房龙地理

章节摘录

插图：Rain is merely evaporated water from the oceans and from the inlandseas and from the inland snow-fields, which is carlied along by the air inthe form of vapor. As hot air can hold much more vapor than cold air,the water-vapor will be carried along without much difficulty until theair grows colder. Then part of it gets condensed and falls back againupon the surface of the earth in the form of rain or hail or snow.The rainfall of any given region therefore will depend almost entirelyupon the winds to which it is exposed. If we have a sea-coast separatedfrom the mainland by mountains （a very common occurrence） the coastalregion will be wet and damp. For the wind, being forced to rise intohigher regions （where the pressure is lower）, will cool offas it gets furtherand further away from the sea-level and it will shed its vapor in the formof rain and snow and will reappear on the other side of the mountainrange as a dry wind without a drop of moisture.The rainfall of the tropics is both regular and abundant because theenormous heat of the land makes the air rise to a great height, where itgets cooled off and is obliged to let go of most of its vapor, whichthereupon returns to earth in the form of heavy sheets of rain. But asthe sun does not always stand right over the equator, but moves slightlyfrom north to south, most of the equatorial regions enjoy four seasons,two seasons during which there are terrific rainstorms and two seasonsduring which the weather is dryBut those regions which are exposed to steady air-currents runningfrom colder to warmer regions are by far the worst off. For as the windspass from the cold area to the hot one,their capacity for absorptionbecomes steadily greater and they are unable to release the vapor theycarr~ causing many parts of this earth to be turned into deserts whereit may not rain more than once or twice every ten years.So much for the general subject of wind and rain. A detailed discussionwill follow when we describe each individual country.

内容概要

亨德里克·威廉·房龙（Hendrik Willem Van Loon 1882--1944），荷裔美国人，著名学者。1882年出生在荷兰，他是出色的通俗作家，在历史、文化、文明、科学等方面都有著作，而且读者众多，他是伟大的文化普及者，大师级的人物。作家，历史地理学家。

书籍目录

Chapter 1   AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE WORLD  WE LIVE INChapter 2   A DEFINITION OF THE WORD GEOGRAPHY AND HOW I SHALL APPLY IT IN THE PRESENT VOLUMEChapter 3   OUR PLANET: ITS HABITS, CUSTOMS AND MANNERSChapter 4   MAPS. A VERY BRIEF CHAPTER UPON A VERY BIG AND FASCINATING SUBJECT. TOGETHER WITH A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE WAY PEOPLE SLOWLY LEARNED HOW TO FIND THEIR WAY ON THIS PLANET OF OURSChapter 5   THE SEASONS AND HOW THEY HAPPENChapter 6   CONCERNING THE LITTLE SPOTS OF DRY LAND ON THIS PLANET AND WHY SOME OF THEM ARE CALLED CONTINENTS WHILE OTHERS ARE NOTChapter 7   OF THE DISCOVERY OF EUROPE AND THE SORT OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THAT PART OF THE WORLDINTFRLUDE   JUST A MOMENT BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER WHILE I TELL YOU HOW TO USE THIS BOOKChapter 8   GREECE, THE ROCKY PROMONTORY OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN WHICH ACTED AS THE CONNECTING LINK BETWEEN THE OLD ASIA AND THE NEW EUROPEChapter 9   ITALY, THE COUNTRY WHICH DUE TO ITS GEOGRAPHICAL SITUATION COULD PLAY THE ROLE OF A SEA-POWER OR A LAND POWER, AS THE OCCASION DEMANDEDChapter 10   SPAIN, WHERE AFRICA AND EUROPE CLASHEDChapter 11   FRANCE, THE COUNTRY THAT HAS EVERYTHING IT WANTSChapter 12   BELGIUM, A COUNTRY CREATED BY SCRAPS OF PAPER AND RICH IN EVERYTHING EXCEPT INTERNAL HARMONYChapter 13   LUXEMBURG, THE HISTORICAL CURIOSITYChapter 14   SWITZERLAND, THE COUNTRY OF HIGH MOUNTAINS, EXCELLENT SCHOOLS AND A UNIFIED PEOPLE WHO SPEAK FOUR DIFFERENT LANGUAGESChapter 15   GERMANY, THE NATION THAT WAS FOUNDED TOO LATEChapter 16  AUSTRIA, THE COUNTRY THAT NOBODY APPRECIATED UNTIL IT NO LONGER EXISTEDChapter 17   DENMARK, AN OBJECT LESSON IN CERTAIN ADVANTAGES OF SMALL COUNTRIES OVER LARGE ONESChapter 18   ICELAND, AN INTERESTING POLITICAL LABORATORY IN THE ARCTIC OCEANChapter 19   THE SCANDINAVIAN PENINSULA, THE TERRTORY OCCUPIED BY THE KINGDOMS OF SWEDEN AND NORWAYChapter 20   THE NETHERLANDS, THE SWAMP ON THE BANKS OF THE NORTH SEA THAT BECAME AN EMPIREChapter 21   GREAT BRITAIN, AN ISLAND OFF THE DUTCH COAST WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HAPPINESS OF FULLY ONE-QUARTER OF THE HUMAN RACEChapter 22   RUSSIA, THE COUNTRY WHICH WAS PREVENTED BY ITS GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION FROM EVER FINDING OUT WHETHER IT WAS PART OF EUROPE OR OF ASIAChapter 23   POLAND, THE COUNTRY THAT HAD ALWAYS SUFFERED FROM BEING A CORRIDOR AND THEREFORE NOW HAS A CORRIDOR OF ITS OWNChapter 24   CZECHOSLOVAKIA, A PRODUCT OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLESChapter 25   YUGOSLAVIA, ANOTHER PRODUCT OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLESChapter 26   BULGARIA, THE SOUNDEST OF ALL BALKAN COUNTRIES, WHOSE BUTTERFLY COLLECTING KING BET ON THE WRONG HORSE DURING THE GREAT WAR AND SUFFERED THE CONSEQUENCESChapter 27   ROUMANIA, A COUNTRY WHICH HAS OIL AND A ROYAL FAMILYChapter 28   HUNGARY, OR WHAT REMAINS OF ITChapter 29   FINLAND, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHAT HARD WORK AND INTELLIGENCE CAN ACHIEVE AMID HOSTILE NATURAL SURROUNDINGSChapter 30   THE DISCOVERY OF ASIAChapter 31   WHAT ASIA HAS MEANT TO THE REST OF THE WORLDChapter 32   THE CENTRAL ASIATIC HIGHLANDSChapter 33   THE GREAT WESTERN PLATEAU OF ASIAChapter 34   ARABIA OR WHEN IS A PART OF ASIA NOT A PART OF ASIA?Chapter 35   INDIA, WHERE NATURE AND MAN ARE ENGAGED IN MASS PRODUCTIONChapter 36   BURMA, SIAM, ANAM AND MALACCA, WHICH OCCUPY THE OTHER GREAT SOUTHERN PENINSULA OF ASIAChapter 37   THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA, THE GREAT PENINSULA OF EASTERN ASIAChapter 38   KOREA, MONGOLIA AND MANCHURIA, IF THE LATTER STILL EXISTS WHEN THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHEDChapter 39   THE JAPANESE EMPIREChapter 40   THE PHILIPPINS, AN OLD ADMINISTRATIVE PART OF MEXICOChapter 41   THE DUTCH EAST IND IES, THE TAIL THAT WAGS THE DOGChapter 42   AUSTRALIA, THE STEP CHILD OF NATUREChapter 43   NEW ZEALANDChapter 44   THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC WHERE PEOPLE NEITHER TOILED NOR SPUN BUT LIVED JUST THE SAMEChapter 45   AFRICA, THE CONTINENT OF CONTRADICTIONS AND CONTRASTSChapter 46   AMERICA, THE MOST FORTUNATE OF ALLChapter 47   A NEW WORLD

编辑推荐

《房龙地理(英文彩绘本)(套装共2册)》以方位、大视角审视几千年来人类为生存而进行的斗争。房龙生当乱世，他始终关注的一个问题便是各种文明之间如何才能破除此疆彼界，达到相互的宽容与理解。GENERALLY SPEAKING, I have paid moreattention to the purely "human" side of geographythan to the commercial problems which are held to beof such great importance in a day and age devoted tomass production.But experience has taught me that no matter how eloquent you waxupon the subject of importing and exporting, and the output of coalmines and oil reservoirs and bank deposits, you will never be able totell your reader something which he can remember from one page tothe next. Whenever he has need of such figures he will be obliged tolook them up once more and verify them with the help of a dozencontradictory handbooks on commercial statistics.Man comes first in this geography.His physical environment and background come next.The rest is given whatever space remains.
It is in relation to us as human beings thatHendrik Van Loon now explores the crackedand wrinkled face of old Mother Earth. Thisbook contains no statistics about the importand export of raw cotton and canned kangarootails. It is packed full of information, but onythat information that has something to do withus, as inhabitants of this sphere we call home.The discovery of a trade route, the slant ofa mountain range, the curve of a river valley:we  all  know  vaguely that these haveenormous power to influence lives andfortunes.  Now, for the  first time, thefascinating story of these things and what theymean to us is set down in text and pictures.Through the analogy of handkerchiefs, onelearns what is happening to the surface of theearth. A plate of soup helps to understand aircurrents. Under your eyes the course of theGulf Stream turns into an enthralling story,and  the  central  Spanish  plateau  isreconstructed in imagination by means ofyour soup plate, two saucers, and a spoon.A Dutch-American historian and journalist.Bornin Rotterdam, he went to the United States in 1903 to study at Cornell University.From the 1910s until his death, Van Loonwrote many books, illustrating them himself.Most widely known among these is The Story ofMankind, a history of the world especially forchildren, which won the first Newbery Medal in1922. The book was later updated by Van Loonand has continued to be updated, first by his sonand later by other historians.However, he also wrote many other very popular books aimed at young adults. As awriter he was known for emphasizing crucialhistorical events and giving a complete pictureof individual characters, as well as the role ofthe arts in history. He also had an informal andthought-provoking style which, particularly inThe Story of Mankind, included personal anecdotes.

作者简介

《房龙地理(英文彩绘本)(套装共2册)》内容简介：在20世纪的历史学家和科普作家中，房龙不仅素以多才多艺、学识渊博著称，行文汪洋恣肆，辞采丰赡，而且始终以敏锐的目光和深邃的洞察力思考着人类生存与发展的本质问题，以真理之光和宽广的胸怀启迪和滋养着读者的心智。可以说，房龙是少数几位能够站在人文主义的立场审视全人类的历史与文化的思想家。

郁达夫曾评价说：“房龙的笔，有一种魅力……无论大人孩子，读他的书，都娓娓忘倦了。”

著名学者曹聚仁也评价说，房龙的书，“这50年中，我总是看了又看，除了《儒林外史》、《红楼梦》，没有其他的书这么吸引我了。”

图书封面

---

 房龙地理下载

---