Search results for ""author wangari maathai""

In twenty short books, Penguin brings you the classics of the environmental movement.From the Congo Basin to the traditions of the Kikuyu people, the lucid, incisive writings in The World We Once Lived In explore the sacred power of trees, and why humans lay waste to the forests that keep us alive.Over the past 75 years, a new canon has emerged. As life on Earth has become irrevocably altered by humans, visionary thinkers around the world have raised their voices to defend the planet, and affirm our place at the heart of its restoration. Their words have endured through the decades, becoming the classics of a movement. Together, these books show the richness of environmental thought, and point the way to a fairer, saner, greener world.

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In this urgent yet optimistic new work, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai provides a unique perspective on the fate of Africa. Informed by her three decades as an environmental activist and campaigner for democracy, The Challenge for Africa celebrates the enduring potential of the human spirit, and reminds us that change is always possible.

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Born in a rural Kenyan village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most African girls then were uneducated. In her remarkable and inspiring autobiography, she tells of her studies with Catholic missionaries, earning bachelors and master's degrees in the United States, and becoming the first woman both to earn a PhD and to head a university department in Kenya. She tells of her numerous run-ins with the brutal government of Daniel arap Moi and of the political and personal reasons that compelled her, in 1977, to establish the Green Belt Movement, which spread from Kenya across Africa, and which helps restore indigenous forests while assisting rural women by paying them to plant trees in their villages. Maathai's extraordinary courage and determination helped transform Kenya's government into the democracy in which she now serves as Deputy Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources and as a Member of Parliament. Eventually her achievement was internationally recognized in the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of her 'contribution to sustainable development, human rights, and peace'.In Unbowed, we are in the presence of a hugely charismatic yet humble woman whose remarkable story carries with it an inspiring message of hope. Hers is an extraordinary story, spanning different worlds and changing times, and revealing what the courage, determination, tenacity and humour of one good woman can achieve; how as small a thing as planting a seedling and watering it can made all the difference in the world.

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This inspiring children's book is based on a South American indigenous story about a courageous hummingbird who defies fear and expectations in her attempt to save the forest from fire. The illustrated story is supplemented by a natural and cultural history of hummingbirds, as well as an inspiring message from Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. The evocative artwork by internationally renowned Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas complements this optimistic tale that encourages everyone to take responsibility for their home and the planet.

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'A book for children from 8 to 80. I love the humanity of this story and how one man's efforts can change the future for so many.' Michael Morpurgo, Independent '[This] simple classic may just hold the secret to meaningful existence.' Richard Powers, author of The Overstory The Man Who Planted Trees was first published by Chelsea Green twenty years ago and it became a timeless classic. Now this beautiful gift edition is available for the first time in the UK, complete with reproductions of the original woodcut engravings. In this ageless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth, Elzéard Bouffier spends his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result is a total transformation of the landscape - from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds and fresh, flowing water. Since our first publication, The Man Who Planted Trees has sold over a quarter of a million copies and inspired countless numbers of people around the world to take action and plant trees. This edition includes a foreword by Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the African Green Belt Movement. 'It has given me much joy to reread this story.' Wendell Berry

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Hummingbirds have long been a symbol of wisdom and courage. In this charming story, a hummingbird makes a valiant effort to put out a raging fire that threatens her forest home — trip after trip, her beak is filled each time with just a drop of water. Her efforts show her woodland companions that doing something — anything — is better than doing nothing at all. The hummingbird parable, which originates with the Quechuan people of South America, has become a talisman for environmentalists and activists worldwide committed to making meaningful change. This retelling, enlivened by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’ fabulous Haida-manga illustrations, is suitable for all ages of would-be activists. Although environmental responsibility often seems like an overwhelming task, The Flight of the Hummingbird shows how easy it is to start and how great the effect could be if everyone just did what they could.

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