Environment and Nature Books

I have to commend the idea contained in this volume more than the text itself -- it is sort of a dry read. But VERY, VERY important and timely. Among botanists and entomologists the realization is growing that pollinator populations around the world are in steep decline. The authors launched THE FORGOTTEN POLLINATOR PROJECT to spread awareness of both the crisis and the urgency of protecting whole ecosystems. A flowering plant cannot exist without the species that facilitate fertilization of its seeds. Many flowers are very specifically tuned to one or a few species of insects, birds or mammals -- coevolved for mutual benefit. Because of ecosystem destruction and fragmentation it can become impossible for the right critter to get to the right flower at the right time. Party's over. This book has renewed currency 11 years after publication with the spreading collapse of honey bee populations.

I first read this book when it was published. It was entertaining and interesting. Each year after I saw my mango, tamarind, lychee trees in a very different way.

Now, (2007), with the global disappearance of major portions of the honeybee population, this book is relevant to survival.

Little is known about the secret life of insects and their relationship among plants. Most people, including myself know at least this much; that bees and some insects feed on nectar and simultaneously pollinate flowers. After reading this book, I've realized that there is much more to pollination relationships. For instance, bees and butterflies are not the only pollinators. Beetles, bats, hummingbirds, tree squirrels etc. are a few examples of other natural pollinators. In Australia, there are over 1,500 bird species that have been confirmed as effective pollinators of plants. Wasps also pollinate certain flowers. In the southern U.S., spider wasps are important pollinators of native milkweed plants. Figwort blossoms similarly are especially adapted for visitations by wasps. There are about 10 to 15,000 species of wasps that functionally pollinate flowering plants.
This book explores in depth a fundamental but scarcely respected connection between plants and animals. Pollination ecology provides the framework of the book but the book ultimately focuses on raising awareness to the threats of plants and their pollinators. Other environmental issues such as habitat fragmentation and destruction, over use of insecticides, chemical farming, and monocropping are also addressed in a way that stimulates the reader. Misconceptions about the insect world are addressed. For example they talk about interspecies competition; and that honeybees aren't necessarily the best pollinators. Honeybees are not in fact the greatest pollinators not only because they are so widely used in commercial operations, but from an evolution standpoint. They are not capable of using buzz pollination like the bumblebees, which vigorously buzz their wings to receive maximum pollen. They also cannot fly in low temperatures like the Mason bees. Mason bees are responsible for a lot of early-spring blooms like blueberries, almonds, and the first apple blooms.
The author's approach to environmental concerns is conveyed in a style that is not only enlightening but is also educating. For a subject that could be considered "dry" or "tedious", the format of the book is written in an enjoyable manner. Personal encounters mixed with deep knowledge gives you a sense of being present with the narrators during their explorations. For instance, chapter 7 reveals the threats to migratory pollinators. For example, monarch butterflies winter in Mexico after traveling up to 2,000 miles from the north. As many as 20,000 monarchs per acre; are rested here during the average wintering season. The perils they mention begin with loss of habitat but then mainly focusing on the effects of toxic herbicides. For example, there are thousands of pounds of highly toxic insecticides that are applied to lettuce, cilantro, and squash. The bats, bees, and butterflies may not necessarily feed on the crops but are susceptible to any aerially sprays when passing by. To eliminate these dangers, farmers should be properly trained to apply certain pesticides to each crop at the appropriate stages.
Throughout the twelve chapters are excerpts of stories from their experiences all over the globe. The illustrations incorporated in the text were clear images that went along with the text. At the end of the book is a glossary; which I found was very helpful with the words and terminology used in the book.
The two authors are ardent naturalist that have written this book with great erudition. Gary Paul Nabhan is an award winning writer and a renowned crop ecologist. He's the winner of the John Burroughs Medal for his first book "Gathering the Desert". He also is a co-founder of the Native Seeds/Search organization. In addition, Gary works as a science advisor at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. There are also many publications on ethno botany, nutrition, and plant conservation written by him.
Stephen L. Buchmann is one of the world's leading authorities in bees and pollination. In 1999, he founded "Bee Works" which is an independent company that conducts pollinating surveys. The company works to educate people and also provides consultations for agricultural and wildlife groups. Buchmann has been a research entomologist for 22 years and is also a professor of entomology at the University of Arizona.
I enjoyed this book because I felt it gave me a new way of understanding material that I knew so little about. From practically not knowing anything about conservation biology; after reading this book I feel I have a better understanding of what it means to be a conservationist. Throughout the book, you can sense the dedication and collective works of the two authors. Their shared passion of protecting pollinators and preservation of co-evolution between plants and animals I found to be inspiring. This book does a great job in reminding us the importance of conservation, not only on a large scale but also on a smaller scale. We're lucky to have these natural pollination relationships between plants and animals.
Being a student interested in conservation; I think this book will enthuse anyone interested in ecosystem studies, biodiversity, wildlife, and or natural history. The concept ional level of the book is great for high school level education and advanced. I would definitely recommend this book to those seeking a guide to new insights about conservation biology. Overall this book packs a lot of information, but it presented a nice entry into the lively and fascinating world of pollinators.

Honey bees are less easily forgotten in 2008 than they were in 1997, when this book was published. Any crisis is good press, and several threats to honey bees - sudden hive collapse, viral and other infestations, etc - have put the hives on the front pages lately. A serious decline in the population of commercial pollinators does threaten America's agricultural productivity, especially of orchard crops. Doing something about it will require serious science and public support for serious science, so perhaps all of us ought to learn something about the buds and the bees.

The first chapter of The Forgotten Pollinators is titled "Silent Springs and Fruitless Falls: the Impending Pollinator Crisis". Clearly the authors are alarmed about public ignorance or indifference to the role of pollinators in the ecology of Earth today. However, the bulk of their book is not alarmist but informational. They describe in lively detail the physical mechanisms of pollination, the symbiotic interdependencies of diverse plants and their specific pollinators, and a bit of the history of human-related changes in populations of pollinators and thus of plant communities. As the book jacket declares, "plant-pollinator relationships offer vivid examples of the connections between endangered species and threatened habitats." Plant-pollinator relationships also offer remarkable proofs of Darwinian evolutionary theories, as flowers and beaks have co-evolved for adaptive mutual reproductive advantage.

The Forgotten Pollinators is solid science but it's also a chatty book, full of personal anecdotes and asides, written in easy-going non-technical prose. It's a book you might read in your study, in a lawn chair on your patio after planting your dahlia tubers, or even at the beach, as I did.

This book really captures the beauty of the Southwest amoungst other places where pollinators play a crucial role. Buchmann and Nabhan tell a tale that is both dazzling and at the time disturbing: the lost of pollinators and how they impact our lives in so many ways. The book brings about how humankind takes for granted the timeless work these creatures do. Unfortunately, the writing style of the book tends to be repetative and thoughts fragmented like some of the stories were torn right out of a journal (which they probably were). However, overall a book that will add greater insight and depth to any human concerned about the environment.

The U.S. is the top producer of garbage on the planet, generating 30% of the world's trash and throwing out 1600 pounds per American per year - but what happens to garbage after it's in the trash? GONE TOMORROW: THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE focuses on the answers to this question, providing journalist Heather Rogers' history of rubbish handling from the 1800s to modern times and reviewing the politics and social issues revolving around trash management policies. Technological transformations affected the nature and quantity of household garbage, postwar innovations handled more volume, and industry changes changed the nature and motivation of cartels handling garbage: GONE TOMORROW explores all these facets and more.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In my archaeology class we learned about the importance of the village midden, or garbage pile, in determining the culture and practices of the people inhabiting that village. On that basis, future archaeologists are going to have a heyday trying to figure out our current civilization.

Gone Tomorrow, the Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers is fascinating and depressing at the same time. There are fascinating tidbits such as the idea that garbage is a relatively recent invention, that less than 300 years ago it would have been unthinkable to consign so much of our production to the trash heap so soon after it is produced. Before mass production and mass marketing, items were produced to be repaired and reused again and again and slogans such as "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" were common. There wasn't anything to throw away as even scraps of cloth became part of a quilt or rug.

There are horrifying descriptions of garbage dumps such as Rikers Island:

"The rats became so numerous and so large that the department imported dogs in an effort to eliminate the rats... there were more than one hundred dogs on the island, dogs which were never fed by authorities but lived solely on these rats."

"Gases... were constantly exploding, erupting through the soil covering and busting into flames. ... When a hot spell would come along in the summer, the ground resembled a sea of small volcanoes, all breathing smoke and flames."

Another disturbing idea brought out by Rogers is that the trucks that pick up your garbage and your recyclables may be dumping them into the same landfill because recycling often just isn't economically sustainable. But it's politically impossible to cut back the appearance of recycling.

There are also some distractions in the book as when the author claims the "Keep America Beautiful" campaign was modeled after a later series of clean-up efforts by Ladybird Johnson. I'm not sure how you model something after something that comes later.

The book definitely has a pro-environment, anti-business, distrust of government bias to it. In spite of that, it is an interesting and enlightening book.

This book came after the documentary by the same name (same writer), but it is not intended to be a companion piece. This work is self explanatory, and it packs quite a punch without lots of scenes of waste.

The author goes into some detail about the history of garbage and how the science of waste management came into being. In doing so, she discusses the economics involved and explains how waste is a fairly new phenomenon, as prior generations reused waste or repaired broken things. The author quotes Karl Marx a lot, and readers may be turned off as we equate him with communism. However, the comments cited here seem to hit squarely on the mark.

She also discusses the politics and lobbying involved in dealing with waste. Without a doubt, we are a wasteful culture. Everything is designed to be thrown out and replaced. As a result, we are slowly wasting our resources and burying ourselves (and third-world countries) in our trash. This is the part of the book that hits the strongest.

I would highly recommend reading this book. It draws attention to our need to start paying attention to what we are doing. Maybe we do need to rethink the way we do things.

Every now and then a book or two comes along that makes me want to get on the phone to friends or email friends to tell them they must read the book. This happened this past week when Gone Tomorrow the Hidden Life of Garbage by Heather Rogers arrived at my cottage.

We are a homeschooling family who as a project spent a year looking at what we buy and why and what happens to what we put out for recycling and refuge pick up, as well as what gets flushed or composted. So this book became part of our curriculum. In less than three months our water usage dropped 60%, and the garbage can went from being overflowing to being placed out once a month and then with very little in it. Am now considering cancelling the service when the contract is up. And going in with three other neighbors and combining what little we all have and sharing the cost.

Recently someone asked me why we don't put our recycling bins out or rarely put the garbage container out and we had to explain that just because we have them doesn't mean we have to fill them and put them out every week. And this is where the book is so on target when talking about how there is a downsize to the whole recycling area. It is one of those things that came about because of good intentions, but hasn't helped stop people from actually buying stuff. Also in target is how the author says that often the recyclable get dumped in with the regular trash pick up because there is no local market for the items. This is what we discovered one morning when we saw the garbage truck picking up the recycling bins and garbage at the same time, not separately. Even more so now that gas prices have gone up and garbage companies cant raise prices so they dump everything at once. So we simply save the glass and what aluminum items we have and make a run to the real recycling center where we also make some extra money.

Much like I did as a kid when I would eagerly walk the roads on the island we lived on in summer to gather up the cans and bottles the tourists left behind, to turn in for money.

The author also does a great job in explaining how packaging of products is overdone, but also done because we live in a highly suit happy society. So having that extra foil safety cap on a bottle of pills, or secure bag around the lettuce raise the cost of items as well as add to landfills. Around here Styrofoam has to be put out with regular garbage not with recyclables. Same with those pesky popcorn packing things.

On page 207 the author writes about an area in Oakland, California where the Batcave garden sits. While it may not be for everyone there is enough helpful can do information from this group that most Americans could adopt that would cut down drastically on what they buy and then what they discard. Heck most Americans would do better with less lawn to cut and more vegetables being planted that could save on food costs as well on garbage since edibles are compostable.

The author provides so much information on the big business that garbage is and how the costs get passed on to us in ways we often do not see. From increased food prices, to hidden fees for getting rid of items.

Was especially pleased to see on page 210 the group Freecycle mentioned, since I belong to my local Freecycle group and love the attitude that rather than dump something why not see if there is someone locally who can use the item. To find a group near you go to their internet site which is Freecycle.org

Also loved seeing where Berkeley's Urban One was mentioned. They have a license to glean items from the city's dump that are useable, and then the items are taken to Eco Park where they are sold, for a profit. There is a similar place in Sonora east of Angles Camp that I go to that does the same thing. Some areas have twice yearly pick ups where you can set anything from furniture to appliances out for pick up. We visit these areas and gather items that we can use or give to others in need. Its a shame that Americans are so obese in so many ways, and throw out such useable items.

So I recommend this book for anyone who wants a mature education on garbage and what we can and should do to reduce the amount we produce. Its not good enough to simply preach a use and recycle mantra.

This book has had a profound effect on my growing enlightenment about sustainability. Heather Rogers traces the history of waste disposal, from the days when everything was used and re-used (and then scavenged and used again), to the dawn of mass production and organized waste disposal, where there is little if any economic incentive to minimize manufacturing waste. She argues convincingly that our consumerist economy is literally built on trash. If you think global warming and altered ocean chemistry are legitimate threats to our childrens' futures, then you should add this book to your must-read list.

Many of us have long hoped that governments would get on the ball and take the necessary steps to preserve our environment in general and critical ecosystem services in particular (if you're unfamiliar with them, read Daily's wonderful "Nature's Services"). If Shrub's efforts do destroy the environment have not convinced you we can't count on our leaders to end the ecological crisis, nothing will. This superb book tells of those who are taking a different approach -- trying to find ways that markets can be developed that will align economic and conservation goals. Everyone in both the business and environmental communities, as well as those in both, should read this interesting and hopeful book.

This book is great. I love its title, a yang to Paul Hawken's Ecology of Commerce yin. One of the book's other online reviewers prompted me to write, because I suspect the authors' predominant theme somehow got past that reviewer.

The idea is not simply that capitalism can save the world, but that well-directed, well-informed market forces will finally come to understand that beneath the bottom line of capitalism as currently practiced, there's a much more critical bottom line -- a primordial capitalism -- the living sytems of the planet. The economy of nature provides real wealth and natural wisdom without dysfunctional spinoffs like pollution, cancer, habitat destruction... If we take care of that living economy, it will take care of us.

This is an important book, because it gives us real-world examples of how nature underlies the market economy. We need this book to be used in college and high school classrooms, discussion groups,corporate retreats, and solitary late-night soul searches. Its message is critical to the continued prosperity of life as we know it.

Paul Ehrlich recommended this title and I found it to be a necessary addition to the current body of literature on the topic. In fact, there is nothing else like this that I have run across. The crux of the book is finding ways to put a price tag on services nature performs for free so we can use the revenue for restoration and preservation of the human habitat. I did give it four stars only because the chapters were unnecessarily detailed in my opinion. Definitely worth a look.

Authors Gretchen Daily and Katherine Ellison have written an entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying book of case studies that are united around a common theme: namely, real-life projects in which for-profit capitalism and environmentalism may have found common ground. Daily and Ellison acknolwedge the contradiction that such a task entails, but they seem all too eager to discover opportunities where nature can be exploited in new ways to suit capital's ever-changing needs (as if this insight was somehow novel!). In fact the individual case studies represent a mixed bag in that a few appear to offer some hope for the environment while others appear to offer more hope for capital's expansion than for the earth.

But even among what I count as the more hopeful stories, precious little of the projects' success could be attributable to capital. Probably the best among them concerned the organic farming movement, which includes related efforts to preserve biodiveristy and substitute natural predatory insects for pesticides. As everyone knows, this is a movement that has been defined by its explicit rejection of standard corporate practices, yet the authors sheepishly do little to point this out. Another excellent chapter focused on the efforts of a dedicated scientist to preserve rainforest in Costa Rica. But while the scientist helped broker a deal from an orange juice manufacturer to dump its waste in the rainforest to promote regrowth in damaged areas, it seemed clear that the Costa Rican government played a much larger role in the cause of preservation that the manufacturer ever did. And of course the watershed protection project for the New York City area was spearheaded by sometimes belligerent public interest groups and the local government over significant opposition from private-property forces.

Among the less dubious stories: an Australian who is building Jurassic Park-style nature enclaves in hopes of attracting tourist dollars; an ex-Internet entrepreneur who hopes to cash in big by creating an overnight market for the buying and selling of the carbon-storing capacity of forests; and a political "deal maker" skilled in both obtaining and extracting concessions from developers in the hopes of merely slowing development. The market solutions highlighted in these and other stories point to the self-evident fragility of these projects to sustain themselves in the long run.

In an unitentionally humorous part of the book, the authors recount a think-tank exercise in which EVERYONE participating in the pretend game of land stewardship clear-cut their forest assets in the final round of play in order to maximize their returns. My criticism is not that there isn't some merit in what the protagonists of these stories are doing -- they appear to be remarkable individuals who may simply be making the best of their bad situations -- but if the world's future is dependent on the success of these individuals in coming up with market solutions to the world's environmental problems, then may God help us all.

In the end, this book fails to make a persuasive argument that capitalism can save the environment. There is some value to the case studies presented by the authors, especially where victories were achieved through democratic actions -- but this latter point was unfortunately down-played through much of the book in favor of the capitalist theme. But I think that contrary to the author's opinion, it seems obvious that the environment will continue to be exploited as long as for-profit capitalism rules the day. Therefore, I think that readers who want real answers to today's burgeoning environmental crisis will not find them in this book.

I go thru phases where certain topics are of special interest, so when I saw the title of this book it peaked my interest as well as my skepticism. Since Gordon E Moore co-founder and chairman emeritus of Intell had done a positive comment on the book, and it had areas of the world that were of interest I bought it and am glad I did.

I liked the piece on Napa California west of us which has for decades suffered when the massive winter rains come thru and I wanted to read of there move toward restricting building on what is known as a flood plain, without hurting the economy.

Likewise in Chapter six, page 125 King County Washington and how people from distinctly different business backgrounds, blue colour to white collar corporate (Weyerhaeuser) worked together to protect the Snoqualmie Falls area, which having been there in person, is a majestic place that would have been ruined had big business been allowed to build there.

But it is the way the authors have made such an effort to think outside the American box, and have shown success stories from all over the world, where businesses have or are becoming enlightened and are discovering that being environmentally sound means money and success.

But as they note on page 232 "There is no single answer to the worlds environmental dilemmas, and the progress to date toward capturing the economic value of environmental services has been so limited as to be almost symbolic. Still, what has happened so far illustrates an approach with great scope for improving the world."

Reading this book was like being present at the creation of America. It will appeal especially to U.S. history buffs and to anyone interested in the American West. Worster's telling of the feat that won Powell fame, leading the first expedition down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, has definitely renewed my passion for exploring the West. Powell was a man of ideas, as well as action. For a quarter century he was at the forefront of debates over reserving land for American Indians, how to foster family farming in the arid West, and the thorny issue of water rights. For many years, Powell was a prominent official in Washington, as head of the U.S. Geological Survey, which he helped create, and in other positions. From what I gather in this book, Powell may have been as important as any single individual in making support of scientific research a normal function of the Federal Government. From the perspective of one man's career, Worster touches on a multitude of topics: railroads, telegraph, photography, landscape painting of the West, Mormon settlements, and many more. For the comprehension one gains of American life in those times, this biography is the equal of a first rate novel. Although a work of scholarship, it is written to be enjoyed by the general reader.

My comment at the end of my title refers to Wallace Stegner's "Beyond the 100th Meridian." While that is a very good book, it comes close to perpetuating a myth of Saint John Wesley Powell.

Compared to Stegner, who may be a point of reference for many readers curious about this book, Worster paints a far more complete picture of Powell, delving much deeper into journals and letters kept by colleagues, underlings, and exploratory co-travlers of his.

We see a Powell who was NOT totally Stegner's beknighted prophet of a kinder, gentler Western development. Powell did favor independent farmers over corporate conglomerates, but just as much as Nevada's Sen. Stewart, he wanted to drain every last drop from the Colorado. And, Worster also shows how he ran afoul of the most ardent forest conservation advocates late in his Washington career.

In short, Worster indicates the semi-mythical Powell, not just of Stegner but some other writers, should be taken with a grain of salt.

Worster puts Powell's evangelical -- yes, evangelical -- fervor for irrigation in the backdrop of his childhood Methodism. While there's no way of proving this, it is certainly a reasonable interpretation.

He also paints a broader picture of Powell the bureaucrat. Here again, he differs somewhat from Stegner, suggesting that Powell bears a bit of the blame, at least, for his own wing-clipping by Stewart et al late in his career.

At the same time, Worster gives a detailed portrait of just how hard-working Powell was, both as a Washingtonian and the explorer of the Colorado River and Plateau.

In essence, this is "revisionist history" at its best and most proper.

The title a River Running West is something of a misnomer. One could infer from this title that the bulk of this work centers upon Powell's Colorado River excursions (the front cover might lead one to believe so as well), yet barely 1/5th of it actually does. The beginning, as to be expected, recounts the early years of John Wesley Powell, but the entire second half of this weighty tome is dedicated to his time in Washington DC as head of the USGS. Indeed, to be fully accurate, if matching title to content, a more appropriate appellation might be A Bureaucrat in the East, but bureaucracy just doesn't sell well.

Worster's underlying thread in this effort is Powell's transition from son of devout Methodists to enlightened, agnostic scientist. All well and good, if this is the Powell story. But, Worster bangs this drum so incessantly that it leaves one wondering if he was more concerned with Powell's religious upbringing than Powell himself. There's a whiff here of an agenda.

To be fair, the Colorado River excursions are suspensefully told, but as with most books of the genre, the maps are sparse and dreadful. I can't believe I am in the minority for desiring detailed maps with which I might closely trace the route of intrepid explorers. This becomes especially desirous when I have personally visited sites along their journey for then I may more accurately transform the text into mental imagery. But with sub-par maps containing spotty detail and far too many blank spaces, this becomes a mere exercise in frustration.

Despite this, Worster's biography of Powell is no less than mediocre. It follows the standard format of the genre leaving the reader educated if not exactly enthralled. It is not a book I leapt towards at every opportunity, though there was no need to coerce myself into continuing. A River Running West is but an average account of an indomitable man synonymous with western expansion. 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book immensely. Thorough, evocative, thrilling, and comprehensive in its scope, it was a delight from beginning to end.
I completed a major in Geography at Illinois State University many years ago, where Powell taught at one time, and I am embarrassed to admit the sad truth that in all the courses I took nary a word was ever mentioned about the great man. Considering his extraordinary contribution to our understanding of the natural world, it is all too sad.

The book is well written and informative about the events of Powell's life and the geological survey in which Powell played such a major role. My primary disappointment with the book was that I felt I didn't know the person John W. Powell much better after reading the book. The book provided very little information about Powell's life outside of his work.

I totally enjoyed this book. It probably meant more to me because I have a Madison and Northern Lake home. I could relate to the cultures of both areas as expressed by the author. I became aware of this book when driving my car from my cabin to Madison and it was being read on Public Radio on Chapter A Day. I couldn't wait to get home and order it.

Star Lake Saloon is a what my father used to call, "A sleep robber." The author snares you so completely into the life of hcr characters and their dilemma of stopping a mining conglomerate from spoiling the sleepy paradise of a resort in Nothern Wisconsin, that you have to read "just one more chapter" to see what's going to happen. It's a bit like trying to eat one
potato chip.

For those who have grown up with memories of summer sojourns in resorts like Star Lake Saloon it must be nostalgic to read this book. For those of us who were not fortunate enough to have that experience, Star Lake Saloon and Housekeeping Cottages make us feel as if we have.

The novel is complete with sex, romance, mystery and history woven into a tight structure, as well as a very bequiling dog.

As a native of Wisconsin who loves the north woods and Madison alike, I enjoyed this book. I think it is always enjoyable to read a fictional story set in a place you are familiar with. Sara Rath did a good job capturing life in Wisconsin, complete with the ever-present mining controversies we have. I also enjoyed the language her northwoods characters use-not too far off the mark!

The story itself transports Hannah Swan, a filmmaker from Madison, into Antler, WI when her long-lost uncle dies and leaves her a Housekeeping Resort. Hannah begins a journey with her inheritence from denial to acceptance of the property, the community, and the people she gets to know.

The story isn't deep, but it is heartwarming. I would say that some of the sex scenes are gratuitous and unnecessary, but other than that, I enjoyed this novel.

The characters are well done, the pace and lifestyle well-represented, and the struggle of historic and environmental preservation versus corporate "progress" well portrayed in this book about Madisonite Hannah Swann's reluctant transplantation to the Northwoods. This is a genre spanning tale of mystery, ecological impact, coming of (change-of-life) age, and reluctant romance. It is marred by gratuitous sex, seemingly stuck in there just to "pidgeonhole" it into a market in which it didn't need to strive to fit. /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer

Star Lake Saloon and Housekeeping Cottages appealed to me for many reasons, not the least is that I happen to be the owner of a Northwoods Housekeeping resort and could relate to the main character, Hannah, on several levels. I enjoyed reading Sara Rath's descriptions of Star Lake, the broken down lodge and cabins, the look of the lake, the smell of the pines. She captures the essence of Northern Wisconsin beautifully. What troubled me about this story, however, is that I never felt a strong sense of empathy for the main character, Hannah Swann. To me, she wants to be a confident take-charge woman, spokesperson for an important cause, but nearly everything she does, she does reluctantly. It was hard to get behind her and cheer her on.

Hannah is a poetry instructor from Madison, Wisconsin, who also writes documentary films. Apparently educated and sophisticated, she is nevertheless having an odd affair with a married man, a "malacologist," which, I learned, is someone involved in the "scientific study of mollusks." His name is Tyler and while his occupation ultimately plays a role in the story, what stands out is his awkward sexual dysfunction, and a couple of sex scenes that almost made me throw the book aside. Most of the other secondary characters are flat and predictable. They include Hannah's daughter, Chloe, a vegetarian with a pierced nose, who is a political activist, and her trusty, but never fleshed-out boyfriend, Eric. Dan Kerry, Hannah's rugged, fishing guide/flannel shirt wearing love interest, and a sleazy lawyer, the villain named Denny. Hannah's mother, Lily, is nosy, self-centered and highly critical of her daughter. On the other hand, the one character who does stand out is the feisty Ginger, saloon barkeep, who is a tell-it-like-it is kind of gal, who not only puts Hannah in her place, but offers a true and entertaining Northwoods vernacular. Whenever Ginger is in the room, it's a guaranteed entertaining read.

There is little mystery involved with the plot of the underhanded mining company supporters trying to take over her newly inherited land and much of what happens is highly predictable and contrived. It's a quick read, the writing is average and I recommend this book to readers who want to get a taste of the great Northwoods. Three and a half stars.

Oh, and by the way, GREAT cover art. Hats off to the graphic designer.

Michele Cozzens, author of I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner

My 1st grader brought this home from the school library. We were both taken in by the illustrations in this book. They are really amazing. The story is told beautifully and the plot is simple. Human beings have caused all of the world's unicorns to flee into the sea. I would definitely recommend this book (to be read by an adult) for children aged 5-9. This story however, is a bit on the depressing side as it conveys an important message about what the earth has become...

If you want to know where the unicorns have gone, just make your way to the sea. This gorgeously illustrated poetic story helps children to understand that though our daily lives become eclipsed by modernity, we can always escape to a more wonderous and peaceful existence when we search out the natural world. Things we have forgotten or failed to notice can be reclaimed in the imaginations of the mind, but only if we search them out. Filled with stunningly beautiful art and rythmic words which flow off the tounge, this narrative about the wild and natural world verses the changing world from the turn of the century will generate interesting conversation with your little ones. My two daughters (ages 5 and 7 ) and I just checked this book out from the library last week. I am now purchasing it from Amazon because it is a "must have" for our personal library.

I bought this book for my kindergarten daughter who loves unicorns. She is expecting a story and gets disappointed since there is no story line in this book.

I originally chose this book for the illustrations, thinking it was just a common story book. Well, it's not--it's so much more than that. To my surprise, my 6 and 4 year-olds were thinking and asking questions about this book for days after we read it. This led to several long discussions (all initiated by the kids)about how we humans impact the environment. If I had read this book on my own, I would have thought the environmental message too subtle for 4-6 year-olds, but my kids totally got it.

I absolutely loved this book! I picked it out as a birthday gift for my 4 years old son. It is beautiful! The art is exquisite! Ruth Sanderson uses amazing colors and symbols to put Yolen's poem into pictures: the unicorns are running away trying to survive in a world where the coldness of steel, the darkness of pollution are slowly creeping into their dreamy perfect universe. Although I agree with another reviewer that the book is missing that poetry, fairy tale fragrance usually connected to unicorns, I have to admit that I like Yolen's interesting twist. It is perfectly true that a fast pace heavily industrialized world leaves very little room for poetry, fairy tales and everything that used to represent a mystical childhood dream. The unicorns are running away from all that, becoming one with the water and the waves.
This book is definitely a must have.

I read this in highschool, and it has stayed with me for (ahem) almost 30 years. THAT is staying power. An intelligent, demanding dream.

Apart from the fabulous title, a pretty interesting book.

A planet of aliens that are similar but different to humans is a target of exploitation.

The forests hold the whole ecology together in a more important way than on Earth. The natives know nothing of violent conflict, but when brutality and violence is used by the invaders to try and get what they want, the locals learn quickly.

I love most of Le Guin's fiction, but this one is severely flawed. Things happen not because it's logical for them to happen, but because it fits the political allegory. Why, for example, is a lunatic able to get easy access to napalm weapons when the whole purpose of the expedition is to harvest trees? Why maroon an all-male, sex-starved crew on a planet for years? Because Le Guin is not really writing about a world named Forest; she's writing about Vietnam and 19th-century Africa, transplanting them into a future world where they don't fit.

What is truly at the heart of the conflict between Athsheans and Terrans is the basic recognition that both are in fact, equally sentient. They are fellow human beings, who may have adapted differently to different environments, but who share much in spite of it. Selver is a sha'ab, a translator and god, who learns Terran culture and brings it back to his own. What he learns is murder and war. There is no reversing the knowledge of good and evil. The Athsheans have lost their Eden. Perhaps they will live more wisely than we Terrans have, but perhaps not.
What is fascinating about this story is that it does parallel cross-cultural affairs. We cannot afford to look at our enemy or rival and see them as fundamentally and irreconcilably different. We are all equal and more alike than different, black or white, Arab or Western or Native American Indian. A fascinating read, and I hope someone republishes it soon!

"Many words of the Women's Tongue, the everyday speech of the Athsheans, came from the Men's Tongue that was the same in all communities, and these words often were not only two-syllabled but two-sided. They were coins, obverse and reverse...Often [the two meanings] were connected, yet not so often as to constitute a rule."
- anthropologist Raj Lyubov, herein

Athshe is a world of ocean and islands, whose land-dwelling lifeforms were obviously imported from Earth about a million years ago. Similar enough to be recognizable - and to trip up Earth-humans attempting to understand the people of Athshe who fail to take into account the subtle differences. The land-based portion of the ecosystem is small, but stable - forests that keep the topsoil from washing away, a small population packed relatively close together, with a culture that channels their aggression into (mostly) non-violent outlets. In particular, while they're in an environment unsuitable for some kinds of development, they've mastered the arts of controlling their dreams. Their language is a particularly interesting key in understanding their culture.

Then the humans of Earth arrived, determined to exploit the planet for its resources and colonize it, faced with a native population without a tradition of warfare or advanced weaponry with which to fight - a population which those in charge aren't interested in understanding, but who aren't fools, and who are being *shown* how to make war in a series of pitiless, unending lessons.

In an interesting twist, two of the three viewpoint characters are Earth-humans, representing opposing points of view on Athshe's true worth and the worth of its people, while the third is a Dreamer of Athshe. Davidson, who fancies himself as a pioneer and Conquistador, opens the book with his bigoted view of the native "creechies" - only to find himself flat on his back, at the mercy of a man whose wife he killed, left alive to carry a message back to the other humans. Lyubov, the planet's only anthropologist and the only human to have properly studied the languages of its people, provides a window through which the reader can gain a clearer understanding of Athshe's culture. Finally, Selver, Lyubov's friend and Davidson's victim, has become a god among his people, though what that means isn't quite what an Earth human might think; and having learned what will happen if the humans are left unresisted, he has also absorbed their lessons of warfare. The contrast between Davidson's view of Athshe - rotting forests to be cleared away, animals to hunt - and that of Selver's people is in itself worth reading the book for. (In fact, the nuances of Athshe culture that lead them to practice warfare, and the accompanying nuances of understanding their language and their mastery of dreams are as important, if not more so, than the brewing revolt.)

Less than three thousand aggressive, armed Earth people - only a few hundred of them women, incidentally - against a native population of about three million, wherein the Earth people are cut off from the rest of interstellar civilization by the barrier of lightspeed. The lack of supply lines is a serious handicap to the better-equipped Earth-people, but numbers and familiarity with the terrain are on the side of those born on Athshe.

As one outsider points out, "You have not thought things through." The ecological disaster shaping up on Athshe is quite logical in its development - the loggers are following profitable plans of exploitation drawn up on Earth, where the communications lag prevented sensible feedback from being applied when the native ecology was better understood, and naturally enough, military and management personnel are in charge on "New Tahiti", not ecologists, and they don't *want* to believe that logging out the islands will turn them into desert rather than farmland. The slow build-up of native resistance is due to most of Athshe's people not having even seen the new invaders, while few of those who *have* suffered from them are in a position to make their people see the danger, being enslaved under conditions that for an Athshean interfere with the ability to think clearly, since Earth-human and Athshean sleeping patterns differ as much as their cultures do.

My 4 year old son really loved the story and it became his favorite book for about a whole month. He even wanted to sleep with the book which has not happened with other books. He also wanted it read to him every night for a week straight which was also very unsual.
I really liked the story and I think it has a wonderful message that kids and parents caring for the Earth and trees would enjoy reading.

At our library, I gather books for teachers to pick up and check out for use with their lesson plan subjects. I always pull Lynne Cherry's Kapok Tree for teachers who are teaching about rainforests. When I saw "The Dragon and the Unicorn," I knew I had to order it for the teachers and kids. I wasn't disappointed and don't think our library's patrons will be disappointed, either! The illustrations are not only rich and colorful, they're creative in their design and range. The plot moved at a good pace - not sluggish, nor too much detail, nor too much preachy "do this," "don't do that." Kids will like the gentle, but fiercely protective dragon and the wise, magical unicorn who he protects. Kids will also enjoy taking the journey with Arianna into the world in which the dragon, unicorn, and many other animals live, and where they are being threatened by Arianna's father's destruction of the forests. The resolution of the problem of the king's allowing the forest's destruction is satisfying without being too pat or easy.

Although the illustrations are lovely and we both love unicorns, the story was just not good. It was also too descriptive in places for the age range listed. The story is about mankind destroying the forests and a lot of dialogue between the unicorn and the little girl. It was really just plain boring.

The illustrations in this book are magnificent.
Each page appears as an illuminated manuscript. The characters (the King and Princess) have 'off-white' complexions--which make them very appealing for some under-represented students.
The story is well written, though a bit predictable and is very meaningful in its strong environmental message.
We used it in school as a model for writing and illustrating stories with a message.

Well, I'm giving this book three stars because my daughter likes it. But not five stars, because I don't like to read it. There is too much preaching disguised as dialogue. I believe that a moral should evolve throughout the story in the forms of actions and consequences, not in a moralizing dialogue.

Since I have to read it aloud, I figure I should get a vote too.I felt like I was reading propaganda--and I realize the book has a valid environmental theme, but I wish there had been more of an attempt to integrate the beliefs into the story.

This is a well-told story of, well, "One Man's Crusade to Clean America's Rivers". Starting from a shoestring budget, a handful of friends, and a defunct local rock band, he grows his operation until it is able to support multiple barges and a floating classroom. It's encouraging to see that one person can make such a difference, even in the face of a patchwork of state and federal laws which make it difficult.

The first half of this book, as he is building his operation and suffering certain setbacks, is the more entertaining. There's even a villain, the game warden of Burlington, who seems intent on stopping Chad with any excuse he can find. By about the midpoint Chad is adept at handling the different situations, and so the theatrical interest of the book is no longer as great, although his accomplishments here are still interesting and important.

Chad has a hilarious response to a room of businessmen when asked what his "political platform" is. This is not a book about politics, or even necessarily about environmentalism. This is a book about a boy who got tired of seeing trash on the river, who became a man capable of fixing it.

A book that shows how one person can make a change for the better. He started cleaning by himself and then built a team to take it all to the next step.

After years of trying to live lightly and do the right thing, I still see people throwing trash out of their car windows for Pete's sake! I was starting to think that litter and garbage everywhere was the way we were going to have to live.

Then I saw Chad's story on CBS Sunday Morning and when they mentioned his book, I bought it instantly. What a story. What an uplifting book.

This is easy to read, exciting, funny and incredibly inspiring.

I raced through it and then gave it to my husband to read. When he finished, he asked "when are we going to help Chad? Have you signed us up yet?" What I wouldn't give to meet Chad and help him pick up garbage.

Whether you care about the earth, love rivers and river wildlife or even just like an adventure read, I would highly recommend that you buy this book.

It's a great book that details how one person saw a need for change no matter what it took. Chad perservered (and continues to) and has created this movement that draws in sponsors, staff and volunteers who are happy and willing to help with enthusiasim. It's very well written and makes for a good read. Thanks Chad and Jeff - keep up the good work!

I could not be more engaged in the book than I am - it is so thrilling and to read about the experiences they have had it makes you wish that you could have been there! It is just excellent! I love it - and I'm so excited when I carry the book somewhere and people ask me what I'm reading because I can't wait to tell people some of the CRAZY things that have happened to Chad and his crew.

ANYONE could read this book and thoroughly enjoy it - I even share parts of the book with my 6 year old son who can't wait to get back out the XStream Clean up this year!

It's amazing how he can take something seemingly so mundane as picking up garbage - write a book about it - and it is just an amazing adventure!

I was dissapointed when I recieved this book in the mail. I was expecting a native gardening guide book, with perhaps some photos of native plants, descriptions of how natives can be used in the garden and such. Instead I recieved a book warning of the enormous dangers of planting exotic, non native species in one's back yard. The book is heart felt and well written. If you are not convinced that planting natives is the way to go, you will be after reading this book. Unfortunatly, you probably won't be much further along in knowing how or which or where.

I am new to gardening. I was initially seduced by the pictures of California gardens in Sunset magazine. Over the long term, I saw its approach to be only about style and appearance and pleasing the humans. This book on the other hand connects backyard gardening with the wild, with wildlife, and gave me a reason for gardening: for the denizens of the garden -- the birds, bees, butterflies, insects, and squirrels. If you are looking for a how-to book, get Marjorie Schmidt's Gardening with California Native Plants. The definitive California native plant picture identification book hasn't been published, but you can get a lot out of Vern Yadon's Wildflowers of Monterey County.

I live in Southern California, and have begun to take an interest in planting more native species in my yard and garden. I picked this book up at the Getty Museum after visiting their beautiful gardens.

This bug is full of important information, and taught me (to my chagrin) that I had been guilty of planting lots of invasive alien species in my yard.

Armed with a new resolve to "go native" I set about trying to find and identify the many native plants she describes in her book. Unfortunately, the book has only a limited set of color plates showing some native flowers. And even those images generally show multiple plants, with a description such as "california poppie, five-spot, and baby blue eyes near coyote scrub, California fescue and native bunch grass". While this is helpful, I was unable to tell which plant was which (aside from the poppies).

To use this book to its fullest, you need a good pictorial guide to California plants. Unfortunately I don't know of one. Hopefully a more knowledgable reader can point me in the right direction.

A Californian living overseas, I happened to find this book while looking for ideas for a piece of property I own in California. Initially I had "cottage garden" in mind; later, my thinking evolved to more exotic tropical plants. This wonderful book was the first step in my complete conversion to the native plant movement. California is an ecological "island" with an incredible richness of native plants: 6,000 species, of which something like 2,000 live nowhere else. Yet these have been decimated by exotic weeds, development and large-scale agriculture. We should be proud of the native California plants that are now prized by landscapers and gardeners all over the world: the redwood, douglas fir, monterey pine, lilac, and all wildflowers especially the poppy, our State Flower (to name but a few). Yet despite the growing momentum of the native plant movement in the state, many gardeners are indifferent to the debate.

Look for the tufted 6-foot stalks of pampas grass as you drive around California: this aggressive invader from Peru is still being planted by gardeners and landscapers. Consider that eight million acres in the state (and growing) are covered with yellow star thistle, another exotic weed. Aggressive non-native plants out-compete natives (even to the point of extinction) and contribute to the decline of the environment, often in the form of soil erosion.

The most important lesson from this thought-provoking book is that we are interconnected, and the decisions we take on our postage-stamp properties affect the entire environment. We can make a difference. What we do on our little plots can do a lot to restore the ecological well-being of the entire state. As we see the birds and other animals - creatures that evolved specifically for our native flora - return to reclaim the land, parcel by parcel, we can say we have done something positive for the state of California.

"Gardening With a Wild Heart" is a wonderful book. Even if you could care less about gardening or native plants, it is still a great read. There is so much in here about different ways of life, past and present, in unique Marin County. Open it to any page and you will find fascinating information on a wide variety of subjects, from actual recipes, to native American philsophy. This book fascinated me for hours, and that rarely happens for me with non-fiction books.