|
Seven years ago I was reading a gardening book when I came across a sentence that I couldn't stop thinking about for days -
“Most gardeners are stuck in traditional horticultural land, a place where a blend of old wives' tales, anecdotal science, and slick commercial pitches designed to sell products dictates our seasonal activities.”
- Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis in their book Teaming With Microbes
Like many profound statements, it seemed so obvious once someone else pointed it out. But how many years had I been blindly following a gardening protocol that was exactly that - dictated by a bunch of nonsense? As I continued to think about it, I shifted to thinking about pigeons and genetics and began to wonder how many animal breeders and pigeon fanciers have fashioned together one or more methods or protocols which are similarly based on old wives tales, fake science and snake oil?
There is a lot I don't know. I am sure too that a lot of what I think I know is wrong. But, I do believe there is value in sharing what I (think I) know - it is a good starting point for others to take, integrate into their practices and move forward.
So with that idea in mind I started what I thought would be a twelve month endeavor that I dubbed “The Book Project”.
The Genetics of Racing
Twenty Essential Concepts
for Breeding Champions!
Intended Audience - The book is intended for anyone who has an interest in the racing of any animal species (pigeons, horses and dogs), though the concepts it discusses will be applicable to any plant or animal breeder. While it will be based on the science of genetics, it will be written with the barn and backyard breeder in mind, who may not have a scientific background.
Well my estimate of how long it would take to write this book was WAY WAY off. Now seven years later it is finally finished and available!
I have had a lot of requests from people who have said they want the book in an electronic format. I started out distributing it this way in late 2021 and added paperback and hardback editions in February 2022.
It turns out that publishing a book is almost harder than writing it. One of the publishing hurdles I have had to get past with the eBook was the issue of pirating. I have already experienced hackers taking content off my web site and putting it in eBooks that they sell (doubt they have sold too many though), so I am pretty sensitive to this topic. The particular challenge for eBooks is to make it hard to pirate but reasonably easy for the legitimate buyers to use. There doesn't appear to be a good solution, but I have put together one that I hope will be satisfactory.
Here is what I have done:
-
The eBook is in the form of a pdf file.
-
Most people have pdf readers on their computers, tablets and/or phones. For those who don't, FoxIt PDF Reader is an excellent one that is free that works on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux. It is available from www.Foxit.com . Any pdf reader should work.
-
The file is bookmarked for the various sections, chapters and concepts for easy navigation. The file can be searched for words or phrases.
-
Readers CAN NOT copy, cut or paste within the eBook, however they CAN print out the book (or portions thereof).
-
Readers also CAN create, edit and store reader notes anywhere in the eBook.
-
Readers CAN adjust the page and print size through settings in their pdf reader software.
-
The file is encrypted and requires a password to open. Every licensee is given a unique password and their name or email address is stamped on the footer of every page of the eBook.
-
The physical file (Genetics of Racing First Edition.pdf) can be copied (no password required) and I grant each legitimate licensee permission to place up to five (5) copies on their personal electronic devices (i.e. home computer, laptop, phone, backup flash drive, etc).
Click here for a preview
Click here to order
|
