Environment and Nature Books

This is a charming book, that carefully illustrates the love between mothers and their babies. Children will love it!

My son loves to listen to this story. He points out the mothers and the babies in the illustrations. I think he likes the idea of the mothers protecting their babies. The illustrations are beautiful and the text is simple. It's a great bedtime book.

I'll use it in my classroom when we're studying Louisiana. I teach Pre-k and I think it'll be a great way to introduce the animal and plant life in the swamp.

A most fabulous book with so much thought provoking inspiration. We should all take the time to make our lives and the world a better place. Makes a great gift. Worth the $10. Perfect for leaving on your nightstand and just flipping through before bed!!! It has great recipes too!!!

Change begins at home and even if you're one lone person, you can make changes in your world that could ripple out to affect the universe: that's the message in a primer of 365 things you can do to effect this change. Plenty of books speak of making a difference, but very few offer up specifics for daily living: here's the starting point for any with ideals who would translate them into action, but don't know how.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

If one only looks at the pictures on this book, one has "read" it. Of course, the text just highlights the illustrations. Every child - and every adult- should have this book to read and absorb on a regular basis. It stimulates the imagination in every way. Something beautiful to behold.

This short history of trees in the Holy Land melds fact with poetic language and magnificent art. Unfortunately cataloged by the Library of Congress as fiction, this book presents an accurate description of the natural history of the small slice of land called Israel over a 7,000 year period. The language is simple enough for a child to understand, yet contains little-known history, deep truths, and complex concepts.

The sensitive illustrations have a magical quality, managing to show the historical realities of each period within the context of trees. The illustrator's use of color is outstanding, with color fading as the land is denuded, then rebuilding to lush blues and greens as new forests darken the hillsides.

This book would make a wonderful gift for any child, and for any adult interested in either the environment or the Holy Land.

This book has come to fill a gap and to present to students and lecturers an excellent tool for the handling of this subject in a serious and responsible way. I strongly recommend the book, particularly for ecology and environment courses in the social sciences.

Coined in 1922 by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ (1881-1955), in association with Edouard Le Roy and Vladimir Vernadsky, the word and notion of the NOO-SPHERE were introduced to the English-speaking world by Vernadsky's paper on "The Biosphere and the Noosphere" published in 1945 in "American Scientist" (Vol.33, pp.1-12). In "Fundamentals of Ecology" (1962:26; 1971:35) Eugene Odum said, "This is dangerous philosophy, because it is based on the assumption that mankind is now wise enough to safely take over the management of everything!" In fact, Teilhard assumed nothing about the wisdom of HOMO SAPIENS. But, whether we like it or not, we ARE increasingly responsible and accountable for the management and husbandry of everything, starting with Planet Earth but already extending to the nearest "islands" of outer space. As Mikhail Gorbachev said in 1999 in his foreword to this Reader, "We have reached the phase in cultural evolution where we must assume full responsibility for our power... Knowing and reaching our fullest potential within the constraints of the BIOSPHERE must be the ultimate goal - the driving vision of the 21st century. And the NOOSPHERE concept suggests a philosophy for such a necessary balance" (p.x).

With the possible exception of Blessed John Duns Scotus, no one since St John of Damascus has surpassed Teilhard in his reverence for the "stuff" of creation and of our incarnation. He was fascinated at the many forms of matter, culminating thus far in our genes and the brains that stem thereform. In the known {and knowable?) universe, they are unsurpassed in molecular complexity and reflective competence. Potentially linked together globally by a world-wide-web or internet of communications media, our brains constitute that form of reflective or "thinking" matter that Teilhard called "the NOO-SPHERE." It is concentric with the solid, liquid, gaseous and reproductive or "living" forms of matter, which Edward Suess described as Earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.

In this excellent collection of readings, Paul Samson and David Pitt have largely vindicated Teilhard's vision of the NOOSPHERE and will have opened the eyes of many to the depths that are yet to be seen in the mysteries of the universe.

Black and Brown Faces in America's Wild Places is an excellent book to share with young people. It lets young people see people of color participating in actitivies and careers in the great outdoors. These actitivies and careers are open for all to enjoy. I purchased several books to share with the young people in my life and have received very positive feedback. One young man was very proud to share his book with his class for Black History Month.

Keeping It Wild

Dudley Edmondson uses the personal comments and profiles of 20 black and brown Americans to make observations on the participation of minorities in outdoor pursuits. The "whiteness" of many of these activities is obvious. Without pointing fingers, the book makes clear the importance of drawing minority populations into activities such as birding, hiking, camping, etc. As the population of this country grows more diverse, as faces of color appear more often on city councils, county boards, and in legislative positions, an appreciation of the value of natural resources by these people will become important. As the saying goes, we protect what we understand and appreciate. Edmondson's book offers personal experiences and observations that make the point that the outdoors and its pleasures are for everyone. The book is illustrated with the author's excellent photographs. This is a book to be shared with anyone who enjoys outdoor activities.

Mary Sojourner has the unique talent for taking us, with just a few strokes of the pen, into the stark, cold underbelly of human greed and arrogance, then flinging us into the heartbreaking beauty of the natural world. As a lone warrior and guardian of that natural world, she stops at nothing to protect it, facing arrest and the lawyers of multi-million dollar corporations with the same unyielding stance. Her essays are a testament to the best--and the worst--of the human spirit and this world we live in.

This is a collection of fifty-one personal essays about living (and dying) in the southwest that will leave you angry, sad, happy, disillusioned, and hopeful. But beware: if you are looking for a touchy-feely, I'm OK-Your OK collection, this is not for you. These essays are opinionated, sometimes in-your-face, always passionate critical critiques of living in the contemporary southwest that are a sheer delight to read. In pieces ranging from aging, gambling, land development and nature to the demise of local businesses and the joy of shopping in downtown Flagstaff, AZ., the reader is treated to one woman's opinions in a thoughtful, clear, and highly readable manner. Sojourner is destined to be a major player in the environmental, activists' genre. Highly recommended.

I loved this book - it's thoughtful, warm, and wise -- and it says so much about both the natural world and the human heart. I hightly recommend it!

Bringing the Mountain Home by SueEllen Campbell is a book to treat both your emotions and your senses. The book of essays is largely about the Colorado Rocky Mountains but also has some gems about an Africa sojourn. The essays are visceral, intelligent, personal, and universal. As she eloquently says in the book: "In fact, I realized I was taking two walks at once. One was intensely personal and immediate, my body, sense, memories moving through a specific and extraordinary place and moment. The other was shared, my own experience formed by my culture, by other, earlier visitors to wild places, by circumstances, attitudes, assumptions, words, even emotions I had no part in creating but had somehow absorbed into myself" (x).

I love the gentle humor (such as the time she finds her friends all enjoying a backpacking trip while she somehow ends up as cook and camp-person) and the keen observations. I grew up in this area, but Campbell has looked at it with such wonder and detail, I can hardly wait to open my eyes and look around me more carefully. She knows every wildflower, every animal, every path and the reader is inspired to hike with eyes and ears wide open. With chapters titled with elements such as desire, pristine, trudging, grandeur, and misery, she captures so much of the wilderness experience in its many facets. I feel the misery of paddling a canoe when those muscles ache as well as the glory of seeing wildflowers in full profusion in a mountain valley. Campbell perfectly describes the sudden urges to get out in the wilderness, and then fearlessly describes both the glories and glooms of those trips.

Campbell's writing is lyrical, enthusiastic, honest, sensory. She is a master of words and of wilderness. I relish reading and rereading this book of essays and will never go on an Alaskan backpacking trip without it.

This book is the perfect gift for a hiking friend or a city-bound person who is far from the wilds. I recommend it to Amazon readers without hesitation. You're in for a treat, and so are your friends.

I recently finished this book and was delighted with the ideas set forth. As many Americans, I had never heard of this technique before. I am currently attending school for a degree in Architecture and am very environmentally oriented. The author provided an easy to understand framework for the process and even better examples. This building technique of minimal impact on the land is a great idea and I am glad that I found this book. These principles have definitely furthered my understanding of how such simple things can make such a difference. I am truly influenced by the nature's envelope technique.

Finally something on the most neglected part of so many construction projects: the landscape interface between a building and it's site.

Not only does this book cover a huge geographic area for the subject of environmentally-sensitive building placement and landscape salvage/retention/revegetation, but it does it accurately. The techincal "how-to" steps are for professionals and homeowners alike, and all in the Wasowski's easy-to-read language.

Hopefully EVERY developer will study and apply all the principles found in this book. Too bad it isn't the law for the development and home buyer to comply with the principles found herein!

It is a shocking reality that gives you entire understanding about amazon and its' people and environment. You will get lost in this beautifully written very sad real story. Thanks to andrew revkin. This book seriously today, needs stronger marketing to reach out to more people especially to the big-heads who runs the global economy and money. One thing that is very important for our world: This book tells a story that still continues today and will unfortunately continue in the future, for this reason mr. revkin needs to update the book and continue writing about what has been happenning there now! Because even after the loss of Chico Mendes, things are still hot there, his soul never gave up I believe. And now Ms. Marina Silva quit her position recently and we want to know how things are going to shape for the future of brazil. If ever this reaches to mr. revkin. Must-read book.

This book is a tremendous education about Chico Mendes,and all the political and personal efforts to protect the Brazilian Amazon. If you are interested in this subject, upon reading this book its almost like finishing an excellent college course on it.

Chico Mendes was born into a poor, rural Amazonia family of rubber trappers and from these very humble beginnings educated himself and worked his way to becomming a worldwide focus of attention on the plight of the Amazon rainforest and it's guardians. Like Ghandi, he was a charismatic selfless leader of the poor that faced the continual violent opposition, here from ranchers and the corrupt local militia, and he also responded with successful non-violent actions.

This well researcherd book provides and important perspective from the Brazilians. It is their country and the whole world has been making demands on their Amazon forest because of it's global importance both environmentally and economically. Imagine the political stuggle in the United States if all of Europe and Asia were trying to get us either to save all the forests of the Pacific Northwest (or the grasslands of the plains, or the forests of the east)or some of them were paying us money, and foreign aid to build roads to increase logging or improving the agricultural output of the area. The development and struggle to manage the land use of the Amazon is very complex and the author, Andrew Revkin has illustrated it well.

I have always wanted to protect the Amazon, its forests, birds and animals but I now also see the importance to protect it's people both indigenous and the extractive specialists that Chico Mendes had represented. This book has shown how difficult that is with the pressure of the needs of all the other citizens of Brazil.

An excellent book, you will be glad you have read it.

I stumbled across this book accidentally while researching a book about Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. I started reading it in the library parking lot, and finished it the next night in bed, around two a.m.
I WOULD have finished the book the very same night I got it, except that Scott Thybony did such a terrific job of invoking the feeling of the outdoor West that I had to fill a backpack and take my wife on an unplanned desert camping trip.
"Burntwater" visits an amazing variety of my very favorite places in the West, and is full of interesting history, great stories, unique facts, and insightful observations. And the writing: the writing is superb. (Bats "flicker"!) I found this book to be every bit as good as Edward Abbey's "Desert Solitaire"--much more Zen-like, and much less preachy; a good description of the West is reason enough to protect the West--it doesn't always need an insane prophet to yell about it.
This book distills and bottles the spirit of the Four Corners states; read it in the West and you'll find yourself running outside to be a part of it; read it somewhere else, and you'll find yourself going crazy to get here.

Author Scott Thybony shares with readers his fascination with and love of the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Burntwater is a loosely joined series of descriptions of Thybony's travels to various locations within this sparsely populated region: the Grand Canyon, back country on the Navajo Reservation, the Goosenecks region of the San Juan River, northern New Mexico, and others. Scott's wandering narrative describes his experiences in each place, often involving travel companions or new found acquaintances and sometimes just himself. One moving chapter describes how he nearly died from dehydration in the Grand Canyon while hiking to the site of his brother's death in an airplane/helicopter collision.

This is a wonderful book filled with gentle descriptions of sometimes physically harsh locations and circumstances. Scott describes but does not judge and, unlike so many other authors, refrains from directing readers to specific emotions or thoughts. Those he leaves up to you. You can easily read this book's 117 pages in a single sitting, but the invitation to this marvelous part of the Southwest may result in a literary and even physical journey of discovery that can last a lifetime.