The Birth of Damnation

Originally built as a passenger car ferry, the Logos Hope, formerly known as Gustav Vasa then Norrona, was purchased by the GBA Ships and underwent renovations for its current role as a floating book fair. The largest of its kind, the ship has an incredible 610 metric square of book fair space and an even more impressive 1100 metric cube of book storage. With around 400+ volunteers, Logos Hope continues to bring “knowledge, help and hope” in port areas around the world. That includes the Philippines as she is docked in Pier 15 just behind Manila Hotel and the Quirino Grandstand until the 13th of March.Last weekend, I visited the vessel and HAPPILY bought Php3000 worth of books. For a Php20 entrance fee, one can browse, read and purchase titles for a considerable lower price compared to mainstream bookstores. I bought eight books on travel and sports, plus 3 textbooks on social sciences, mass communication and economics. Here is the deal: the 3 travel books just cost me Php500; the sports titles, both hardbound for Php900; and even more amazing, the textbooks comes in a 3-for-500 promo.  College students will find the selection of textbooks helpful. Just a tip: most titles are religious in nature and that is also true for their music collection so it is better to be patient in scouring the other titles. Question: WHY BUY BOOKS? Answer: BECAUSE ONE SHOULD NOT STOP LEARNING.

BOOK 1: HONG KONG (CITIESCAPE)

Php150

Hong Kong is a beguiling city – high maintenance yet high reward; consistently changing, without losing touch with its heritage; it’s superstitious, but scientific when it wants to be; exotic, yet familiar; a gambler, but one who always knows the odds; it’s both a contradiction and a conundrum, but it’s always compelling.

BOOK 2: TRAVEL AROUND CHINA

Php200

Travelers from all over the world have grown to appreciate China’s history and scenery. In 2008, the growing world power is sure to become even more popular destination with the start of the Beijing Olympics. Officially sanctioned by the Chinese government, Travel Around China is an overview of tourism in this intriguing country. From Beijing to the Great Wall and beyond.

Considering a trip to China? This beautiful, four-color guide gives you a full account of everything to expect. Each province is broken down into regional sections – perfect for planning tours.Also included are local cuisine, popular festivals, recommended travel routes for long and shorter tours, and transportation and accomodation tips.

Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of color pictures of China’s highlights, this book is a must-have for anyone planning a trip to this unique country.

BOOK 3: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD FOOTBALL

Php500

Football is the world’s greatest game. No other sports attracts so many fans or arouses such passions. The Encyclopedia of World Football includes profiles of all the great players, teams and coaches, past and present. It features all the major competitions and a wealth of statistics to settle any argument. It is the essential fans’ guide to the beautiful game.

4. RAIN FORESTS

Php150

No ecosystem sustains a greater variety of living things that the world’s rain forests. From the tropical jungles of Southeast Asia and the Amazon Basin to the mist-shrouded fjords of New Zealand and Alaska, Rain Forests invites you to explore the wonders of “the most alive places on earth.”

Evocative essays cover the evolution of rain forests, the plants and animals they shelter, the indigenous people who fight to maintain traditional was of life, and the environmental challenges that threaten their survival.

A destination guide leads the way to the most rewarding sites worldwide. Offers tips on sporting wildlife, and recommends a wide range of activities, from hiking and bird-watching to river trips and mountain treks.

More than 250-full color images, including specifically commissioned maps, bring the beauty of rain forests into vivid focus.

Travel tips offer carefully selected lodging, camping, and touring information.

BOOK 5: SEABISCUIT: AN AMERICAN LEGEND

Php400

The spellbinding true story of how three men and a great racehorse captivated a nation. Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit: An American Legend became an immediate number one bestseller and cultural phenomenon upon its publication in 2001. Named one of the best books of the year by more than twenty publications – including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, People, USA Today, and The Economist – Seabiscuit was also honored as The Booksense Nonfiction Book of the Year and The William Holl Sports Book of the Year, and was a finalist for several other major prizes, including the National Book Critics Circle Award and The Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

For this lavishly illustrated special edition, author Laura Hillenbrand has written an new introduction and selected nearly 150 rare photographs from historic archives and private collections, Seabiscuit tells the story of three remarkable men: Charles Howard, a bicycle repairman who made a fortune introducing the automobile to the American west; Red Pollard, a failed prizefighter and a failing jockey who was abandoned as a boy at makeshift racetrack; and Tom Smith, an enigmatic mustang breaker who came from the vanishing frontier, bearing generations of lost wisdom about the secret of horses.

In the sultry summer of 1936, the lives of these men converged around a bad-legged floundering racehorse named Seabiscuit. Forming an improbable partnership, they transformed the horse into one of the most extraordinary competitors in sports history. In four tumultuous years, the rags-to-riches horse overcame a phenomenal run of misfortune to emerge as an American cultural icon, drawing immense following, prompting an avalanche of merchandising, and establishing himself as the single biggest newsmaker of 1938 – receiving more coverage than FDR, Hitler or any other public figures.

Seabiscuit is an inspiring tale of unlikely heroes, a classic story of three embattled individuals and a remarkable racehorse overcoming the odds in the Great Depression.

BOOK 6: THE MICRO ECONOMY TODAY

Schiller tightens the link between theory and policy by repeatedly referring to the policy sequence of goal-setting, strategy development, and tactical choices – all rooted in economic theory, increasing understanding and more clearly defining policy methods for the principles student. The Micro Economy Today uses economic policy to show the reality and relevance of economics: every chapter starts and ends with policy issues and contains a wealth real world applications.

In addition to an abundance of real-world applications, clear, approachable theory helps professors teach economics, not just increase awareness of policy issues, to that end. The Micro Economy Today provides a logically organized and uncluttered theoretical structure for economic theory in a lively, student-friendly manner.

The Micro Economy Today utilizes the core questions of economics: WHAT, HOW and FOR WHOM. What goods and services does the United States produce? How is that output produced? For whom is the output produced? the author challenges students to consider who best answers these questions – the market or the government – allowing students to think analytically and critically about our economy today.

BOOK 7: THE DYNAMICS OF MASS COMMUNICATION: MEDIA IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Well-known for its balanced approach to media industries and professors, The Dynamics of Mass Communication offers a lively, thorough and objective introduction for mass communication majors and non-majors alike. This new edition embraces the digital age and brings students up-to-date on the latest developments in mass communication, including iPods, blogs, broadband TV channels, user-generated content such as YouTube, social networking sites and Web 2.0.

BOOK 8: SOC

Dear Reader,

What happens when you ask over 4000 college students about their study habits, their textbooks, and other course materials?

You get a lot of strong opinions.

That’s exactly what we recently did at McGraw-Hill and we got a lot of feedback confirming that today’s students have different expectations, different priorities, and different needs. Their candid feedback has made us reconsider the status quo. Just as today’s students are changing. we also change what we publish so that it works better for you.

Be honest: when you first saw the cover of Soc, did you think it was a textbook? Probably not, if your’e like the hundreds of students who had a preview of the book. From cover design to interior design to content. From length to price to digital resources – every decision was made with the goal of enhancing your experience in introductory sociology. Soc is a genuine reflection of feedback from students like you.

So, what did the students in our survey say?

Some comments truly surprised us. Here are a few highlights:

• Many students perceive textbooks to “boring,” “outdated,” and “irrelevant to me.”
• Many feel that their books are “too heavy” and say that they always have “too much “too much to carry around.”
• Some create elaborate sharing strategies with classmates in order to avoid buying their own copy of a textbook.
• Many believe that textbooks are overpriced.
• Most students consult a study partner, a fellow classmate, or even Google before referring to their textbook when they have a question.

And clearly, if you’re anything like the students we surveyed, these frustrations are having a negative impact on your success in your coursework.

How does Soc incorporate students’ feedback? We have taken students’ comments and critiques to heart in the development of Soc, a new kind of textbook for Sociology. We have shaped every aspect of Soc to align with what today’s students have been asking for, from the colors used in the design to the price. The result is a textbook that is dramatically different – a textbook that will work for you.

Note: For more information check Logos Hope site at www.logoshope.org or e-mail information@gbaships.org.