viewpoints of various social sciences, provides us with clues to that mystery. The essays’ original research and firsthand accounts from social scientists offer an excellent overview of the research agendas and directions for a disease that is an increasing presence in our society.

  Sociologists, geographers, anthropologists, psychologists, social workers, ...Read More