Earth Sciences, Geography & Environment Books

Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring The growing concern about global environmental change and human impacts on the planet has led to the emergence of a broad field of study on the ''sustainability'' of human societies. The term''s common usage can be traced back to the advent of the Earth Summit in 1992 when ''sustainable development'' was broadly embraced by the international community as an ostensibly win-win proposition for economic development, social inclusion, and ecological conservation. Yet both the natural science underpinnings and the social implications of a quest for sustainability have been diffuse. There is a need for a coherent synthesis which draws out key themes from both natural and social analysis of the concept.This Very Short Introduction begins by introducing the concept of sustainability and how it has developed. The central chapters consider four key concepts crucial to sustainability: a) material and energy flows in consumption and production; b) technological interventions for a sustainable society; c) tipping points, and resilience in natural and social systems; and d) renewability and circularity in the economy. In the concluding chapter, Saleem H. Ali explores political means of managing anthropogenic change for a more sustainable society.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.

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Book SynopsisIn Lost Wonders Tom Lathan tells ten powerful stories of species that have lived, died out and been declared extinct since the turn of the twenty-first century.'Superb storytelling . . . an exhilarating and vital book' - Charles Foster, author of Cry of the WildMany scientists believe that we are currently living through the Earth’s sixth mass extinction, with species disappearing at a rate not seen for tens of millions of years – a trend that will only accelerate as climate change and other pressures intensify. What does it mean to live in such a time? And what exactly do we lose when a species goes extinct?In a series of fascinating encounters with subjects that are now nowhere to be found on Earth – from giant tortoises to minuscule snails the size of sesame seeds, from ocean-hopping trees to fish that wag their tails like puppies – Tom Lathan brings these lost wonders briefly back to life and giv

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Book Synopsis"John K. Thornton’s new book is another must-read. It contains both translations of the extant letters of the most significant king of Kongo’s history, Afonso I (r. 1506–1542), and a powerful, learned, and highly readable analysis of what these letters tell us about the life and times of one of the most important rulers anywhere in the world during the sixteenth century. This book will be essential reading for scholars, teachers, and students engaged with the history of the Kingdom of Kongo." —Toby Green, King’s College LondonTrade Review"Historians of Africa and the Atlantic World have long known of King Afonso I’s pioneering efforts in establishing the Catholic Church in Kongo, as well as his efforts in fighting the Portuguese slave trade. But until now there has been no authoritative biography of one of the world’s most important political figures of the sixteenth century. Thornton’s account fills this gap, vividly revealing Afonso’s complicated life and legacies on the global stage. As Thornton deftly demonstrates, Afonso was neither a victim of European deception nor a naïve dupe. Rather, he was an astute, innovative statesman who advanced Kongolese political interests both at home and abroad. "Accompanying Thornton’s biography are unique, translated letters penned by Afonso that will also be of great interest to historians of Africa and the Atlantic World. In these letters, Afonso reveals his firsthand thoughts on Kongolese political sovereignty, the distinctiveness of Kongolese Christianity, and his demands to control the slave trade in his kingdom. Additionally, he expresses his desires to expand the technological capacity of the kingdom through education and literacy campaigns, as well as by offering apprenticeships in carpentry, masonry, and medicine. Afonso’s letters, along with those of his European and African contemporaries, are a treasure trove of primary source materials that reveal Kongo’s key role in early modern Atlantic history.” —James H. Sweet, University of Wisconsin-Madison"Only decades of research and engagement with primary sources and centuries of secondary historical analysis could yield such a detailed, insightful account of a pivotal reign in the history of Kongo, Atlantic Africa, and the early modern world at large. It may be the author’s most impressive book yet. “Both the biography and the translated letters will serve for many years to come as sources for research and material for teaching. They will bring knowledge about Afonso, Kongo, and their world-shaping role in the early modern period to students and researchers well beyond specialist circles. I look forward to the new wave of research, discoveries, and debates the book will spur.” —Cécile Fromont, Yale University"This is a page-turner that students and their professors will appreciate. Through a compelling narrative and translated primary sources focused on the life of an important African leader, Thornton examines larger issues around African development, religions conversion, slavery, the rise of the Atlantic trade in enslaved people, and interconnectedness of the 16th-century world." —Walter Hawthorne, Michigan State University"With this monograph, John K. Thornton, the doyen of West Central African history, has not only further cemented his place in the field, but has also steered the 'biographical turn' in the precolonial history of Africa into a new phase. This is regional history on a grand scale, an exceptional feat for Sub-Saharan Africa during the first half of the XVIth century, made possible by a career-long passion with understanding the Kingdom of Kongo." —José C. Curto, History, York University, Canada"Never has the voice of the ruler of the early sixteenth-century Kongo Kingdom, the renowned Christian Mwene Kongo, King Afonso, resonated in language so accessible to a modern audience and yet so faithful to original historical context. Luís Madureira provides a superb translation of Afonso's most significant correspondence along with an insightful translator’s note that contributes to confidence in his rigorous effort. Scholars and students can at last understand the original meaning of Afonso's letters. "With the translation and contextualization provided here, Afonso’s complaints of Portuguese slave trading, for example, can be better understood. Other episodes recounted in the letters, such as Afonso’s victory over his non-Christian brother, attributed to the miraculous appearance of Saint James, will provide for fascinating class discussions. Going beyond its key contribution to African history, this edition will be widely used in the study and teaching of early modern global history.” —David Gordon, Bowdoin College

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Book Synopsis(Edition revised in 2023) The MICHELIN Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes local map, scale 1/150,000 is the ideal companion to fully explore the French alps and provides star-rated Michelin tourist itineraries and attractions, as well as impressive 3D relief mapping. MICHELIN local maps are perfect for cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts with over 20 leisure symbols, extensive coverage of cycling paths and nature trails. With MICHELIN local maps, find more than just your way! MICHELIN LOCAL MAPS provide detailed coverage of France are perfect for fully exploring these countries and are also ideal for cyclists. * Impressive & realistic 3D relief mapping * Michelin selected itineraries and must-sees of the area * A clear and comprehensive key with 20 leisure symbols, as well as cycling paths and nature trails. * Star rated tourist sights and attractions cross-referenced with the famous MICHELIN Green Guides. * Plans of main cities and a comprehensive place name index

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Book Synopsis(Edition updated in 2023) MICHELIN zoom map Zoom Barcelona & Costa Brava is the ideal travel companion to fully explore this tourist destination thanks to its easy-to-use format and its scale of 1/150,000. The Zoom collection are characterized by the high precision of their detailed scale, specially adapted for very touristy areas or with a high density road network, including new developments and industrial areas. In addition to clarity, reliability and up-to-date information, all Michelin cartography features include a wealth of practical information: places and monuments of tourist interest, picturesque tours, areas for sports and leisure activities ... Useful plans of cities and a practical index of localities. Also the maps contain places of interest and signposting of tracks for bicycles and green-ways MICHELIN ZOOM MAPS are perfect to discover major tourist areas, with a high level of details in an easy to use format. They nicely complement our Michelin Guides and include: * Various leisure activities, such as water parks, tourist trains, horse racing, etc * Scenic routes and tourist sights crossed referenced with the famous Michelin's Green Guides * Camping sites information from Michelin's Camping Guides * Hotel information from the world famous MICHELIN Guides

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Book SynopsisThe Natural Border tells the recent history of Mediterranean rural capitalism from the perspective of marginalized Black African farm workers. Timothy Raeymaekers shows how in the context of global supply chains and repressive border regimes, agrarian production and reproduction are based on fundamental racial hierarchies.Taking the example of the tomatoa typical ''Made in Italy'' commodityRaeymaekers asks how political boundaries are drawn around the land and the labor needed for its production, what technologies of exclusion and inclusion enable capitalist operations to take place in the Mediterranean agrarian frontier, and which practices structure the allocation, use and commodification of land and labor across the tomato chain. While the mobile infrastructures that mobilize, channel, commodify and segregate labor play a central role in the ''naturalization'' of racial segregation, they are also terrains of contestation and powerand thus, as The Na

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Book SynopsisExplore the world with a Collins wall mapFully updated world map to include the latest political changes. The map contains politically coloured mapping which shows each country and their capital city, major roads, and cities and towns clearly. Also included are national flags, key statistics for every country and inset maps of the polar regions.The map is printed on high quality paper and comes rolled in a fully recyclable cardboard box ideal as a poster for any classroom, bedroom or office wall.Area of coverage:All of the world, centred on the Greenwich Meridian, and including maps of the North and South Pole regions.Scale:1:30 000 000; 1 cm to 300 km; 1 inch to 480 milesSize:700 x 915 mm (27.5 x 36 inches)Other versions available:Paper flat map (ISBN 978-0-00-849255-7)

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Book SynopsisElgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.This insightful Advanced Introduction deftly explores urban segregation on an international scale, offering expert analysis on pressing and theoretical debates and key contemporary issues relating to this interdisciplinary field of study. It provides detailed insights into the various dimensions and domains of urban segregation, the range of methods used for measuring segregation, and the effects it can have on neighbourhoods and individuals. Recognising variations in the patterns of segregation from country to country, the book further discusses the different approaches and challenges affecting policy interventions.Key Features: A review of theories of urban segregation A focus on the impacts of urban segregation Critical analysis of classic and new research methods An exploration of urban segregation across all continents Discussion of why so much attention is given to segregation An outline of segregation in various domains and dimensions Composed of informative and engaging chapters, this timely Advanced Introduction will prove to be an essential read for human geography, sociology and social policy, urban and regional studies students, teachers, and established academics.Trade Review‘In this Advanced Introduction, Sako Musterd offers a broad and incisive overview of the now voluminous literature on urban segregation. Musterd successfully navigates through the often contentious explanations for segregation, and offers new thinking about segregation and the links to spatial inequality. In an era when large scale immigration is changing the inner cities, in Europe and the US, it is a timely review of processes which are fundamental forces in urban change.’ -- William Clark, University of California, US‘This magnificent book could only have been written by Sako Musterd, who brilliantly distills the international scholarly and experiential expertise gained during his unparalleled career. It synthesizes in accessible fashion what we know about the conceptual, methodological, theoretical, political and policy issues related to segregation, and why we should care.’ -- George C. Galster, Wayne State University, US‘Urban segregation, whether by race, class, income or religion is a subject of long standing interest to politicians, policy makers and residents alike. It influences who lives where, and why and how and it has impacts on education, crime, housing and health. This is a must-read introduction by an internationally-known and long-established expert on the subject.’ -- Chris Hamnett, King's College London, UK‘Sako Musterd, one of the most eminent experts on urban segregation, presents an extensive and updated approach to this topic in his remarkable book. Through the innovative lens of an urban history perspective, he deals with the complexity and the multidimensional aspects of this crucial urban process, whilst also addressing important societal and policy considerations.’ -- Marco Oberti, Sciences Po Paris, and Centre for Research on Social Inequalities, France‘Advanced Introduction to Urban Segregation is a brilliant and magisterial synthesis of complex and multi-dimensional urban segregation beyond residential differentiation. Sako Musterd, a world authority on urban segregation research, lucidly explains the concept of urban segregation and its measurement, impacts and policy interventions. Based on his lifetime study of segregation, the book combines deep scholarship on the debates and the research agenda with a stimulating and accessible presentation for scholars and students. This is essential reading for many generations of urban studies.’ -- Fulong Wu, University College London, UK

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Book SynopsisDiscover why we must protect Okavango Delta from climate change.Explore the Okavango Delta, Africa's incredible inland wetland, a sparkling jewel at the heart of the Kalahari Desert. This richly illustrated picture book brings to life this extraordinary region for young children, navigating its maze of shimmering lagoons, meandering channels and overgrown islands teeming with wildlife. In this watery wilderness, lion, cheetah, leopard and African wild dog share the floodplains with large herds of elephant and buffalo. It delves into the important role wetlands play in reducing the effects of greenhouse gases, and showcases the rich wildlife and diverse communities that can all be found there and therefore why it is so important that we act to protect this special part of the planet from the impact of climate change.Trade ReviewLet’s Save The Okavango Delta is a timely and beautifully illustrated book […] This is a very special book which easily communicates big topics to young people […] Perfect as a leisure book, but also as part of a topic, this is a great book for your libraries. * The School Librarian *As we explore this book we also explore the Delta and discover just how important it is, how important all Deltas are to us, to wildlife, to our planet. * Armadillo Magazine *Featured in the Bookseller's February 2023 Previews * The Bookseller *A really important piece of climate justice work to help children understand how issues are interconnected and why it is important to fight against climate change. * The English Association *

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Book Synopsis‘Steve Brusatte, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy predecessors in a beautifully written book that . . . makes the case for them as creatures who are just as engaging as dinosaurs.’ – The Sunday Times, ‘Best Books For Summer’'In this terrific new book, Steve Brusatte . . . brings well-known extinct species, the sabre-toothed tigers and the woolly mammoths, thrillingly back to life' – The TimesThe passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They – or, more precisely, we – originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years.Over these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth (canines, incisors, premolars, molars), mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story.Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today’s 6,000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus, marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches, and placentals like us, who give birth to well-developed young – are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions.In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge, both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of.For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book, Steve Brusatte tells their – and our – story.Trade ReviewThe epic story of how our mammalian cousins evolved to fly, walk, swim, and walk on two legs . . . [Brusatte's] deep knowledge infuse[s] this lively journey of millions of years of evolution with infectious enthusiasm. -- Neil Shubin, bestselling author of Your Inner Fish and University of Chicago paleontologistA fascinating account of how mammals survived the great extinction that destroyed the dinosaurs and evolved to their current position of dominance. A worthy sequel to [Steve Brusatte's] The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs. -- Venki Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry and Cambridge University biologistRiveting . . . A real page-turner that proves science fact is more amazing than science fiction. * The Sun *Nothing short of a thriller, revealing the luck, evolutionary twists and near-apocalyptical catastrophes that have led to the mammals of today, us included . . . Fascinating revelations come thick and fast * Guardian *Deeply researched and entertaining . . . Brusatte’s real achievement is to show us that, for all its sheer weight of numbers and impact, Homo sapiens is just ‘a single point, among millions of species over more than 200 million years. -- Mark Cocker, * The Spectator *Terrific . . . a saga on the grandest scale . . . beautifully told . . . Brusatte brings well-known extinct species, the sabre-toothed tigers and the woolly mammoths, thrillingly back to life * The Times, *Stands out for its brilliant balance of scientific detail and lively, efficient storytelling * New Scientist *Gorgeous book . . . fantastic writing, brilliant science. -- Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors

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Book Synopsis'Essential brain food' Condé Nast Traveler'As much a manifesto as a guide' Los Angeles Times'Read this book and save the planet' Soho House NotesOne of Business Insider's Most Anticipated Non-fiction Books of 2022From the 2022 TIME100 Next and 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 rising star comes the guide to more just future - for us all. We cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people - especially those most often unheard. Leah Thomas coined the term 'intersectional environmentalism' to describe the inextricable link between climate change, activism, racism and privilege. The fight for the planet should go hand in hand with the fight for civil rights. In fact, one cannot exist without the other. This book is a call to action, a guide to instigating change for all and a pledge to work toward the empowerment of all people and the betterment of the planet - an indispensable primer for activists looking to create meaningful, inclusive and sustainable change. Driven by Leah's expert voice and complemented by the words of young activists from around the globe, it is essential reading on the issue - and the movement - that will define a generation.

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Book SynopsisA romantic retelling of a classic fairy tale about a beautiful herbalist and a lovestruck prince.Shirayuki is an herbalist famous for her naturally bright-red hair, and the prince of Tanbarun wants her all to himself! The prince from the neighboring kingdom, Zen, rescues her from her plight, and thus begins their love story.Hoping for permission to line the roads between the wintry cities with the glowing phostyrias plant, Shirayuki, Obi, and Ryu arrive at the Oriold checkpoint. The knight captain there won’t stand in their way, but due to political instability in the northern region, they’ll have to win over a certain Lord Lugiria. Deep in uncharted territory, can they light a path to the future?

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, and the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, Shortlisted for the Stella Prize, Highly Commended in the Wainwright Prize for writing on global conservation, and a Sunday Independent Book of the Year. How do whales experience environmental change? Has our connection to these animals been transformed by technology? What future awaits us, and them? Fathoms blends natural history, philosophy, and science to explore these questions. Giggs introduces us to whales so rare they have never been named and tells us of whale ‘pop’ songs that sweep across hemispheres. She takes us into the deeps to discover that one whale’s death can spark a great flourishing of creatures. We travel to Japan to board whaling ships, examine the uncanny charisma of these magnificent mammals, and confront the plastic pollution now pervading their underwater environment.Trade Review‘Fathoms is perhaps the finest book written about whales since Moby Dick was published 170 years ago. It’s also one of the best accounts I’ve ever read of the interaction, intended and unintended, between humans and other species — a work of genuinely literary imagination.’ -- Verlyn Klinkenborg * New York Review of Books *‘Fathoms took my breath away. Every page is suffused with magic and meaning. Humanity’s relationship with nature has never been more important or vulnerable, and we are truly fortunate that at such a pivotal moment, a writer of Rebecca Giggs’s calibre is here to capture every beautiful detail, every aching nuance. She is in a league of her own.’ -- Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes‘Fathoms is a magnificent book, as grand and profound in its sweep as the whale itself. Rebecca Giggs is a brilliant writer - her prose packed with wonders and glittering with ideas.’ -- Philip Marsden, author of The Summer Isles‘Fathoms reads like a poem. Its virtuoso thinking is a revelation. I can’t think of many books in which love for the world and uncompromising, ever-deepening rigour come together in this way. Time slows down. This book makes a permanent dent in the reader.’ -- Maria Tumarkin, author of Axiomatic‘Fathoms is a marvel: a glorious, prismatic, deeply affecting hymn to the beauty, majesty, and extremity of whales and the human imagining of them.’ -- James Bradley, author of Clade‘[A] lyrical, wide-ranging meditation on whales and their complex relationship with humanity … Meticulously researched and full of fascinating information.’ -- Books+Publishing‘In Fathoms, Rebecca Giggs rips the metaphors off whales and brings us closer than we can usually get to the creatures themselves. Along the way, she shows us how intimately whales are shaping our lives, how they change air quality, and crime, and even our conception of time. I can't stop thinking about the connections she has unearthed, how a whale is connected to a meteor, a mother's breast, a landfill. Under the spell of her deliciously evocative prose, you get the sense that you are truly, finally, glimpsing a whale in full glory. Like the busks she writes about—tiny missives carved into whalebone corsets by sailors—this book leaves an imprint.’ -- Lulu Miller, author of Why Fish Don’t Exist and co-founder of NPR’s Invisibilia‘Seafaring scrutiny of whales, their oceanic environment, and the dangers to their survival … Giggs presents … scholarship in crisp, creatively written chapters addressing the many layers of the whale population’s unique physiology and evolutionary history, sociality, above-water balletic athleticism, and enigmatic ‘biophony’ of their vocalisations. Most importantly, she analyses how their behaviour can be predictive for the Earth’s future … Giggs reiterates that the whale and its life, legacy, and precarious environmental state are reflective of the greater issues the Earth faces, from ecological upheaval to overconsumption. Whether describing the majesty of the blue whale or the human assault on sea ecology due to paper and plastic pollution, the author’s prose is poetic, beautifully smooth, urgently readable, and eloquently informative. Her passion for whales leaps off the page, urging readers to care and—even more so—become involved in their protection and preservation. Throughout the book, the author’s debut, she brilliantly exposes ‘how regular human life seeped into the habitats of wildlife, and how wildlife returned back to us, the evidence of our obliviousness.’ Refreshingly, she also reveals glimmers of hope regarding what whales can teach the human race about our capacity to ecologically coexist with the natural world. A thoughtful, ambitiously crafted appeal for the preservation of marine mammals.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews *‘Astonishing ... utterly original ... Fathomsis an attempt to interpret our contemporary moment – and in particular our relationship with the non-human world – through the glistening figure of the whale in all its myriad aspects ... The language of Fathoms has a remarkable, almost gothic intensity. The style is vivid and estranging and luridly compelling, full of weird lights and unexpected textures ... A remarkable literary event because it is a new and hugely ambitious kind of nature writing, verging on poetry. It is itself a whale cure, thrusting us into the dark intestine of the whale, among the indigestible plastics and other pollutants, the better to hear the conscience of tomorrow.’ -- Andrew Fuhrmann * The Monthly *‘In Fathoms, Rebecca Giggs unravels a powerful nonfiction narrative, masterfully blending history, philosophy and science.’ -- Dan Shaw * Happy Magazine *‘This book is nothing less than a small masterpiece. … Rebecca Giggs’ Fathoms – the world in the whale is a remarkable meditation on, nominally, whales, but through them the delicacy and intricacy of human relationships with the environment, and the history and legacy of our intimate and devastating impact upon ecosystems … The book is a striking piece of narrative nonfiction, philosophical and personal at once wrestling with liminal vulnerabilities, fantasies, conceits and projections, and it deserves global attention.’ 4.5 STARS -- Anna Westbrook * ArtsHub *‘Fathoms is horrific, poetic and profound; a morbid dirge shot through with celestial light. As well as being an extensively researched and deeply considered study, the book is also a wunderkammer of tales that illustrate the hot mess of human aggression, obliviousness and folly … Fathoms is a vast book, the scale of which brings to mind the blue whale, anatomically mysterious and the largest creature to have lived. Giggs weaves together cosmological phenomena with their deep-sea reverberations to give us a book that feels universal.’ -- Justine Hyde * The Saturday Paper *‘With remarkable detective work, author Rebecca Giggs explores the habitats and migratory patterns of whales to reveal a great deal about them, and even more about us. It is a hauntingly beautiful examination of the moral force of animals, offering hope as well as despair.’ -- Jeff Maynard * Herald Sun *‘A work of bright and careful genius. Equal parts Rebecca Solnit and Annie Dillard, Giggs masterfully combines lush prose with conscientious history and boots-on-the-beach reporting. With Giggs leading us gently by the hand we dive down, and down, and down, into the dark core of the whale, which, she convincingly reveals, is also the guts of the world.’ -- Robert Moor, New York Times bestselling author of On Trails: an exploration‘Rebecca Giggs’ Fathoms is a triumph, a deliciously rich work of art that, as if by magic, combines exquisite prose that floats off the page and into your heart with scientific accuracy and epic scope. This is by far the best book about whales I have ever read. What an achievement!’ -- Wendy Williams, author of The Language of Butterflies and New York Times bestseller The Horse: the epic history of our noble companion‘One of the most beautifully written nonfiction books I have read in a long time. It's so hard to do justice to the immense importance of whales and the lessons they have for us all. Rebecca Giggs does an extraordinary job of bringing together the science, the history, and the brilliance and fragility of whales.’ -- Christine Kenneally, author of The Invisible History of the Human Race‘Fathoms is a work of profound insight and wonder.’ * X-Press Magazine *‘The book is a masterpiece. I am astonished that it is Giggs’s first, for it reads like the work of a far more experienced author ... Giggs’s exquisite prose is so striking as to be almost poetic, pulling the reader up constantly, either to savour a particularly apposite phrase, or to ponder a deep, unexpected connection. If a whale warrants a pause, then Fathoms warrants many.’ -- Tim Flannery * The Australian *‘Lyrical, meditative and deeply researched, this gorgeous book by WA writer Rebecca Giggs is one to linger over.’ * The Weekend West *‘This is a heavy read, but a fascinating and vital one.’ -- Ellen Cregan * Kill Your Darlings *‘Fathoms is beautifully written, always aiming for the bigger picture: what it means to live in the world; and what it means to be enthralled by the world we live in and destroying it … Fathoms is a glorious, beautiful and deeply important book.’ -- Magdalena Ball * Compulsive Reader *‘Truly remarkable … Each page is full of wonder and revelation.’ -- Grey Kelly * Talking Heads Magazine *‘This is an unforgettable, meticulously researched work that examines the ways that we’re all connected — with whales, with the, environment and each other.’ -- Eliza Henry-Jones * Organic Gardener Magazine *‘Meticulous research and stunning prose … unique, introspective and poetic.’ -- Zoya Patel * Canberra Times *‘[A] moving homage to the whale … A book that begins with obsequies for a whale ends by enlarging our knowledge of, and sense of wonder about, this magnificent species. It is non-fiction told with the vivacity and moral authority that was once reserved for fiction.’ * Australian Financial Review *‘Giggs’ meticulous research is itself awesome. Every page has its breathtaking revelations … For all this wondrous detail, the whale remains a lens through which to consider humanity’s relationship with the environment … Fathoms’ exhilarating poetic language is richly allusive and orchestrated … this marvellous work of haunted wonder ends with a fiercely unabashed vision of humanity moved 'from indecision to action', for whales, for love, for the world.’ -- Felicity Plunkett * Sydney Morning Herald *‘[A] delving, haunted and poetic debut. Giggs is worth reading for her spotlight observations and lyricism alone, but she also has an important message to deliver … [S]he uses whales as invitations to consider everything else: the selfie-isation of environmentalism, the inherent worth of parasites, Jungian psychoanalysis, solar storms, whale songs records going multiplatinum and so much more. In the cascade of mini-essays that results, Giggs comes off as much as a cultural critic as a naturalist.’ -- Doug Bock Clark * The New York Times Book Review *‘There is much to marvel at here … Deeply researched and deeply felt, Giggs’ intricate investigation, beautifully revelatory and haunting, urges us to save the whales once again, and the oceans, and ourselves.’ STARRED REVIEW * Booklist *‘In the whale, Giggs truly does find the world. She finds clues that unlock how humans have engaged nature — tales of greed, aggression, wonder, desperation, longing, nostalgia, love, curiosity and obsession. Her prose is luminous … tracing humankind’s continuing intersection with these alluring creatures, Giggs ultimately uncovers seeds of hope and, planting them in her fertile mind, cultivates a lush landscape that offers remarkable views of nature, humanity and how we might find a way forward together.’ STARRED REVIEW * BookPage *‘Fathoms immediately earns its place in the pantheon of classics of the new golden age of environmental writing.’ -- Stephen Sparks * Literary Hub *‘A profound meditation … Giggs explores how whales have permeated our lives and the many ways we have invaded and transformed theirs. Each chapter orbits a different aspect of this long and fraught relationship — commodification, pollution, voyeurism, adoration, mythology — swerving wherever Giggs’s extensive research and fervent curiosity take her … Giggs’s prose is fluid, sensuous, and lyrical. She has a poet’s gift for startling and original imagery … The lushness of her sentences and the intensity of her vision inspire frequent rereading — not for clarity, but for sheer pleasure and depth of meaning.’ -- Ferris Jabr * Los Angeles Review of Books *‘[W]idens the aperture of our attention with a literary style so stunning that the reader may forget to blink ... In a story that extends across several continents, Ms. Giggs marshals lapidary language to give the crisis a compelling voice. Her prose, like the oceans in which her subjects roam, is immersive; her sentences submerge us in a sea of sensations … [M]ore descriptive than prescriptive concerning the plight of whales and, by implication, the health of the Earth. But as with George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant and E.B. White’s Death of a Pig, Ms. Giggs, tending the final hours of a humpback on an Australian beach, reminds us that paying attention to the close of another creature’s life can be its own form of moral instruction.’ -- Danny Heitman * The Wall Street Journal *‘Immersive … Illustrating the interconnectedness of all life and the ways man's depredations travel from the smallest creatures to this largest of Earth's animals … In lyrical language, Giggs leads readers on a journey through underwater cultures and the place of whales in the chain of life. Recommended for readers interested in nature, ecology, and environmentalism.’ -- Caren Nichter * Library Journal *‘A searching debut … Giggs displays a keen awareness of what it means to write about a creature whose future is just as uncertain as our own.’ * The Nation *‘As well as being dazzlingly well researched and conveyed, the language in Fathoms is wonderful in that it never becomes sentimental and yet is thoroughly moving. Combining reportage, cultural criticism and poem as a call to action in the spirit of Rachel Carson, Giggs is an assured new voice in narrative nonfiction … Gloriously, she presents whales as poets … We need to be moved – therein the particular power of literature to expand the parameters of our compassion … More prescient for its time than the author could have imagined.’ -- Abi Andrews * The Irish Times *‘Fathoms is brilliantly full of wonder.’ * The Economist *‘Masterly.’ * The New Yorker *‘Glorious and astounding.’ -- Robbie Arnott‘With distinctive prose, as philosophical as it is scientific, this is a challenging and illuminating portrait of the oceans’ great cetaceans and what they mean to people.’ -- Helen Scales * BBC Wildlife Magazine *‘Beautiful and insightful.’ -- Pádraic Fogarty * Sunday Independent *‘By looking at the largest of our mammalian cousins Rebecca Giggs returns us to ourselves. This vital and urgent book awakens our wonder and our fear. In dense language, rich in poetry and science, it fathoms a deep empathy for the living world.’ -- Antony Gormley‘Some of the most alive, inventive writing on the planet is nature writing, and Giggs’ Fathoms is glorious proof. Ostentatious, mythic and strange, this is the kind of book that swallows you whole. Entirely fitting for its subject.’ -- Beejay Silcox * The Guardian *‘Fathoms is the result of years of research and contemplation: a cultural, historical and ecological exploration of whales and their place in human life and thought … It is simply one of the most miraculous and illuminating accounts of animality I’ve come across. Read it, read the whole magnificent tome: you’ll leave it filled with renewed awe for cetacean existence.’ -- Geordie Williamson * The Australian *‘A poetic and surprisingly wide-ranging blend of natural history, science and philosophy.’ -- Gemma Nisbet * The Weekend West Australian *‘This remarkable study of whales examines much more than the magnificent creatures of the deep. Through brilliant detective work, Giggs explores the habitats and migratory patterns of whales to reveal a great deal about them, and even more about the human impact on the oceans.’ * The Chronicle *‘Giggs’s style is all the more impactful for its sparseness … Her journey encompasses everything from whale-hunting ships in Japan to Loch Ness monster conspiracy theories in Scotland, with all of the disparate subjects deftly woven together by clipped, polished prose.’ -- Caroline Crampton * The Mail on Sunday *‘Wonder pours out of every page of this gorgeously written and daringly imagined book.’ -- Laura Miller * Slate *‘Extraordinary.’ -- Hannah James * Australian Geographic *‘A book like this shows the best of what reflective, creative non-fiction can do.’ -- Kate Evans * ABC Radio *‘Rebecca Giggs’ enthralling Fathoms: the world in the whale presents whales as immense, enigmatic, intelligent and majestic sea creatures, but also vividly describes the intricate ecosystem of the vast oceans in which they live and die. Drawing from science, history, literature, art and mythology, Fathoms is both epic in scale and rich in detail about the life cycle of whales, their behaviours and sociality.’ -- Donna Lee Brien * The Conversation *‘Lyrical … Facts like these are eye-opening. But the book shines most brightly in its poetry … Giggs’s writing has an old-fashioned lushness and elaborateness of thought … its finest passages — and they are many — awaken a sense of wonder. That other lives as marvellous and mysterious as these still exist is, for the moment at least, a reason to celebrate.’ -- Richard Schiffman * The Washington Post *‘Like fine tapestry, strands unite into a coherent work of great beauty. Yes, this is a book about what whales mean to us, but it’s also about how to interweave and admire cultural and biological stories, metaphors, and meanings.’ -- David George Haskell * Geographical Magazine *'An incredibly wonderful book ... [Giggs] is a fabulous writer' -- Brian Eno‘Giggs' work [Fathoms] … on whales, climate change and pollution has been one of the most affecting [books] I've read in a while.’ -- Sophie Overett * The Courier-Mail *‘It’s rare for whales to get what they deserve from our species, but Giggs’ fascinating and poetic natural history starts to pay back a portion of an impossible debt.’ -- Christopher J. Preston * Geographical Magazine *

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Book SynopsisShowcases the work of twenty leading paleoartists who expertly bring these extinct animals to life in exquisite detail.Dinosaurs are endlessly fascinating to people of every age, from the youngest child who enjoys learning the tongue-twisting names to adults who grew up with Jurassic Park and Walking with Dinosaurs. As our knowledge of the prehistoric world continues to evolve and grow, so has the discipline of bringing these ancient worlds to life artistically. Paleoart puts flesh on the bones of long-extinct organisms, and illustrates the world they lived in. Mesozoic Art presents twenty of the best artists working in this field, representing a broad spectrum of disciplines, from traditional painting to cutting-edge digital technology. Some provide the artwork for new scientific papers that demand high-end paleoart as part of their presentation to the world at large; they also work for the likes of National Geographic and provide art to museums aroTrade ReviewPalaeoart has truly crossed the bridge into the realm of fine wildlife art in both the quality and creative content of the work compiled in this tome. * Julius T. Csotonyi, palaeoartist and mural illustrator for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and LA Museum of Natural History, and author of The Paleoart of Julius Csotonyi *A must-have for scientists, scholars and young dino artists! * Creator of Age of Reptiles, concept artist for Jurassic Park III, and character designer for Disney’s Dinosaur *This is an ambitious collection of some of the most breath-catching depictions not only of our world in the past, but our world at any time. Sometimes weird, but often startlingly natural, Mesozoic Art helps us see life in the past not as science fiction, but living, breathing fact. * Dr Elsa Panciroli, palaeontologist, author of Beasts Before Us and The Earth: A Biography of Life *This book offers new, fresh, naturalistic and exciting depictions of our favourite creatures. Prehistoric Animals are not monsters and these young artists give them the respect they deserve. No doubt Mesozoic Art will inspire a whole new generation of Palaeoartists! * David Krentz, palaeoartist, designer, concept artist, storyboard artist on Prehistoric Planet, Emmy award-winning concept artist on Primal *I was entranced by the work here…Darren and Steve’s captions also provide an effective, insightful commentary…this is obviously a must-have book for anyone interested in palaeoart…More than that, this feels like a definitive summation of where we’re up to in the world of palaeoart, committed to print to be perused for decades to come. * Love in the Time of Chasmosaurs *The gorgeous paintings are accompanied by thought-provoking notes designed to attract artists and scientists alike…Arts and prehistoric science library collections alike must place Mesozoic Art on their lists of important, key acquisitions. * Donovan’s Recommended Reading *Mesozoic Art pulls together a powerful subset of palaeoartists…The print quality equals that of the best fine art books. Paleontology enthusiasts, and perhaps even Audubon aficionados, will not be disappointed. * New York Journal of Books *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Artist Profiles Gabriel Ugueto Joschua Knuppe Corben Rainbolt Stephanie Dziezyk Emiliano Troco Lucas Attwell Julia D’Oliveira Midiaou Diallo Joanna Kobierska Jed Taylor Pablo Rivera Greer Stothers John Conway Ville Sinkkonen Danielle Dufault Julio Lacerda Brennan Stokerman Raven Amos Mark Witton Jaime Chirinos Glossary

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Book SynopsisThis magical little sticker book is full of woodland fairy dolls to dress. There are lots of enchanting scenes to decorate, from a fairy garden and dawn chorus to gathering acorns and picking berries. With over 200 reusable stickers of outfits, woodland creatures and flowers, plus a fold-out back cover to `park' stickers whilst they're not in use.

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Book SynopsisThe deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. This is the story of how we imagine, explore and exploit it. For centuries, myth-makers and storytellers have concocted imaginary monsters of the deep, and now scientists are looking there to find bizarre, unknown species, chemicals to make new medicines, and to gain a greater understanding of how this world of ours works. With an average depth of 12,000 feet and chasms that plunge much deeper, it forms a frontier for new discoveries. The Brilliant Abyss tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea how we imagine, explore and exploit it. It captures the golden age of discovery we are currently in and looks back at the history of how we got here, while also looking forward to the unfolding new environmental disasters that are taking place miles beneath the waves, far beyond the public gaze. Throughout history, there have been two distinct groups of deep-sea explorers. Both have sought knowledge but with difTrade ReviewSo comprehensive and insightful that it will be a long time before it’s surpassed … It is hard to imagine a more timely or important book than The Brilliant Abyss. Carefully conceived and luminously written, it is certain to be a bestseller, which gives me hope that its urgent message might help save the world. * New Statesman *Scales’s approach is enthralling and richly expressed and highlights how closely our lives depend on the deep. * Observer *Scales’s great gift is for transmuting our awe at the wonders of the deep sea into a kind of quiet rage that they could soon be no more … The deep, she argues, is too vulnerable, and too crucial to the working of the planet to blindly ransack. * New York Times Book Review *Accessible, enjoyable and written with infectious passion, this book is a compelling guide to a fascinating and often overlooked part of our planet. * The Week *Fascinating … The Brilliant Abyss is a manifesto for change as much as it is a description of an ecological crisis. Its overall effect – to insist that what’s already down there matters, even or especially when it is hidden from our view. * New Republic *Helen Scales is one of those rare scientists who can capture the excitement of science. The Brilliant Abyss has a thrill on every page as she explores the deep and little known ocean. But this comes with a warning. Man’s destruction is now reaching the remotest corners of the planet and our survival depends on stopping it. * Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod *Helen Scales explains why leaving the deep alone is so important – play your part by arming yourself with the facts. * Coast magazine *Helen Scales’ beautiful account reveals the astonishing complexity and importance of the creatures of the abyss, to the planet and to us. * Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation and scientific advisor, BBC Blue Planet II *Table of ContentsPrelude PART ONE: EXPLORE 1: Here is the Deep 2: The Whale and the Worm 3: Caught in a Jelly Web 4: In a Chemical World 5: Highs and Lows PART TWO: DEPEND 6: Deep Matters 7: Deep Cures PART THREE: EXPLOIT 8: Fishing Deep 9: The Eternal Junkyard 10: What's Mine is Yours PART FOUR: PRESERVE 11: Green vs Blue 12: A Sanctuary in the Deep Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Additional Resources Index Plates

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Book SynopsisMany people have a love of maps. But what lies behind the process of map-making? How have cartographers through the centuries developed their craft and established a language of maps which helps them to better represent our world and users to understand it? This book tells the story of how widely accepted mapping conventions originated and evolved – from map orientation, projections, typography and scale, to the use of colour, map symbols, ways of representing relief and the treatment of boundaries and place names. It charts the fascinating story of how conventions have changed in response to new technologies and ever-changing mapping requirements, how symbols can be a matter of life or death, why universal acceptance of conventions can be difficult to achieve and how new mapping conventions are developing to meet the needs of modern cartography. Here is an accessible and enlightening guide to the sometimes hidden techniques of map-making through the centuries.Trade Review‘Elegantly written and beautifully illustrated, Why North is Up tells you everything you need to know about the signs, symbols and science behind map-making. It will also reveal a few things you didn’t know about maps. Essential reading for any map lover.' -- Jerry Brotton‘In this handsome and informative book, Mick Ashworth picks through the conventions that have shaped cartography thus far, in a lively narrative augmented by lavish illustrations of the maps in question. For map addicts and casual bystanders alike, this is a terrific work that both entertains and enlightens.’ -- Mike Parker'The book is ideal for the satnav generation, showing how cartographic language has evolved from Ptolemy's Geographia to crowd-sourced online OpenStreetMap. But this is far from just an introduction for newcomers; most readers are sure to discover something new here...the book is copiously illustrated with relevant map extracts, faithfully reproduced; many are from the Bodleian Library, other from a variety of other sources.' * Sheetlines *'Ashworth presents an entertaining foray into the history, structure and evolution of maps and mapmaking. His conversational style makes learning about the intricacies of mapmaking, specifically the importance of legends, grids and symbols, fun.' * The Globe *'For anyone with an interest in maps it should be essential reading. … I would expect this book to be popular - it certainly deserves to be.' * The Bulletin of the Society of Cartographers *'Ashworth provides an eminently readable introduction that is beautifully illustrated with a wide selection of carefully reproduced maps. Both a beautiful book to own and to give, this is a must-have for anyone with an interest in maps.' * NHBS *

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Book SynopsisA David and Goliath battle for truth A specialist in GM foods and pesticides, the biologist Gilles-Éric Seralini has studied their toxicity and effects on people's health for many years. In September 2012, for the first time in a major scientific journal (Food and Chemical Toxicology), he published a study showing the effect on the liver and kidneys of two of Monsanto's flagship products: Roundup weedkiller and the GM foods created to absorb it. Images from the study of tumor-ridden rats fed with GM foods and Roundup went viral. The study was a PR disaster for Monsanto. The multinational soon bounced back and did everything in its power to cover up the study—leaning on the publishers to retract the findings. Monsanto began a series of smear campaigns to discredit Seralini and fellow researchers and intimidate their supporters, while pumping out their own collection of fake research findings and testimonies. These practices were met with huge suspicion, but there was no concrete evidence until, in 2017, Monsanto was ordered to publish tens of thousands of confidential documents in a class-action lawsuit presented by thousands of individuals afflicted with serious illnesses from their use of Roundup. The "Monsanto Papers" that were produced subsequently proved the company’s cynical attempts at a cover-up as well as its fraudulent practices. Gilles-Éric Seralini and Jérôme Douzelet delved into the documents and discovered how, in the pursuit of its own short term economic interests, Monsanto used sophisticated methods of deceit to bypass legislation devised to protect millions of people. Seralini and Douzelet discovered how Monsanto managed to provide phony assessments to conceal the poisons its products contain, thus deceiving the public authorities and the scientific and medical communities. Trade Review“Monsanto knew for decades that glyphosate-based herbicides cause cancer and a lethal coterie of other devastating illnesses. Rather than warning consumers and customers, Monsanto massaged the science, defrauded regulators, bribed prominent researchers, captured and corrupted the EPA pesticide division, and systematically lied to the global public that its deadly herbicide was safe. Roundup degraded public health, impoverished our soils, extirpated species, obliterated small farmers, and deprived the public of their fundamental civil right of informed consent. Monsanto made a special project of discrediting and destroying scientists, advocates, and reformers who exposed its corrupt coverup. The most prominent among these was heroic French toxicologist Gilles-Éric Seralini. In 2018, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the legal team that finally brought Monsanto to justice. We relied heavily on Dr. Seralini’s research and counsel to achieve this victory.”—Robert F. Kennedy Jr., founder of Waterkeeper Alliance, founder, chairman of the board, and chief legal counsel for Children’s Health Defense, and counsel to Morgan & Morgan “The bravest man I have ever met. The truth always comes to light eventually. Thank you, Gilles-Éric.”—Frédérick Lemarchand, professor of sociology, University Caen Normandy “Written by one of the most published scientists in the domain, quoted 55,952 times in the ‘Monsanto Papers,’ this laser-sharp analysis shows how the agribusiness pesticide giant poisoned public regulations, research, and democracy.”—Louise Vandelac, PhD, Department of Sociology and Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Québec in Montreal "An essential contribution to understand the manipulation of science in the service of profit maximization, by one of the main players in the debate." —Olivier De Schutter, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food "David against Goliath, such is the disproportionate fight of Gilles-Éric Seralini against the ‘Hydra Monsanto,’ an emblematic victory on a planetary scale, where courage and probity triumph!"—Philippe Desbrosses, author, farmer, doctor of science in environment. “The demonstration of Professor Seralini, rigorously supported by his great culture in human sciences, allows him not to confuse science and technoscience.”—Yves Dupont, PhD, researcher in human sciences “The work of Professor Seralini is of prime importance; it is a glimmer of hope coming from a certain science at the service of Humanity and Life on earth.”—Claude Gruffat, Member of the European Parliament “I have had the chance to work on several occasions with Professor Gilles-Éric Seralini, a world specialist in pesticides and genetically modified organisms. His meticulous work, his expertise and his complete testimonies have served us to denounce numerous abuses or frauds by international companies, making possible to develop European legislation on pesticides always in the direction of greater protection of health and the environment, and to successfully support various appeals before the French courts and even before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECHR). The expertise of an independent researcher and whistleblower like Professor Seralini is invaluable, rare, and beneficial for safeguarding the general interest and health in the face of financial interests.”—Maître Guillaume Tumerelle, lawyer specializing in rural law, France “The Monsanto Papers provides an insider’s account of how corporate power is used to destroy a scientific career when a multinational cannot control the experimental evidence of its unsafe herbicide. Seralini’s account is a ‘David and Goliath’ story that reveals the corruption of a regulatory system, the conflicts of interest among corrupted toxicologists, and the battle between scientific truth against a company’s billion-dollar product.”—Sheldon Krimsky, Lenore Stern Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tufts University, author of Conflicts of Interest in Science “Monsanto’s response to Dr. Seralini’s work on the toxicity of one of its products demonstrates how far corporations will go in corrupting science for profit.”—Leemon McHenry, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge and medical ethics consultant to the Baum, Hedlund law firm

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Book SynopsisThere is a growing movement of people with a different vision for their local communities. They know that real satisfaction and the good life are not provided by organizations, institutions, or systems. No numbers of great CEOs, central offices, or long range plans produce what a community can produce. People are discovering a new possibility for their lives. They have a calling. They are called. And together they call upon themselves.This possibility is idealistic, and yet it is an ideal within our grasp. It is a possibility that is both idealistic and realistic. Our culture leads us to believe that a satisfying life can be purchased. It tells us that in the place where we live, we don't have the resources to create a good life. This book reminds us that a neighborhood that can raise a child, provide security, sustain our health, secure our income, and care for our vulnerable people is within the power of our community.This book gives voice to our ideal of a beloved community. It reminds us of our power to create a hope-filled life. It assures us that when we join together with our neighbors we are the architects of the future where we want to live.

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Book SynopsisAcross ten captivating and beautifully illustrated chapters, Morgan Phillips recounts stories of adaptation from the air-conditioned pavements of Doha and the feral camels of Australia, to the ‘cool rooms’ of Paris and the ‘fog catchers’ of Morocco. These are the lesser-told stories of good, bad, ugly and very ugly adaptation to climate change – they will be the inspirations for the positive adaptations of the future; and the forewarnings of the mal-adaptations that must be avoided. Great Adaptations is a call to action, it presses home the need for adaptations that are ecologically restorative and socially just. It examines how adaptation is framed, unpicks the contested notion of Deep Adaptation, explores the potential of Transformative Adaptation, and questions the legitimacy of the ‘reassuring stories’ that still dominate mainstream climate discourse. It is conversational, provocative, engaging and visually arresting – a tactile, pocket-sized and very shareable object.Trade Review‘My earnest hope is that this book will be a turning of the tide; and that, with the silence broken, the world can finally begin the painful process of awakening properly to climate reality... including to the reality of how we must now adapt transformatively, if we are to have any chance of heading off eco-induced collapses.’ Prof. Rupert Read, University of East Anglia.

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Book SynopsisProgress requires the conquest of nature. Or does it? This new account overturns conventional interpretations of Marx and in the process outlines a more rational approach to the current environmental crisis. Marx, it is often assumed, cared only about industrial growth and the development of economic forces. John Bellamy Foster examines Marx's neglected writings on capitalist agriculture and soil ecology, philosophical naturalism, and evolutionary theory. He shows that Marx, known as a powerful critic of capitalist society, was also deeply concerned with the changing human relationship to nature. Marx's Ecology covers many other thinkers, including Epicurus, Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus, Ludwig Feuerbach, P. J. Proudhon, and William Paley. By reconstructing a materialist conception of nature and society, Marx's Ecology challenges the spiritualism prevalent in the modern Green movement, pointing toward a method that offers more lasting and sustainable solutions to the ecological crisis.Table of ContentsThe materialist conception of nature; the really earthly question; parsonian naturalism; the materialist conception of history; the metabolism of natue and society; coevolution and sustainability.

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Book SynopsisA thrilling exploration of nature's symbiotic relationships, some comforting and familiar, others wildly alien, by the award-winning author of Forget Me Not.What can nature teach us about living together? Investigating eight symbiotic relationships trying to survive the climate and biodiversity crises, Sophie Pavelle explains why it has never been more vital for us to understand symbiosis. Symbiotic relationships regulate ecosystems, strengthen resilience and bind pivotal connections.Species living together in symbiosis is no accident these dynamics evolved. Species form and sever alliances everywhere, from deep within temperate rainforests to the open ocean, quiet tidal pools or chalk grasslands, and nature thrives on relationships as glamorous as they are grotesque and as bizarre as they are engrossing.In To Have or To Hold, Sophie relishes the interconnectedness between species and celebrates the relationships that under

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of The History of the World in 100 Animals, a BBC Radio Four Book of the Week, comes an inspirational new book that looks at the 100 plants that have had the greatest impact on humanity, stunningly illustrated throughout. As humans, we hold the planet in the palms of ours hands. But we still consume the energy of the sun in the form of food. The sun is available for consumption because of plants. Plants make food from the sun by the process of photosynthesis; nothing else in the world can do this. We eat plants, or we do so at second hand, by eating the eaters of plants.   Plants give us food. Plants take in carbon dioxide and push out oxygen: they give us the air we breathe, direct the rain that falls and moderate the climate. Plants also give us shelter, beauty, comfort, meaning, buildings, boats, containers, musical instruments, medicines and religious symbols. We use flowers for love, we use flowers for death. The foss

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Book SynopsisThe climate crisis is here. Our chance to stop it has come and gone, but this doesn't have to mean the world is ending.If you care about the planet, and about the people and animals who live on it, there are two ways to think about this. You can keep on hoping that catastrophe is preventable, and feel ever more frustrated or enraged by the world's inaction. Or you can accept that disaster is coming, and begin to rethink what it means to have hope.'The honesty and realism of Jonathan Franzen's writings on climate have been widely denounced and just as widely celebrated. Here, in his definitive statement on the subject, Franzen confronts the world's failure to avert destabilising climate change and takes up the question: Now what?Trade Review Praise for The End of the End of the Earth: ‘… by refusing to hope for the impossible, Franzen, improbably, manages to produce a volume that feels, if not hopeful, then at least not hopeless. There’s nothing he can do – there’s probably nothing any of us can do – to avert or even alleviate the coming catastrophe. But for now, he’s here and he’s alive, and over the course of these essays he offers us a series of partial, tentative answers to the question he poses himself at the beginning: “ How do we find meaning in our actions when the world seems to be coming to an end?” Guardian ‘Can be read, in part, as a welcome alternative to the current, dominant American political tone of one-note belligerence’ Observer ‘Franzen shows himself to be the kind of unacademic critic who recognises and does not disapprove of the Common Reader’s natural tendency to feel for the characters the author has brought into being’ Scotsman

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Book SynopsisThe oceans exert a vital moderating influence on the Earth's climate system. They provide inertia to the global climate, essentially acting as the pacemaker of climate variability and change, and they provide heat to high latitudes, keeping them habitable. This title offers a short, self-contained introduction to the subject.Trade Review"This easy-to-read illustrated book, filled with both data and accessible mathematical equations demonstrating the impact of the oceans on the Earth's climate, offers practitioners and stakeholders' state-of-the-art scientific analysis of how the oceans and climate interact that is both user friendly to the non-expert yet scientifically rigorous enough as bridge material for graduate students as they grapple with the compelling field of climate science and oceanography... These books at Princeton Primers in Climate are a superb resource to find meticulous, detailed, and clearly presented facts on climate change science."--Gabriel Thoumi, MongaBay.com "This is an excellent primer on the physical processes that control interactions within and between the atmosphere and ocean... It is a quick read that would be appropriate for scientists looking for information on the salient points of ocean-atmosphere interactions and climate. It would also serve as a useful complementary resource for an introductory-level course in oceanography."--Choice "I absolutely recommend this book. Those expecting a primer on oceans and climate will be rewarded with much more than a book that teaches the basics of a subject. I have taught about the ocean for more than 20 years and I still found plenty of insights in this text that will enhance my own teaching of undergraduate and graduate students."--Susan Lozier, Bulletin of the American Meteorological SocietyTable of ContentsPreface vii Chapter 1: Basics of Climate 1 Chapter 2: The Oceans: A Descriptive Overview 22 Chapter 3: A Brief Introduction to Dynamics 41 Chapter 4: The Ocean Circulation 75 Chapter 5: The Ocean's Overall Role in Climate 105 Chapter 6: Climate Variability from Weeks to Years 128 Chapter 7: Global Warming and the Ocean 156 Notes 205 Further Reading 211 Glossary 215 References 223 Index 229

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Book SynopsisConcrete and Brutalist architecture in and around Seoul.

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Book SynopsisWe all need food to survive, and forty percent of the world’s population relies on agriculture for their livelihood. Yet control over food is concentrated in relatively few hands. Turmoil in the world food economy in recent decades has highlighted a number of vulnerabilities and contradictions inherent in the way we currently organize this vital sector. Extremes of both undernourishment and overnourishment affect a significant proportion of humanity. And attempts to increase production through the spread of an industrial model of agriculture has resulted in serious ecological consequences. The fully revised and expanded third edition of this popular book explores how the rise of industrial agriculture, corporate control, inequitable agricultural trade rules, and the financialization of food have each enabled powerful actors to gain fundamental influence over the practices that dominate the world food economy and result in uneven consequences for both people and planet. A variety of movements have emerged that are making important progress in establishing alternative food systems, but, as Clapp’s penetrating analysis ably shows, significant challenges remain.Trade Review“Jennifer Clapp has done it again. Bravo! A true classic, Food is breathtaking in its scope and insight. In bringing this brilliant work up to the moment, Clapp demystifies the global food economy so we can all realize our power to transform it.”Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and co-author of World Hunger: 10 Myths “The global food economy may seem remote from daily experience, but Jennifer Clapp explains how it affects every aspect of what we eat and, therefore, our health and welfare. Best of all, she provides the information and tools advocates can use to redesign the global food economy to promote fair trade, food justice, and food sovereignty.”Marion Nestle, Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, and author of Soda Politics“In the third edition of this invaluable text, Jennifer Clapp synthesizes the latest literature in a rapidly changing and vital field, in ways that are rigorous, accessible, and always thought-provoking. From the end of the Second World War to the thick of the climate emergency, Food tells the story of the modern food system with signature clarity and sophistication.”Raj Patel, University of Texas at Austin “Food is detailed, it is engrossing, and it is clear. The documentation of the political and economic motivations that have shaped the current food system over the past decades is enlightening for the scientific food community and the general public.”Nature FoodTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsFigures and TablesChapter 1: Unpacking the World Food EconomyChapter 2: The Rise of a Global Industrial Food MarketChapter 3: Expanding Food TradeChapter 4: Growing Corporate ControlChapter 5: The Financialization of FoodChapter 6: Justice and Sustainability in the World Food Economy?NotesSelected ReadingsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIn his deeply researched and exciting new book, A Cold Welcome, the historian Sam White focuses on the true stories of the English, Spanish, and French colonial expeditions in North America. He tells strange and surprising tales of drought, famine, bitterly cold winters, desperation, and death, while anchoring his research in the methods and results of the science of climate change and historical climatology…He weaves an intricate, complex tapestry as he examines the effects both of climate—meteorological conditions over relatively long periods of time—and of weather—the conditions of the atmosphere over a short term—on vulnerable colonists in North America in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries…His fresh account of the climatic forces shaping the colonization of North America differs significantly from long-standing interpretations of those early calamities. -- Susan Dunn * New York Review of Books *Meticulous environmental-historical detective work… White’s aim is to show how the patterns of European colonization in North America in the century before 1620 were driven by the engagement between settlers and the climatic and environmental conditions they encountered… A Cold Welcome is a pioneering and precise environmental history of the European settlement of North America. -- Robert J. Mayhew * Times Literary Supplement *Sam White’s aptly named A Cold Welcome is a remarkable journey through the complex impacts of the Little Ice Age on Colonial North America. His compelling narrative takes the study of early America in a new, and potentially highly important, direction that delves into a now vanished world of daunting climatic extremes. This beautifully written, important book leaves us in no doubt that we ignore the chronicle of past climate change at our peril. I found it hard to put down. -- Brian Fagan, author of The Little Ice AgeA Cold Welcome deserves a warm reception from anyone interested in colonial America, the early modern Atlantic, or the history of changing climates. Taking a holistic view of North America, White brilliantly illuminates the history of early Spanish, French, and English settlements as they struggled to come to grips with unexpected climates and a challenging spell during the Little Ice Age. -- J. R. McNeill, coauthor of The Great AccelerationThe period from 1492 to 1620 is the ‘forgotten century’ in American history, with most textbooks offering only a passing mention to early European exploration and settlement in North America. In fact, there were dozens of attempts to penetrate the continent, but all ended in starvation, disease, violence, and death. In A Cold Welcome, White explains how the Little Ice Age contributed to these failures. By combining archival research with the latest findings of climate scientists, he makes a brilliant contribution to both American and environmental history. -- Daniel Headrick, author of Power over PeoplesIn the barbarous early years of European colonization of North America, there have long been three acknowledged Horsemen of the Apocalypse: poor planning, cultural incomprehension, and bad timing. Sam White reminds us of a fourth deadly rider: climate change. His analysis of the Little Ice Age in North America makes the crucial point that failure to understand and adapt to climate change has been fatal. -- Joyce E. Chaplin, author of Round About the EarthWhite presents a fascinating account of Europeans’ 16th and early 17th century incursions into North America to highlight that colonial exploration was impeded by famines, diseases, afflictions and deaths for the British, the French, and the Spanish as they faced storms, icy winters, hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold spells…In making climate history and climate reconstruction part of a contextualized historical inquiry, White not only stresses what was, but also implies what could have been for the early European expansion into Northern America…Beautifully written and skillfully researched, this book is highly relevant for scholars interested in the ways in which colonial history has been shaped at the intersection of human societies and the natural world, and more widely for all who seek to understand the consequences of present-day climate change on contemporary and future human communities…White’s book constitutes a reminder of the deleterious effects of uncontrolled climatic variations throughout social history, and yet another warning. -- Hélène B. Ducros * EuropeNow *An environmental historian by trade, [White] has produced a highly readable study of how people struggled to exist and gain a foothold in unfamiliar lands. -- Brian Renvall * Library Journal *Today, as we confront an uncertain future from global warming, A Cold Welcome reminds us of the risks of a changing and unfamiliar climate. * Northeastern Naturalist *

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Book SynopsisUnderstanding how our living environment works is essentially a study of ecological systems. Ecology is the science of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment, and how such interactions create self-organising communities and ecosystems. This science touches us all. The food we eat, the water we drink, the natural resources we use, our physical and mental health, and much of our cultural heritage are to a large degree products of ecological interactions of organisms and their environment. This Very Short Introduction celebrates the centrality of ecology in our lives. Jaboury Ghazoul explores how ecology has evolved rapidly from natural history to become a predictive science that explains how the natural world works, and which guides environmental policy and management decisions. Drawing on a range of examples, he shows how ecological science can be applied to management and conservation, including the extent to which theory has shaped practice. Ecological science has also shaped social and cultural perspectives on the environment, a process that influences politics of the environment. Ghazoul concludes by considering the future of ecology, particularly in the light of current and future environmental challenges. 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.Trade ReviewOverall, this is a good starting point to get acquainted with ecology by being synthetic and easy to read; it would be a good resource also for undergraduate students. * Conservation Biology *This is a good starting point to get acquainted with ecology by being synthetic and easy to read. * Society for Conservation Biology *Table of ContentsPreface List of illustrations 1: What is ecology? 2: History of ecology 3: Principles and theories 4: The big questions 5: Applied ecology 6: Ecology in culture and politics 7: The future of ecology Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisGeocomputation with R is for people who want to analyze, visualize, and model geographic data with open source software. The book provides a foundation for learning how to solve a wide range of geographic data analysis problems in a reproducible, and therefore scientifically sound and scalable way. The second edition features numerous updates, including the adoption of the high-performance terra package for all raster data processing, detailed coverage of the spherical geometry engine s2, updated information on coordinate reference systems and new content on openEO, STAC, COG, and gdalcubes. The data visualization chapter has been revamped around version 4 of the tmap package, providing a fresh perspective on creating publication-quality maps from the command line. The importance of the book is also highlighted in a new foreword by Edzer Pebesma.The book equips you with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle a wide range of issues manifested in geographic data, including those with scientific, societal, and environmental implications. The book is especially well-suited to: Data scientists and engineers interested in upskilling to handle spatial data. People with existing geographic data skills interested in developing powerful geosolutions via code. Anyone who needs to work with spatial data in a reproducible and scalable way. The book is divided into three parts: Foundations, Extensions, and Applications, covering progressively more advanced topics. The exercises at the end of each chapter provide the necessary skills to address various geospatial problems, with solutions and supplementary materials available at r.geocompx.org/solutions/.

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Book SynopsisClimate change with global warming is not disputed by the vast majority of scientists and the aquatic system is most affected. A global rise in water temperature and acidification of the aquatic environment will continue even if we can significantly reduce the current output of the two most important greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide and methane). These and other environmental changes will affect fish health which includes infectious pathogens. This important new text is the second volume on climate change and fish health. It covers changes to the freshwater ecosystem and their current and expected effects on selected infectious diseases of fish. The book represents contributions by over 50 experts from 18 countries. Comprehensive and thought-provoking, the book details abiotic and biotic environmental changes in temperate and tropical freshwater ecosystems, sequestrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide and effects on infectious diseases (12 microbial and 10 parasitic) in economically important fish in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters. The text is key reading for fish disease scientists, aquatic ecologists, fish health consultants, veterinarians, policy makers and all who are interested in fish health and the environment.Table of ContentsPart I: FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOLOGICAL SEQUESTRATIONS OF ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE 1: Freshwater Ecosystems in North America with Reference to the Great Lakes Basin. By Derrick T. de Kerckhove and Cindy Chu 2: Tropical Freshwater Ecosystems, Biota and Anthropogenic Activities with Reference to South-East Asia. By Jia Huan Liew, Rayson Bock Hing Lim, Bi Wei Low, Maxine Allayne Darlene Mowe, Ting Hui Ng, Yiwen Zeng and Darren Chong Jinn Yeo 3: Biological Sequestrations of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide with Strategies to Enhance Storage of the Gas. By Namitha Nayak, Rajesh Mehrotra and Sandhya Mehrotra PART II: MICROBIAL DISEASES (VIRAL, BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL INFECTIONS) 4: Rhabdovirosis (Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus). By Carol A. Stepien, Douglas W. Leaman and Megan D. Niner 5: Nodavirosis (Striped Jack Nervous Necrosis Virus). By Sandra C. Zainathan and Nurshuhada Ariff 6: Aquatic Birnavirosis (Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus). By Carlos P. Dopazo 7: Herpesvirosis (Koi Herpesvirus). By Hatem Soliman and Mansour El-Matbouli 8: Orthomyxovirosis (Tilapia Lake Virus). By Win Surachetpong and Kwanrawee Sirikanchana 9: Iridovirosis. By Hsin-Yiu Chou, Hidehiro Kondo and Qi-Wei Qin 10: Vibriosis. By Carmen Amaro, Belén Fouz, Eva Sanjuán and Jesús L. Romalde 11: Aeromoniosis (Aeromonas salmonicida). By Margaret Crumlish and Brian Austin 12: Edwardsiellosis. By Matt J. Griffin, Esteban Soto and David J. Wise 13: Fish Mycobacteriosis. By Christopher M. Whipps, David T. Gauthier and Michael L. Kent 14: Piscirickettsiosis (Piscirickettsia salmonis). By Pedro A. Smith and Fernando O. Mardones 15: Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (Aphanomyces invadans). By Dibyendu Kamilya and Kollanoor Riji John PART III: PARASITIC DISEASES (PROTOZOAN AND METAZOAN INFECTIONS) 16: Amoebiosis (Neoparamoeba perurans). By Jadwiga Sokolowska and Barbara F. Nowak 17: Scuticociliatosis. By Jesús Lamas and José Manuel Leiro 18: Ichthyophthiriosis (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). By Louise von Gersdorff Jørgensen and Kurt Buchmann 19: Microsporidiosis (Loma salmonae). By David J. Speare 20: Myxoboliosis (Myxobolus cerebralis). By Julie D. Alexander and Jerri L. Bartholomew 21: Gyrodactylosis (Gyrodactylus salaris). By Tor Atle Mo 22: Eubothriosis. By Ken MacKenzie 23: Diplostomiasis (Diplostomum spathaceum and Related Species). By Anssi T. Karvonen and David J. Marcogliese 24: Anisakiosis (Anisakis simplex s.l.). By Arne Levsen, Paolo Cipriani, Miguel Bao, Lucilla Giulietti and Simonetta Mattiucci 25: Lepeophtheirosis (Lepeophtheirus salmonis). By Mark D. Fast and Sussie Dalvin

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Book SynopsisThe science on climate change has been clear for a very long time now. Yet despite decades of appeals, mass street protests, petition campaigns, and peaceful demonstrations, we are still facing a booming fossil fuel industry, rising seas, rising emission levels, and a rising temperature. With the stakes so high, why haven't we moved beyond peaceful protest? In this lyrical manifesto, noted climate scholar (and saboteur of SUV tires and coal mines) Andreas Malm makes an impassioned call for the climate movement to escalate its tactics in the face of ecological collapse. We need, he argues, to force fossil fuel extraction to stop--with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools. We need, in short, to start blowing up some oil pipelines. Offering a counter-history of how mass popular change has occurred, from the democratic revolutions overthrowing dictators to the movement against apartheid and for women's suffrage, Malm argues that the strategic acceptance of property destruction and violence has been the only route for revolutionary change. In a braided narrative that moves from the forests of Germany and the streets of London to the deserts of Iraq, Malm offers us an incisive discussion of the politics and ethics of pacifism and violence, democracy and social change, strategy and tactics, and a movement compelled by both the heart and the mind. Here is how we fight in a world on fire.Trade ReviewA powerful sketch of a political theory for a time of climate change. -- David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable EarthThe definitive deep history on how our economic system created the climate crisis. Superb, essential reading from one of the most original thinkers on the subject. -- Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock DoctrineThe best book written about the origins of global warming ... Like Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything, Fossil Capital trenchantly demonstrated that capitalism and capitalists are responsible for climate change. -- Michael Robbins * Bookforum *How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a challenge to the left, and an important one. -- John Foster * The Battleground *A short and gripping manifesto which aims to wrench the climate movement out of its complacency * Bright Green *Timely ... Malm delivers the essay in his usual lucid and fiery style * Ecologist *One of the most important things written about the climate crisis. -- Wen Stephenson * LARB *A profoundly necessary book -- Scott W. Stern * LARB *Advocates powerfully against despair and powerlessness. -- Tatiana Schlossberg * New York Times *Written passionately...Malm argues that it may be too late to avert climate crisis, but it is far from too late to ameliorate suffering. -- Sawarin Suwichakornpong * Bangkok Post *Malm offers a critical, passionate and hopeful assessment of where it might go next. Malm's refreshing humanist ethos combined with his Marxist radicalism make him one of the most exciting contemporary writers on the climate crisis, this forceful new entry into his repertoire is no exception, though perhaps a different beast from his more academic work. * Political Economy Research Centre *Refreshing and provoking * It's Freezing in LA *How to Blow Up a Pipeline makes a strong case for looking beyond non-violent activism * VICE *A humble and nuanced case... it's hard to read this book without daydreaming about sabotaging the private jets of the ultra-rich. -- Tim DeChristopher * Yes Magazine *While the book does not live up to its titular promise of providing instructions to detonate a pipeline, it does make an unflinching case for carrying out such activities in advanced capitalist countries. -- James Wilt * Canadian Dimension *Malm [has] captured the rising fury of climate activists -- Pilita Clark * Financial Times *Impossible to dismiss -- David Wallace-Wells * Times Literary Supplement *Malm is right. Shunning all violent acts will only prolong the worst. No new fossil fuel infrastructure can be created, and we need, as a society, to dismantle what we already have -- Devi Lockwood * VICE *By ruling out direct action, the climate movement robs itself, in Malm's view, of its only serious means of leverage. -- Adam Tooze * London Review of Books *Bracing * Financial Times *If you want to do something about the climate crisis instead of wallowing in despair, there's no better place to start than Andreas Malm's short treatise on the virtues of eco-sabotage. Provides a radical sort of hope. -- Abigail Weinberg * Mother Jones *Malm calls for the formation of a radical flank to the popular climate movement...[he] finds the peaceful discipline of the climate movement to be remarkable but stifling in its single mode of action, calling it gentle and mild in the extreme. -- James Mumm * Social Policy magazine *An impassioned argument for climate activists to move beyond non-violent protests...Even for those who disapprove of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, it is a useful guide to the noisiest climate activist voices. * Economist *A seductively well-written and well-researched book that argues climate activists should abandon their longstanding "commitment to absolute non-violence", and instead "escalate" their campaign by "physically attacking the things that consume our planet", such as fossil fuel infrastructure. -- Andy Beckett * Guardian *Dynamite -- David Hughes * Time Out *[A] persuasive and optimistic rebuttal of climate fatalism * Glasgow Guardian *A rousing case for property destruction as a tactic in the pursuit of climate justice. -- Simran Hans * Guardian *This is a book as weapon, a manifesto for forcing change framed by the legacy of the suffragettes' direct action, civil rights movement protests, anti-apartheid boycotts, national liberation armed striggles. * Philosophy Football *

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Book SynopsisA plethora of different theories, models, and concepts make up the field of community ecology. Amid this vast body of work, is it possible to build one general theory of ecological communities? What other scientific areas might serve as a guiding framework? As it turns out, the core focus of community ecologyunderstanding patterns of diversity and composition of biological variants across space and timeis shared by evolutionary biology and its very coherent conceptual framework, population genetics theory. The Theory of Ecological Communities takes this as a starting point to pull together community ecology''s various perspectives into a more unified whole.Mark Vellend builds a theory of ecological communities based on four overarching processes: selection among species, drift, dispersal, and speciation. These are analogues of the four central processes in population genetics theoryselection within species, drift, gene flow, and mutationand together they subsume almosTrade Review"In 1986, Thomas W. Schoener wrote a thought-provoking book chapter describing ecological communities along five organismal and five environmental axes. It was thought-provoking in the sense that Schoener attempted to unify community ecology using a minimal set of variables at a time when ecologists were doubtful of any unifying principle in community ecology. After three decades of Schoener's chapter, community ecologists are still divided about whether there could be a general theory of community. . . . Mark Vellend elegantly attempts to bridge this divide by introducing the theory of high-level processes in ecological communities in his Princeton Population Monograph entitled The Theory of Ecological Communities."---Madhav P. Thakur, Trends in Ecology and Evolution"Vellend (biology, Univ. de Sherbrooke, Canada) provides a useful historical account of the wide variety of methods used in the field to lay the foundation for his proposed resolution of the resulting ‘mess.' The book is well written, profusely referenced, and a worthy addition to the distinguished ‘Monographs in Population Biology’ series from Princeton University Press." * Choice *"Vellend does a tremendous job, and accomplishes for the field of community ecology what few have attempted, and even fewer, if any, have achieved. . . . With its overall plain language and clear prose, his book is excellent material for pre- and postgraduate students."---Lars Götzenberger and Jan Lepš, Conservation Biology"[Vellend] brings together diverse empirical and theoretical traditions in an unprecedented, engaging, and productive manner."---Max W. Dresow and Jake J. Grossman, Metascience"This is a very useful book for students and researchers."---Kevin S. McCann, Quarterly Review of Biology

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Book Synopsis''It''s important that everyone with an interest in fashion reads this book so we can live on a healthier planet'' Arizona Muse ''The most timely book you''ll read this year'' India Knight* * * * * Running out of space for the clothes you can''t stop buying? Curious about how you can make a difference to the environmental challenges our planet faces? Join Orsola''s care revolution and learn to make the clothes you love, last longer.This book will equip you with a myriad of ways to mend, rewear and breathe new life into your wardrobe to achieve a more sustainable lifestyle. By teaching you to scrutinise your shopping habits and make sustainable purchases, she will inspire you to buy better, care more and reduce your carbon footprint by simply making your loved clothes last longer.Following Orsola''s practical tips to lavish care and attention on the clothes you already own will not only have a positive environmental impact, but will be personally rewarding too: hand wash, steam and spot clean your clothes, air dry instead of tumble drying, or revive your clothes by sewing or crocheting.Fast fashion leaves behind a trail of human and environmental exploitation. Our wardrobes don''t have to be the finish line; they can be a starting point. We can all care, repair and rewear. Do you accept the challenge?* * * * *''An incredibly thoughtful, must-read guide'' Kenya Hunt''A must read for anyone who wants to understand the fashion industry as an outsider and wants direction as to where we go next'' Aja BarberTrade ReviewOrsola's writing is musical and I hear her song through every word. It's important that everyone with an interest in fashion reads this book so we can live on a healthier planet * Arizona Muse *An incredibly thoughtful, must-read guide to future-proofing our wardrobes and most importantly the planet [...] Loved Clothes Last will change the way you see your wardrobe and how our day to day actions impact the environment * Kenya Hunt, Fashion Director, Grazia UK *The most timely book you'll read this year. We all know that the people who make our clothes are mistreated and underpaid, and we all feel a free-floating anxiety about it. But what to do? This brilliant, witty, eye-opening book will tell you * India Knight *This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the fashion industry as an outsider and wants direction as to where we go next. The industry is often shrouded in mystery and this book breaks it down in bite size pieces * Aja Barber, writer, activist and fashion consultant *An indispensable guide to the ethical and sustainable fashion resistance, from the woman who helped launch it into the stratosphere * Elizabeth L. Cline *Loved Clothes Last walks the small steps we can take to stop participating in this throw away culture. She talks of clothes as our "chosen skin" [...] With a needle we sew and repair clothes, but also the tears and ruptures in our relationship with nature and society. Read her book to bring love and beauty, uniqueness and permanence back in your life * Dr Vandana Shiva, scholar, author, environmental activist, and food sovereignty advocate *Congrats Orsola on crafting such a complex far reaching and urgent global issue into a helpful inspiring book with simple steps that we can all commit too and benefit from straight away * Melissa Hemsley, author and columnist for British Vogue *This book is the culmination of Orsola's lifetime of experience as a clothes healer, a mender, a designer, a radical thinker and a constant source of inspiration. She is a true pioneer, the Queen of Upcycling, an unending source of brilliant advice and truly creative ideas that will literally turn the way you think about fashion and your relationship with your clothes upside down * Tamsin Blanchard, Fashion Journalist and author *Loved Clothes Last serves as a wonderful antithesis to the idea that fashion is inherently bad. Showing us the problems that we are facing, however, showing us even more solutions and ways to individually, and collectively, make a change * Wilson Oryema, artist and writer *Always a fan of Orsola, her thinking & doing. You'll not want to put her new book down! * Safia Minney, MBE, Founder People Tree, Author & Climate Activist *A high energy book which brings powerful ideas of change to a new audience * Professor Kate Fletcher, Centre for Sustainable Fashion, University of the Arts London *This is such a progressive step for humanity! Orsola makes changing our consumption habits and saving our planet a fun and doable practice. With all the glaringly obvious facts, how can we not take part in the fashion revolution? Yes to mending, repairing and rewearing! * Samantha Moyo, ‘Extinction Rebellion Together’ Diversity Coordinator *A helpful inspiring book with simple steps that we can all commit too and benefit from straight away * Melissa Hemsley, author and columnist for British Vogue *I'm a huge admirer of Orsola and her work. I love this book's mindful approach to looking after our clothes, giving us the tools to love them for longer and show respect to the people who made them * Venetia La Manna 'Slow fashion campaigner, broadcaster and co-founder of Remember Who Made Them' *Hands down Academic Couture. Loved Clothes Last is a beautifully constructed and eloquently written masterpiece. Orsola weaves the importance of the cultural influence of the fashion industry, how it's destroyed us and how it can save us with the economic and environmental impact on people and planet, the beauty of buttons and how to darn a sock, she successfully interlaces "why we wear" with "why we should care * Patrick Duffy *Orsola represents both radical grace and graceful radicalness. This book is a super inspiring how to guide for all of us that want to emulate her * Alice Jay, activist and conservationist *

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Book SynopsisA manifesto?and a field guide?for a new dawn of natural history, practiced by community scientists in their own urban jungle.Imagine taking your smartphone-turned-microscope to an empty lot and discovering a rare mason bee that builds its nest in empty snail shells. Or a miniature spider that hunts ants and carries their corpses around. With a team of citizen scientists, that?s exactly what Menno Schilthuizen did?one instance in the evolutionary biologist?s campaign to take natural science to the urban landscape where most of us live today. In this delightful book, The Urban Naturalist, Schilthuizen invites us to join him, to embark on a new age of discovery, venturing out as intrepid explorers of our own urban habitat?and maybe in the process do the natural world some good.Thanks to the open science revolution, real biological discoveries can now be made by anyone right where they live. Schilthuizen shows readers just how to go about making those discoveries, introducing them to the tools of the trade of the urban community scientist, from the tried and tested (the field notebook, the butterfly net, and the hand lens) to the newfangled (internet resources, low-tech gadgets, and off-the-shelf gizmos). But beyond technology, his book holds the promise of reviving the lost tradition of the citizen scientist?rekindling the spirit of the Victorian naturalist for the modern world.At a time when the only nature most people get to see is urban, The Urban Naturalist demonstrates that understanding the novel ecosystems around us is our best hope for appreciating and protecting biodiversity.

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Book SynopsisA global energy revolution is unfolding before our eyes: ever-growing numbers of electric vehicles on our roads, laptops that last all day on a single charge and solar panels on our roofs, all reliant on lithium-ion batteries. This revolution is happening at breath-taking speed, with the potential to completely transform key industries and the way we live. For the first time in history, we can now actually store this green energy we talk so much about. Often referred to as the new oil', lithium allows large amounts of energy to be squeezed into a very small space. Demand is soaring, and the lithium business is full of drama: bitter rivalries, shady deals and exceptionally talented visionaries such as Elon Musk, who is building lithium battery giga-factories across the world. This book travels from the salt lakes of the Tibetan plateau, where Chinese governmentlinked companies extract lithium, to Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, which hold the world's biggest resources of the mineral. It r

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Book SynopsisThe block is no more than the land and building area defined by streets. It is the nature of the interface between the two, which has a critical impact on the quality of the spaces between those buildings. The importance of the block to city life is well rehearsed, and in any case, we seldom find ourselves in the business of making cities from scratch. But we are in the business of making new houses, neighbourhoods and new local centres, and we need lots of them: 250,000 a year to be imprecise. Against the background of a burgeoning housing shortage in the UK, there are varied issues to be reconciled. The Urban Block charts the fall and rise of the perimeter block as the staple of urban form and structure from ancient times. It takes you through the process of understanding, defining, structuring and designing the block. Carefully selected urban and suburban case examples explain “do's and don'ts” of good block layout and will help you to produce better masterplans, while staying in touch with commercial realities. This is an essential guide for urban designers, masterplanners and architects that will allow you to produce quality streetscapes in a contemporary context.Table of Contents0. Introducing the Block 1. Understanding the Block 2. Defining the Block 3. Designing the Block 4. Block by Example

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Book SynopsisThe environmental crisis under way is unique in human history. It is a true existential crisis. Those alive today will decide the fate of humanity. Meanwhile, the leaders of the most powerful state in human history are dedicating themselves with passion to destroying the prospects for organized human life. At the same time, there is a solution at hand, which is the Green New Deal. Putting meat on the bones of the Green New Deal starts with a single simple idea: we have to absolutely stop burning fossil fuels to produce energy within the next 30 years at most; and we have to do this in a way that also supports rising living standards and expanding opportunities for working people and the poor throughout the world. This version of a Green New Deal program is, in fact, entirely realistic in terms of its purely economic and technical features. The real question is whether it is politically feasible. Chomsky and Pollin examine how we can build the political force to make a global Green New Deal a reality.Trade ReviewThis little book contains a big idea: climate stabilisation that avoids the collapse of organised social life can be achieved, along with more decent jobs, improved living standards and reduced poverty everywhere in the world. Two eminent thinkers present a convincing case for a realistic, feasible Global Green New Deal. * Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi *The project that is the Green New Deal is enriched by the insights of two great minds: those of Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin. Both understand that the GND will fail if it does not protect the jobs and livelihoods of the working class. They explain how a transformation needed to restore the ecosystem can, and will transform the organisations and lives of working people worldwide - for the better. * Ann Pettifor, author of The Case for The Green New Deal *This book is a survival manual for civilization. I want everyone--yes, every person on the planet--to learn its message and to face the challenge it poses: "What am I doing to help bring about a global Green New Deal in the early years of this decade?" For Americans, the first steps are clear: consign all climate deniers to permanent political oblivion and force all other policymakers to match fine words with deeds - i.e.commit to the Pollin-Chomsky global program for climate stabilization, a massive expansion of good jobs, and just transition. -- Daniel Ellsberg, author of The Doomsday MachineBrisk and lucid. -- Lit Hub ("Most Anticipated Books of 2020") * John Freeman *In this compelling read, linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky and progressive economist Robert Pollin present a convincing case for a realistic, feasible Global Green New Deal. * Dazed *A thought-provoking and succinct manifesto. -- Russell Whitehouse * International Policy Digest *[Chomsky and Pollin] argue it is possible to tackle climate collapse over the next 30 years ... A capitalist system that fails to respond does not deserve to survive. * Irish Times *Emphasises the crisis our planet faces but also says 'there is a solution at hand'. * Irish Examiner *

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Book SynopsisWINNER: 2018 Les Plumes des Achats & Supply Chain - The Committee Special Prize As we learn more about the climate and biodiversity crisis, it is clear that how we make and consume things is a major part of the problem. Extraction and processing of materials, fuels and food makes up about half of global greenhouse gas emissions and over 90% of biodiversity loss and water stress. Many modern businesses deplete resources, destroy ecosystems and dump waste and pollution at every stage - harming human health along the way. Governments, businesses and think-tanks see the circular economy as the way forward. Now in its second edition, A Circular Economy Handbook is a guided tour through the concepts and the practicalities. A unique framework systematically explores the range of circular interventions, including product and supply chain design, material choice and supporting business models. How does it really work for business? What circular approaches are emerging in food, fashion, consumer technology, packaging and other sectors? How do these reduce risk, improve resilience and build profitable, future-fit organizations? With over 300 real examples from around the world, this is a must-read for businesses, students and policymakers. This new edition has been extensively updated to include the latest trends, thinking, research and solutions, with a new chapter on packaging and 30 new company snapshots.Trade Review"As the world adopts strategies to address the stress that the planet is under, more organizations are realizing that their knowledge and skills need updating and developing. A key aspect of this new sustainable approach is understanding where stuff comes from, how a business uses it and what happens to stuff after its first life. This is where the circular economy comes in and this book provides a range of knowledge inputs, across a number of key sectors and uses business examples which allow any organization to develop new pathways forwards." * Dr. David Peck, Associate Professor, Circular Built Environment and Critical Materials, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), The Netherlands *"This is a book for everyone in business, or who wants to shape the future of business. The circular economy is the best toolkit we have for future sustainable business and this book leads you through what it is and why so many businesses and governments are getting on board." * Tom Szaky, Founder & CEO, TerraCycle *"A very good guide, avoiding jargon and bringing concepts to life with clear explanations and concrete examples. It covers everything you need to know about 'going circular' but also goes further, reviewing criticisms and setting the bar higher." * Stephan Sicars, Managing Director, Directorate of Environment and Energy, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) *"Catherine provides rich insight into the business opportunity of the circular economy. The Circular Economy Handbook covers various company cases and frameworks which are of great practical value to those looking for inspiration. It is a great resource for organisations aiming to close the 'idea-action gap' to accelerate the transition towards a circular economy!" * Dr Nancy Bocken, Professor in Sustainable Business, Maastricht Sustainability Institute, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University *"When considering the change of gear from a linear to a circular economy, and the need to accelerate this transition, then this handbook delivers on all levels. A well-versed specialist, Catherine describes the themes, measurements and outcomes in a non-technical manner shining a light and giving practical guidance to implementing this change." * Steve Haskew, Strategic Sustainability Executive, Circular Computing *"Every business leader and University should include this book in their programme for the next generation of aspiring professionals. In this latest edition, Catherine provides even more case studies in the constantly evolving landscape of circular economy developments around the world. A clear and comprehensive 'must-read' for any seasoned or aspiring circular economy or supply chain professional. From electronics to food to fashion, Catherine has considered a wide range of how CE frameworks have been engaged across sectors so in whatever industry your organisation resides, there are key takeaways and learnings to help any business transition towards a more circular world. Highly recommended!" * Noreen Kam, Founder & CEO, LUP Global *"The circular economy is smart, strategic thinking for profitable and purpose-led business. This book presents a catalogue of practical frameworks and inspiring examples for organizations of all sizes and shapes, in every sector, around the world." * Anna Tari, Founder, Circular Economy Club (CEC) *"Ensuring that the transition to a new economic model takes place under the best possible conditions is no easy task. Thanks to Catherine Weetman and her contributors, this book once again solidifies the foundations and reinforces the credibility of a circular economy helping us to move towards this paradigm shift that we all wish for. This is now your tool to change everything for the better. Use and reuse it, then pass on to others!" * Alexandre Lemille, The Circular Humansphere *"A perfect mix of theory and practical arguments to convince the reader that our future is circular. We must think differently, create new business rules, values and attitudes. With an outstanding compilation of cases, Catherine demonstrates how to find the right balance between growth, competitive advantage and value creation for all. Essential reading for political and businesses leaders, in countries like Brazil, that seek knowledge and inspiration to accelerate the transition." * Beatriz Luz, Founder of Exchange 4 Change Brasil, NEC and Visiting Professor at FIA *"I truly believe that awakening a taste for change - and making it happen - requires a good understanding of the circular economy while being already immersed in its practicality. It is precisely what this unique handbook does, thanks to its collection of content, its structure, and its perspective. Indeed, it provides a wealth of information gathered in one place: a straightforward way to learn fast and get inspired for your circular initiatives. It demonstrates many existing cases and strategies you might apply. You can peruse it in one go, choose a piece of a chapter that applies to your case or read it back and forth. The icing on the cake for this second version? The added chapter about packaging gives an easy-to-follow overview of this complex problem! Expert without falling into jargon, Catherine Weetman makes the Circular Economy attractive to anyone!" * Colienne Regout, CEO, Look4Loops, Canada *"Making the shift towards a circular economy model can be a huge challenge. Catherine's book is useful to what's needed most in this day and age: getting into action and shifting the existing paradigm. The book offers a range of insights and tools to help you make that shift, and deliver value along the way. Have fun, use it and join, please, our global community of change makers." * Harald Friedl, Global Advisor, Systems Change and Circular Economy *Table of Contents Chapter - 00: Introduction; Section - ONE: An overview of the circular economy; Chapter - 01: The circular economy; Chapter - 02: The design and supply chain; Chapter - 03: Circular business models; Chapter - 04: Enablers and accelerators; Section - TWO: How are businesses adopting circular economy models?; Chapter - 05: Drivers for change; Chapter - 06: Food and agriculture; Chapter - 07: Fashion and textiles; Chapter - 08: Consumer electricals and electronics; Chapter - 09: Industrial manufacturing; Chapter - 10: Packaging and plastics; Section - THREE: What does this mean for supply chains?; Chapter - 11: Supply chain strategy and planning; Chapter - 12: Supply chain operations: Sourcing and procurement, manufacturing, distribution and reverse logistics; Section - FOUR: Implementation; Chapter - 13: Making the business case and starting the journey; Chapter - 14: Glossary; Chapter - 15: Index

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Book SynopsisArborist William Bryant Logan recovers the lost tradition that sustained human life and culture for ten millennia.Trade Review"William Bryant Logan’s vision of a world in which humans and trees work together to mutual benefit—a world that has existed in the past and can exist again in the future—is cause for deep joy, for celebration and hope." -- Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees"... this vividly insightful exploration of tree regeneration." -- Nature

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