Conservation of the environment Books
Octopus Publishing Group The Responsible Traveller: A Practical Guide to
Book SynopsisThe Responsible Traveller is your ticket to sustainable and ethical travel. This pocket-sized book provides the knowledge and tools that can help you to explore the world with a lighter footprint. Whether you travel out of curiosity, to find respite, to remind yourself of how vast and wonderful our planet is, or in search of life-shaping adventures, having the freedom to explore can be exhilarating and hugely rewarding. However we owe it to the people, cultures, ecosystems and wildlife that we encounter along the way to travel with respect; to preserve our beautiful world for generations to come. The Responsible Traveller will show you how to make actionable changes that result in more thoughtful and adventurous travels, while also doing our very best for Planet Earth. Through case studies and storytelling, you’ll learn about the environmental and social effects of tourism and gain a deeper understanding of cultural sensitivity. And through simple, achievable tips and practical lifestyle changes, you’ll discover how you can make an almighty difference in reducing your impact. Empowered with this information, perhaps your next adventure will be inspired by consideration, understanding and compassion.Trade ReviewA comprehensive, thought provoking and honest discussion of the benefits and problems relating to tourism. * Neil Kitching, author of Carbon Choices *
£7.59
Random House USA Inc Under a White Sky
Book SynopsisNATIONAL BESTSELLER? The Pulitzer Prize?winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity?s transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it?RECOMMENDED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AND BILL GATES ? SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR WRITING ? ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post ? ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, Esquire, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews ? ?Beautifully and insistently, Kolbert shows us that it is time to think radically about the ways we manage the environment.??Helen Macdonald, The New York Times With a new afterword by the authorThat man should have dominion ?over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth? is a prophecy that has hardened into fact. So pervasive are human impacts on the planet that it?s said we live in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. In Under a White Sky, Elizabeth Kolbert takes a hard look at the new world we are creating.Along the way, she meets biologists who are trying to preserve the world?s rarest fish, which lives in a single tiny pool in the middle of the Mojave; engineers who are turning carbon emissions to stone in Iceland; Australian researchers who are trying to develop a ?super coral? that can survive on a hotter globe; and physicists who are contemplating shooting tiny diamonds into the stratosphere to cool the earth.One way to look at human civilization, says Kolbert, is as a ten-thousand-year exercise in defying nature. In The Sixth Extinction, she explored the ways in which our capacity for destruction has reshaped the natural world. Now she examines how the very sorts of interventions that have imperiled our planet are increasingly seen as the only hope for its salvation. By turns inspiring, terrifying, and darkly comic, Under a White Sky is an utterly original examination of the challenges we face.
£15.20
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Hidden World of Mosses
Book SynopsisMosses have a spectacular diversity of beautiful and surprising forms. They are nearly always, what we as humans would consider, small; but they play a critical role in climate change prevention and have an ability to hold and control water in forests, uplands and valleys. Hidden World of Mosses explores the tiny, intriguing environments of these plants that have their own miniature forests filled with grazers and predators, and their own ecological norms and mechanics.
£20.00
Collective Ink Saviour Fish, The - Life and Death on Africa`s
Book SynopsisSent to live on a remote island in the Tanzanian half of Lake Victoria, Mark Weston finds a community grappling with one of the world's great unknown environmental crises. "You used to be able to stand on the beach and fish. In my father's time you could catch them with your bare hands." Lake Victoria was once one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, but a predator released into its waters by East Africa's British colonisers has left a trail of destruction in its wake. The lives of millions of people have been upended, as a fateful confluence of overfishing, pollution and deforestation has triggered one of history's greatest mass extinctions. On remote Ukerewe Island, Mark Weston finds out how local communities are responding to the crisis. He lives for two years alongside the families and fishermen hardest hit by the upheaval and gets to know the aid workers, sorcerers and holy men whose businesses are booming. A captivating blend of travel writing and environmental reportage, The Saviour Fish paints an intimate picture of rural Tanzanian life, and of the human cost of biodiversity loss.
£11.99
HarperCollins Publishers Progress
£15.29
Yale University Press The Water Paradox
Book SynopsisTrade Review“In The Water Paradox, Prof. Barbier draws on evidence from countries across the globe to show the scale of the problem and outlines the policy and management solutions needed to avert this crisis.” —John Singleton, Methodist Recorder“The Water Paradox is, however, jargon-free and readable, brilliantly detailing both problems and remedies. I hark back to Barbier’s words on the fountains of Rome. To learn that 2017 was the first time in 2,000 years that these hydro-engineering marvels were turned off in response to drought provokes tears of sorrow and frustration. We know that it is happening. We do not act. That is the paradox.” —Margaret Catley-Carlson, Nature‘’Edward Barbier does a fabulous job educating the reader on the state of water in the world and on ways to address associated water-issues. While the book is written for a non-technical audience, it is essential reading for water professionals and policy makers.’’ – Ariel Dinar, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics and Policy at the University of California, Riverside. "Barbier is the go-to person on water and water scarcity. This is a comprehensive guide for anyone who cares about one of the most important issues in this century.” – Dieter Helm, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and author of Natural Capital: Valuing the Planet "clear and compelling... recommended reading for all interested in the pressing issue of water scarcity.” – Professor Anil Markandya, Former Scientific Director at the Basque Centre for Climate Change.
£23.75
Bloomsbury Publishing USA Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the
Book SynopsisWinner of the 2022 Rachel Carson Environment Book Award * Winner of the 2022 Science in Society Journalism Award (Books) * Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize?Thoughtful, insightful, and wise, Wild Souls is a landmark work.?--Ed Yong, author of An Immense World"Fascinating . . . hands-on philosophy, put to test in the real world . . . Marris believes that our idea of wildness--our obsession with purity--is misguided. No animal remains untouched by human hands . . . the science isn''t the hard part. The real challenge is the ethics, the act of imagining our appropriate place in that world." --Outside MagazineFrom an acclaimed environmental writer, a groundbreaking and provocative new vision for our relationships with--and responsibilities toward--the planet''s wild animals.Protecting wild animals and preserving the environment are two ideals so seemingly compatible as to be almost inseparable. But in fact, between animal welfare and conservation science there exists a space of underexamined and unresolved tension: wildness itself. When is it right to capture or feed wild animals for the good of their species? How do we balance the rights of introduced species with those already established within an ecosystem? Can hunting be ecological? Are any animals truly wild on a planet that humans have so thoroughly changed? No clear guidelines yet exist to help us resolve such questions.Transporting readers into the field with scientists tackling these profound challenges, Emma Marris tells the affecting and inspiring stories of animals around the globe--from Peruvian monkeys to Australian bilbies, rare Hawai''ian birds to majestic Oregon wolves. And she offers a companionable tour of the philosophical ideas that may steer our search for sustainability and justice in the non-human world. Revealing just how intertwined animal life and human life really are, Wild Souls will change the way we think about nature-and our place within it.
£23.80
Carcanet Press Ltd Roots Home: Essays and a Journal
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year 2022. Wales's best-loved contemporary poet, one of the major poets of our endangered environment, returns to prose in Roots Home. As in At the Source (2008), she does something unusual with form. She combines two elements. Seven vivid essay-meditations, informed by (among others) Dylan Thomas, George Herbert and W. B. Yeats, explore the ways in which poetry bears witness to what is and what might be, presence and transcendence in a threatened world. The meditations precede a journal that runs from January 2018 to December 2020, concluding with a poem entitled 'Winter Solstice' - three years of living close to animals, mountains, and (in particular) trees, in human intimacy and lockdown. 'Listen! They are whispering / now while the world talks, / and the ice melts, / and the seas rise. / Look at the trees!...' This is necessary work. As she declares in 'Why I Write', the first meditation in Roots Home: 'Morning begins with my journal. I write in it most days, though not every day. It is friend and listener, to record, remember, rage and rhapsodise, a place for requiem and celebration. Words hold detail which might be forgotten - the way the hare halted as it crossed the lawn, the field where a rainbow touched down across the valley, the different voices of wind, or water, the close and distant territorial arias of May blackbirds.'Trade Review'Gillian Clarke is one of the most widely respected and deeply loved poets in the world' - Carol Ann Duffy
£14.24
Fernwood Publishing Co Ltd Television and the Earth: Not A Love Story
Book SynopsisHabitat loss, the extinction of species, severe droughts, rapidly diminishing polar ice, hugely powerful and destructive storms – how have we arrived at such a precarious point in the environmental history of our planet? In Television and the Earth: Not a Love Story, Jennifer Ellen Good argues that one of the fundamental reasons for the wholesale neglect and destruction of our environment is television – or, more precisely, the stories told on television. Stories have always been vital to how we make sense of the world, but in the historical blink of an eye, mediated communication changed the source and content of our stories. And no mediated storyteller continues to have a greater impact on our lives than television. Exploring the essential, and essentially devastating, role television’s celebration of materialism plays in our world, this book arrives at the conclusion that there is nothing more responsible for environmental degradation than the materialism of the affluent countries of the world - and nothing teaches materialism more effectively than television.
£13.25
Springer Nature Switzerland AG Green Heroes: From Buddha to Leonardo DiCaprio
Book SynopsisThis book provides an introduction into the diversity of the environmental movement through great characters in the green sector. The book describes inspiring personal achievements, and at the same time it provides readers with information regarding the history, the main directions and the ethical principles of the environmental movement. Some of the most important characters of the movement from all around the world, are included in the book. As well as the title characters, Buddha and Leonardo DiCaprio, other famous environmentalists like Albert Schweitzer, David Attenborough and Jane Goodall are discussed. Some of the less well-known but equally important environmentalists such as Chico Mendes, Bruno Manser, Henry Spira, Tom Regan or Rossano Ercolini are highlighted in the various chapters. The selection of characters represents all major branches within the green sector, ranging from medieval saints to Hollywood celebrities, from university professors to field activists, from politicians to philosophers, from ecofeminists to radicals.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Charles Darwin and the implications of evolution St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.- Environmentalism gaining momentum: Rachel Carson and ’Silent sping’ Denis Hayes and Earth Day.- Planting trees with Wangari Maathai.- In defense of rain forests: Chico Mendes and Bruno Manser Al Gore’s fight for the environment.- The strong men of environmentalism: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Seagal Movie stars and activism.- Arne Naess and ’Deep ecology’.- Vandana Shiva and traditional agriculture.- Ian Kiernan, Rossano Ercolini, and Bea Johnson Pioneers of ecological economics.- The Greenpeace story Forerunners of animal advocacy Spokesmen for animals: Peter Singer, Richard Ryder, and Tom Regan.- Henry Spira, the hero of animal advocacy.- Animal advocates from Central Europe.- Albert Schweitzer: The man who loved all living beings Talking animals: The capacity of animal minds.- Primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas Ingrid.- Newkirk, Alex Pacheco, and PETA.- John Muir and Yosemite.- Aldo Leopold, the founding father of nature conservation.- James Lovelock and the Gaia-hypothesis.- Their symbol: The giant panda.- Scientists involved in conservation and environmentalism.- Gerald Durrell: How an amateur naturalist developed into a great conservationist Farley Mowat never cried wolf.- David Attenborough, the grand old man of natural history films Jacques-Yves Cousteau: Under the spell of the sea.- Paul Watson, the daredevil of conservation.- Epilogue.- Acknowledgements List of illustrations.
£28.49
Mariner Books Classics Silent Spring
Book Synopsis
£23.99
Greystone Books,Canada Climate Injustice
Book SynopsisFrom the “scientist finding climate change’s smoking gun” (WIRED) and a Times 100 Most Influential Person comes a bracing investigation into extreme weather’s impact on the world’s most vulnerable. For fans of Naomi Klein and Greta Thunberg.Climate change does not affect everyone equally. While many scientists focus on studying climate change as a physics problem, Friederike Otto, one of the world’s most renowned climate scientists, sees it as a symptom of the global crisis of inequality, not its cause. In this ambitious, fast-paced book, she offers concrete examples of how extreme weather events caused by climate change reveal uncomfortable truths about the failures of political and social infrastructures around the world.Comparing eight extreme weather events—including heat waves in North America, floods in Pakistan, droughts in Madagascar, and wildfires in Australia—Otto reveals how climate change is affecting the world’s most vulnerable, whether they are women working on farms in Ghana during heat waves, or elderly people who died during floods in Germany. In particular, Otto examines the Global North’s extractionist view of the Global South, a view that ensures elites are protected while others bear the brunt of the climate disaster.Climate Injustice shares the stories of real people, shining a light on the real damage inflicted on real lives. Above all, it shows how racism, colonialism, sexism, and climate change are interconnected, and how positive changes on one level can lead to positive effects on another. Authored by the co-founder of World Weather Attribution, a cutting-edge scientific method that pinpointed the role of climate change in extreme weather events for the first time, Climate Injustice offers a groundbreaking view on the fires, floods, heatwaves, and storms that are wreaking havoc at an alarming pace.Inequality and injustice are at the core of what makes climate change a problem for humanity. Fairness and global justice must therefore be at the core of the solution. Climate justice concerns everyone.
£22.46
HarperCollins Publishers Solitary Bees
Book SynopsisA completely up-to-date introduction to the most common group of bees in Britain.Bees, for most people, mean honey or bumble bees, but in fact these social species make up only a small proportion of the species that live in Britain. Open your eyes to the so-called solitary' bees, and discover a wonderfully diverse population miners, leafcutters, carpenters and masons many of which can be found in your own back garden.Solitary bees come in a variety of colours and sizes, with some as large as bumblebees and some only a few millimetres long, and many are key pollinators for our crops and wildflowers. This comprehensive book will tell the story of how these bees live, reproduce and thrive: discover the numerous strategies used by male bees to find females and persuade them to mate; follow the females as they build their nests or in the case of cuckoo' species, sneak into the nests of their neighbours and watch as the new generation appears. Explore the interactions between flowering pTrade ReviewPraise for New Naturalist Solitary Bees:‘This stands out as my book of the year, and if you are only going to have one New Naturalist book on your shelves or you are an avid collector of the series, this book is a must have and I thoroughly recommend it.’ Steven Rutherford FBNA, Honorary Chairman, British Naturalists Association Reviews of Ted Benton’s previous volumes in the New Naturalist Series – Bumblebees and Grasshoppers & Crickets: ‘The most authoritative work on British bumblebees ever published.’Independent ‘This book is an inspiration. It will fascinate and arm you with everything you need to know to help you save our bumblebees. Buy it, enjoy it, and keep it safe.’BBC Wildlife ‘Ted Benton's entomological opus [New Naturalist] Grasshoppers & Crickets led me into the weird world of British orthoptera, with their edible nuptial gifts, "mate-guarding", harems and extraordinarily complex songs. No field or meadow will seem or sound the same again’ Robert Macfarlane, ‘Books of the Year 2012’, Guardian
£48.75
HarperCollins Publishers Mr Dog and a Hedge Called Hog
Book SynopsisA brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiencesCo-written with best-selling children's author Steve Cole and illustrated throughout with beautiful black and white illustrations by Nikolas Ilic.You can always count on Mr Dog to help an animal in troubleMr Dog has travelled north for an island escapade. But when a local hedgehog problem seems set to threaten his new friend, Hog, he knows he'll have to act quickly to save his prickly companionTrade ReviewPraise for other titles in the Mr Dog series ‘Fantastic for reading aloud’ Books for Topics ‘Sensantional!’ Rory, Age 7, National Geographic Kids ‘Ben Fogle’s passion for animals and love of adventure have been put to good use in this book, with its cast of loveable animals and I’m looking forward to seeing the series continue.’ Parents In Touch
£6.99
HarperCollins Publishers Mr Dog and the Faraway Fox
Book SynopsisA brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiencesCo-written with best-selling children's author Steve Cole and illustrated throughout with beautiful black and white illustrations by Nikolas Ilic.You can always count on Mr Dog to help an animal in troubleWhen Mr Dog takes a trip into town, he doesn't expect to stay for long. But then he meets a fox who needs his help a fox who's very far from home
£6.99
HarperCollins Publishers Mr Dog and a Deer Friend
Book SynopsisA brand new young fiction series by TV broadcaster and intrepid explorer Ben Fogle, inspired by his real-life animal experiencesCo-written with best-selling children's author Steve ColeWhen Mr Dog meets a fawn whose forest home is in danger, he know he needs to help quickly.As Mr Dog joins the search for the fawn's missing mother, trouble lies ahead for the whole herd. Mr Dog has a plan, though, that might just keep them all out of danger
£6.99
HarperCollins Publishers Everyday Activism How to Change the World in Five
Book SynopsisY O U C A N M A K E A P O S I T I V E D I F F E R E N C EThis inspiring, easy-to-use guide will help kickstart any activist's journey.From supporting independent businesses and amplifying marginalised voices, to community gardening and giving to a food bank, there's something you can do to make a positive change whether you have a day, an hour, or just five minutes to spare.Divided into three parts, Everyday Activism suggests 60 small actions that can slip easily into any busy schedule. If you want to change the world for the better but are unsure how, this is the perfect place to begin.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Weather Almanac 2023 The perfect gift for nature
Book SynopsisThe perfect gift for nature lovers and weather watchers. A fascinating month-by-month collection of facts, figures and explanations related to UK weather alongside details of famous meteorologists and their influence. Discover historical facts, amazing statistics and anecdotes that will keep you informed and entertained all year round.
£9.49
HarperCollins Publishers Cleaning up the Sea
Book SynopsisBig Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised has been developed in collaboration with Wandle Learning Trust and Little Sutton Primary School. It comprises classroom resources to support the SSP programme and a range of phonic readers that together provide a consistent and highly effective approach to teaching phonics.
£8.59
HarperCollins Publishers All Through the Night
Book SynopsisBest New Books on Space 2024 – Forbes ‘Rarely is a non-fiction book about science this engaging’ – Forbes Trade Review'A heartfelt, necessary and very enjoyable book.'Tristan Gooley, author of The Secret World of Weather 'A hymn of praise to darkness and the unfathomable wonder of a true night sky, this book is also an urgent call to arms. As Dani Robertson shows, our health, and that of the planet around us, is inextricably linked with the power of the dark. We are losing it at great speed, and to our great peril. Read the book, look up in awe, and act.'Mike Parker, author of All the Wide Border 'Discreet, glowing insights throw gentle but piercing light onto what we are doing to what Dani Roberston calls one of the most endangered landscapes on Earth – the night sky'Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon 'Woven through All Through the Night is a wonderful story of what natural darkness means to Dani. Her story is more than an anecdote, it's a powerful recounting of what is lost when the night burns like day, and the simple steps we can all take to reclaim natural darkness to benefit us all'Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director at International Dark-Sky Association 'Passion and urgency lie beneath poetic and whimsically written passages'Sky at Night Magazine 'Dani Robertson is a fine writer – lyrical and eloquent in extolling the beauty of our world – especially the dark starry sky … her book is more than a memoir; it’s filled with episodes enlivening her theme with history, science and topography, and with individual biographies. All through the Night is fascinating and inspiring – it deserves wide readership'Lord Martin Rees ‘An utterly illuminating book that will open your eyes to an overlooked world in deep peril. Dani makes a compelling case for just how urgently we need to reform our relationship with darkness. Everyone interested in nature will find surprise, intrigue and awe on every page.’Nicholas Gates, co-author of Orchard: A Year in England’s Eden
£15.29
HarperCollins Publishers Weather Almanac 2024
Book SynopsisThe perfect gift for nature lovers and weather watchers. A fascinating month-by-month collection of facts, figures and explanations related to UK weather with details of famous meteorologists and their influence. Discover historical facts, notable weather events, amazing statistics and stories that will keep you informed all year round.
£11.91
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Hidden World of the Fox
Book Synopsis
£19.99
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Return to Nature
Book SynopsisDiscover the new science and ancient wisdom on why nature makes us healthier and happier in body and soul from the co-author of The Spirit Almanac and mindbodygreen’s Senior Sustainability Editor.For centuries, we have known that getting outside is good for us. Yet we have become increasingly disconnected from the earth that nourishes us, with most of us spending 87% of our days indoors. In response, writer and environmentalist Emma Loewe demonstrates the power of nature’s healing properties in a guidebook organized by eight landscapes. In each chapter, you''ll find research-backed ways to explore that landscape right now and protect it in the future, so that it can be healthy and nurturing for generations to come. Drawing off modern science and innate wisdom, she uncovers: Why being by the ocean makes you measurably happier How living near greenery helps you lives longer The staggering, illuminating st
£22.94
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Heart to Heart A Conversation on Love and Hope
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£18.74
Vintage Publishing Claxton
Book Synopsis''After Mark Cocker's glorious book, you will never look at a blackberry bush the same way again.'' Philip Hoare, New Statesman In 2001 Mark Cocker moved to Claxton, a small village in Norfolk. In a series of daily writings spanning the course of a year he explores his relationship to the landscape he lives in, to nature and to all the living things around him - the birds, plants, trees, mammals, hoverflies, moths, butterflies, bush crickets, grasshoppers, ants and bumblebees. Passionate, astonishing and inspiring, this book is a celebration of the wonder that lies in our everyday experience.Shortlisted for the Royal Society of Biology Book Award, the Jarrold East Anglian Book Awards, the New Angle Prize and theThwaites Wainwright PrizeTrade ReviewAfter Mark Cocker’s glorious book, you will never look at a blackberry bush the same way again. -- Philip Hoare * New Statesman *A nature journal full of beautiful, delicate observation * Guardian *A beautifully-written account of one man’s passion for the natural world * Daily Mail *If your eye has ever been caught by a moth, owl, jay or ash tree, Claxton has something new to tell about it, about Britain, and about life – which is an infinite compilation of exquisite detail. -- Horatio Clare, 5 stars * Daily Telegraph *To be astonished by nature, look no further than Claxton. * Spectator *Cocker’s profound knowledge, uncanny ability to observe and heartliftingly exact prose make Claxton one of those books that transforms the way you see your own home parish. -- Melissa Harrison * The Times *The book is spectacular… Brilliant natural-history writing. -- Jonathan Wright * Herald *
£10.44
Penguin Putnam Inc The Maine Woods Penguin Nature Library
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£14.45
Penguin Books Ltd Silent Spring
Book SynopsisExposes the destruction of wildlife through the widespread use of pesticides. This book aims to creates public awareness of the environment.Trade ReviewOne of the very few books truly to have changed the course of history * The Times *Rachel Carson educated a planet ... Silent Spring is the cornerstone of the conservation movement. Its impact was immediate, far-reaching and ultimately life-enhancing ... One of the most effective books ever written * Guardian *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd English Pastoral
Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NATURE BOOK OF THE YEARThe new bestseller from the author of The Shepherd''s Life''A beautifully written story of a family, a home and a changing landscape'' Nigel Slater As a boy, James Rebanks''s grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognisable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song. English Pastoral is the story of an inheritance: one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were loTrade ReviewRemarkable ... A brilliant, beautiful book ... Eloquent, persuasive and electric with the urgency that comes out of love -- Christine Patterson * The Sunday Times *It is a book full of love: of his grandfather, of his children and of the Lake District valley where he lives and farms ... Some books change our world. I hope this turns out to be one of them. -- Julian Glover * Evening Standard *A beautifully written story of a family, a home and a changing landscape. -- Nigel SlaterJames Rebanks's English Pastoral deserves to be called a masterpiece. Four generations of his family building on centuries of their farming in the Cumbrian Fells gives us a poetic, practical, raw and almost miraculously detailed picture of this ancient way of life struggling to survive and to be reborn. This wonderful book was waiting to be written. -- Melvyn Bragg * New Statesman Book of the Year *A wonder of a book, fierce, tender, and beautiful. Deeply personal but also global in significance, its pages course with love and concern so palpable I more than once wept while reading it. James Rebanks writes lyrically and passionately of the shadow that has fallen over our relationship with land, and how we might reconfigure the ways we think about it, relate to it, interact with it, and with each other. It's both a sobering, urgent read and a deeply inspiring, hopeful one. The book, and author, are to be treasured -- Helen Macdonald * author of H is for Hawk *Powerful, important and deserves every accolade. -- Raynor WinnOne of the most important books of our time. Told with humility and grace, this story of farming over three generations - where we went wrong and how we can change our ways - will be our land's salvation. -- Isabella TreeWhat a terrific book: vivid and impassioned and urgent--and, in both its alarm and its awe for the natural world, deeply convincing. Rebanks leaves no doubt that the question of how to farm is a question of human survival on this hard-used planet. He should be read by everyone who grows food, and by everyone who eats it -- Philip GourevitchJames Rebanks's story of his family's farm is just about perfect. It belongs with the finest writing of its kind -- Wendell BerryAmbitious, accomplished ... Rebanks is eloquent - scenes of mud and guts are interspersed with quotes ranging from Virgil to Schumpeter, Rachel Carson to Wendell Berry ... English Pastoral builds into a heartfelt elegy for all that has been lost from our landscape, and a rousing disquisition on what could be regained - a rallying cry for a better future. -- Laura Battle * Financial Times *Heartfelt, rich with detail ... James Rebanks writes with his heart, and his heart is in the right place. We should listen to him. -- Jamie Blackett * Telegraph *Marvellous and moving -- Richard Flanagan, Man Booker Prize winning author of Narrow Road to the Deep NorthIt moved me to tears, made me feel excited and optimistic, and said, so eloquently and succinctly, all the things I've been thinking and feeling ... It is not just a beautiful book to read, but so important and so timely. A wonderful, thought-provoking, heartlifting read. -- Kate HumbleRapturous ... For Rebanks writing and farming have proved complementary: while working long hours on the land he has produced a book in a pastoral tradition that runs from Virgil to Wendell Berry -- Blake Morrison * Guardian *I have never met anyone so roaringly, joyously in context and content as James Rebanks, belting around his farm in the rain ... The story of Rebanks and his family is the story of what farming has been in Britain but, also, the story of what it could become -- Caitlin Moran * The Times *Perfectly judged, it made me cry (twice) and left me with a new understanding of agriculture, and a real sense of hope. -- Melissa HarrisonWonderful ... I can't imagine anyone starting to read English Pastoral and not being eager to read it all at once, as I did -- Philip PullmanA heartfelt book and one that dares to hope. -- Alan BennettA home-grown Georgics for the twenty-first century * The Tablet *A wonderful and timely account of one farmer's lifelong effort to do right by his family, his land, his animals and his ecosystem -- Nick OffermanLyrical, evocative, generous ... Thank the gods of agriculture for James Rebanks -- Kristin Kimball * New York Times *A book of toil and beauty, rooted in a fell farm in the Lake District ... English Pastoral is a nuanced, hopeful, honest story. It is essential reading. * Geographical Magazine *The power of English Pastoral lies not just in the passion and eloquence of its prose or the clarity of its argument. It carries the authority of one who has not just thought about these problems, but lived them. It is a timely and important book. * TLS *Beautiful and shocking, but ultimately so gloriously hopeful. The book we should all read as we emerge from this latest strangeness. -- Paula HawkinsI can't remember a book I've wanted to press into people's hands more this year than this resonant, immensely thoughtful look back at three generations of a farming family ... Managing to cram the whole modern history of British farming and nature into 270 beautifully written pages, this is a gem that's moving and immensely informative. -- Andrew Holgate * The Sunday Times Nature Book of the Year *A rare and urgent book ... Its beauty is not only in the writing but in what is behind it: a gentle and wise sensibility that is alive to the human love affair with the land and yet also intimately cognisant of our collective and systematic cruelty towards it. -- Hisham MatarI think, genuinely, this is the best book I've read this year, and one of the most important books of recent years. It is about food and farming, and how we eat what we eat. It's about progress and nostalgia, without being prideful or mawkish, it's about families and tradition, and the passing of time. It made me simultaneously proud to be British, and sad for what we have become, but hopeful that we can change. -- Adam RutherfordJames Rebanks combines the descriptive powers of a great novelist with the pragmatic wisdom of a farmer who has watched his world transformed. This is a profound and beautiful book about the land, and how we should live off it. -- Ed CaesarThrough the eyes of James Rebanks as a grandson, son, and then father, we witness the tragic decline of traditional agriculture, and glimpse what we must now do to make it right again. As an evocation of British landscape past and present, it's up there with Cider With Rosie. -- Joanna BlythmanA beautiful and important book. -- Sadie JonesEnglish Pastoral is a work of art. It is nourishing and grounding to read ... this brave and beautiful book will shape hearts and minds. -- Jane Clarke, author of When the Tree FallsA wonderful, humane book told through the eyes of a man who has watched much vanish from his land, and now wants to put it back ... Moving and illuminating. -- Benedict Macdonald, author of RebirdingJames Rebanks describes the life of a Lakeland working farmer from the inside with a unrivalled truth and eloquence -- Tom Fort, author of Casting ShadowsVivid, accessible, inspiring - a story about one man's emerging land ethic, and an appreciation of the old ways in modern times. A vital book for anybody who eats -- Kathryn Aalto, author of Writing WildJames Rebanks is a beautiful writer, in a unique position to describe the challenges currently being faced by farmers throughout the world. English Pastoral is a joy to read and extremely moving - a book which should be read by every citizen. -- Patrick Holden, Sustainable Food TrustFarming, unlike almost any other job, is bound up in a series of complex ropes that Rebanks captures in his own story so beautifully: family pressure and loyalty, ego, loneliness, and a special kind of peer pressure...English Pastoral is going to be the most important book published about our countryside in decades, if not a generation -- Sarah LangfordA deeply personal account by a farmer of what has happened to farming in Britain. Everyone interested in food should read this compelling, informative, moving book -- Jenny LinfordRebanks is a rare find indeed: a Lake District farmer whose family have worked the land for 600 years, with a passion to save the countryside and an elegant prose style to engage even the most urban reader. He's refreshingly realistic about how farmed and wild landscapes can coexist and technology can be tamed. A story for us all. * Evening Standard, Best Books of Autumn 2020 *Moving, thought-provoking and beautifully written. -- James HollandEnglish Pastoral is one of the most captivating memoirs of recent years ...The traditional pastoral is about retreat into an imagined rural idyll, but this confronts very real environmental dilemmas. Like the best books, it gives you hope and new energy. -- Amanda Craig * Guardian *James Rebanks has a sharp eye and a lyrical heart. His book is devastating, charting the murderous and unsustainable revolution in modern farming ... But it is also uplifting: Rebanks is determined to hang on to his Herdwicks, to keep producing food, and to bring back the curlews and butterflies and the soil fertility to his beloved fields. Truly a significant book for our time. * Daily Mail – Books of the Year *Lyrical and illuminating ... will fascinate city-dwellers and country-lovers alike. * Independent – 10 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2020 *A lyrical account of Rebanks' childhood on the Lake District farm that he's made famous; an account of how he learned about stockmanship and community and the rhythms of the land from his father and grandfather. [...] His writing is properly Romantic, which is a high compliment [...] Rebanks is obviously a wonderful human as well as a splendid writer. -- Charles FosterA lament for lost traditions, a celebration of a way of living and a reminder that nature is 'finite and breakable.' Mr. Rebanks hits all the right notes and deserves to be heard * Wall Street Journal *The most important story, perfectly told -- Amy LiptrotMemorable, urgent, eloquent ... Rebanks speaks with blunt, unmatched authority. He is also a fine writer with descriptive power and a gift for characterisation ... English Pastoral may be the most passionate ecological corrective since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring -- Caroline Fraser * New York Review of Books *
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd Into the Clear Blue Sky
Book SynopsisTHE TIMES BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF 2024WINNER OF THE BLUE PLANET PRIZE 2025'Argues persuasively . . . nothing less than eye-opening' Financial TimesCan we really restore the earth's atmosphere within our lifetime?Whether through sustainable technologies such as fossil-free steel production, hydrogen-powered ships and electric motorbikes, or natural solutions like rewilding peatlands, people all over the world are finding new ways to travel, feed themselves and drive industry while safeguarding a liveable planet for future generations. Drawing on decades of research and a vast network of experts, Rob Jackson, Chair of the Global Carbon Project, introduces some of the brilliant innovators behind the boldest solutions to climate change including an Eritrean agricultural scientist, a Swedish CEO and a Brazilian hydrologist. Now we have more tools to combat climate change than ever before, Into the Clear Blue Sky traces a clear path to a better future for us all one that will see us cutting emissions in inventive new ways that protect our health and livelihoods, while repairing the damage we have caused to the atmosphere. This visionary and transformative book is the call to action we need right now.
£10.44
Penguin Books Ltd The World We Once Lived In
Book SynopsisIn twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.From the Congo Basin to the traditions of the Kikuyu people, the lucid, incisive writings in The World We Once Lived In explore the sacred power of trees, and why humans lay waste to the forests that keep us alive.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.
£6.23
Penguin Books Ltd Regeneration Ending the Climate Crisis in One
Book SynopsisThe NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA radically new understanding of and practical approach to climate change by noted environmentalist and creator of Drawdown, Paul Hawken The dangers of climate change and a warming world have been in the public eye for fifty years. For three decades, scientists and the United Nations have urged us to address future existential threats. In Regeneration Paul Hawken has flipped the narrative, bringing people back into the conversation by demonstrating that addressing current human needs rather than future threats is the only path to solving the climate crisis.From land to ocean, food to industries - Regeneration proposes an extensive menu of actions that collectively can reverse the overheating and degradation of our planet. The solutions, techniques, and practices range from solar power, electric vehicles, and tree planting to bioregions, azolla fern and forest farms; they are all doa
£17.00
Penguin Books Ltd Fire and Flood
Book SynopsisThe definitive history of the modern climate change era, from an award-winning writer who has been at the centre of the fight for more than thirty yearsIn 1979, President Jimmy Carter was presented with the findings of scientists who had been investigating whether human activities might change the climate in harmful ways. A wait-and-see policy may mean waiting until it is too late, their report said. They were right -- but no one was listening. Four decades later, we are haunted by the consequences of this inattention, and the years of complacency, obfuscation and denialism that followed. Today, the staggering scale and scope of what we have done to the planet is impossible to ignore: the seasons of fire and flood have crossed into plain view. Fire and Flood is a comprehensive, compulsively readable history of climate change from veteran environmental journalist Eugene Linden. Linden retells the story of the modern climate change era decade by decade, Trade ReviewFascinating ... This will be a telling story for a long time to come (assuming we're around to hear it) -- Bill McKibbenUrgent, meticulous ... Linden pulls no punches * Publishers Weekly *Praise for The Winds of Change * - *Beautifully written ... a very thought-provoking volume. Linden manages to weave history, science, and narrative together in a compelling way * Science *Impressive ... Linden takes a penetrating historical view * The New York Times *Fascinating * NPR *Invaluable * Washington Post *Linden expertly and succinctly describes the natural cycles that control climate and the many ways they interact * Nature *Should be required reading for policy makers across the globe -- Doug Macdougall * Chronicle of Higher Education *Fascinating-a tour de force. Linden has accumulated a greater comprehension of paleo-climatic and oceanographic issues than all but a very few scientists. I have nothing but admiration for this book -- George Woodwell, founder of the Woodwell Climate Center and former president of the Ecological Society of AmericaIn-depth, expertly researched, eminently readable ... Linden combines analysis with solutions as to where humanity should and may go, and those solutions should surprise, enrage, and enlighten readers... Fire and Flood should be on every person's bookshelf -- Laure Hiatt * Library Journal *A hard-hitting study of contemporary climate change, exploring how science, business and public perception have become dangerously misaligned ... Linden cuts through the thickets of information to deftly guide the reader towards knowledge that is urgently required in this troubling age * BBC History *Refreshing... Eugene Linden tells a sorry story of good intentions backed by serious research * The Energy Mix *Linden's aim is true and, even if he doesn't name names, his analysis of the financial industry's role in the climate crisis is fresh... Fire and Flood stays on the shelf * Literary Review *
£10.99
Penguin Books Canada Ltd Thinking Like a Mountain
Book SynopsisNature has been Robert Bateman's inspiration ever since he began painting birds from his bedroom window as a young boy. The wildlife he features in his paintings are expressions of his love and respect for the natural world. A passionate environmentalist who has devoted his life to documenting the awesome power of nature, Bateman is deeply worried about the state of our planet and the fate of our natural heritage. Whenever he talks about his paintings, he talks about the environmental messages they convey, and those who have heard him speak have clamoured for a book that encapsulates his philosophy. Thinking Like a Mountain is the result of many years of thinking, talking and writing about the world's growing environmental crisis. Beautifully designed and illustrated with original drawings, it is a gathering of questions, observations and ideas Robert Bateman has drawn from his own life experiences and gleaned from the writings of some of the visionaries who have infl
£13.18
Penguin Putnam Inc How to Give Up Plastic A Guide to Changing the
Book SynopsisAn accessible guide to the changes we can all make—small and large—to rid our lives of disposable plastic and clean up the world’s oceans How to Give Up Plastic is a straightforward guide to eliminating plastic from your life. Going room by room through your home and workplace, Greenpeace activist Will McCallum teaches you how to spot disposable plastic items and find plastic-free, sustainable alternatives to each one. From carrying a reusable straw, to catching microfibers when you wash your clothes, to throwing plastic-free parties, you’ll learn new and intuitive ways to reduce plastic waste. And by arming you with a wealth of facts about global plastic consumption and anecdotes from activists fighting plastic around the world, you’ll also learn how to advocate to businesses and leaders in your community and across the country to commit to eliminating disposable plastics for good.It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to fu
£12.75
Penguin Putnam Inc Can I Recycle This
Book Synopsis“If you’ve ever been perplexed by the byzantine rules of recycling, you’re not alone…you’ll want to read Can I Recycle This?... An extensive look at what you can and cannot chuck into your blue bin.” —The Washington PostThe first illustrated guidebook that answers the age-old question: Can I Recycle This?Since the dawn of the recycling system, men and women the world over have stood by their bins, holding an everyday object, wondering, can I recycle this? This simple question reaches into our concern for the environment, the care we take to keep our homes and our communities clean, and how we interact with our local government. Recycling rules seem to differ in every municipality, with exceptions and caveats at every turn, leaving the average American scratching her head at the simple act of throwing something away. Taking readers on a quick but informative tour of how recycling actually
£19.80
Oxford University Press Inc The Amazon
Book SynopsisThe Amazon is a land of superlatives. The complex ecosystem covers an area about the size of the continental U.S. The Amazon River discharges 57 million gallons of water per second--in two hours, this would be enough to supply all of New York City''s 7.5 million residents with water for a year. Its flora and fauna are abundant. Approximately one of every four flowering plant species on earth resides in the Amazon. A single Amazonian river may contain more fish species than all the rivers in Europe combined. It is home to the world''s largest anteater, armadillo, freshwater turtle, and spider, as well as the largest rodent (which weighs over 200 lbs.), catfish (250 lbs.), and alligator (more than half a ton). The rainforest, which contains approximately 390 billion trees, plays a vital role in stabilizing the global climate by absorbing massive amounts of carbon dioxide--or releasing it into the atmosphere if the trees are destroyed. Severe droughts in both Brazil and Southeast Asia have been linked to Amazonian deforestation, as have changing rainfall patterns in the U.S., Europe, and China. The Amazon also serves as home to millions of people. Approximately seventy tribes of isolated and uncontacted people are concentrated in the western Amazon, completely dependent on the land and river. These isolated groups have been described as the most marginalized peoples in the western hemisphere, with no voice in the decisions made about their futures and the fate of their forests. In this addition to the What Everyone Needs to Know series, ecologist and conservation expert, Mark J. Plotkin, who has spent 40 years studying Amazonia, its peoples, flora, and fauna. The Amazon offers an engaging overview of this irreplaceable ecosystem and the challenges it faces.Trade ReviewThere is a lot to learn, and value, from this guide, by an expert immersed in the subject. * Harvard Magazine *One can think of the broad themes of the book as scenes on a vast tapestry and the responses to the 67 questions as the threads used by Plotkin to weave the marvelous story of Amazonia. Readers can gaze at one part of the tapestry and later explore another portion, each time coming away with a better understanding of the nature of this extraordinary ecosystem. * Roger Mustalish, HerbalGram *As he has done in his other books and films ... Plotkin blazes a path for others to follow: a storied path that can help us both re-story and restore the precious places persisting on this planet, despite all odds. * Gary Paul Nabhan, LA Review of Books *Table of ContentsIntroduction What is a Tropical Rainforest? What Do We Mean When We Say the Amazon? Why is the Amazon Important? Geology, Soils and Vegetation Geological history - What is the geological history of Amazonia? Soils - Do large and diverse Amazonian rainforests thrive on poor soil? Terra preta - What is terra preta? Vegetation - What are the major forest and vegetation types in Amazonia? Savannas - What are savannas and how are they created? Tepuis - What are tepuis? Nutrient cycling - If the soils are so poor, how can lush rainforests flourish? Rivers The Amazon Source of the Amazon - What is the source of the Amazon River? River types - What are the various river types in Amazonia? Aquatic habitats - What are some of the characteristic aquatic habitats of Amazonia? Casiquiare canal - What is the Casiquiare Canal? Coral reef - Is there a coral reef in the Amazon? Indians 1492 population Languages - How many indigenous languages are there in Amazonia? Paleoindians, the first arrivals - When did the first humans arrive in Amazonia? Shamans - What is a Shaman? Shrunken heads - Shrunken heads: fact or fiction? Slash and burn agriculture - What is slash-and-burn agriculture? Uncontacted tribes - Do uncontacted tribes still exist? History The Struggle for the Amazon Treaty of Tordesillas - What was the Treaty of Tordesillas? Aguirre - Was Werner Herzog's film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," based on a historical figure? Teixeira - What role did Pedro Teixeira play in the colonization of the Amazon? Mapping - What is the history of the mapping of the Amazon? The Advent of the European Scientists Merian - Was the first European scientific explorer of the Amazon a woman? Darwin - What is the connection between the Amazon and the origins of the Theory of Evolution? Agassiz / Harvard Amazon Rubber and the Jari Project Rubber atrocities - What were the Putumayo Rubber Atrocities? Rubber as commodity - How Did Amazonian Rubber Become A Key Global Commodity? Rubber / Fordlandia - Why did Henry Ford fail at Fordlandia in Brazil? Jari Project - Fordlandia redux - What was the Jari Project, and why did it fail? Rondon / Mendes - Who were Cândido Rondon and Chico Mendes? Amazonian biota Animals Faunal origins - What is the origin of the Amazonian fauna? Vampire bats - Do vampire bats suck human blood? Spiders - How dangerous are Amazonian spiders? Cats, crocodilians and serpents - Do jaguars, crocs and snakes eat people in Amazonia? Frogs - Are there hallucinogenic frogs in the Amazon Rainforest? Pink dolphins - Are there pink dolphins in the Amazon? Fish diversity - Why does Amazonia harbor the most diverse freshwater fish fauna in the world? Candiru catfish - Is the tiny candiru catfish as terrifying as its reputation? Electric eels - How dangerous are electric eels? Piranhas - Do piranhas deserve their fearsome reputation? Sharks - Are there man-eating sharks in the Amazon? Plants Ayahuasca - What is ayahuasca? Bromeliads - What are the aerial aquaria of the Amazon? Coca - What is the traditional use of coca in the Amazon? Curare - What is Curare and Why is it Important? Lianas - Why are lianas so important and yet so poorly understood? Figs - Why are strangler figs not considered to be lianas? Palms - Why are palms the single most useful group of organisms to the indigenous peoples of the Amazon? Palms with economic promise - Which Amazonian palms offer the greatest economic promise for the future? Victoria lily - Did an Amazonian water lily serve as the inspiration for steel frame architecture? Threats Cattle - What is the role of cattle ranching in Amazonian agriculture? Dams - What is the status of hydroelectric dams in the Amazon? Gold - What is the impact of gold mining in the Amazon? Agriculture / Big - The Role of Export-Driven Large-Scale Agricultural Production in Deforestation Agriculture / Small - What is the role of small-scale farming in deforestation? Logging - What is the status of logging in the Amazon? Climate Change - How will climate change affect Amazonia? Deforestation - What drives deforestation in the Amazon? Oil and gas - What is the impact of oil and gas exploration on forest peoples? Overhunting - What is the impact of overhunting and overfishing on the Amazon? China - What is the Impact of China in Amazonia? Conclusion Conservation - How to Save the Amazon?
£10.44
Oxford University Press Plant Strategies The Demographic Consequences of
Book SynopsisThe goal of this accessible book is to articulate a coherent framework that unifies life history theory with comparative functional ecology to advance prediction in plant ecology. Predicting how species respond to global change is perhaps the most important challenge of our time.Trade ReviewThis book is remarkable for the enthusiastic treatment of not only the critique of published ideas about plant strategies, but also the wide range of studies that underpin those ideas. The author seems equally at home as he reviews relevant findings (and gaps in understanding) in areas as different as plant morphology and physiology on the one hand and demography, evolution, and game theory on the other. * Peter Grubb, Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK *A stout-hearted trek through the rugged landscape of plant ecological strategies, species traits, and how they translate into demographic success in some settings but not others. The writing is energetic and richly illustrated; Laughlin must be a lively teacher! An excellent read for research students and discussion groups. * Mark Westoby, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia *This book is as rich in scientific knowledge as it is passionate about scientific history and the complexity of plant life on earth. With the aim to merge various concepts in plant ecology, the thought-provoking framework it provides will certainly stimulate research in holistic plant functioning. Furthermore, it is simply an absolute pleasure to read! * Joana Bergmann, PhD, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany *Step by step, the reader is patiently guided and encouraged into conceptual thinking in plant ecology, inevitably leading to new hypotheses and ways of testing them in plants at different ecological scales. I specifically admire the tone of the book. When reading, I 'hear' the caring teacher sharing both the concepts and the personal stories beyond the ecology; the true excitement of the botanist discovering the secrets of plants; the experienced scientist leading us to the state-of-art of this field, and the connecting optimist believing that it is still possible to restore the plant diversity in our ecosystems. This is hardcore science, but in an encouraging and light hearted tone. This book is for the new (and old!) generations of students in plant science and ecology! I am deeply impressed. * Liesje Mommer, Professor of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University, The Netherlands *Table of ContentsPrologue Part 1: Foundations 1: Perspectives on Plant Strategies 2: A Menagerie of Plant Strategy Models 3: The Dimensionality of Plant Strategy Theory Part 2: Demography and Life History 4: Plant Demography 5: Life History Theory Applied to Plants Part 3: Comparative Functional Ecology 6: Plant Functional Traits and the Multidimensional Phenotype 7: Plant Strategies Along Resource, Disturbance, and Temperature Gradients Part 4: The Net Effect of Traits on Fitness 8: Empirical Approaches to Infer Fitness from Traits 9: Game Theoretical Approaches to Infer Fitness from Traits 10: Applying Plant Strategies in Conservation and Restoration Part 5: The Effect of Traits on Demographic Rates 11: Plant Traits That Promote Growth and Enhance Survival 12: Plant Traits That Bolster Recruitment Epilogue
£37.99
Oxford University Press, USA Tropical Forest Ecology A View from Barro Colorado Island
Book SynopsisSynoptic comparison of tropical forests, based on a detailed understanding of one particular tropical forest, Barro Colorado Island. Covers various aspects of tropical forest biology including natural history, tree architecture and forest physiognomy, ecosystem dynamics, community ecology, niche differentiation and species diversity.Trade Review"Throughout this book the imprint of Egbert Leigh's keen intellect is apparent. He has pulled together an incredible mass of information both from his own observations from forests throughout the world but also from a summary of the works of others. Each chapter has very extensive list of references. When needed, Leigh summarizes natural law in the form of mathematical equations and while these may be beyond the comprehension of some readers, the book also is written in a style that is fun to read. Subjects are treated thoroughly and in an interesting manner; despite the wealth of information in each chapter the progression of subjects makes sense and is easy to follow. While the book uses Barro Colorado Island as a sounding board the information in this book is pertinent to tropical forests everywhere. The book should be mandatory reading for any student of ecology or biology."--Plant Systematics and Evolution "This book introduces rain forests and their ecological organization, using the tropical rain forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama as a representative. Three essential questions addressed in the book are: How do tropical forests stay green with so many herbivores? Why do tropic forests have such diverse flora and fauna? And what role does mutualism play in rain forest ecology? . . . The text is illustrated with figures and tables. This book should be of interest to scientists in the fields of tropical biology, ecology, botany, zoology, evolution, and natural history."--Biological Abstracts/RRM® "Leigh has produced a wonderful synthesis of our understanding of tropical forests, one that should attract a wide audience. . .I greatly appreciated that much of the mathematical details were left for appendicies after each chapter. I look forward to further editions of thisbook as our knowledge of the tropical forests of the world continues to grow--at least as long as there are any tropical forests left to study."--Ecology "Focusing on the climate, structure, and productivity of this well-studied Panamanian rainforest, Leigh discusses three critical issues: why tropical forests are green despite their abundant herbivores, why forests are so diverse, and the importance of mutualistic interactions in the forsts' ecology/"--Science "Throughout this book the imprint of Egbert Leigh's keen intellect is apparent. He has pulled together an incredible mass of information both from his own observations from forests throughout the world but also from a summary of the works of others. Each chapter has very extensive list of references. When needed, Leigh summarizes natural law in the form of mathematical equations and while these may be beyond the comprehension of some readers, the book also is written in a style that is fun to read. Subjects are treated thoroughly and in an interesting manner; despite the wealth of information in each chapter the progression of subjects makes sense and is easy to follow. While the book uses Barro Colorado Island as a sounding board the information in this book is pertinent to tropical forests everywhere. The book should be mandatory reading for any student of ecology or biology."--Plant Systematics and Evolution "This book introduces rain forests and their ecological organization, using the tropical rain forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama as a representative. Three essential questions addressed in the book are: How do tropical forests stay green with so many herbivores? Why do tropic forests have such diverse flora and fauna? And what role does mutualism play in rain forest ecology? . . . The text is illustrated with figures and tables. This book should be of interest to scientists in the fields of tropical biology, ecology, botany, zoology, evolution, and natural history."--Biological Abstracts/RRM® "Leigh has produced a wonderful synthesis of our understanding of tropical forests, one that should attract a wide audience. . .I greatly appreciated that much of the mathematical details were left for appendicies after each chapter. I look forward to further editions of thisbook as our knowledge of the tropical forests of the world continues to grow--at least as long as there are any tropical forests left to study."--Ecology "Focusing on the climate, structure, and productivity of this well-studied Panamanian rainforest, Leigh discusses three critical issues: why tropical forests are green despite their abundant herbivores, why forests are so diverse, and the importance of mutualistic interactions in the forsts' ecology/"--ScienceTable of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Barro Colorado Island: The Background ; 2. Dramatis Personae ; 3. Tropical Climates ; 4. Runoff, Erosion, and Soil ; 5. Telling the Trees from the Forest: Tree Shape and Leaf Arrangement ; 6. Biomass and Productivity of Tropical Forest ; 7. The Seasonal Rhythms of Fruiting and Leaf Flush, and the Regulation of Animal Populations ; 8. Tropical Diversity ; 9. The Role of Mutualism in Tropical Forest ; 10. The Rainforest Endangered
£121.50
Oxford University Press Inc Religion and the Order of Nature
Book SynopsisNasr argues that the current ecological crisis has been exacerbated by the reductionist view of nature that has been advanced by modern secular science. What is needed, he believes, if the recovery of the truth to which the great enduring religions all attest: that nature is sacred.Trade ReviewThe most comprehensive and intelligent treatment of its topic that has been written....Nasr is one of the major intellects of our day. * Huston Smith, University of California, Berkeley *
£37.39
Oxford University Press Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience
Book SynopsisIn Aldo Leopold and an Ecological Conscience ecologists, wildlife biologists, and other professional conservationists explore the ecological legacy of Aldo Leopold and his A Sand Country Almanac and his contributions to the environmental movement, the philosophy of science, and natural resource management. Twelve personal essays describe the enormous impact he has had on each author, from influencing the daily operations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the creation of a land-use ethics guide for Forest Service personnel, to much needed inspiration for continuing on in today''s large, complex and often problematic world of science. Here is Aldo Leopold as a mentor, friend, and companion and an affirmation of his hope that science will continue to be practiced in the cause of conservation.Trade Review... this attractive book is wonderfully put together. It would serve either as a helpful introduction to those who might not be familiar with Leopold's work or as enjoyable reading for those who already know the delights of the world of Aldo Leopold. * Environmental Conservation *Table of ContentsTHE EVOLUTION OF A CLASSIC ; A SENSE OF PLACE, A SENSE OF TIME ; THE COHESIVE VISION ; A LAND ETHIC IN PRACTICE
£22.32
Oxford University Press Inc A Future in Ruins
Book SynopsisBest known for its World Heritage program committed to the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in 1945 as an intergovernmental agency aimed at fostering peace, humanitarianism, and intercultural understanding. Its mission was inspired by leading European intellectuals such as Henri Bergson, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, H. G. Wells, and Aldous and Julian Huxley. Often critiqued for its inherent Eurocentrism, UNESCO and its World Heritage program today remain embedded within modernist principles of progress and development and subscribe to the liberal principles of diplomacy and mutual tolerance. However, its mission to prevent conflict, destruction, and intolerance, while noble and much needed, increasingly falls short, as recent battles over the World Heritage sites of Preah VTrade ReviewA timely and important work that combines anthropology, politics, and archaeology to consider the history and legacy of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).... The author's honest, thought-provoking treatment brings into question the abilities and benefits of UNESCO while highlighting some of the complex political and historical actions that have brought about the precarious role it now plays.... Highly recommended. * CHOICE *A trustworthy guide through the thicket of committees, conventions, and campaigns that have defined World Heritage at the international level... Meskell builds an exemplary work of international history of World Heritage by weaving together case studies from around the world * Sarah Griswold, Oklahoma State University, Journal of Contemporary History *Reading A Future in Ruins is a valuable experience that needs to be shared widely across archaeology, cultural heritage studies, and related disciplines. It is a process of revisiting the consequences of allowing the bureaucratic machine of 'world heritage production' to roll on unchallenged, a journey which is best undertaken without predetermined notions coming from a detailed review of its contents. * Emily Hanscam, European Journal of Archaeology *A Future in Ruins transcends the boundaries of history, archaeology, politics and anthropology... an enlightening and enjoyable book to read. * Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review *This is a highly original and timely reassessment of UNESCO's checkered global mission since the late 1940s. While Meskell's book is ostensibly about UNESCO, world heritage, and the changing practices of archaeology, it is also a powerful rereading of international history and the broader politics of preservation in today's world. For those interested in the history of internationalism, contemporary global politics, and heritage studies, this is a must read. * Paul Betts, University of Oxford *A Future in Ruins represents the first in-depth analysis of UNESCO from its heady beginnings in a postwar world to the very different political and cultural attitudes to heritage in the present. Meskell brings her considerable analytical skills to bear on the personalities and structures of the organization and the material remains on which they focused. This is a book for anyone concerned with the past and present of global heritage. * Chris Gosden, University of Oxford *This timely book's insight and subtlety will set the diplomatic world by its ears. Meskell shows how UNESCO's pious pose of cultural universalism masks nationalistic-and Eurocentric -- pursuits. Her argument steadily moves us toward the unexpected revelation that UNESCO's interventions, understood by the world's disenfranchised as redolent of Western arrogance, increase the threat to the cultural treasures they are supposed to protect. * Michael Herzfeld, Harvard University *Meskell has written a timely and important work that combines anthropology, politics, and archaeology to consider the history and legacy of UNESCO...The author's honest, thought-provoking treatment brings into question the abilities and benefits of UNESCO while highlighting some of the complex political and historical actions that have brought about the precarious role it now plays."- ChoiceMaking an argument for urgently needed reform, Meskell presents numerous case studies and an analysis of UNESCO'S legal framework, which is vulnerable to manipulation by corrupt actors."- The New Yorker, Briefly Noted SectionIn A Future in Ruins, archaeologist Lynn Meskell offers an institutional ethnography of UNESCO. The organization's broad remit ranges from publishing to promoting women in science, but Meskell focuses exclusively on its role in protecting world heritage and archaeology, particularly through the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Inevitably, this role has been highly political. UNESCO's mission was to end global conflict and help the world rebuild materially and morally, Meskell observes. Yet increasingly, she argues, its efforts are caught up in the proliferation and prolongation of local conflicts and tensions...Meskell offers a trenchant critique of how UNESCO's aim of preventing war sits oddly with projects commemorating sites associated with violence [while noting] notes that international recognition enshrines only one version of history."- NatureTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Chapter 1: Utopia Chapter 2: Internationalism Chapter 3: Technocracy Chapter 4: Conservation Chapter 5: Inscription Chapter 6: Conflict Chapter 7: Danger Chapter 8: Dystopia Bibliography
£19.49
Oxford University Press Climate Change
Book SynopsisA student friendly guide to climate change, with a unique multi-level approach, written by leading experts. The first text to focus on the impact of climate change at a local and regional level, enriched with real-world case studies to help students understand and apply the science of climate change.Key Features- An innovative approach which xplores the global, regional, and local impacts of climate change.- Provides a comprehensive overview of climate change, to support students coming to the subject for the first time.- Contemporary case studies throughout the book, on issues such as sea ice, viticulture, and wildland fires help students understand how to apply the science of climate change in a real-world context.- Written by leading experts in the field. Digital Formats and ResourcesClimate Change is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources.The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access: www.oxforTrade ReviewI was excited to find text that matches my teaching needs so well. It has a clear authoritative approach which draws from key sources and provides an excellent narrative to enhance student learning. * Mark Phillipson, Glasgow Caledonian University *This book fills an important niche: dealing with climate impacts and adaptation at local to regional scale. Nothing has changed; I know of no other similar book and the need, if anything, has increased. * Nigel Tapper, Monash University *Clear and comprehensive * Greg Spellman, University of Northhampton *Table of Contents1: Setting the Scene: Why do We Need to Downscale Climate Change to Regional and Local Scales? 2: Approaches to Regional and Local Downscaling 3: Urban Environments, Air Pollution, and Human Health 4: Energy and Infrastructure 5: Climate Change and Agriculture 6: Natural Ecosystems 7: Environmental Hazards and Climate Change 8: Developing Appropriate Adaptation Strategies
£34.99
Oxford University Press Coral Reefs
Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringCoral reefs are among the most beautiful, and most diverse, of ecosystems. Early seafarers were wary of them, naturalists were confused by them, yet many coastal people benefited greatly from these mysterious rocky structures that grew up to the surface of the sea. They have been rich in their supply of food, and they provided a breakwater from storms and high waves to countless coastal communities that developed from their protection. Their scale is enormous and their value high. Found in countless locations around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean and Australia, they support both marine and human life.But today coral reefs are in trouble, with many dying or suffering from over-exploitation, pollution, and the warming and acidification of the oceans. Understanding reefs, their conservation and management, is vital, and so is conveying this to authority if we are to preserve these remarkable ecosystems. In this Very Short Introduction Charles Sheppard describes the complex structure and interdependencies of a reef, how reefs have evolved, the diversity of marine life that they support, and their importance to the human population who live beside them. This new edition describes the latest research on the complex symbioses of coral animals with microorganisms. It also highlights the scale of the challenge facing our reefs today, following recent ocean heatwaves - part of wider climate disruption - that killed half the world''s reefs, and considers what can be done to preserve these essential and vibrant ecosystems.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1: Geology or biology? 2: Ancient reefs and islands 3: The architects of a reef 4: The resulting structure - a reef 5: Microbial and planktonic engines of the reef 6: Reef fish and other major predators 7: Regional scale pressures on reefs 8: Global scale pressures on reefs - Climate change 9: Doing something about it Further Reading Index
£9.49
The University of Chicago Press A World of Rivers
Book SynopsisExplores the confluence of human and environmental change on ten of the great rivers of the world. Ranging from the Yellow River in China to Central Europe's Danube, this book shows us how pollution, such as in the Ganges and in the Ob of Siberia, has affected biodiversity in the water.
£25.65
The University of Chicago Press The Climate of History in a Planetary Age
Book SynopsisTrade Review“With his new masterwork, Chakrabarty confirms that he is one of the most creative and philosophically-minded historians writing today. The oppositions he proposes between the global of globalization and the global of global warming, between the world and the planet, between sustainability and habitability are illuminating and effective for thinking and acting through our highly uncertain and disoriented times.” * François Hartog, author of 'Chronos' *“One of the first thinkers to reckon with the concept of the Anthropocene and its relation to humanism and its critics, Chakrabarty forges new territory in his account of the planetary. If globalism was an era of human and market interconnection, the planetary marks the intrusion of geological forces, transforming both the concept of ‘the human’ and its accompanying sense of agency. This is a tour de force of critical thinking that will prove to be a game changer for the humanities.” * Claire Colebrook, Pennsylvania State University *"Historian Dipesh Chakrabarty confronts the ‘planeticide’ by calling for a humanistic and critical approach to the Anthropocene. . . . Ever alert to the holistic and far reaching vision upheld by ‘deep history,’ the Chicago professor re-raises the old question of the human condition in the new framework of the geobiological history of the planet." * Arquitectura Viva *"The Climate of History in a Planetary Age, by Dipesh Chakrabarty, is in my judgment the most compelling and encompassing book by a humanist on the complexities and asymmetries of the Anthropocene to date." * The Contemporary Condition *“For Chakrabarty, ‘global’ does not refer to the entirety of the world, but rather to a particular mode of thought. . . . In critiquing the global, Chakrabarty offers another mode of thinking that can perhaps provide the philosophical grounding for a truly ecological approach. He terms it the ‘planetary.’ Chakrabarty argues the ‘planetary’ is not a unified totality, but rather ‘a dynamic ensemble of relationships.’ While the global mode of thought retains the centrality of the human observer, the planetary mode of thought decentres the human and its apprehension of the world. The human becomes only one node within a much more complex and multivalent system of actors, both human and non-human.” -- Christopher McAteer * Green European Journal *"In The Climate of History in a Planetary Age, University of Chicago historian and theorist Dipesh Chakrabarty provides an expansive, but hardly exhaustive, overview of the Anthropocene, focusing on how historians, in particular, have grappled with the conditions of a world under physical duress. As humans have become a 'geological force' in this new epoch and the earth has itself become an archive, with human behavior imprinted in the fossil record and ice caps, we are at the cusp of a new understanding of the agency of humankind and other terrestrial beings. This 'planetary' understanding can, in turn, offer a new ethical paradigm for inhabiting this afflicted present, and can apply to remote pasts and possible futures. Such, at least, is the hope expressed in Chakrabarty’s book." * The Hedgehog Review *"Immensely clarifying and illuminating. . . . while Chakrabarty frequently invokes research produced by natural scientists, his argument carves out an important space for humanists in interpreting and responding to the consequences of anthropogenic geological agency." * Isis Journal *"This book provides a thought-provoking, complex discussion of how climate change challenges the humanities, history, and the human sense of time but presupposes a command of intellectual history. . . . Overall, Chakrabarty outlines the overlapping of different histories once thought to be distinct. The planet itself, he argues, is a 'humanist category.'" * Choice *"Environmental humanists... tend to treat 'globe' and 'planet' as synonyms; Chakrabarty shows the critical and generative importance of the distinction. Evoking geological time is de rigueur; he shows what it means to dwell with that time without displacing it onto world historical time. Rapturous treatments of multispecies agency abound; he challenges the latent anthropocentrism and even paternalism of some new materialisms." * American Literary History *"The Climate of History in a Planetary Age is a breathtaking book. Chakrabarty challenges us to reimagine the human from a planetary perspective, a deep history—an infinite horizon of human history—in order to come to terms with the climate crisis that human actions have precipitated." * The Book Review India *"Chakrabarty’s approach to the Anthropocene is a rich collage of intellectual influences primarily from India, Europe, Australia and North America. The book is an exemplary illustration that the magnitude and scope of the Anthropocene is not only challenging. For many academics, it is an inviting opportunity to take stock of one’s lessons learnt through research and personal experience. At this stage of the academic debate, the Anthropocene offers plenty of room for thematic manoeuvres. Chakrabarty displays a version of such intellectual playfulness in an overall sense-making attempt." * British Journal for the History of Science *"It's no overstatement to think of this book as having clanged the bell for a new normal in the humanities and social sciences when it comes to telling the story of ourselves, that is, when it comes to human history. Responsible history should today be geological even when recounting the human record. Chakrabarty raised a series of open-ended, difficult questions about a range of core concerns in the humanities and social sciences from how we can understand ourselves and society to how we ought to think about political economy and morality." * Environmental Philosophy *"Our academic engagements with law and development and social sciences more broadly must attempt to make sense of the rifts between the global and the planetary, even if such endeavours transcend and disrupt disciplinary confines and assumptions... The objective should be to displace the ideological supremacy of human species, Euroamerican and universalistic cosmologies, and simultaneously further the plurality of human-nonhuman relations, minority thought and just political action. Chakrabarty's book is one essential step in this direction." * Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law *"In contrast to most of the interventions that we can read about the ecological catastrophe, Chakrabarty does not rush to give us solutions, but rather seeks to sharpen the problem... By locating this difficulty at the intersection of the two great critical events of our history, decolonization on the one hand and global warming on the other, and by identifying the problematic node from these two distinct figures of totalization that are globalization and planetarization, Chakrabarty inscribes himself in an original way in a body of contemporary research in which the legacy of the critique of colonization and ecological awareness are mixed... Chakrabarty is an Aufklärer, and in this book as in the previous one, a single question is at work: how to inherit the Enlightenment? How to prolong the cosmopolitical project?" * Critique *"Chakrabarty’s argument about what postcolonial studies has to offer the environmental humanities goes well beyond the established appeals to inequality that constitute climate justice discourse . . . As such, this book comes highly recommended for anyone working in the environmental humanities." * Ecozon@ *"The new book by Dipesh Chakrabarty, The Climate of History in a Planetary Age, is to my mind currently the best available introduction to the new challenges for political thinking in the Anthropocene." * Postcolonial Studies *"The challenge of Anthropocene research is not that it compels determining which view is the singly correct one; the challenge is that almost all views (if not all of them) are to some extent correct. How, then, do we go about addressing these multiple (potentially and partially correct) views? Open the pages of The Climate of History in a Planetary Age and see for yourself." * History and Theory *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Intimations of the PlanetaryPart I: The Globe and the Planet 1 Four Theses 2 Conjoined Histories 3 The Planet: A Humanist CategoryPart II: The Difficulty of Being Modern 4 The Difficulty of Being Modern 5 Planetary Aspirations: Reading a Suicide in India 6 In the Ruins of an Enduring FablePart III: Facing the Planetary 7 Anthropocene Time 8 Toward an Anthropological Clearing Postscript: The Global Reveals the Planetary: A Conversation with Bruno Latour Acknowledgments Notes Index
£78.85
The University of Chicago Press Stitching the West Back Together Conservation of
Book SynopsisNews headlines would often have us believe that conservationists are inevitably locked in conflict with the people who live and work on the lands they seek to protect. This book delves into the history and evolution of western land use policy and of the working landscapes themselves.
£87.00
The University of Chicago Press Crisis of the Wasteful Nation Empire and
Book SynopsisOffers us a cohesive picture of Roosevelt's engagement with the natural world along with a compelling portrait of how Americans used, wasted, and worried about natural resources in a time of burgeoning empire.Trade Review"Tyrrell is the most insightful and significant scholar of transnational US history. In Crisis of the Wasteful Nation he shows again that the enduring theme of American exceptionalism is best examined and revised through global comparative and transnational contexts. This is an important, new, and nuanced framing of the interrelated realms of natural resource use, physical health, and national strength." (David Wrobel, University of Oklahoma)"
£33.25
The University of Chicago Press After Preservation
Book SynopsisBrings together a consortium of voices comprised of renowned scientists, historians, philosophers, environmental writers, activists, policy makers, and land managers to negotiate the incredible challenges that environmentalism faces.Trade Review"After Preservation asks one of the big, hairy, audacious questions of the early twenty-first century: How should humans relate to nature in the Anthropocene? Minteer and Pyne have assembled an impressive assortment of contributors to offer a wide-ranging set of answers in concise, poignant, and powerful essays. This is an important and timely contribution that should be read by people working to construct a thriving and sustainable future." (R. Bruce Hull, author of Infinite Nature)
£44.65
