Nature and the natural world: general interest Books
University of Minnesota Press Minnesota's Natural Heritage: Second Edition
Book SynopsisThe definitive work on Minnesota’s natural history and ecology—updated, expanded, and copiously illustrated to account for profound changes to the state’s natural landscape over the past twenty-five years The story of Minnesota’s natural landscape, reaching back to the time of the glaciers, covers at least 12,000 years. Yet even against that vast expanse, recent decades have significantly transformed the natural world that is Minnesota’s greatest resource. In the twenty-five years since the first publication of Minnesota’s Natural Heritage, the definitive volume on the state’s natural history and ecology, human activity and climate change have profoundly altered the major ecosystems that give our state its rich and varied character. The second edition of Minnesota’s Natural Heritage introduces readers to these ecosystems—the lakes and rivers, forests and prairies, farmlands and wetlands—and explains how they have come to be, how they function, and how they have changed so rapidly and dramatically in recent years. Full-color illustrations document the state’s striking natural beauty in all its vigor and fragility, while maps, drawings, diagrams, and graphs amplify points of historical, ecological, and geological interest. The most complete treatment of Minnesota’s natural environment, compiled and accessibly written by scientists whose collective knowledge spans the book’s expansive content, Minnesota’s Natural Heritage is the one indispensable companion for both visitors and inhabitants, as enlightening to page through as it is valuable to study.Trade Review"Anyone with a deep affection for Minnesota’s natural resources, highly seasonal and variable climate, diverse ecosystems, and beautiful landscapes should read the second edition of Minnesota’s Natural Heritage. This book chronicles the evolution of our state’s natural systems and the challenges of sustainably managing them in the context of climate change. It should be part of every home reference library."—Mark Seeley, author of Minnesota Weather Almanac"This second edition of Minnesota's Natural Heritage is just as engaging as the first and is supported with beautiful photos, illustrations, and graphs. But now readers learn of new and serious threats facing Minnesota’s prairies, forests, and waters. Will we restore and protect this natural legacy for future generations? For anyone who cares about nature, this book is a must read."—Peggy Ladner, former director, The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota"Dr. Tester was my favorite professor at the University of Minnesota. I bought his book’s first edition immediately when it came out, and I have waited with anticipation for the update. It does not disappoint. His immense knowledge of ecology and of Minnesota are in full display and in a voice that everyone can understand. Outstanding!"—Tom Landwehr, executive director, Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters"John R. Tester and colleagues’ new edition inspires Minnesotans—and others who appreciate this great state—with information about our precious natural resources, including ways to protect and restore them from long-standing environmental problems and new challenges such as climate change. The book explores each of the biomes in Minnesota, listing the species and ecology one can find there and the ways we can work to restore its glory."—Jessica Hellmann, director, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota"Well organized and infused with amazing photographs of the landscape and wildlife that makes this area so special."—Rochester Post-Bulletin "With lovely photos, illustrations, and tables of information, this is a great book for the cabin owner or traveling summer cabin user to enjoy whether checking a specific topic or settling down with a long read."—Ely Echo"The book takes definitive looks at our landscape, climate and weather, forests, prairie, wet-lands, lakes, streams and rivers. It concludes with important comment on the future of this marvelous state, and how we should care for it."—Star Tribune Table of ContentsContentsPreface to the Second EditionPreface to the First EditionAcknowledgments1. The LandscapeGeologic HistoryChanging Landscapes Since GlaciationThe Present Landscape2. Climate and WeatherSolar RadiationTemperaturePrecipitationCloudsWindObserved Climate Change3. Principles of EcologyEnvironmentEcosystem Structure and FunctionPopulations and Communities4. Deciduous ForestDeciduous Forest EcologyAnimals and Community InteractionsForest Management and Conservation in Minnesota5. Northern Coniferous ForestNorthern Coniferous Forest EcologyAnimals and Community InteractionsPresent Status of the Northern Coniferous Forest6. Tallgrass PrairiePrairie Forest BorderTallgrass Prairie EcologyAnimals and Community InteractionsPresent Status of the Tallgrass Prairie7. WetlandsPrairie WetlandsAnimals and Community Interactions in Prairie WetlandsPeatlandsAnimals and Community Interactions in PeatlandsOther Wetlands Occurring in MinnesotaPresent Status of Wetlands8. LakesFormation and DistributionPhysical and Chemical CharacteristicsLake CommunitiesEcosystem FunctionAnimals and Community InteractionsMinnesota’s LakesPresent Status of Minnesota’s Lakes9. Streams and RiversOrigins of Streams and RiversPhysical and Chemical CharacteristicsStream CommunitiesEcosystem FunctionRiver Continuum ConceptAnimals and Community InteractionsMinnesota’s Streams and RiversPresent Status of Minnesota’s Streams and Rivers10. The FutureStemming Habitat LossFeeding a Growing Human Population SustainablyAdapting to a Changing ClimateReversing the Spread of Invasive SpeciesReducing Damaging Chemicals in the EnvironmentRecovering Threatened Species PopulationsPlanning Statewide Conservation ActionRestoring EcosystemsA Perspective to Live WithAppendixesA. Counties and Major Rivers in MinnesotaB. Trees and Shrubs Found in MinnesotaC. Common Herbs Found in MinnesotaD. Mammals Found in MinnesotaE. Birds Breeding in MinnesotaF. Amphibians and Reptiles Found in MinnesotaG. Fishes Found in MinnesotaH. Metric Equivalents of English Weights and MeasuresLiterature CitedPermissionsIndex
£38.25
University of Minnesota Press A Wild Path
Book SynopsisA soul-satisfying journey through the wilderness that uncovers hope, healing, and the abiding grace of wild things A Wild Path is author Douglas Wood’s highly anticipated followup to the critically acclaimed memoir Deep Woods, Wild Waters. He again leads readers along a meditative path through a wilderness of many dimensions—from the lakes and islands of his beloved Canoe Country to rugged ocean coasts to a mountain chasm, from camping on the Canadian Shield to listening to the soft strains of Beethoven in the pines, and from the pain of childhood wounds to appreciation for a life rich with nature. As on every good journey, there is plenty of laughter, warmth, and humor on the trail. With the generosity and compassion of a good wilderness guide, Douglas Wood welcomes readers to accompany him as he navigates his life-path from struggling student and “worst reader in the class” to prolific writer and best-selling author. He offers courage and hope to those who feel different or left behind, and he shares how he found, through the counsel of rocks, trees, and waters, his own way toward joy and wonder and an unshakable sense of belonging. Exploring the meanings of myriad outdoor experiences, Wood seeks to understand the importance and existence of beauty, the emotional poignancy of a wilderness sunset, and the realization of dreams, while also honoring his outdoor and literary mentors, including Sigurd Olson and Aldo Leopold. Traveling across continents, over oceans, and through the landscape of time, A Wild Path ranges from solitary shorelines of introspection to peaks of triumph, finding rest and tranquility in a simple cup of jasmine tea, sipped by a campfire under the stars. Trade Review "There’s a world between these covers—a world of truth, grace, and beauty where gravity keeps your feet on the ground and levity lifts your spirit high. It’s a world of many dimensions: the challenge of the North Woods and the comfort of Beethoven in the pines, the glories of the night sky and the trustworthy wisdom of elders, the savvy to canoe the wilderness for weeks and the compassion to lift the spirits of children who weep because they are ‘different,’ all laced with the humor that is the spice of life. This world exists because Douglas Wood has the experience and the gifts required to bring it to life, giving his readers a chance to dwell in it for a while and return refreshed, even healed, to their own lives. That’s why I’ve been reading him for twenty years. Doug’s gifts are many, reaching beyond writing and illustrating to speaking, making music, and guiding wilderness expeditions. But what I value most about him is his artistry at being human, fully and simply human. I've returned to this book time and again to refresh my own humanity. I'd bet good money that you'll find yourself doing the same."—Parker J. Palmer, author of On the Brink of Everything, Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and Healing the Heart of Democracy "The magic and awe of the natural world, childhood challenges and love of family, and the redemption of the wilderness are all shared by Douglas Wood in his new collection, A Wild Path. Doug writes with bravery and honesty about childhood traumas, learning difficulties, bouts with depression, and how the ‘therapy of wilderness’ brought peace, perspective, and feelings of self-worth. You’ll find yourself laughing, crying, and breathing in the forest air while reading Doug’s stories. You might even discover yourself in these essays, through the gentle, understanding, and insightful words of Douglas Wood."—Patsy Mogush, president, Listening Point Foundation "In his compelling collection of essays, A Wild Path, Douglas Wood provides an intimate and revealing portrait of his relationship with nature, and the family and friends who are part of his life’s journey. In a lifetime spent close to the natural world, he found the therapy of wilderness—what he calls the ‘psychology of green things’ and the ‘counseling of rocks.’ He was rescued through the process of loving—and learning to share his love of—wild places and wild things. Wood’s love of wild nature is expressed in every page and essay."—Chris Knopf, executive director, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness "Douglas Wood’s A Wild Path reaches deep into the heart—his, mine, and surely yours as well. His stories reflect the lives of our generation drawn to the woods and lakes of the North and toward a simpler life. They are stories of a life well-lived, told in such vivid detail they will give you pause to reflect on the stories and meanings of your own life."—Steve Piragis, co-owner, Piragis Northwoods Company "In A Wild Path, Douglas Wood captures the magic, wonder, and awe of experiencing the wilderness. This collection of essays is honest, authentic, and laugh-out-loud funny. A real treat."—Rebecca Otto, executive director, Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation "Ever the expert naturalist, guide, and storyteller, Douglas Wood alternates between captivating prose and lyrical poetry in A Wild Path. One moment Doug takes us on a strenuous paddle across big water and in the next, a gentle stroll under towering pines. Every essay connects, or reconnects, us with family and friends, flora and fauna, and all the beauties of this vast and vibrant world."—Buddy Huffaker, executive director, Aldo Leopold Foundation "Douglas Wood has always been able to express the magic in this world like no one else I know. He sees relationships between the grand and all-encompassing and the simplest of things. Every essay in this book, from raucous hilarity to serious contemplation—the ironies, the wisdom, the guffaws, and the tears from those beautiful places in Doug’s heart—seems a personal gift to me. I suspect that will be the case for all who read it."—Denny Olson, writer, teacher, actor, and naturalist "This is a great book. Through its stories Douglas Wood helps us perceive the worlds within and beyond the surfaces of Earth—and there, ‘in the company of trees,’ as he puts it, to discover health and hope."—Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and Our Wild Calling "As a writer, Douglas Wood is like John Burroughs in his vivid descriptions of the natural world. But in his delightful storytelling style and mastery of his craft, he is akin to Mark Twain."—Marlene Warren Ehresman, founder and executive director, Iowa Wildlife Center "This is a book filled with fun and fascinating tales, but it also contains lessons that, once learned, are as valuable outside the wilderness as within it. A Wild Path is far more than just a journey into wild places. It is a journey into living a full life, written with skill and insight."—Michael Furtman, outdoor writer and photographer "A Wild Path is as good as it gets for capturing the essence of the wilderness experience and inspiring us all to explore our own pathways into the wild."—Stuart Osthoff, publisher, Boundary Waters Journal
£19.79
University of Minnesota Press A Natural Curiosity: The Story of the Bell Museum
Book SynopsisA richly illustrated tour of Minnesota’s premier natural history museum after 150 years From its humble start in 1872 as a one-room cabinet of curiosities, the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of natural history has grown to be one of the state’s most important cultural institutions. Within its walls are displayed the natural wonders of Minnesota and the world beyond, a standing invitation to explore, understand, and appreciate our natural environment—and, for visitors of all ages, both seasoned observers and curious onlookers, to experience the delight of discovery. A Natural Curiosity is a tale well told, a lively ride across 150 years of important scientific advancement. Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move to its new building, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries, moments, and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today. Among the stories of ornithologists, botanists, tycoons, and conservationists, readers will encounter the magnificent dioramas created by renowned artist Francis Lee Jaques, the adventures behind some of the Bell’s more curious specimens (like the bones of Philippine orangutans and moonrats, a high-flying moose, and a simple fungi sample that saved a man’s life), and the dramatic accounts of the critical advances made by the museum in wildlife telemetry, conservation biology, and scientific learning—all in defense of our planet’s threatened biodiversity. In a photographic finale, readers will be treated to a tour of the new, reimagined museum, complete with the planetarium that inspired one Minnesota boy to become a NASA astronaut.From its conception as part of a state-mandated geological and natural history survey, to its most recent ventures into technology, environmental science, and DNA sequencing, the Bell Museum has informed, explained, and expanded our relationship to the natural world. Its story, engagingly told in A Natural Curiosity, reveals and explores the profound changes undergone by society, science, and the natural landscape over the museum’s lifetime.Trade Review"The book is beautiful, with full-color pages packed with illustrations and photos."—Racket"Drawing on a wealth of materials unearthed during the museum’s recent move to its new building, this gorgeously illustrated book chronicles the remarkable discoveries, moments, and personalities that have made the Bell Museum what it is today."—The Timberjay"The story of this natural history museum is well told in the lavishly illustrated volume."—Minnesota Alumni"This volume documenting the 150-year history of the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum is a must for your coffee table so you can easily dip into the stories behind our state's only natural history museum."—MSP Home & Design"A Natural Curiosity serves as a well-written and abundantly illustrated introduction to the history of the Bell Museum."—H-Net ReviewsTable of ContentsContentsForewordFord W. BellIntroductionBell Museum Timeline1. A Museum is Born, 1872–1940Documenting Minnesota: The Geological and Natural History SurveyThe Menage Expedition: How Orangutan Bones Landed in the Bell Museum CollectionsJosephine Tilden: Paving the Way for Women in ScienceT. S. Roberts: Naturalist, Doctor, DirectorMaking a Museum for the Public: The Early Dioramas2. Growing an Institution, 1920s–1950sThe Many Talents of Walter BreckenridgeEarly Public Education: Reaching “the whole people . . .”James Ford Bell: The Man Behind the NameHeyday of the Dioramas: Windows into NatureTaking Flight: The Artistic Journey of Francis Lee Jaques3. Wildlife Explorations, 1940s–1980sAt the Poles: Arctic and Antarctic ResearchThe Bride Wore . . . Boots?Migrations: The Life and Times of Dwain WarnerTracking Nature: The Rise of Wildlife TelemetryMystery of the Missing Toads4. The Museum in the Environmental Era, 1960s–1990sTouch and See: Pioneering Hands-On LearningPublic Programs: From Education to EngagementInterpreting Nature: The Student Guide ProgramFrom Student Guide to College ProfessorMaking Movies: Reaching a Bigger AudienceHoneybees on the Roof: Sweetening Science EducationWidening the Inquiry: Bringing together Ecology, Evolution, and BehaviorNature vs Nurture: Frank McKinney and the Evolution of Animal BehaviorMinnesota’s Rarest: Naming the State’s Endangered Flora and FaunaFlight of the Peregrine: Bud Tordoff and the Return of an Endangered SpeciesArt and Natural History: The Evolution of a LegacyScience through the Lens of Art: Resident Artists at the BellChange Comes to the “Eternal” Museum: Temporary and Traveling Exhibits5. Rediscovering the Collections, 1980s–2022Collections offer Clues to Environmental ChallengesA Botanical Treasure: The University of Minnesota HerbariumThe DNA Revolution Comes to the Bell MuseumRe-thinking the Tree of LifeBell Museum Scientists on the Global StageBiodiversity Research: Understanding Life’s Threatened Diversity100 Years Later: Minnesota Updates its Natural History SurveyCollections Go Online6. A Museum for the Twenty-first Century, 1990s–2022Saving an Endangered Museum: Surviving and Thriving in a University SettingFrom the Earth to the Cosmos: The Journey of Minnesota’s PlanetariumThe Ride of His LifeThe Road to a Re-Imagined MuseumDesigning with Nature: The Bell Museum’s New HomeMoving Minnesota: Dioramas in a New HabitatThe Experience: A Journey through TimeAfterwordDenise YoungAcknowledgmentsAppendixesThe Bell DioramasSelect Exhibitions at the Bell MuseumPublications of the Bell MuseumSelect ReferencesContributorsIndex
£26.99
University of Minnesota Press Endlings: Fables for the Anthropocene
Book SynopsisAmid the historical decimation of species around the globe, a new way into the language of loss An endling is the last known individual of a species; when that individual dies, the species becomes extinct. These “last individuals” are poignant characters in the stories that humans tell themselves about today’s Anthropocene. In this evocative work, Lydia Pyne explores how discussion about endlings—how we tell their histories—draws on deep traditions of storytelling across a variety of narrative types that go well beyond the science of these species’ biology or their evolutionary history.Endlings provides a useful and thoughtful discussion of species concepts: how species start and how (and why) they end, what it means to be a “charismatic” species, the effects of rewilding, and what makes species extinction different in this era. From Benjamin the thylacine to Celia the ibex to Lonesome George the Galápagos tortoise, endlings, Pyne shows, have the power to shape how we think about grief, mourning, and loss amid the world’s sixth mass extinction.
£9.00
University of Minnesota Press Impermanence: Life and Loss on Superior's South
Book SynopsisA personal journey through the ever-changing natural and cultural history of Lake Superior’s South Shore Lake Superior’s South Shore is as malleable as it is enduring, its red sandstone cliffs, clay bluffs, and golden sand beaches reshaped by winds and water from season to season—and sometimes from one hour to the next. Generations of people have inhabited the South Shore, harvesting the forests and fish, mining copper, altering the land for pleasure and profit, for better or worse. In Impermanence, author Sue Leaf explores the natural and human histories that make the South Shore what it is, from the gritty port city of Superior, Wisconsin, to the shipping locks at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. For Leaf, what began as a bicycling adventure on the coast of Lake Superior in 1977 turned into a lifelong connection with the area, and her experience, not least as owner of a rustic cabin on a rapidly eroding lakeside cliff, imbues these essays with a passionate sense of place and an abiding curiosity about its past and precarious future. As waves slowly consume the shoreline where her family has spent countless summers, Leaf is forced to confront the complexity of loving a place that all too quickly is being reclaimed by the great lake. Impermanence is a journey through the South Shore’s story, from the early days of the Anishinaabe and fur traders through the heyday of commercial fishing, lumber camps, and copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula to the awakening of the Northland to the perils and consequences of plundering its natural splendor. Noting the geological, ecological, and cultural features of each stop on her tour along the South Shore, Leaf writes about the restoration of the heavily touristed Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to its pristine conditions, even as Lake Superior maintains its allure for ice fishers, kayakers, and long-distance swimmers. She describes efforts to protect the endangered piping plover and to preserve the diverse sand dunes on the Michigan coast, and she observes the slough that supports rare intact wild rice beds central to Anishinaabe culture. Part memoir, part travelogue, part natural and cultural history, Leaf’s love letter to Lake Superior’s South Shore is an invitation to see this liminal world in all its seasons and guises, to appreciate its ageless, ever-changing wonders and intimate charms. Trade Review "Sue Leaf's Impermanence is a fascinating combination of personal memoir, natural history, and cultural history. She writes beautifully about Lake Superior's South Shore and its forests, wetlands, and peoples. Her reflections on her family cabin on Lake Superior, and her grief about its potential loss from bluff erosion due to climate change, are particularly evocative. Anyone who loves Lake Superior will find this book rewarding."—Nancy Langston, author of Sustaining Lake Superior and Climate Ghosts "Sue Leaf has given us a gift: a vivid and meticulously researched portrait of one of the most remarkable freshwater coasts in the world. I thought I knew the place well, but I learned something new and fascinating on nearly every page."—Jerry Dennis, author of The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas and The Windward Shore: A Winter on the Great Lakes
£15.29
University of Minnesota Press Gunflint Falling: Blowdown in the Boundary Waters
Book SynopsisStories from survivors of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness’s epochal weather disaster On July 4, 1999, in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), a bizarre confluence of meteorological events resulted in the most damaging blowdown in the region’s history. Originating over the Dakotas, the midsummer windstorm developed amid unusually high heat and water-saturated forests and moved steadily east, bearing down on Fargo, North Dakota, and damaging land as it crossed the Minnesota border. Gunflint Falling tells the story of this devastating storm from the perspectives of those who were on the ground before, during, and after the catastrophic event—from first-time visitors to the north woods to returning paddlers to Forest Service Rangers. The pre-dawn forecasts from the National Weather Service in Duluth for that Sunday of the holiday weekend predicted the day would be “warm and humid. Partly sunny with a thirty percent chance of thunderstorms.” But as the afternoon and evening settled over the Boundary Waters, the first eyewitness accounts began to tell a dramatic and terrifying story. Five friends camping on Lake Polly watched in wonder as the sky turned green and the winds began to whip. They scrambled to pull canoes on shore and secure tarps when a tree snapped and struck one of them in the head, rendering her unconscious. Three women enjoying their last day of a camping trip near the end of the Gunflint Trail took shelter in their tent as winds increased. Water drenched the nylon walls as trees crashed around them, one flattening the tent and pinning a woman beneath its weight. A family vacationing at their cabin dodged falling trees and strained against straight-line winds as they sprinted from the cabin to the safest place they knew: a crawl space underneath it. They watched in awe as trees snapped and toppled, their twisted root balls torn out of the water-logged earth—as they prayed their cabin would hold. By the time the storm began to subside, falling trees had injured approximately sixty people, and most needed to be medevacked to safety. Amazingly, no one died. The historic storm laid down timber that would later blaze in the Ham Lake fire of 2007, ultimately reshaping the region’s forests in ways we have yet to fully understand. Trade Review "Cary J. Griffith makes full use of his impressive talents for interviewing people to obtain truly interesting and previously unknown perspectives and details on the 1999 blowdown. He skillfully weaves these interviews into a complex and captivating story that conveys how incredible this event was and why it deserves a prominent place in Minnesota’s history."—Lee E. Frelich, director, Center for Forest Ecology, University of Minnesota "In the tradition of The Perfect Storm, Cary J. Griffith brings readers into the Boundary Waters moment by moment as an epic gale sweeps through. Ample maps and in-depth interviews with witnesses both immerse us in one terrifying day and offer a glimpse of the past and future of Minnesota’s boreal forest."—Kim Todd, author of Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s “Girl Stunt Reporters” "In Gunflint Falling, Cary J. Griffith provides an accurate, comprehensive narrative of those impacted by one of the region’s most devastating storms. The damage and pain brought by the derecho storm was more severe than anything previously experienced in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The reader is taken into the personal experiences of the injured and those searching for them for fourteen days in the million-acre wilderness, and Griffith’s narrative of these experiences demonstrates how, when faced with an emergency, we come together to help one another."—Jim Sanders, retired forest supervisor, Superior National Forest (1996-2011), USDA Forest Service
£19.79
University of South Carolina Press Ramblings of a Lowcountry Game Warden: A Memoir
Book SynopsisThis title features the career-spanning tales of a coastal crimefighter, ranging from the dangerous to the hilarious.Moise served with distinction as a South Carolina game warden for nearly a quarter century, patrolling the coastal woods and waters of the Palmetto State. In this colorful memoir, the cigar-chomping, ticket-writing scourge of lowcountry fish and game law violators chronicles grueling stakeouts, complex trials, hair-raising adventures, and daily interactions with a host of outrageous personalities. Along the way he paints a vivid and fluid portrait of evolving attitudes and changing regulations governing coastal conservation.In briskly paced accounts of episodes ranging from dangerous to humorous, he introduces a lively cast of watermen, lawyers, country judges, hunters, and poachers who animate the coastal environs and whose quirky personalities and foibles are the game warden's daily stock in trade. Moise's narrative highlights the working lives of commercial crabbers and shrimpers, the antics of overly enthusiastic fishermen, and the great lengths to which hunters will go in their quests for doves, ducks, and marsh hens. Moise also describes encounters with displaced ""urban wildlife,"" the coastal marijuana smuggling business, and his fellow game wardens.The memoir also features a foreword by Lloyd Newberry, celebrated hunter and senior editor of ""Sporting Classics Magazine"".
£35.83
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Pride of Place: A Contemporary Anthology of Texas
Book SynopsisSince Roy Bedichek's influential ""Adventures with a Texas Naturalist"", no book has attempted to explore the uniqueness of Texas nature, or reflected the changes in the human landscape that have accelerated since Bedichek's time. ""Pride of Place"" updates Bedichek's discussion by acknowledging the increased urbanization and the loss of wildspace in today's state. It joins other recent collections of regional nature writing while demonstrating what makes Texas uniquely diverse. These fourteen essays are held together by the story of Texas pride - the sense that from West Texas to the Coastal Plains, the people and the landscape are bold and unique. This book addresses all the major regions of Texas. Beginning with Roy Bedichek's essay ""Still Water,"" it includes Carol Cullar and Barbara ""Barney"" Nelson on the Rio Grande region of West Texas, John Graves's evocative ""Kindred Spirits"" on Central Texas, Joe Nick Patoski's celebration of Hill Country springs, Pete Gunter on the Piney Woods, David Taylor on North Texas, Gary Clark and Gerald Thurmond on the Coastal Plains, Ray Gonzales and Marian Haddad on El Paso, Stephen Harrigan and Wyman Meinzer on West Texas, and Naomi Shihab Nye on urban San Antonio. This anthology will appeal not only to those interested in regional history, natural history, and the environmental issues Texans face, but also to all who say gladly, ""I'm from Texas.
£15.26
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Zen of the Plains: Experiencing Wild Western
Book SynopsisAlthough spare, sweeping landscapes may appear "empty," plains and prairies afford a rich, unique aesthetic experience—one of quiet sunrises and dramatic storms, hidden treasures and abundant wildlife, infinite horizons and omnipresent wind, all worthy of contemplation and celebration. In this series of narratives, photographs, and hand-drawn maps, Tyra Olstad blends scholarly research with first-hand observation to explore topics such as wildness and wilderness, travel and tourism, preservation and conservation, expectations and acceptance, and even dreams and reality in the context of parks, prairies, and wild, open places. In so doing, she invites readers to reconsider the meaning of "emptiness" and ask larger, deeper questions such as: how do people experience the world? How do we shape places and how do places shape us? Above all, what does it mean to experience that exhilarating effect known as Zen of the plains?
£16.96
University Press of New England The New Hiking the Monadnock Region
Book SynopsisExpanded and updated hiking guide to the Monadnock region featuring all new maps for each hike!
£18.05
Texas A & M University Press Wildlife Stewardship and Recreation on Private Lands
Book SynopsisIn the United States, two-thirds of lands are private, and 85 percent of all wildlife is found on these private lands. Who is responsible for wildlife found on private lands - the government, who has the authority to manage wildlife on behalf of all citizens, or the landowners? How can governments carry out their management mission without encroaching on the property rights of landowners? How can landowners be encouraged to manage and preserve wildlife? The authors attempt to answer these questions, examining ways that public and private sectors can work together considering ways governments and landowners can be good stewards of the public's wildlife using recreation, tax advantages, and cost shares as incentives.Trade Review... a thought-provoking book about a topic that is increasingly important. It will be very useful for conservationists, landowners, hunters, wildlife watchers, biologists, land managers, and policy-makers who must face the thorny issues of individual versus collective rights. - The Quarterly Review of Biology
£17.95
Texas A & M University Press The San Marcos: A Rivers Story
Book SynopsisThe San Marcos springs have flowed for around ten million years. In this ode to the river they form, Jim Kimmel brings us a picture of a watercourse brimming with life, past and present. Native, non-native, prehistoric, and modern-day plants, animals, and people have inhabited the river and its banks. Kimmel touches on them all with the affectionate and knowledgeable voice of one whose own life has been closely linked to the San Marcos. As readers journey with Kimmel from the river's headwater springs to its junction with the Guadalupe River, ""The San Marcos: A River's Story"" will capture the imagination and provide valuable information about the river and its crucial role in the ecological health of Texas. Original photographs by Jerry Touchstone Kimmel add a sense of the beauty and complexity of the river.
£22.46
University of Iowa Press The Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in
Book SynopsisIn ""The Emerald Horizon"", Cornelia Mutel combines lyrical writing with meticulous scientific research to portray the environmental past, present, and future of Iowa. In doing so, she ties all of Iowa's natural features into one comprehensive whole.Since so much of the tallgrass state has been transformed into an agricultural landscape, Mutel focuses on understanding today's natural environment by understanding yesterday's changes. After summarizing the geological, archaeological, and ecological features that shaped Iowa's modern landscape, she recreates the once-wild native communities that existed prior to Euroamerican settlement. Next she examines the dramatic changes that overtook native plant and animal communities as Iowa's prairies, woodlands, and wetlands were transformed. Finally she presents realistic techniques for restoring native species and ecological processes as well as a broad variety of ways in which Iowans can reconnect with the natural world. Throughout, in addition to the many illustrations commissioned for this book, she offers careful scientific exposition, a strong sense of respect for the land, and encouragement to protect the future by learning from the past.The ""emerald prairie"" that ""gleamed and shone to the horizon's edge,"" as botanist Thomas Macbride described it in 1895, has vanished. Cornelia Mutel's passionate dedication to restoring this damaged landscape - and by extension the transformed landscape of the entire Corn Belt - invigorates her blend of natural history and human history. Believing that citizens who are knowledgeable about native species, communities, and ecological processes will better care for them, she gives us hope - and sound suggestions - for the future.
£22.75
Kent State University Press Ghosts of an Old Forest
Book Synopsis
£18.99
University of Utah Press,U.S. Hiking the Escalante: In the Grand
Book SynopsisThe Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument covers 1.7 million acres in southern Utah, offering the hiker an experience of deep solitude surrounded by a wealth of geological, biological, and archaeological treasures. Hiking the Escalante opens the door to exploration of this highly scenic area of meandering canyons with relatively few marked trails.It lists fifty hikes by degree of difficulty and includes directions to trailheads, instructions for how to follow particular routes, choices of side canyons along the way, suggestions for loop hikes, and occasional alternative destinations. Along with hike descriptions, the book provides information on the geology, natural history, and human history of the area. This new edition contains seven new hikes, new photographs, and updated information about hike terrain.
£17.06
University of Iowa Press A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction
Book SynopsisThirty-five years and many acres after planting his first patch of prairie flowers, Carl Kurtz is considered one of the deans of the great tallgrass prairie revival. The Prairie Enthusiast called the 2001 edition of his book a “readable and understandable introduction to prairie and the general steps in carrying out a reconstruction.” Now this second edition reflects his increased experience with reconstructing and restoring prairie grasslands.Kurtz has completely revised every chapter of the first edition, from site selection and harvest to soil preparation, seeding, postplanting mowing, burning, and growth and development. He has written new chapters on establishing prairie in old pastureland and on the judicious use of herbicides, including a table that shows particular problem species, the types of herbicides that are most effective at controlling them, and the timing and method of treatment. New photographs illustrate species and steps, and Kurtz has expanded the question-and-answer section and updated the references and the section on midwestern seed sources and services.Tallgrass prairie is critical wildlife habitat and an important element in flood control and stream water treatment. The process of reconstructing and restoring prairie grasslands has made great strides in recent decades. Carl Kurtz’s indispensable, step-by-step guide to creating a diverse and well-established prairie community provides both directions and encouragement for individual landowners as well as land managers working with government agencies and nonprofit organizations that have taken up the task of reconstructing and restoring native grasslands.
£17.05
University Press of New England Through a Naturalists Eyes
Book SynopsisA journey through the natural world of New England, with an expert guide, and reflections on the relationship between nature and humankind
£19.00
Purdue University Press Essays to My Daughter on Our Relationship With
Book SynopsisWhat do fishing with an otter, sitting atop a mountain at dawn with eighty Taiwanese backpackers, and driving home from Aldo Leopold's Shack have to say about the evolution of a personal environmental philosophy? Essays to My Daughter on Our Relationship With the Natural World provides a series of reflections by an environmental educator about lessons learned from time spent in nature. Originally conceived as personal letters to the author's daughter, this collection presents ethical questions outdoor enthusiasts regularly face as they work and play in the natural world. The essays in this book explore environmentalism in a modern-day context, with topics including sustainability education, the current relevance of environmental writers from the past, and the uncertainty of what is meant by words like "naturalist," "solitude," and "wilderness." There is no attempt to direct readers to any particular environmental philosophy. Instead, Simpson encourages readers to articulate their own perspective based on personal experiences in nature. Though Essays to My Daughter is written by a father to his daughter, the insights within the volume-and the questions they provoke-are valuable to all members of the next generation as they grapple with their own relationship to the natural world.Table of Contents Preface Introduction: Personal Philosophy and Individual Experiences Part I: The Pond and the Shack 1 The Good Oak Redux 2 Drowning Out All Our Muskrats 3 Wild Apples 4 Still Fishing 5 A Person's Leisure Time 6 Book Purge Part II: Sketches Here and There 7 Wisconsin East: A Small Square of Red 8 California With a Touch of Maine: Tide Pools East and West 9 Minnesota: Night of the Quintze 10 Iowa: The Birds of Iowa 11 Taiwan: Ascent of Jade Mountain 12 A Return to Taiwan: Old and American 13 Ontario: Goodbye, Deadbroke Island 14 Wisconsin West: Mark Twain on the Mekong 15 Wisconsin West: What About the Other Kids? 16 Three Outsdoorsmen and a Philosopher Part III: Continuums 17 The Preservationist and the Conservationist 18 The Wanderer and the Adventurer 19 The Homecomer and the Sojourner 20 The Romantic and the Scientist 21 The Restorer Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes About the Author
£16.16
Stephen F. Austin State University Press Roads, Peoples, Birds, Mountaintops, and
Book SynopsisRoads, Peoples, Birds, Mountaintops, and Billabongs recounts the unparalleled 3-year adventure around the world of a passionate ornithologist and an aspiring entrepreneur in an overweight Jeep camping van, 1959–1962. In this expedition around the world, Dean Fisher, with only one companion and a vehicle that broke down endlessly, speaks not only of the birds and natural history, but also the people and cultures encountered, not to mention the many challenges that had to be solved. This was all done long before international travel had become commonplace or bird guides were available for most of the places he visits. For many years, those of fascinated by his accounts urged him to write down these tales of adventure so they wouldn’t be lost. Finally, he has done so, and now we can all share in his incredible journey, from a time that seems quite distant and more innocent.
£22.46
Texas A & M University Press Explore Texas: A Nature Travel Guide
Book SynopsisIf you are interested in birdwatching, wildlife viewing, orstargazing; flowers, geology, or water; nature centers, festivals, orphotography, a destination in Texas awaits you.From the desert gardens of Big Bend to hawk watching on theGulf Coast to caving and bat watching in the Hill Country, natureoriented travel in Texas also includes lesser known getaways, suchas a photo ranch, rare plant preserve, and bluebird trail.Organized by the seven official state travel regions, Explore Texas features descriptions of almost one hundred nature-orientedsites, including information about the best time to visit andwhy it’s worth going; location, fees, and other logistics; and a“learn” section on the observations and natural phenomena avisitor might expect to experience. Photographs by professionalphotographer Jeff Parker accompany the accounts, and handycolor-coded icons help guide readers to the activities of theirchoice. Perfect for planning the family’s next outing or vacation, this book also contains a message of how nature tourism helps to protect biodiversity, promote conservation, and sustain the state’s tourism economy.
£23.76
Texas A & M University Press Nature Watch Big Bend: A Seasonal Guide
Book SynopsisIn this information-packed, month-to-month guide to the wildlife, plants, and natural events that define the seasonal cycles in Big Bend National Park, naturalists Lynne and Jim Weber offer a richly illustrated guide to the natural rhythms of this beautiful and remote region in far West Texas. If you're on the lookout for deer in January, tracking hummingbirds in August, photographing wildflowers in September, or listening to frog choruses after a summer rain—the authors provide “Where to Watch” suggestions on when and how to see these and many other park inhabitants, from beavers and bats to lizards and dragonflies. Each chapter features a weather and temperature chart, photographs, and eye-catching illustrations by Lynne Weber. Whether you are a casual tourist or a frequent visitor to Big Bend, the authors hope that knowing what to look for during your stay in one of the nation’s largest national parks will heighten your awareness, sharpen your observation skills, and enhance your overall experience in this iconic Texas landscape.Trade ReviewFew people know Big Bend National Park as well as Lynne and Jim Weber... and in Nature Watch they share that knowledge with readers"" - Roland ""Ro"" Wauer, author of Naturalist's Big Bend
£19.96
Texas A & M University Press Birdlife of the Gulf of Mexico
Book SynopsisThe Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important ecological regions in the world for birds. The mosaic of diverse habitats in the region provides numerous niches for birds. There are productive salt marshes, barrier islands, and sandy beaches for foraging and nesting; a direct pathway between North and Central and South America for migrating; and warm, tropical waters for wintering. Many species are residents all year around, some migrate through, and still others spend the winter along the shores. The Gulf Coast is home to a significant portion of the world’s population of Reddish Egret and Snowy Plover and a significant portion of the US breeding populations of certain birds, including the Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, and Laughing Gull. In total, there are more than 400 bird species that rely on the Gulf at some time during the year.Drawing on decades of fieldwork and data research, renowned ornithologist and behavioral ecologist Joanna Burger provides detailed descriptions of birdlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Burger records trends in bird population, behavior, and major threats and stressors affecting birds in the region, including the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. While some of this data exists in journal articles, research papers, and government reports, this is the first volume to weave together a comprehensive overview of the birds and related natural resources found in the Gulf of Mexico.Illustrated with over 900 color photographs, charts, and maps, this landmark reference volume will be immensely important for researchers, conservationists, land managers, birders, and wildlife lovers.
£63.75
Texas A & M University Press The Dama Gazelles: Last Members of a Critically
Book SynopsisDama gazelles, the largest of the gazelles, were once a common sight in Northern Africa, with a habitat ranging from the Atlantic Ocean east almost to the Nile River. Today, these animals are critically endangered as their populations have dropped precipitously due to the effects of expanding agrarian practices, overhunting, violent human conflict, and climate change on their native habitats.Though they are perilously close to extinction in the wild, Texas ranches maintain over a thousand dama gazelles—more than the number currently in zoos and in the wild combined. The habitat on some of these ranches resembles their natural range along the Sahara Desert of Northern Africa, making them suitable living spaces for damas.In The Dama Gazelles, Elizabeth Cary Mungall brings together experts from around the world and offers a comprehensive reference book on these animals, including information on natural history and taxonomy; physical and behavioral traits; dama gazelles held in zoos and collections, parks and preserves, and on Texas ranches; and efforts to reintroduce populations into the wild. There is also a rare, firsthand account from Frans M. van den Brink, an animal dealer from the Netherlands, who in the 1960s successfully captured 35 dama gazelles in Northern Africa and transported them to zoos in the United States and Europe, losing only two animals in the harrowing process. Those 33 dama gazelles were the “founders” of all the dama gazelles in captivity today.Detailed appendixes and a glossary round out the volume with additional information to help researchers, zookeepers, and landowners better understand and conserve dama gazelles.
£37.46
Texas A & M University Press In the Shadow of the Chinatis: A History of Pinto
Book SynopsisWinner, 2020 Al Lowman Memorial Prize for Best Book on Texas County or Local History There is a deep and abiding connection between humans and the land in Pinto Canyon—a remote and rugged place near the border with Mexico in the Texas Big Bend. Here the land assumes a certain primacy, defined not by the ephemera of plants and animals but by the very bedrock that rises far above the silvery flow of Pinto Creek— looming masses that break the horizon into a hundred different vistas. Yet, over time, people managed to survive and sometimes even thrive in this harsh environment.In the Shadow of the Chinatis combines the rich narratives of history, natural history, and archeology to tell the story of the landscape as well as the people who once inhabited it. Settling the land was difficult, staying on it even more so, but one family proved especially resilient. Rising above their meager origins, the Prietos eventually amassed a 12,000-acre ranch in the shadow of the Chinati Mountains to become the most successful of Pinto Canyon’s early settlers. But starting with the tense years of the Great Depression, the family faced a series of tragedies: one son was killed by a Texas Ranger, and another by the deranged son of Chico Cano, the Big Bend’s most notorious bandit. Ultimately, growing rifts in the family forced the sale of the ranch, marking the end of an era. Bearing the hallmarks of an epic tragedy, the departure of the Prieto family signaled a transition away from ranching towards a new style of landownership based on a completely different model. Today, Pinto Canyon’s scenic and scientific value increasingly overshadows the marginal economics of its past.In the Shadow of the Chinatis reveals a rich tapestry of interaction between humans and their environment, providing a unique examination of the Big Bend region and the people who call it home.Trade Review“A drive down Pinto Canyon road is now as much a part of the Big Bend visitor’s ritual as the drive along the River Road from Lajitas to Presidio. Pinto Canyon is a much more intimate experience, made more so by David Keller’s In the Shadow of the Chinati’s: A History of Pinto Canyon. The incredible geology and the great biodiversity are immediately visible, but what Keller provides is the rich, but mostly invisible human history of Pinto Canyon. The story he tells is an important one, especially that of the Hispanic culture and families, which often goes untold.” —Larry Francell, author of Fort Davis “A truly masterful Texas borderlands history, polished, precise, elegant, thoughtful, and intelligent.” —Thomas T. Smith, author of The Old Army in the Big Bend of Texas: The Last Cavalry Frontier, 1911-1921 “David Keller’s In the Shadow of the Chinatis is not merely a deeply-researched, fine-grained human history of a remote and beautiful canyon of the Big Bend country of far West Texas. Subjecting its real-life characters to novel-like treatment, this book is an original creation, unique in the literature of the desert Southwest. I sense the birth of a classic.” —Dan Flores, New York Times best-selling author of Coyote America “For any serious student of the Big Bend, this book is a treasure. With Keller’s book, the long silent rocks and ruins of Pinto Canyon have finally been given voice.”—San Antonio Express-News "Though his book is an academic work, Keller's attention to prose and style is evident... his portrayal of the families who lived there is touched with such care and heart, the reader only wants to see them succeed. Warning: The reader will be disappointed."—Texas Observer
£23.76
Texas A & M University Press The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas, Second
Book SynopsisThe Laguna Madre is the only hypersaline coastal lagoon on the North American continent and only one of five worldwide. The lagoon is renowned for its vast seagrass meadows, huge wintering redhead population, and bountiful fishing grounds. In 2000, the Nature Conservancy, whose mission is the conservation of biodiversity through protection of habitat, recognized the need to amass all known information about the Laguna Madre and implement a science-based conservation agenda. From those efforts came the first edition of this book. Now completely revised and updated, this second edition of The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas is the culmination of two decades of additional research and continued conservation efforts in the region. Nearly 100 years of literature on the Laguna Madre and surrounding environments has been synthesized here. With 150 figures and illustrations, the book takes a broad and comprehensive look at both the Texan and Tamaulipan Laguna Madre. The value of this book for scientists, conservationists, resource managers, and policy makers involved in the future of the Texas and Mexico coasts is clear. Coastal residents, birders, anglers, and nature lovers who want to learn about and take care of the Laguna Madre will find this to be an indispensable guide.
£100.50
University of Massachusetts Press Urban Archipelago: An Environmental History of
Book SynopsisThe Boston Harbor Islands have been called Boston's "hidden shores." While some are ragged rocks teeming with coastal wildlife, such as oystercatchers and harbor seals, others resemble manicured parks or have the appearance of wooded hills rising gently out of the water. Largely ignored by historians and previously home to prisons, asylums, and sewage treatment plants, this surprisingly diverse ensemble of islands has existed quietly on the urban fringe over the last four centuries. Even their latest incarnation as a national park and recreational hub has emphasized their separation from, rather than their connection to, the city.In this book, Pavla Šimková reinterprets the Boston Harbor Islands as an urban archipelago, arguing that they have been an integral part of Boston since colonial days, transformed by the city's changing values and catering to its current needs. Drawing on archival sources, historic maps and photographs, and diaries from island residents, this absorbing study attests that the harbor islands' story is central to understanding the ways in which Boston has both shaped and been shaped by its environment over time.
£69.30
University Press of Mississippi The Lakes of Pontchartrain: Their History and Environments
Book SynopsisA vital and volatile part of the New Orleans landscape and lifestyle, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin actually contains three major bodies of water--Lakes Borgne, Pontchartrain, and Maurepas. These make up the Pontchartrain estuary. Robert W. Hastings provides a thorough examination of the historical and environmental research on the basin, with emphasis on its environmental degradation and the efforts to restore and protect this estuarine system. He also explores the current biological condition of the lakes.Hastings begins with the geological formation of the lakes and the relationship between Native Americans and the water they referred to as Okwa'ta, the ""wide water."" From the historical period, he describes the forays of French explorer Pierre Le Moyne D'Iberville in 1699, and traces the environmental history of the basin through the development of the New Orleans metropolitan area. Using the lakes for transportation and then recreation, the surrounding population burgeoned, and this growth resulted in severe water pollution and other environmental problems. In the 1980s the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation led a concerted drive to restore the lakes, an ongoing effort that has proved significant.
£27.96
Island Press Bird Brother: A Falconer's Journey and the
Book SynopsisTo escape the tough streets of Southeast Washington, D.C. in the late 1980s, young Rodney Stotts would ride the metro to the Smithsonian National Zoo. There, the bald eagles and other birds of prey captured his imagination for the first time. In Bird Brother, Rodney shares his unlikely journey to becoming a conservationist and one of America’s few Black master falconers. Rodney grew up during the crack epidemic, with guns, drugs, and the threat of incarceration an accepted part of daily life for nearly everyone he knew. To rent his own apartment, he needed a paycheck—something the money from dealing drugs didn’t provide. For that, he took a position in 1992 with a new nonprofit, the Earth Conservation Corps. Gradually, Rodney fell in love with the work to restore and conserve the polluted Anacostia River that flows through D.C. As conditions along the river improved, he helped to reintroduce bald eagles to the region and befriended an injured Eurasian Eagle Owl named Mr. Hoots, the first of many birds whose respect he would work hard to earn. Bird Brother is a story about pursuing dreams against all odds, and the importance of second chances. Rodney’s life was nearly upended when he was arrested on drug charges in 2002. The jail sentence sharpened his resolve to get out of the hustling life. With the fierceness of the raptors he had admired for so long, he began to train to become a master falconer and to develop his own raptor education program and sanctuary. Rodney’s son Mike, a D.C. firefighter, has also begun his journey to being a master falconer, with his own kids cheering him along the way. Eye-opening, witty, and moving, Bird Brother is a love letter to the raptors and humans who transformed what Rodney thought his life could be. It is an unflinching look at the uphill battle Black children face in pursuing stable, fulfilling lives, a testament to the healing power of nature, and a reminder that no matter how much heartbreak we’ve endured, we still have the capacity to give back to our communities and follow our wildest dreams.
£18.99
University of South Carolina Press The Jon Boat Years: And Other Stories Afield with
Book SynopsisDelightful tales of hunting and fishing, family, friends, dogs, and precious time well spent and cherished Nationally recognized and award-winning writer Jim Mize captures the true essence of sport and living life to the fullest in this collection of stories about his outdoor escapades. In tales spanning more than five decades, Mize invites readers into carefree days hiking through the Colorado Rockies with a fly rod and leisurely casting poppers to bluegill on small southern ponds. Cold days shivering in a duck blind or deer hunting trips lost in fog all make for fine memories. And then there are the dogs. Meet boot-eating Labs, setters with fine noses, and a Brittany Spaniel that loved to bounce through frosted kudzu. Mize's humorous stories entertain and remind readers of their own turkey hunting or creek fishing excursions. Black-and-white line drawings from artist Bob White illustrate stories filled with laughter, quiet contemplation, and wonder. Mize reminds the young and old that the pleasure of the pursuit matters most.Table of Contents Foreword by Jim Casada PrefaceAcross Generations First Pup Your Day Will Come Kids Do Say the Darndest Things The Jon Boat Years Another Letter to a Grandson A Letter to a Granddaughter Fishing with Others If a Tree Falls My Buddy's Fishing Hole The Seabee Jacket After Dark Fishing Directions Old Guys in a Boat A Lesson Twice Learned Fishing Odd Hatches Yellow Damn Jackets Carpy Diem Along Came a Spider Fishing the Mosquito Hatch A Whiff of Skunk Stir Crazy Low Expectations Jinxed Into the Backing Gone with the Wind Knot Fly Fishing for Suckers The Colorado Years Freedom Coldcocked Skinny-Dipping with Cutties The Fish of a Lifetime Pondering Deer Stuff Hunting with KP Hunting in the Haunted House The Deer Who Wore Camo Custer's Last Deer Stand Pondering Deer Stuff A Class in Ethics In Pursuit of Bearded Birds How to Name Your Turkey The Turkey Chainsaw Massacre Almost a Lion Story Growing Your Gobbler Of Ducks and Dogs Blurred Memories A Quack's Guide to Duck Calls Reasons for Owning a Dog My Steel Shot Rusted Upland Birds Hunting the Pole Kudzu Quail Hunting the Hurricane The Christmas Gift Winders An Old Red Shirt
£18.00
University of Utah Press,U.S. The Great Basin Seafloor: Exploring the Ancient
Book SynopsisMany people appreciate the stunning vistas of the Great Basin desert; understanding the region’s geological past can provide a deeper way to know and admire this landscape. In The Great Basin Seafloor, Frank DeCourten immerses readers in a time when the Basin was covered by a vast ocean in which volcanoes exploded and sea life flourished. Written for a nontechnical audience, this book interprets the rock record left by more than 500 million years of oceanic activity, when mud and sand accumulated and solidified to produce today’s Great Basin across parts of modern Utah, Nevada, and California. DeCourten deciphers clues within exposed slopes and canyons to reconstruct the vanished seafloor and its volcanic events and examines fossils to reveal once-thriving ancient marine communities. Supplemental material is available online to serve as a field guide for readers wishing to explore this ancient ocean themselves as they travel through the region.
£28.46
University of Utah Press,U.S. Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge and Resistance
Book SynopsisDesignated in 2016 by President Obama and reduced to 85 percent of its original size one year later by President Trump, Bears Ears National Monument continues to be a flash point of conflict between ranchers, miners, environmental groups, states’ rights advocates, and Native American activists. In this volume, Andrew Gulliford synthesizes 11,000 years of the region’s history to illuminate what’s truly at stake in this conflict and distills this geography as a place of refuge and resistance for Native Americans who seek to preserve their ancestral homes, and for the descendants of Mormon families who arrived by wagon train in 1880. Gulliford’s engaging narrative explains prehistoric Pueblo villages and cliff dwellings, Navajo and Ute history, impacts of the Atomic Age, uranium mining, and the pothunting and looting of Native graves that inspired the passage of the Antiquities Act over a century ago. The book describes how the national monument came about and its deep significance to five native tribes. Bears Ears National Monument is a bellwether for public land issues in the American West. Its recognition will be a relevant topic for years to come.Trade Review“This is a significant contribution to a current controversy. It presents multiple sides of questions fairly. In the ongoing arguments over Bears Ears, Gulliford’s book will be a resource and a reference. It presents an excellent history of Bears Ears and surrounding southeastern Utah."—Steve Lekson, author of A Study of Southwestern Archaeology“Andrew Gulliford’s long experience with the lands and people of Utah’s San Juan County is apparent in this fair-minded, richly informative historical account. He shows how the Bears Ears National Monument became such a charged public issue and what can be learned from the ongoing struggle to protect it."—John D. Leshy, author of Our Common Ground: A New History of America’s Public LandsTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Bears Ears and a Deep Map of Place 1. Hunter- Gatherers and Deep Time: From Pleistocene Mammoths to Archaic Rock Art 2. From Basketmakers to Ancestral Puebloans, ad 50 to 1150 3. Into the Cliffs, 1150–1300 4. Navajos, Utes, and Canyon Exploration, 1300–1859 5. “The Fearing Time” and Mapping Ancient America, 1860–1875 6. “We Thank Thee, Oh God”: Mormons Settle Bluff and Cattle Come to the Canyons, 1876–1890 7. Cowboy Archaeology, a Lady Botanist, a Failed Indian Reservation, and the Antiquities Act, 1891–1906 8. The US Forest Service, Natural Bridges, and the Last Indian War, 1907–1923 9. Lost in Bears Ears, Murder in Johns Canyon, and a Failed New Deal National Monument, 1924–1944 10. Yellowcake, the Atomic Age, and a Golden Circle, 1945–1970 11. U-95, Nuclear Waste, Deadly Daughters, and Pothunting Raids, 1971–1986 12. Tribes Come Together for Bears Ears National Monument, 1987–2016 13. Resistance and Challenge to Bears Ears and the Antiquities Act 14. Tiny Tubers, Dark Skies, and the Future of a Sacred Native Landscape 15. Bears Ears Restored?: Coming Full Circle in Canyon Country Notes Bibliography Index
£24.71
University of Nevada Press Playa Works: The Myth Of The Empty
Book SynopsisIn eight brilliant essays, Fox explores many of the major playas of the American West , examining locations as diverse as Nellis Air Force Base and Frenchman Flat, where the federal government has tested experimental aircraft and atomic weaponry; the Great Salt Lake Desert, where land-speed records have been broken; and the Black Rock Desert of Northern Nevada, site of the colorful Burning Man arts festival. He analyzes the geological and climatological conditions that created the playas and the historical role that playas played in the exploration and settlement of the West. And he offers lucid and keenly perceptive discussions of the ways that artists have responded to the playas, from the ancient makers of geoglyphs to the work of contemporary artists who have found inspiration in these enigmatic spaces, including earthworks builder Michael Heizer, photographer Richard Misrach, and painter Michael Moore. The ensemble is a compelling combination of natural history, philosophy, and art criticism, a thoughtful meditation on humankind's aversion to and fascination with the void.Trade Review“If we are to increasingly inhabit the deserts of the world, we must better understand them, author William L. Fox argues. Fox takes readers on a literary odyssey that integrates scholarship and personal narrative in a rich exploration of the natural and unnatural histories of dry lakes. Fox is a master of writing technical information in a manner that makes matters clear and engaging for a non-technical reader in Playa Works: The Myth of the Empty. Fox tours the playas of California, Nevada, and Utah with artists and scientists, military personnel and defense contractors, piecing together the story of how we perceive the intimidating blank pages of the desert and inscribe our culture upon them.” —Encore: Sierra Arts Monthly, November 2002 “Fox’s prose was lovely to read, clean and delicate, his paragraphs well-balanced with information and narrative. He has a rare sensitivity to beauty, meaning, and language. His approach is soulful, his thinking solid and expansive, as hard and wide as the desert floor.” —Elizabeth White, Southwestern American Literature "William L. Fox’s new book is the most extraordinary and complex book yet written about the Big Empty, its myth and reality, and the works of art that it has spawned, full of the ironies of history and mysterious draw of its landscape. A playa lover’s dream, a dreamer’s vision in words, sculpture, and photographs, underlaid by fine scholarship and exuberance. All in all, a superb book that belongs in the library of everyone who loves the dry spans of the West.” —Ann Zwinger, author of The Mysterious Lands: A Naturalist Explores the Four Great Deserts of the SouthwestTable of Contents The Myth of the Empty An Introduction, 1 A Tour of the Playa, Part I The Mojave, 21 A Tour of the Playa, Part II The Nevada Test Site, 51 A Tour of the Playa, Part III Wendover,77 A Tour of the Playa, Coda Owens Dry Lake, 113 Painting the Playa Smoke Creek Desert, 125 Burning Man Black Rock Desert, 161 Rediscovery An Afterword, 193 Sources, 209
£17.56
Texas A&M University Press The Mammals of Trans-Pecos Texas: Including Big
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£45.00
Texas A&M University Press Advanced White-Tailed Deer Management: The
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£27.71
Texas A&M University Press Duck Walk: A Birder's Improbable Path to Hunting
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£26.36
Texas A&M University Press The Other Side of Nowhere: Exploring Big Bend
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£37.46
Texas A&M University Press Cemetery Birding: An Unexpected Guide to
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£27.96
Texas A&M University Press Enjoying Big Bend National Park Volume 41: A
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£18.36
Texas A&M University Press Applied Wildlife Habitat Management, Second
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£41.25
Texas A&M University Press Animals in Classic American Poetry
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£24.29
WW Norton & Co Succulents at Home: Choosing, Growing, and
Book SynopsisSucculents have become some of the most popular houseplants, and with good reason: they’re easy to grow…most of the time. But what happens when a plant outgrows its pot? Did you know succulents can get sunburned? How do you turn one plant into more plants? In Succulents at Home, expert gardener John Tullock addresses these questions and many more. Here, readers will learn to make the most of their plants from the how and why of soil and container choice to step-by-step instructions for repotting, propagating new succulents, and creating arrangements like terrariums and wreaths. The book is complete with a catalog of 75 species—flower-shaped echeverias, pointy haworthias, flowering kalanchoes, round mammillaria cacti, and more—which explains special care instructions for each variety. Tullock’s friendly voice and years of experience, and more than 100 color photographs, make this a must-have guide for fool-proof succulent gardening. And with a focus on growing succulents to enjoy indoors, this is a book for plant lovers in all regions and climates.
£16.14
University Press of Florida Writing the New World: The Politics of Natural
Book SynopsisIn Writing the New World, Mauro Caraccioli examines the natural history writings of early Spanish missionaries, using these texts to argue that colonial Latin America was fundamental in the development of modern political thought. Revealing their narrative context, religious ideals, and political implications, Caraccioli shows how these sixteenth-century works promoted a distinct genre of philosophical wonder in service of an emerging colonial social order.Caraccioli discusses narrative techniques employed by well-known figures such as Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Bartolomé de Las Casas as well as less-studied authors including Bernardino de Sahagún, Francisco Hernández, and José de Acosta. More than mere catalogues of the natural wonders of the New World, these writings advocate mining and molding untapped landscapes, detailing the possibilities for extracting not just resources from the land but also new moral values from indigenous communities. Analyzing the intersections between politics, science, and faith that surface in these accounts, Caraccioli shows how the portrayal of nature served the ends of imperial domination.Integrating the fields of political theory, environmental history, Latin American literature, and religious studies, this book showcases Spain's role in the intellectual formation of modernity and Latin America's place as the crucible for the Scientific Revolution. Its insights are also relevant to debates about the interplay between politics and environmental studies in the Global South today.This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of Virginia Tech.
£60.00
University Press of Florida Writing the New World: The Politics of Natural
Book SynopsisIn Writing the New World, Mauro Caraccioli examines the natural history writings of early Spanish missionaries, using these texts to argue that colonial Latin America was fundamental in the development of modern political thought. Revealing their narrative context, religious ideals, and political implications, Caraccioli shows how these sixteenth-century works promoted a distinct genre of philosophical wonder in service of an emerging colonial social order.Caraccioli discusses narrative techniques employed by well-known figures such as Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo and Bartolomé de Las Casas as well as less-studied authors including Bernardino de Sahagún, Francisco Hernández, and José de Acosta. More than mere catalogues of the natural wonders of the New World, these writings advocate mining and molding untapped landscapes, detailing the possibilities for extracting not just resources from the land but also new moral values from indigenous communities. Analyzing the intersections between politics, science, and faith that surface in these accounts, Caraccioli shows how the portrayal of nature served the ends of imperial domination.Integrating the fields of political theory, environmental history, Latin American literature, and religious studies, this book showcases Spain's role in the intellectual formation of modernity and Latin America's place as the crucible for the Scientific Revolution. Its insights are also relevant to debates about the interplay between politics and environmental studies in the Global South today.This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of Virginia Tech.
£22.36
Bucknell University Press,U.S. Woven Shades of Green: An Anthology of Irish
Book SynopsisWoven Shades of Green is an annotated selection of literature by authors who focus on the natural world and the beauty of Ireland. It begins with the Irish monks and their largely anonymous nature poetry, written at a time when Ireland was heavily forested. A section follows devoted to the changing Irish landscape, through both deforestation and famine, including the nature poetry of William Allingham, and James Clarence Mangan, essays from Thomas Gainford and William Thackerary, and novel excerpts from William Carleton and Emily Lawless. The anthology then turns to the nature literature of the Irish Literary Revival, including Yeats and Synge, and an excerpt from George Moore’s novel The Lake. Part four shifts to modern Irish nature poetry, beginning with Patrick Kavanaugh, and continuing with the poetry of Seamus Heaney, Eavan Boland, and others. Finally, the anthology concludes with a section on various Irish naturalist writers, and the unique prose and philosophical nature writing of John Moriarty, followed by a comprehensive list of environmental organizations in Ireland, which seek to preserve the natural beauty of this unique country. Published by Bucknell University Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.Trade Review"Irish literature’s ubiquitous relationship to the environment offers a vast reservoir of meditations on humanity’s relationship with non-human natures. This can often prove daunting to both established scholars and novice readers. For all those who are interested in the intersectional concerns that arise from Irish literature’s evocations of the environment, Tim Wenzell’s timely anthology will prove to be especially invaluable. The book brings into sharp focus the unique ways in which Irish history merges with national and geopolitical ecologies, and how geographical questions are always conflated with geological ones.” -- Dr. Malcolm Sen, University of Massachusetts, Amherst"Time has shaped a distinctive history of Irish nature literature in a deeply gathered, insightful anthology....Itself a generous treasury of Irish nature poetry and prose, the book is ordered by historical responses to religion, romanticism, colonisation, catastrophe, nationalism and material success." * Irish Times *"Wenzell's annotated selection is timely, looking as it does at a genre that doesn't seem to have bitten in Ireland quite as hard as it has in other publishing territories, a symptom perhaps of a more complicated - and at times harrowing - relationship with the natural world." * Sunday Independent *"This anthology emphasizes the importance of the natural world of Ireland and the breadth of writing that has embraced it during many centuries." * Gale Literature Book Review Index *"Readers familiar with Irish literature and ecocriticism will find this volume filled with familiar faces and materials, as well as a few more obscure and exciting ones. This anthology offers scholars a series of substantial pieces from which to expand and further consider Irish nature writing and Irish approaches to the natural world." * Irish Studies Review *"The Best of the University Presses: 100 Books to Escape the News As Recommended by the UP Community" https://lithub.com/the-best-of-the-university-presses-a-reading-list/ * LitHub *"Woven Shades of Green...shows the great variety and depth of editor Tim Wenzell’s knowledge and insight on the topic across history. He possesses a keen sense for choosing not only the key authors and texts, but also often underappreciated writers or lesser known works by famous ones." * James Joyce Literary Supplement *"A generous and inclusive anthology, focusing mainly on poetry but open also to significant pieces of prose....The engagement by these writers shows a valuable addition to the literature of the natural world." * New Hibernia Review *"Irish literature’s ubiquitous relationship to the environment offers a vast reservoir of meditations on humanity’s relationship with non-human natures. This can often prove daunting to both established scholars and novice readers. For all those who are interested in the intersectional concerns that arise from Irish literature’s evocations of the environment, Tim Wenzell’s timely anthology will prove to be especially invaluable. The book brings into sharp focus the unique ways in which Irish history merges with national and geopolitical ecologies, and how geographical questions are always conflated with geological ones.” -- Dr. Malcolm Sen, University of Massachusetts, Amherst"Time has shaped a distinctive history of Irish nature literature in a deeply gathered, insightful anthology....Itself a generous treasury of Irish nature poetry and prose, the book is ordered by historical responses to religion, romanticism, colonisation, catastrophe, nationalism and material success." * Irish Times *"Wenzell's annotated selection is timely, looking as it does at a genre that doesn't seem to have bitten in Ireland quite as hard as it has in other publishing territories, a symptom perhaps of a more complicated - and at times harrowing - relationship with the natural world." * Sunday Independent *"This anthology emphasizes the importance of the natural world of Ireland and the breadth of writing that has embraced it during many centuries." * Gale Literature Book Review Index *"Readers familiar with Irish literature and ecocriticism will find this volume filled with familiar faces and materials, as well as a few more obscure and exciting ones. This anthology offers scholars a series of substantial pieces from which to expand and further consider Irish nature writing and Irish approaches to the natural world." * Irish Studies Review *"The Best of the University Presses: 100 Books to Escape the News As Recommended by the UP Community" https://lithub.com/the-best-of-the-university-presses-a-reading-list/ * LitHub *"Woven Shades of Green...shows the great variety and depth of editor Tim Wenzell’s knowledge and insight on the topic across history. He possesses a keen sense for choosing not only the key authors and texts, but also often underappreciated writers or lesser known works by famous ones." * James Joyce Literary Supplement *"A generous and inclusive anthology, focusing mainly on poetry but open also to significant pieces of prose....The engagement by these writers shows a valuable addition to the literature of the natural world." * New Hibernia Review *Table of Contents Foreword by John Wilson Foster Preface Part I Early Irish Nature Poetry IntroductionThe MysteryDeer’s Cry St. Columcille of IonaColumcille Fecit Caelius SeduliusInvocation Anonymous Early Irish Nature PoetryThe Blackbird by Belfast LoughThe ScribeThe White LakeThe LarkThe Hermit’s SongKing and HermitSong of the SeaSummer Has ComeSong of SummerSummer is GoneA Song of WinterArranBuile Suibhne Part II Nature Writing and the Changing Irish Landscape Introduction Thomas Gainsford A Description of Ireland William AllinghamWishingThe FairiesThe Lover and BirdsAmong the HeatherIn a Spring GroveThe Ruined Chapel William Hamilton DrummondThe Giant’s Causeway, Book First James Clarence ManganThe Dawning of the DayThe Fair Hills of Eire, O!The Lovely Land: On a Landscape Painted by Maclise William Makepeace Thackeray From Irish Sketchbook William Carleton From The Black Prophet Emily Lawless From Hurrish: A Study Part III Nature and the Irish Literary Revival Introduction Katharine TynanThe Children of LirHigh SummerIndian SummerNymphsSt. Francis to the BirdsThe Birds’ BargainThe GardenThe Wind that Shakes the Barley AE (George Russell)By the Margin of the Great DeepOversoulThe Great BreathThe Voice of the WatersA New WorldA Vision of BeautyCarrowmoreCreationThe Winds of AngusThe Nuts of KnowledgeChildren of LirConnla’s Well From The Candle of Vision William Butler YeatsCoole Park, 1929Coole Park and Ballylee, 1931Who Goes with Fergus?Down by the Salley GardensIn the Seven WoodsThe Shadowy Waters (Introductory Lines)The Cat and the MoonThe Fairy PedantThe Lake Isle of InnisfreeThe Madness of King GollThe Song of Wandering Aengus ...The Stolen Child ...The Two Trees ...The White Birds ...The Wild Swans at Coole ... Eva Gore-BoothThe Dreamer ...Re-Incarnation ...Secret Waters ...The Little Waves of BreffnyThe Weaver John Millington SyngeIn KerryTo the Oaks of GlencreePreludeIn GlencullenOn an Island From The Aran Islands Riders to the Sea George Moore Preface and Chapter 1 from The Lake Padraic ColumA DroverA Cradle SongAcross the DoorThe Crane ...Dublin Roads ..River Mates ... Part IV Modern Irish Nature Poetry Introduction ... Patrick Kavanaugh ..PoplarsLilacs in the CityOctober Canal Bank WalkHaving to Live in the CountryInniskeen Road: July Evening On an Apple-Ripe September MorningPrimroseWet Evening in April Louis MacNeiceThe Sunlight on the Garden ..Wolves ...Tree Party Seamus Heaney ..Death of a NaturalistThe Salmon Fisher to the Fisherman LimboSt. Kevin and the Blackbird . Eavan BolandThe Lost LandThe RiverMountain TimeThis MomentOde to SuburbiaEscape ...A Sparrow Hawk in the Suburbs Moya CannonBees under SnowEavesdroppingTwo Ivory SwansWinter View from Binn BriocainPrimaveraThe Tube-Case MakersCrannogHazelnuts John MontagueAll Legendary ObstaclesThe Wild Dog RoseThe Trout Michael LongleyThe OspreyBadgerHedgehogKingfisherRobinOut of the SeaHer Mime of the Lame SeagullCarrigskeewaunSaint Francis to the Birds Derek MahonThe SeasonsAchillAphrodite’s PoolThe Mayo TaoPenhurst PlaceThe WoodsThe Dream Play “A Hermit”Leaves Sean LysaghtGolden EagleThe Clare Island SurveyGoldcrest From Bird Sweeney Desmond EganThe Great BlasketSunday EveningMeadowsweetSnow Snow Snow SnowA Pigeon DeadEnvoi Mary O’MalleyAbsentThe Man of AranPorpoisesThe Price of Silk is Paid in GoldThe StormLiaden with a Mortgage Briefly Tastes the Stars Rosemarie RowleyOsborn O h - Aimbirgin; A Cry from the Heart of a Poet—Morning in BearaThe Blackbird of Derry of the CairnIn Praise of the Hill Between of HowthBlind Seamus McCourt: Welcome to the Bird’Kitty Dwyer Part V The Literature of Irish Naturalists Introduction John Tyndall Belfast Address Robert Lloyd Praeger From The Way That I Went Michael Viney From A Year’s Turning From The Irish Times, “Another Life” Tim Robinson From Connemara: Listening to the Wind, “Preface” From Connemara: Listening to the Wind, “The Boneyard” John Moriarty From Invoking Ireland Appendix: Environmental Organizations in Ireland Acknowledgments Bibliography Index
£59.20
42 Miles Press We Can't Tell If the Constellations Love Us
£10.99
Lost Horse Press In Memory of a Banyan Tree: Poems of the Outside World, 1985–2022
Book SynopsisIn Memory of a Banyan Tree is a collection of poems relating to nature, ecology, and ecopoetics, selected from the expanse of Rothenberg's writings over the past thirty-five years. Rothenberg's many years as a horticulturist and his engagement in the environmental movement inform his work. These poems are a watershed account of an intimate relationship with the outside world.
£14.36
University of Calgary Press Traces of the Animal Past: Methodological
Book SynopsisUnderstanding the relationships between humans and animals is essential to a full understanding of both our present and our shared past. Across the humanities and social sciences, researchers have embraced the 'animal turn,' a multispecies approach to scholarship, with historians at the forefront of new research in human-animal studies that blends traditional research methods with interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks that decenter humans in historical narratives. These exciting approaches come with core methodological challenges for scholars seeking to better understand the past from non-anthropocentric perspectives.Whether in a large public archive, a small private collection, or the oral histories of living memories, stories of animals are mediated by the humans who have inscribed the records and organized archival collections. In oral histories, the place of animals in the past are further refracted by the frailty of human memory and recollection. Only traces remain for researchers to read and interpret.Bringing together seventeen original essays by a leading group of international scholars, Traces of the Animal Past showcases the innovative methods historians use to unearth and explain how animals fit into our collective histories. Situating the historian within the narrative, bringing transparency to methodological processes, and reflecting on the processes and procedures of current research, this book presents new approaches and new directions for a maturing field of historical inquiry.
£54.40
University of Calgary Press Traces of the Animal Past: Methodological
Book SynopsisUnderstanding the relationships between humans and animals is essential to a full understanding of both our present and our shared past. Across the humanities and social sciences, researchers have embraced the 'animal turn,' a multispecies approach to scholarship, with historians at the forefront of new research in human-animal studies that blends traditional research methods with interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks that decenter humans in historical narratives. These exciting approaches come with core methodological challenges for scholars seeking to better understand the past from non-anthropocentric perspectives.Whether in a large public archive, a small private collection, or the oral histories of living memories, stories of animals are mediated by the humans who have inscribed the records and organized archival collections. In oral histories, the place of animals in the past are further refracted by the frailty of human memory and recollection. Only traces remain for researchers to read and interpret.Bringing together seventeen original essays by a leading group of international scholars, Traces of the Animal Past showcases the innovative methods historians use to unearth and explain how animals fit into our collective histories. Situating the historian within the narrative, bringing transparency to methodological processes, and reflecting on the processes and procedures of current research, this book presents new approaches and new directions for a maturing field of historical inquiry.
£31.41
