Home & Garden Books

Book SynopsisMillions of baby boomers are approaching the golden years. While it's a marker worth celebrating, it can also be a reminder of uncertain times ahead. How will I manage? Can I stay in my home? "The Accessible Home" goes beyond ramps and grab-bars to help ageing boomers, or those faced with disabilities, accomplish home accessibility on a deeper level. With a focus on closing the gap between home and homeowner, architect Deborah Pierce leads readers through the steps of universal design, from hiring the right architect to creating a pleasing space with the final details. Plus, an insider's look at 25 case studies shows that the best design is built in, not tacked on, and that accessible can be both beautiful and functional. "The Accessible Home" empowers people of all ages and challenges them to create homes that restore independence and the grace of daily living.

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Book SynopsisBest-selling wedding author, Diane Warner, has consolidated four of her most popular wedding books into one dynamic collection. This all-inclusive omnibus - featuring tender new vows, ever-more creative toasts and unique ways to personalise your wedding, whatever its size - is the only book any bride and groom will ever need. In addition to the more traditional celebrations, this collection, also, contains up-to-date information on the latest trends, from entirely new chapters on "special blessings," such as handfasting and unity candles, to creative but affordable destination weddings. Brides have always loved Diane''s wedding books because the end result is a trouble-free, perfect wedding day. DIANE WARNER''S COMPLETE GUIDE TO A TRADITIONAL WEDDING makes planning every aspect of the perfect wedding easier than ever.

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Book SynopsisThis authoritative collector's book is the largest collection of Chinese weaving and embroider patterns available.For more than twenty-five hundred years the patterns of Chinese silk textiles captured the imaginations of their beholders. The woven and embroidered designs catalogued in Exquisite Fabrics, a survey by Gao Chunming, combine consummate mechanical and technical skill with an aesthetic vision driven by the need to communicate the most important message of Chinese culture. This Chinese art book is a compilation of over one thousand Chinese traditional designs found in weaving and embroidery. Known as zhiwen or wen in ancient China, these traditional patterns are the products of brilliant artistic skills that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Available in a gorgeous slipcase, this book presents a wide and comprehensive range of classical design motifs that include: dragons phoenix birds auspicious animals floral patterns insects and fish figures religious allegorical Table of ContentsContents: Volume I: Monographs 1.The Development of Weaving and Embroidery Technology 2.The Formal Elements of Traditional Patterns 3.Weaving and Embroidery Patterns through the Ages Volume II: Album of Patterns Dragon and Python Pattern Phoenix Patterns Rare Bird Patterns Auspicious Animal Patterns Flower Patterns Insect and Fish Patterns Figure Patterns Religious Patterns Geometric Patterns Allegorical Patterns

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Book SynopsisThe painting Qingming Shang He Tu (Scenes along the River during the Qingming Festival),an over 16-foot panorama running from right to left, is considered to be one of the most brilliant works in Chinese art history. It is a masterpiece of realism, recording the pulse of a thriving, historical town and showing extraordinary detail.

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Book SynopsisWith hundreds of color photographs and illustrations, this Chinese gardening book is a wonderful introduction to penjing—China's treasured bonsai art.Although most people thing bonsai is a Japanese invention, the art originated in ancient China where it is called penjing. The two Chinese characters for penjing ("pot" and "landscape") capture the essence of this art: sculpting microcosms of the beauty of the natural world from plants, rocks, soil, and water, both as an artistic process and as horticultural cultivation. Both penjing and bonsai are art forms that express the beauty of nature. In China, bonsai, as a part of penjing, is often called "tree penjing," or "tree in a pot." The Chinese divide penjing into three categories: tree penjing, rock penjing, and water-and-land penjing. This Chinese gardening book showcases the Chinese art of penjing in all its aspects for the benefit of penjing aficionados and all other readers interested in Chinese culture. It covers the concept, history, categories, aesthetic features, techniques, display, appreciation, and preservation of penjing. It is a feast for the eyes while providing a wealth of information for the academically inclined as well as the practically minded. There are more than 300 lavish illustrations grouped into three different categories of penjing. The reader will not only be awed by the beautiful compositions of penjing, but will also learn about the Chinese approach to nature and to life.

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Book SynopsisThe Splendid Chinese Garden is an illustrated guide to the classic gardens of China.It explains the history of the garden, the traditions and beliefs they represent, their aesthetic and the techniques used to create them. Also included are chapters that survey the great gardens of China, the gardens tourists love to visit and gardeners dream of seeing and exploring. Chinese Gardens in the South of the Yangtze River: Ge Garden (Yangzhou) He Yuan, also known as Jixiao Shan Zhuang (Yangzhou) Zhan Garden (Nanjing) Jichang Garden (Wuxi) Humble Administrator's Garden (Suzhou) Lingering Garden (Suzhou) Master of the Nets Garden (Suzhou) Lion Grove Garden (Suzhou) Chinese Gardens in the North of the Yangtze River: Yihe Garden or the Summer Palace (Beijing) Beihai Park (Beijing) Jingyi Garden in Xiangshan Mountain (Beijing) Imperial Garden, Palace Museum (Beijing) The Back Garden of the Prince Gong Mansion (Beijing)

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of Chinese art and culture, Bamboo in China shines a light on this relatively unknown craft.The noted British scholar Joseph Needham concluded from his thorough study of the history of Chinese science and technology that the "East Asian civilization is none other than a bamboo civilization" and China is just the cradle of that bamboo civilization. Since bamboo has been used for thousands of years in China and in many aspects of daily life, it became an influential part of the Chinese culture. With the tributes to bamboo and the extolling of its strengths, it was further blended into China's Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist thinking to give birth to a cultural phenomenon uniquely Chinese that has since spread far and wide. This beautifully illustrated book presents a vivid history of bamboo in China: The uses of bamboo in daily life, production, musical instruments, transportation, architecture and landscaping, hydraulic engineering and the military Traditional treatments of bamboo by Chinese artisans, including two main artistic processing techniques. Bamboo wares with a unique Chinese flavor such as fans, oilpaper umbrellas, and mats and curtains

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Book Synopsis"Real Simple Solutions" resolves life's little complexities - and allays the stress that accompanies them. The book is full of ideas that are smart, surprising, and easy to do - and that, perhaps best of all, cost little or no money. Readers are guaranteed timeless, rock-solid information and advice, whether it's step-by-step directions for hand-washing delicates, a soup-to-nuts list of pantry essentials, or new uses for household items. Inspired by the magazine's perennially popular Simple Solutions section, the book logically organizes ideas by activity and presents each chapter in a consistent. clear, and artful fashion. Page after page, "Real Simple Solutions" features: quick, low-cost ways to elevate the ordinary or unexpected, from dinnertime meals to bedroom decor; new uses for everyday items, such as emery boards, baking soda, and old beach towels; and, simple instructions for doing common - but often difficult tasks, like painting a room or carving a turkey.

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Book SynopsisBooks on container gardening have been wildly popular with urban and suburban readers, but until now, there has been no comprehensive "how-to" guide for growing fresh food in the absence of open land. Fresh Food from Small Spaces fills the gap as a practical, comprehensive, and downright fun guide to growing food in small spaces. It provides readers with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce their own fresh vegetables, mushrooms, sprouts, and fermented foods as well as to raise bees and chickens—all without reliance on energy-intensive systems like indoor lighting and hydroponics. Readers will learn how to transform their balconies and windowsills into productive vegetable gardens, their countertops and storage lockers into commercial-quality sprout and mushroom farms, and their outside nooks and crannies into whatever they can imagine, including sustainable nurseries for honeybees and chickens. Free space for the city gardener might be no more than a cramped patio, balcony, rooftop, windowsill, hanging rafter, dark cabinet, garage, or storage area, but no space is too small or too dark to raise food. With this book as a guide, people living in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, and single-family homes will be able to grow up to 20 percent of their own fresh food using a combination of traditional gardening methods and space-saving techniques such as reflected lighting and container "terracing." Those with access to yards can produce even more. Author R. J. Ruppenthal worked on an organic vegetable farm in his youth, but his expertise in urban and indoor gardening has been hard-won through years of trial-and-error experience. In the small city homes where he has lived, often with no more than a balcony, windowsill, and countertop for gardening, Ruppenthal and his family have been able to eat at least some homegrown food 365 days per year. In an era of declining resources and environmental disruption, Ruppenthal shows that even urban dwellers can contribute to a rebirth of local, fresh foods.Trade ReviewLibrary Journal- Many gardening books describe ample land and space as being a prerequisite for growing flowers, plants, and food. And the ever popular container gardening books, generally written for those with little land or space in which to garden, do not always cover the question of raising fresh food that way. Ruppenthal, a business professor and lifelong trial-and-error gardener, here fills a gap in gardening literature and helps readers discover techniques for sustainable food production--even on a small scale--by using every square inch of space that is available to them. His book walks gardeners through assessing their available space and its lighting, deciding what to grow in the spaces they have, and buying (or building) vegetable garden containers. Using his techniques, gardeners will learn to grow herbs, vegetables, fruit, grains, and mushrooms, as well as raise chickens and honeybees and produce fermented foods such as yogurt. It may be nearly impossible to live completely off the grid in an urban environment, but through practice, patience, and creativity, it is possible to establish such a productive urban garden that you can eat some homegrown, fresh food every day of the year. Highly recommended for public libraries, special and academic libraries with strong agricultural collections, and all those who are serious about producing food and creating a more sustainable lifestyle. "Unfortunately, many urban-dwellers avoid gardening due to a perceived lack of space. Ruppenthal explodes these barriers by showing us in cogent hands-on detail how to cultivate meaningful quantities of healthful food from the air, sun, water, and earth available to us in our own spaces, no matter how small."--Stephen & Rebekah Hren, authors of The Carbon-Free Home"Fresh Food From Small Spaces is a passionate manifesto as well as a practical primer for urban food production. It presents clear information, innovative strategies, and enthusiastic encouragement that will motivate, inspire, and empower city dwellers seeking to grow food and build greater sustainability into their lives."--Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved "While the information in this book will benefit all those seeking to grow and prepare their own food at home, it is especially informative for people with only limited space. Ruppenthal covers every food I ever heard of and a whole bunch I never heard of, like water kimchi (!) that can be grown indoors or outdoors where there is not enough room for a regular garden. This is the perfect answer to the question many people are asking me: How can I take charge of my own life now that food prices are soaring when I hardly have space for a container-grown tomato or two? Reading Ruppenthal, I get a distinct feeling that one can grow enough food to survive on down in the cellar and out on the porch.."--Gene Logsdon, author of The Contrary Farmer and Living at Nature's Pace: Farming and the American Dream "Every generation there is a move back to growing food close to home for various reasons: victory gardens, back-to-the-land gardens and community gardens come to mind. Now, as oil prices permanently increase, we have 'post-petroleum gardens' and Fresh Food From Small Spaces is a timely guide for a highly productive home food system, full of new and proven sustainable ways to grow and process your favorite foods in the smallest of space."--Will Raap, Founder, Gardener's Supply Company "This is one of the most important gardening books in years. Ruppenthal is ahead of the curve, promoting sustainability and even self-sufficiency in the burgeoning urban environment. His holistic approach to nutrition, conservation, recycling/repurposing, and composting will help redefine urban gardening. Fresh Food From Small Spaces is loaded with great ideas for urban gardeners. Ruppenthal gives great tips and background info to get beginners started. Yet, the diagrams, charts, and plant lists make it a satisfactory and intriguing reference even for experienced gardeners."Besides being a timely, progressive, intelligent reference, Fresh Food From Small Spaces is a great story and comfortable read. I enjoyed following Ruppenthal's personal struggles and ordeals. This is a fun, informative book."Ruppenthal has seen the future of city gardening and I like it! Fresh herbs on every windowsill. Pole beans on every balcony. Beehives with honey on every rooftop. And tasty shitakes in every garage."--William Moss, "Moss in the City" columnist at the National Gardening Association's Garden.org "Fresh Food from Small Spaces is a helpful guide to the range of food production strategies for urban spaces. A great resource for urban dwellers, enabling even those in basement apartments to produce copious food through sprouting and mushroom production. I particularly appreciated Ruppenthal's first-hand experience in building low-cost self-watering planters."--Eric Toensmeier, author of Perennial Vegetables and co-author of Edible Forest GardensTable of Contents1. Creating a food system for your space 2. Deciding what to grow in your garden space 3. How to buy or build productive vegetable containers 4. Using vertical space and reflected light 5. Starting transplants and cycling your crops 6. Growing fruit and berries in your spare space 7. Sprouting grains, beans, wheatgrass, and salad sprouts 8. Making yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods 9. Cultivating mushrooms 10. Raising chickens and honeybees in the city 11. Making compost and partnering with worms 12. Survival during resource shortages 13. Helping to build a sustainable future

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Book SynopsisThe Tao of Vegetable Gardening explores the practical methods as well as the deeper essence of gardening. In her latest book, groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables—tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens—and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that gardeners need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop. Deppe’s work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-year-old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu and the most translated book in the world after the Bible. The Tao of Vegetable Gardening is organized into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-Knowing. Yet the book also offers a wealth of specific and valuable garden advice on topics as diverse as: • The Eat-All Greens Garden, a labor- and space-efficient way to provide all the greens a family can eat, freeze, and dry—all on a tiny piece of land suitable for small-scale and urban gardeners. • The growing problem of late blight and the future of heirloom tomatoes—and what gardeners can do to avoid problems, and even create new resistant varieties. • Establishing a Do-It-Yourself Seed Bank, including information on preparing seeds for long-term storage and how to “dehybridize” hybrids. • Twenty-four good places to not plant a tree, and thirty-seven good reasons for not planting various vegetables. Designed for gardeners of all levels, from beginners to experienced growers, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening provides a unique frame of reference: a window to the world of nature, in the garden and in ourselves.Trade ReviewPublishers Weekly- "This thoughtful book is a guide for growing tomatoes, squash, and greens, but its most significant contribution is Deppe’s approach to gardening. She encourages the gardener to cultivate an intuitive relationship with plants and almost a sixth sense about when to actively work in the garden, and when to stand back and let the plants do the growing they need to do. She calls it the Tao of gardening, a form of 'non-doing' or 'doing that which gives maximum effect for the minimum effort,' so that unnecessary action has been eliminated. It is about balance: not watering too much, not fertilizing too much. She further enjoins the gardener to create a relationship with the garden, knowing what needs tending what needs to be left alone. The advice for raising tomatoes and greens will benefit the gardener, but the magic of the book is the way it teaches the gardener how to grow with the garden.”“With the insight of a skilled breeder Carol Deppe has drawn together the best of ancient wisdom and traditional crops. Gardeners rejoice! The past has never promised us a better future than in these pages.”--Roger B. Swain, host of PBS’s “The Victory Garden”"In The Tao of Vegetable Gardening Carol Deppe uses Taoist philosophical concepts to communicate gardening wisdom learned through longtime practice and experimentation. She seemlessly integrates excellent how-to advice with her reflections on cultivation, plants, soil, the elements, and life. This book is as profound as it is practical, and will be a great source of information and inspiration for both experienced gardeners and those just starting out."--Sandor Ellix Katz, author, The Art of Fermentation“There are many knowledgeable gardeners but very few wise ones. Carol Deppe is both. Her excellent new book, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening, serves up generous portions of homegrown know-how gleaned from three decades worth of experimentation. It will, no doubt, make you a better gardener. What sets this book apart, though, is its potential for making us into happier gardeners by sharing the deeper life lessons our gardens have to teach. The Chinese word tao can be defined in different ways but my favorite is "path," and Carol Deppe shows us that the timeless path to health, happiness and wholeness cuts right through our own backyard, if we choose to take it.”--Roger Doiron, Founding Director, Kitchen Gardeners International “Why do different ripe tomatoes harvested from the same plant in the same season taste different? What does bean seed color have to do with vigor and flavor? After nearly forty years in the seed business, I still learn amazing things from each new book by Carol Deppe. The Tao of Vegetable Gardening melds the observational skills and curiosity of a molecular geneticist with the sheer joy and inner harmonies of a practicing participant in the garden's dance of life.”--CR Lawn, founder, Fedco Seeds“The Tao of Vegetable Gardening is another absolutely brilliant book from Carol Deppe. It’s smart, ultimately sensible, refreshing in the way old assumptions get questioned, vastly informative about gardening—plus it’s a really good read. I mean, how many gardening books make you laugh out loud and get you to pick up the phone and order a tool from a place called Red Pig? I’m so grateful for this book—I will have it memorized by the time the soil is ready to work.”--Deborah Madison, author, Vegetable Literacy “If you want to read the complete, deepest-down lowdown on how to grow organic vegetables successfully, this is the book. It also stands as a guide to the most genuine, independent lifestyle possible, relying only on nature and the author's awesomely detailed knowledge of plant life to achieve successful food production and a contented way of life. The reader learns not only how to grow and cook vegetables, but how to breed new varieties and save the seed. And while you read her book, you are also charmed with the Tao philosophy of living--something I have come to believe is a sure path to tranquility.”--Gene Logsdon, author, Gene Everlasting and The Contrary FarmerBooklist- "Biologist and plant breeder Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, 2010) shares principles and practices that will 'allow a gardener to do nothing whatsoever after sowing the seed until it is time to come back and harvest.' Such wonderful pragmatism does not mean that this is a cut-and-dried how-to. Far from it. Deppe is lively, thoroughly engaged, and cheerfully direct, and her use of the tao is no gimmick. She infuses her in-depth, hands-on guide to growing, harvesting, preparing, and eating the most popular and nutritional vegetables with pithy and resonant philosophical observations, including such aphorisms as these, which preface the weeding section: 'Deal with the small before it is large. Deal with the few before they are many.' Age-old wisdom graces comprehensive, clear, and timely instructions on every aspect of vegetable cultivation and enjoyment, including Deppe’s guidance in avoiding late blight, the disease now threatening heirloom tomatoes, and her 'eat-all greens' strategy for growing succulent kale, mustard, and other leafy greens. Whether writing about squash or serenity, Deppe is pleasurable and enlightening company, and this is a vegetable gardener’s treasury.”

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Book SynopsisCivilization is facing global threats like never before. Climate instability. Food insecurity. The endangered family farm. Water pollution and scarcity. Mass extinction. Converting agricultural land into more secure, climate-stabilizing, water-filtering, wildlife-harboring farms would be positively transformative. Luckily, there is a way, currently under development, to do just this in many temperate climates: hybrid hazelnuts. Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts is the first comprehensive guide for farmers interested in how to get started growing hybrid hazelnuts, a crop designed from the very outset to address a host of problems with conventional modern agriculture. Once hybrid hazelnuts are established, no plowing, or even cultivation, is necessary. Dramatically improved infiltration rates prevent water from running off of fields, regardless of soil type. The crop’s extensive, permanent root systems—at work 365 days a year—mean that tilling should not be necessary in moderately wet soils, and that no fertilizer can escape into groundwater. No soil is lost to wind or rain; in fact, this crop builds soil, and wildlife finds cover and food in hazelnuts all year. Economically speaking, hazelnuts have a large, existing, and unsatisfied world market, not to mention their processing potential is even greater than soybeans. They are, without a doubt, the ecological crop of the future. This book covers everything you need to know about NeoHybrid hazels, the new biological entity developed by the authors, including: • The source of the species and the making of an artificial, directed hybrid swarm; • The historical use of hazels as a staple food in Europe and Asia; • The nutrient composition of the crop; • The benefits of woody agriculture and the superior productivity of these hazels; • Site requirements: slope, soils, soil tests; • Planting and the establishment period; • Managing the productive plantation, including maintaining biodiversity; • When to harvest, and harvesting options (hand or machine); • Processing, from harvest to market: drying, husking, cleaning, sizing, cleaning, roasting; • Value-added options (oil, meal, nut butters); • Co-products and their values (wood, shells, husks, sub food-grade nuts, biodiesel); • The state of the world hazel market, and more The first and only guide of its kind, Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts will appeal to small-scale and commercial farmers, both those already familiar with concepts of perennial agriculture and those interested in converting from conventional practices. Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts is a landmark book for the farming movement, offering a practical road to a hopeful future where crops build soil and the earth is regenerated, at the same time reaping profits for the farmer.Trade ReviewBooklist- "In Western industrial nations, hazelnuts offer a familiar flavoring to confections such as pralines and popular aromatic coffees. If the authors of this distinctive horticultural guide have their way, however, hazelnuts will also be bred to resist the ravages of climate change and outstrip soybeans as a high demand, optimally sustainable crop worldwide. Developed and grown at the Badgersett Research Farm in Minnesota, where Rutter is the CEO, the hybrid plants recommended here are compact, densely yielding shrubs that require little cultivation, efficiently soak up water, and actually reverse soil erosion. Amazingly versatile, the hazelnut and its coproducts, including husks and shells, can be used not only for food but also for fuel and construction. Along with abundant photographs and useful charts, Rutter and his coauthors provide a wealth of information on growing-site requirements and management of a productive plantation, along with invaluable marketing tips. Their guide is a godsend for agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers desperate for newer, financially lucrative crops to replace those that have been, or may soon be, compromised by climate change.”"Anyone ready to innovate outside the box will be blown away by the vision and practical insights demonstrated in Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts. The eclectic blend of science and practical how-to information packed into this fascinating, readable book is enough to inspire a whole new generation of farmers. Turning soybean fields into hazelnut plantations is truly a vision for the stout-hearted pioneer futuristic farmer. Sign me up."--Joel Salatin, farmer and author"A more resilient future requires diverse and hardy food-bearing crops. Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts is an encyclopedia of the 'how-to' and 'why-for' of breeding, growing, harvesting and marketing this unique and important crop. We just planted 300 hazelnuts last year!”--Nathan John Hagens, Editor, TheOilDrum; President, Bottleneck Foundation"If you are dissatisfied with the current state of the annual based agriculture system currently dominated by corn and soy, then here is an alternative. This book is an action plan building off of Phil Rutter’s thirty years of experience, where you can become part of the actual on-the-ground change towards building a perennial woody system that conserves resources while providing for human needs."--Diego Footer, Founder of Permaculture Voices"This book is not only a testament to 40 years of dedicated hazel breeding work, but also a call for more tree crops for a sustainable agriculture in general; a fantastic manual about all aspects of cultivating hardy hazel trees and processing their nuts."--Martin Crawford, author of Creating a Forest Garden"The authors of Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts have been advocating woody-plant staple crops for carbon sequestration since I was in high school. This manual provides theory, context, budgets, and practical details like pest management and fertility for this important new crop. Worth the price for the information on their innovative hybrid swarm breeding system alone.”--Eric Toensmeier, author of Paradise Lot and coauthor of Edible Forest Gardens“Growing Hybrid Hazelnuts is a compelling work combining natural history, genetics, and ecology to form a rich strategy for breeding hardy, disease-resistant, and productive hazelnuts. The need for perennial staple crops is great, and the authors show that it takes time, integrity, and patience to develop a crop that will feed the world. This book not only completely covers hybrid hazelnut cultivation, it also offers a roadmap for breeding other crops if we are to get serious about regenerative perennial food production."--Steve Gabriel, coauthor of Farming the Woods

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Book SynopsisThe Bio-Integrated Farm is a twenty-first-century manual for managing nature’s resources. This groundbreaking book brings “system farming” and permaculture to a whole new level. Author Shawn Jadrnicek presents new insights into permaculture, moving beyond the philosophical foundation to practical advanced designs based on a functional analysis. Holding his designs to a higher standard, Jadrnicek’s components serve at least seven functions (classical permaculture theory only seeks at least two functions). With every additional function a component performs, the design becomes more advanced and saves more energy. A bio-integrated greenhouse, for example, doesn’t just extend the season for growing vegetables; it also serves as a rainwater collector, a pond site, an aquaponics system, and a heat generator. Jadrnicek’s prevalent theme is using water to do the work. Although applicable in many climates, his designs are particularly important for areas coping with water scarcity. Jadrnicek focuses on his experience as farm manager at the Clemson University Student Organic Farm and at his residence in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These locations lie at the cooler northern edge of a humid subtropical climate that extends west to the middle of Texas and north along the coast to New Jersey. He has created permaculture patterns ranging from raising transplants and field design to freshwater prawn production and composting. These patterns have simplified the operation of the 125-share CSA farm while reducing reliance on outside resources. In less time than it takes to mow his two-acre homestead, Jadrnicek is building a you-pick fruit farm using permaculture patterns. His landscape requires only the labor of harvesting, and the only outside input he buys is a small amount of chicken feed. By carefully engaging the free forces of nature—water, wind, sunlight, convection, gravity, and decomposition—Jadrnicek creates sustenance without maintenance and transforms waste into valuable farm resources. The Bio-Integrated Farm offers in-depth information about designing and building a wide range of bio-integrated projects including reflecting ponds, water-storage ponds, multipurpose basins, greenhouses, compost heat extraction, pastured chicken systems, aquaculture, hydroponics, hydronic heating, water filtration and aeration, cover cropping, and innovative rainwater-harvesting systems that supply water for drip irrigation and flushing toilets.Trade ReviewPublishers Weekly- "Jadrnicek, a farmer, educator (he teaches at and oversees Clemson University’s organic student farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains), and perpetually tinkering designer and inventor, implements the permaculture principle of 'stacking functions’—'Every component of a design should function in many ways'—and pushes its limits. 'Something very special happens when a component within the design exceeds seven functions,’ he writes. 'Once the odd magic number of seven is breached, the design takes on a life of its own.' With curiosity, imagination, and exuberant obsession, he shares his successful manifestations and ongoing experiments and shows readers how to implement them in their own agricultural pursuits, whether a market farm or steep urban yard. He provides both broad conceptual overviews and comprehensive specifics. Less committed growers may balk at the complexity of these living designs and the basic physics, chemistry, and algebra needed to realize them, but permies and others committed to developing a regenerative agriculture—as well as ambitious weekend gardeners dreaming of an in-town, self-sufficient aquaculture greenhouse—will likely be impatient to try it themselves.”“The Bio-Integrated Farm provides practical solutions for farmers and homesteaders facing the dual challenges of sustainably feeding an expanding global population and building resilience into their systems in response to climate disruption. Shawn Jadrnicek’s designs for greenhouses, irrigation, composting systems, and more are based on the most enduring answer: let’s look to nature. From experience, Jadrnicek knows how to create organic, resilient, and highly productive systems based on creative use of water, solar energy, and other free forces of nature.”--Courtney White, author of Two Percent Solutions for the Planet“The Bio-Integrated Farm is an invaluable resource for market farmers, homesteaders, and serious gardeners who are interested in improving their relationship with the land. Shawn Jadrnicek’s creative use of materials, animals, and space, which he clearly and thoroughly explains in this book, will inspire and teach you how to improve the efficiency and resiliency of your farm or garden. I can’t wait to implement some of Shawn’s designs at my site. While reading through this book, I was reminded of the ancient gardening techniques mentioned in F.H. King’s Farmers of Forty Centuries. Shawn has integrated these simple and effective technologies into his modern-day working farm; his book will allow readers to access some of that ancient wisdom, too.”--Jerome Osentowski, author of The Forest Garden Greenhouse“Harvesting, multiplying, capturing, conveying, sloping, fertilizing, irrigating, heating, cooling… ‘at least seven functions’ is the genius of Shawn Jadrnicek’s stacked systems in The Bio-Integrated Farm. Shawn turns almost everything we think we know about farming on its head, beginning with the notion that the odds are stacked against the small farmer and permaculturist. Instead, he stacks the odds in our favor by requiring every component of a farm to serve at least seven functions. These stacked systems create biological and mechanical efficiencies that maximize production and ecological diversity. While innovators abound in the permaculture world, Shawn is unparalleled in the practicality and detail of his innovative designs. As a connoisseur of college farms, I’ve visited several dozen such operations across the United States, and I have yet to see another academic farm demonstrate the level of careful design and innovation found on the Clemson University Student Organic Farm, one of several permaculture masterworks Shawn has helped create. As much an engineer as he is an ecologist, Shawn teases out nature’s secret systems with a covey of collaborators—students, prawns, soldier flies, chickens, and thermophilic bacteria to name but a few—and he shares all his best designs in this paradigm-altering guide. Be prepared to have your vision of a farm’s limits shattered. Fear not, Shawn shows you how to reassemble those broken pieces into a ‘7-plus mosaic’ that can take any homestead or farm to the next level.”--Philip Ackerman-Leist, professor, Green Mountain College; author of Rebuilding the Foodshed“What is unique about permaculture, at its heart, is integration of elements like fish ponds, greenhouses, chickens, and crops. The Bio-Integrated Farm highlights real-world farm management experiences, including particularly innovative practices such as raising freshwater shrimp in greenhouse tanks that also provide thermal mass. The authors also respect and acknowledge the ancient roots of many of these ideas.”--Eric Toensmeier, author of The Carbon Farming Solution“Nature knows no waste, and cutting-edge farmers should start today to incorporate the bio-integration principles that Shawn Jadrnicek describes in detail in this book. Shawn shares his in-the-field experience using easy-to-understand formulas and charts to encourage the reader to develop a plan and translate project descriptions into hardworking results. I have seen Shawn’s transformational power in person at Clemson University, and his visions are addictive, teaching you not just to think outside the box by harmonizing natural systems but to act outside the box to create inexpensive and highly functional growing environments that are much more profitable and efficient than traditional growing systems. Even at our mushroom farm, we are incorporating Shawn’s design approach with aquaponics, black soldier fly composting, and passive heating. Farmers need all the financial help they can get, and The Bio-Integrated Farm will help readers prevent costly experimental failures. Every farm's needs and layouts are unique, and this book allows the reader to customize and hybridize systems that harness the power of nature to transform ordinary farms into models worthy of world-class learning centers for permaculture.”--Tradd Cotter, author of Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation“As climate change drives increasingly challenging weather variability and extremes, ecosystem-based strategies such as those presented in The Bio-Integrated Farm will be crucial to successful adaptation efforts. In this practical, clearly written, and beautifully designed book, Shawn Jadrnicek shares his unique ability to conceptualize, design, and manage water for whole-system benefits at multiple scales. A must read for anyone interested in design and management of water systems for resilient homesteads and farms.”--Laura Lengnick, author of Resilient Agriculture“Shawn Jadrnicek has spent the last decade getting his hands dirty and taking risks, experimenting with how to create systems that actually work. The Bio-Integrated Farm covers areas often neglected in the current permaculture literature. Shawn's systems-based designs show permaculture's relevance beyond typical gardening scenarios. He offers a load of detailed practical advice based on personal experience, demonstrating how to make connections that result in greater yields and ease. His zeal for making the most out of the resources on hand has inspired to me to find ways to further integrate my own permaculture homestead!”--Rain Tenaqiya, author of West Coast Food Forestry

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Book SynopsisAlthough apples may have won the battle for modern-day supermarket shelf space, throughout history the pear has usually ranked even higher in the hearts of fruit enthusiasts and connoisseurs. Cherries, plums, peaches, and many other fruits are also wonderful in their season, but the pear at its finest can be so much more exceptional in terms of its luscious texture, richness of taste, and its fragrances reminiscent of rose water, musk, and vanilla. The Book of Pears is a one-of-a-kind guide to this extraordinary fruit, following its journey through history and around the world, accompanied by beautiful botanical watercolor paintings and period images. Noted pomologist and fruit historian Joan Morgan (The Book of Apples) has researched and crafted the definitive account of the pear’s history and uses, from fresh eating to cooking and baking to making perry, the delicate and sophisticated pear equivalent of cider. Featuring a directory of 500 varieties of both ancient and modern pears with tasting notes and descriptions for every one, The Book of Pears reveals the secrets of the pear as a status symbol, introduces readers to some of the most celebrated fruit growers in history, and explains how the pear came to be so important as an international commodity. This unique and fascinating book will prove indispensable for historians, horticulturists, and all fruit lovers.Trade ReviewBooklist- "Who knew? This elegant, all-knowing compendium on all things pear is a boon companion to pomologist and fruit historian Morgan’s The Book of Apples (1994), among other fruit-centered histories. It’s truly intended as a reference, even for those culinarians intent on mastering the best information on pears. Much of the narrative traces the fruit’s transit from 1000 BC in the Yangtze Valley to today’s world distribution, documenting its role in various lands and in literature. In addition to Dowle’s realistic and detailed watercolors, innumerable historic photographs and illustrations grace the book’s pages. One-third of the book is occupied by a catalog of 500-plus varieties, from the former USSR’s Abas Beki to a French Zoe, based on the Defra National Fruit Collection, in Kent, with each entry including the cropping level, when-to-pick ripening season, vigor, use (culinary versus eating), size, shape, color, eye, basin, stalk, cavity, flesh, flower, and tree. A thorough investigation of one wonderful fruit.”Choice- "This comprehensive, highly specialized work discusses everything one might want to know about pears. The first section contains a complete history of the fruit, including about 90 reproductions of historic images featuring the pear. The following section is a directory documenting all pear varieties in the Defra National Fruit Collection in Kent, England, featuring well over 500 kinds, along with complete descriptions, season, use, tasting notes, and cultivation information. Artist Dowle, an extremely talented illustrator of fruit who earlier collaborated with pomologist Morgan on the Book of Apples (1993), presents 40 precise color illustrations of pear flowers, fruit, and branches. Their evident love for the pear yields a gorgeous volume. The detailed history could use additional editing, but it covers the subject in eight well-documented chapters. A key to pear identification and short essays on cooking and growing pears complete the volume. Due to its focus on the Defra collection, the work will appeal primarily to the clientele of specialized horticultural and art libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and researchers/faculty; horticulturalists.”

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Book SynopsisEnjoy delicious, nutritious berries from your own backyard! What says summer more than a bowl full of fresh berries? How about a yard full of them? Homegrown Berries covers the information you need to know about the process from planting to picking. You’ll learn the best varieties of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, and elderberries for you, how to fit them into your landscape (including in borders and containers), and how to maintain them for peak harvest. Summer just got sweeter!

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Book SynopsisUsing native plants in a garden has many benefits. They attract beneficial wildlife and insects, they allow a gardener to create a garden that reflects the native beauty of the region, and they make a garden more sustainable. Because of all this, they are an increasingly popular plant choice for home and public gardens.Native Plants of the Southeast shows you how to choose the best native plants and how to use them in the garden. This complete guide is an invaluable resource, with plant profiles for over 460 species of trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers. Each plant description includes information about cultivation and propagation, ranges, and hardiness. Comprehensive lists recommend particular plants for difficult situations, as well as plants for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife.

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Book SynopsisHow to grow your own food in the Heartland! There is nothing more regionally specific than vegetable gardening—what to plant, when to plant it, and when to harvest are decisions based on climate, weather, and first frost The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast tackles this need head on, with regionally specific growing information written by local gardening expert, Ira Wallace. Monthly planting guides show exactly what you can do in the garden from January through December. The skill sets go beyond the basics with tutorials on seed saving, worm bins, and more. This must-have book is for gardeners in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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Book SynopsisExpert advice for Southern gardeners A gardener’s plant choice and garden style are inextricably linked to the place they call home. In order to grow a flourishing garden, every gardener must know the specifics of their region’s climate, soil, and geography. Gardening in the South is comprehensive, enthusiastic, and accessible to gardeners of all levels. It features information on site and plant selection, soil preparation and maintenance, and basic design principles. Plant profiles highlight the region’s best perennials, annuals, trees, shrubs, and bulbs. Color photographs throughout show wonderful examples of southern garden style. Gardening in the South is for home gardeners in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

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Book SynopsisA must-have for every gardener in California looking for a new way to garden in a changing climate In recent years California has been facing extreme drought, and in 2015 they passed state-wide water restrictions that affect home owners. Unfortunately the drought is only going to get worse, and gardeners who aren’t willing to abandon their beloved pastime entirely are going to have to learn how to garden with the absolute minimum of water. The Drought-Defying California Garden highlights the best 230 plants to grow, shares advice on how to get them established, and offers tips on how to maintain them with the minimum amount of water. All of the plants are native to California—making them uniquely adept at managing the harsh climate—and include perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, and succulents.

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Book Synopsis“Gardeners just starting out will earn a sense of accomplishment and a good dose of knowledge.” —Booklist Every new gardener has to start somewhere—and the process can be intimidating. Knowing when and what to plant, how to care for the plants once they’re in the ground, and how to keep pests and diseases away is a lot to take on. Luckily, Daryl Beyers—an expert from the New York Botanical Garden—has written what will be a go-to resource for decades to come.The New Gardener’s Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of gardening, based on the introductory gardening class that Beyers teaches at NYBG. Readers will learn about soil, plant selection, propagation, planting and mulching, watering and feeding, pruning, and weeds, pests, and diseases. The information applies to both ornamental and edible plants. Featuring inspiring photography and helpful illustrations, The New Gardener’s Handbook gives home gardeners a foundation upon which they can grow, and encourages them to apply the lessons they’ve learned in an intuitive, natural way.

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Book SynopsisGet the Inside Dirt, New York!Grow Great Vegetables in New York is the ultimate guide to growing food in the Empire State! This must-have guide to growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of fifty best edibles help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the Inside Dirt, Massachusetts!Grow Great Vegetables in Massachusetts is the ultimate guide to growing food in the Bay State! This must-have guide to growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of fifty best edibles help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the Inside Dirt, Pennsylvania!Grow Great Vegetables in Pennsylvania is the ultimate guide to growing food in the Keystone State! This must-have guide to growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of fifty best edibles help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the Inside Dirt, Texas! This ultimate local guide to growing vegetables and other edibles provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details across Texas. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of nearly 50 edibles round out the information and help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the inside dirt, Georgia! This ultimate local guide to growing vegetables and other edibles provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details across Georgia. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of nearly 50 edibles round out the information and help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the inside dirt, North Carolina! This ultimate local guide to growing vegetables and other edibles provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details across North Carolina. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of nearly 50 edibles round out the information and help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the inside dirt, Tennessee! This ultimate local guide to growing vegetables and other edibles provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details across Tennessee. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of nearly 50 edibles round out the information and help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisGet the inside dirt, Virginia! This ultimate local guide to growing vegetables and other edibles provides you with insider advice on climate zones, average frost dates, and growing season details across Virginia. Information includes details on sun, soil, fertilizer, mulch, water, and the best varieties for your region. A garden planning section helps with design and crop rotation, and monthly lists explain what to do from January through December. In-depth profiles of nearly 50 edibles round out the information and help ensure a can’t-miss harvest.

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Book SynopsisBring your garden to life—and life to your garden Do you want a garden that makes a real difference? Choose plants native to our Southeast region. The rewards will benefit you, your yard, and the environment—from reducing maintenance tasks to attracting earth-friendly pollinators such as native birds, butterflies, and bees. Native plant experts Larry Mellichamp and Paula Gross make adding these superstar plants easier than ever before, with proven advice that every home gardener can follow. This incomparable sourcebook includes 225 recommended native ferns, grasses, wildflowers, perennials, vines, shrubs, and trees. It’s everything you need to know to create a beautiful and beneficial garden. This must-have handbook is for gardeners in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

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Book SynopsisThe biggest mistake gardeners make each season is starting out too big and then quickly realizing their large plot requires too much weeding, watering, and backbreaking labour. Vertical gardening guarantees a better outcome from the day the trowel hits the soil - by shrinking the amount of "floor" space needed and focusing on climbing plants that are less prone to insects, diseases, and animal pests. Notable author and gardener Derek Fell has tried and tested thousands of varieties of vegetables, flowers, and fruits and recommends the best plants for space-saving vertical gardening. His grow-up, grow-down system also shows which ground-level plants make good companions underneath and alongside climbing plants. Best of all, many of Fell's greatest climbers and mutually beneficial plants are available in seed packets in every local garden centre. With a mix of DIY and commercially available string supports, trellises, pergolas, raised beds, skyscraper gardens, and topsy-turvy planters, the vertical garden system reduces work, increases yields, makes harvesting easier, and can be practiced in spaces as small as a container or a one-by-four-foot strip. "Vertical Gardening" features 100 colour photos of the author's own vertical methods and showcases beautiful, troublefree perennials, shrubs, vegetables, annuals, and fruit perfect for this new, rewarding way to garden.

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Book SynopsisBeth Greer had been living what she considered a healthy lifestyle when a medical crisis prompted her to re-evaluate everything - from the food she ate to the personal-care products she used and the environment she lived in. Now, in "Super Natural Home", she shows the alarming extent of the dangerous chemicals we unwittingly expose ourselves to every day. As she did in her own life, she invites readers to put their lives under a microscope - to scrutinize what people put in and on their bodies and bring into their homes - and to make personal choices that will enable them to 'live clean' in a toxic world.The straightforward, solutions - based approach of "Super Natural Home" - complete with quizzes to help identify and correct potential toxic hot zones - speaks directly to what environment - conscious consumers really need: ultra-practical advice on what they can do right now to limit exposure to the poisons that are endangering them and their children. At a time when impeccable scientific research points to an alarming correlation between common chemical compounds and cancers, allergies, psychiatric disorders, and birth defects, among other serious health concerns, "Super Natural Home" gives consumers the tools to start protecting themselves and their families.Trade Review“Super Natural Home seeks out the silent violence—i.e., toxins—in and around the place where you spend most of your time, awake and asleep. . . . It’s required reading for anyone with a home and a healthy desire to see the unseen for the whole family.”—Ralph Nader, lawyer and consumer advocate“Super Natural Home is a concise and helpful book for people who want to lead a healthy life. I love it and think everyone should read it.”—John Gray, bestselling author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus“Super Natural Home offers important information on how to stay healthy along with practical, easy tips that are backed by scientific research. Every household should have this book on hand.”—Marci Shimoff, New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason and Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul“For those of us who think our lives are already detoxified, Super Natural Home offers an important reminder that there is more we can do to create healthy spaces for ourselves and our families.”—Stacy Malkan, co-founder, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry“Organic and green-minded consumers are waking up to the fact that we not only need an organic food and farming revolution, but a new economics in our households as well. Super Natural Home is an indispensable tool for conscientious Americans who want to do their part to address the energy and climate crisis.”—Ronnie Cummins, co-founder and national director, Organic Consumers Association“This easy to read, step-by-step guide offers practical advice and healthy solutions for reducing our toxic exposures, the ones that invisibly invade our lives on a daily basis. . . . Here’s to Beth for giving us all a wake-up call and challenging us to become educated consumers to save our health and our earth.”—Judi Shils, director, Teens Turning Green“In a world were we are overexposed to thousands of dangerous toxic chemicals, education is the key. Super Natural Home provides vital information for anyone interested in reducing their chemical exposure.”—Dan Jacobson, legislative director, Environment California“Beth Greer is a knowledgeable expert, and every reader will benefit from the insightful instructions and questions she offers that empower us to change the way we live for ourselves and future generations.”—Lynne Twist, president, Soul of Money Institute, and co-founder, The Pachamama Alliance“I love this book! It gives a unique blend of the author’s personal experience as well as cutting-edge research to enlighten us on how our environment impacts our health. I highly recommend it.”—Catherine Oxenberg, award-winning actress and mother of five“Beth Greer is a correspondent on the front lines who leaves no stone unturned in her search for emerging news of crucial and timely relevance to wellness in today’s changing environment. I am eternally grateful to her as a resource for my family, my patients, and the entire globe. Thank you, Super Natural Mom!”—Michelle Veneziano, DO, family practice physician, Mill Valley, California

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Book SynopsisThe American Comic Book Chronicles continues its ambitious series of FULL-COLOR HARDCOVERS, where TwoMorrows' top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today! Keith Dallas headlines this volume on the 1980s, covering all the pivotal moments and behind-the-scenes details of comics during the Reagan years! You'll get a year-by-year account of the most significant publications, notable creators, and impactful trends, including: The rise and fall of Jim Shooter at Marvel Comics! The ascendancy of Frank Miller as a comic book superstar with works like Daredevil, Ronin and The Dark Knight! DC Comics’ reboot with Crisis on Infinite Earths and its Renaissance with a British invasion of talent like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman! The emergence of Direct Market-exclusive publishers like Eclipse Comics, Pacific Comics, First Comics, Comico, Dark Horse Comics and others! These are just a few of the events chronicled in this exhaustive, full-color hardcover.Taken together, American Comic Book Chronicles forms a cohesive, linear overview of the entire landscape of comics history, sure to be an invaluable resource for ANY comic book enthusiast!

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Book SynopsisThis catalogue, produced to accompany a 2011 exhibition at the Grolier Club, emphasizes the importance of the French national typographic and printing establishment the Imprimerie Nationale, arguably the most important printing house in Europe. Drawing from the ancient, vast, and comprehensive archives of the Imprimerie Nationale, it documents the significant influence of the press, not only on printing and the book arts, but also on French—and therefore European—literary culture from the mid-sixteenth century to the present day. Contributions by eminent scholars H. George Fletcher, Annie Parent-Charon, Isabelle de Conihout, and James Mosley provide valuable insights into and context for the items featured.

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Book SynopsisBased on Adrian Seville’s own collection, this book catalogues 71 games featured in an exhibition at the Grolier Club. The book focuses on why the Game of the Goose is special and why it can lay claim to being the most influential of any printed game in the cultural history of Europe. Detailed study of the games reveals their historical provenance and gives unusual insights into the cultures that produced them, providing a rich source for the cultural historian.Trade Review“[The vivid catalogue of] the mind-opening exhibition at the Grolier Club.” -- Edward Rothstein * The Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisFor her gorgeously illustrated and deeply researched contribution to the prestigious Grolier Hundred series, Chris Loker has assembled one hundred of the best known and most admired children’s books from the English language canon of classics. Organized chronologically, One Hundred Books Famous in Children’s Literature invites readers to follow the development of books written for children and printed between 1650 and 2000—from early forms of instructional primers and devotional readers, to exuberantly entertaining nursery rhymes, fairy tales, children’s novels and works of verse. Also represented are alphabets, folktales, fables, and legends; a touch-and-feel book, a rebus book, a pop-up book, and, of course, picture books. Supplementing the informative essays that accompany each selection are illuminating contributions by five internationally recognized experts in children’s literature: Brian Alderson, Nick Clark, Andrea Immel, Jill Shefrin, and Justin Schiller. This charming and intellectually stimulating volume, accessibly written to appeal to both scholars and the general public, has quickly become the classic checklist for book collectors, scholars, and anyone who loves children’s literature.Trade Review"Smart, lovingly written." * New York Times *"Child lit for the ages." * Wall Street Journal *"A sumptuous volume." * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisCelebrating a thousand years of French Book Arts, this catalogue’s 159 entries are scrupulously annotated and contextualized by the award-winning scholar and curator H. George Fletcher. Drawn from the Grolier Club’s permanent collections, and representing artifacts from the libraries of such important figures as Madame Pompadour, Marie Antoinette, Count Hoym, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, and Adolf Hitler, the items make up a treasure trove—from a magnificent twelfth-century manuscript of Gregory the Great's commentary on Job to recent artists' books and designer book bindings. Highlights include manuscript and printed illuminated Books of Hours, early printed books, bindings from seven centuries, a letter from Jefferson to his Parisian bookseller, portrait prints of the great and the good, commemorative medals, and documents.Table of ContentsForewordIntroductionI. ManuscriptsII. IncunabulaIII. 16th CenturyIV. Jean GrolierV. 17th CenturyVI. 18th CenturyVII. 19th CenturyVIII. 20th CenturyIX. 21st CenturyX. Medallions, Trade Cards, and StatuaryXI. PrintsBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisIn the nineteenth century, the exploration and settlement of the West exploded. During the 58 years between the Louisiana Purchase and the Civil War, the United States expanded from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, and, in the far West, from the 32nd Parallel to the 49th. By the late 1850s, almost all of these areas had been mapped and explored. Among the many iconic maps featured in this catalogue, which accompanied an exhibition at the Grolier Club, is Lewis and Clark's map of the Northwest. Published in 1814, it remained the standard against which all mapping of that part of North America was measured for decades.Trade Review"This is a fine volume that I am certain will interest map collectors, cartographic historians, and institutional repositories and archives. It is worth embarking on this guided tour through the cartographic history of western North America." * The Portolan *

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Book SynopsisPublished in conjunction with an eponymous Grolier Club exhibition, this catalogue presents the story of Walt Whitman’s coming of age as a poet through a unique assemblage of rare books, manuscripts, and artifacts, many never before seen, from the Whitman Collection of Susan Jaffe Tane, archives such as the Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library's Berg Collection, private family collections, and forgotten treasures from Bryn Mawr College's Special Collections and the Brooklyn College Library.

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Book SynopsisPublished to accompany the 2019 Grolier Club exhibition Alphabet Magic: A Centennial Exhibition of the Work of Hermann & Gudrun Zapf, Herman Zapf and the World He Designed is the first comprehensive biography of Hermann Zapf (1918–2015), whom Robert Bringhurst has called "the greatest type designer of our time, and very possibly the greatest type designer of all time.” Informed by Jerry Kelly’s scrupulous research at the Hermann Zapf archive in the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel and at the Cary Collection at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and enriched by his decades of conversations with Zapf and his associates, this fascinating account of Zapf’s life details his experiences with type companies, printers, publishers, and colleagues. It also explores Zapf’s modern design aesthetic and engagement with the staggering technological advances of typography during the twentieth century. Featuring rarities and never-before-seen works and photos, Herman Zapf and the World He Designed features definitive lists of Zapf's type designs and major calligraphic works. It is not, however, merely an in-depth appreciation of Zapf's work but also an insightful consideration of his work in relation to his life.

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Book SynopsisThis is a penetrating glimpse into the first illustrated encyclopaedia of the New World. In August 1576, in the midst of an outbreak of the plague, the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun and 22 indigenous artists locked themselves inside the school of Santa Cruz de Tlaltelolco in Mexico City with a mission: to create the first illustrated encyclopedia in the New World. Today this twelve-volume manuscript is preserved in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence and is widely known as the Florentine Codex. A monumental achievement, the Florentine Codex is the single most important artistic and historical document for studying the peoples and cultures of pre-Hispanic and colonial Central Mexico. It reflects both indigenous and Spanish traditions of writing and painting, including parallel columns of text in Spanish and Nahuatl and more than two thousand watercolour illustrations prepared in European and Aztec pictorial styles. This volume reveals the complex meanings inherent in the selection of the pigments used in the manuscript, offering a fascinating glimpse into a previously hidden symbolic language. Drawing on cutting edge approaches in art history, anthropology, and material sciences, the book sheds new light on one of the world's great manuscripts - and a pivotal moment in the early modern Americas.

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