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As part of a trilogy of books exploring the science of patterns in nature, acclaimed science writer Philip Ball here looks at the form and growth of branching networks in the natural world, and what we can learn from them. Many patterns in nature show a branching form - trees, river deltas, blood vessels, lightning, the cracks that form in the glazing of pots.
It is in the Presidio of San Francisco, California, that Leslie Carol Roberts walks. The Presidio, America's only residential national park tucked wholly into an urban setting, is a fading historic forest. Here is where Leslie's memories of other places, people, and travels emerge. Here is where the author's home has been for more than a decade, and here is the place she raised her two children as a single mother. In layered stories of her life and travels, Leslie turns her daily walks into revelations of deeper meaning. From Maryland to Iowa to Tasmania, we follow a fierce and keenly observant walker through places of exquisite beauty and complexity. Her daily walks inspire Leslie to accept the invitation of the beckoning trees where she finds herself colliding with the urban coyote, the peculiar banana slug, and the manzanita. She also notes both ridiculous and poignant aspects of human ecosystems in pursuit of what it means to live a life of creativity and creation from scientist-activists battling to save environments to the tragic realities of ordinary life. In this finely crafted eco-memoir, each place provides Leslie with exactly the scaffolding needed to survive, with nature serving as the tonic. Here is Where I Walk provides a vivid answer to how we can find our place, not only in nature but within ourselves and the world we walk.
Writer and artist Margie Crisp has traveled the length of Texas' Colorado River, which rises in Dawson County, south of Lubbock, and flows 860 miles southeast across the state to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay. Echoing the truth of Heraclitus's ancient dictum, the river's character changes dramatically from its dusty headwaters on the High Plains to its meandering presence on the coastal prairie. The Colorado is the longest river with both its source and its mouth in Texas, and its water, from beginning to end, provides for the state's agricultural, municipal, and recreational needs. As Crisp notes, the Colorado River is perhaps most frequently associated with its middle reaches in the Hill Country, where it has been dammed to create the six reservoirs known as the Highland Lakes. Following Crisp as she explores the river, sometimes with her fisherman husband, readers meet the river's denizens--animal, plant, and human--and learn something about the natural history, the politics, and those who influence the fate of the river and the water it carries. Those who live intimately with the natural landscape inevitably formulate emotional responses to their surroundings, and the people living on or near the Colorado River are no exception. Crisp's own loving tribute to the river and its inhabitants is enhanced by the exquisite art she has created for this book. Her photographs and maps round out the useful and beautiful accompaniments to this thoughtful portrait of one of Texas' most beloved rivers. Former first lady Laura Bush unveils this year's Texas Book Festival poster designed by artist Margie Crisp, author of River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado. The poster features cliff swallows flying over the Colorado River. Photo by Grant Miller To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
Winner of the 2014 Orion Book Award for Nonfiction Winner of the John Burroughs Association 2014 Medal for Distinguished Natural History Book In Sightlines, Kathleen Jamie reports from the field--from her native Scottish "byways and hills" to the frigid Arctic in fourteen enthralling essays. She dissects whatever her gaze falls upon--vistas of cells beneath a hospital microscope, orcas rounding a headland, the aurora borealis lighting up the frozen sea. In so doing, she questions what, exactly, constitutes "nature," and upends the idea that it is always picturesque. Written with precision, subtlety, and wry humor, Sightlines urges the reader: "Keep looking, even when there's nothing much to see."
For Nancy Lord, what began as a yearning for adventure and a childhood fascination with a wild and distant land culminated in a move to Alaska in the early 1970s. Here she discovered the last place in America “big and wild enough to hold the intact landscapes and the dreams that are so absent today from almost everywhere else.” In Rock, Water, Wild, Lord takes readers along as she journeys among salmon, sea lions, geese, moose, bears, glaciers, and indigenous languages and ultimately into a new understanding, beyond geographic borders, of our intricate and intimate connections to the natural world. Vast and beautiful, and much more than a mere place, Alaska is nonetheless inescapably a land of natural extremes and exquisite subtleties. In Lord’s explorations, “the country” of Alaska evokes reflections on the importance of place and space in our lives; arguments over roads carved in the wilderness; musings on the role of location and landscape in the Dena’ina Athabascan langua≥ accounts of sport fishing in the Russian Far East in the first days of perestroika and of climbing in the Arrigetch Peaks of Alaska’s Brooks Ran≥ and considerations of the politics of whaling. In the tradition of naturalists John Muir and John Burroughs, Lord proves an excellent guide to the challenges and pleasures of making oneself at home on this Earth.
Emerald Labyrinth is a scientist and adventurer's chronicle of years exploring the rainforests of sub-Saharan Africa. The richly varied habitats of the Democratic Republic of the Congo offer a wealth of animal, plant, chemical, and medical discoveries. But the country also has a deeply troubled colonial past and a complicated political present. Author Eli Greenbaum is a leading expert in sub-Saharan herpetology--snakes, lizards, and frogs--who brings a sense of wonder to the question of how science works in the twenty-first century. Along the way he comes face to face with spitting cobras, silverback mountain gorillas, wild elephants, and the teenaged armies of AK-47-toting fighters engaged in the continent's longest-running war. As a bellwether of the climate and biodiversity crises now facing the planet, the Congo holds the key to our planet's future. Writing in the tradition of books like The Lost City of Z, Greenbaum seeks out the creatures struggling to survive in a war-torn, environmentally threatened country. Emerald Labyrinth is an extraordinary book about the enormous challenges and hard-won satisfactions of doing science in one of the least known, least hospitable places on earth.
National parks are more than the best idea America ever had--they're our country's best playgrounds for millions of vacationers who want to enjoy recreation activities, nature and wildlife, and down-time with friends, family, or as solo travelers. This timely, idea-filled guide covers "classic" parks, national historical parks, national monuments, national battlefields, national scenic trails, and beyond. Hundreds of Top 10 lists highlight every park's best attractions--best lodges, best hikes, best star-gazing spots, best campfire meal spots. Destinations are covered by region, theme, season, and occasion. Photos, anecdotes from park rangers, and insider tips, plus traveler resources such as hotels and restaurants, make this the national parks guide travelers have long sought.
The Exclusive Edition of the National Geographic Guide to State Parks of the United States and Canadian Provincial Parks contains something for everyone in America's State Parks and beyond. Includes more than 200 state parks in the 50 states and 30 provincial parks from across Canada. Insider tips from state parks' staff. 233 color photos capture the splendor of the parks. 43 easy-to-use maps highlight sites, trails, and campgrounds.
"More than 236 different plant and animal groups that you will find at the water's edge, from manatees and sharks in the ocean to algae and dragonflies in the pond; all the images and clues you need to identify your finds, including detailed descriptions of appearance, behavior, and habitat; fun facts about waterways and water creatures, such as why the oceans have tides but the Great Lakes don't, where tsunamis occur most often, how to keep a hermit crab for a pet, and much more; special 'on location' sections featuring 16 distinctive water's edge destinations throughout North America, from Barrow, Alaska, to Sanibel Island, Florida; exclusive bonus! Steve Leatherman ('Dr. Beach'), creator of the famous annual Top 10 beaches, recommends North America's 20 all-time top beaches, 10 top rivers, and 5 top Great Lakes destinations"--P. [4] of cover.
Explore the natural world through a variety of Planet Earth and Blue Planet documentaries. David Attenborough narrates each episode and has a soothing voice that is guaranteed to relax you.
Branches by ISBN: 9780199237982Publication Date: 2009-09-21As part of a trilogy of books exploring the science of patterns in nature, acclaimed science writer Philip Ball here looks at the form and growth of branching networks in the natural world, and what we can learn from them. Many patterns in nature show a branching form - trees, river deltas, blood vessels, lightning, the cracks that form in the glazing of pots.
Here Is Where I Walk by ISBN: 9781948908078Publication Date: 2019-04-03It is in the Presidio of San Francisco, California, that Leslie Carol Roberts walks. The Presidio, America's only residential national park tucked wholly into an urban setting, is a fading historic forest. Here is where Leslie's memories of other places, people, and travels emerge. Here is where the author's home has been for more than a decade, and here is the place she raised her two children as a single mother. In layered stories of her life and travels, Leslie turns her daily walks into revelations of deeper meaning. From Maryland to Iowa to Tasmania, we follow a fierce and keenly observant walker through places of exquisite beauty and complexity. Her daily walks inspire Leslie to accept the invitation of the beckoning trees where she finds herself colliding with the urban coyote, the peculiar banana slug, and the manzanita. She also notes both ridiculous and poignant aspects of human ecosystems in pursuit of what it means to live a life of creativity and creation from scientist-activists battling to save environments to the tragic realities of ordinary life. In this finely crafted eco-memoir, each place provides Leslie with exactly the scaffolding needed to survive, with nature serving as the tonic. Here is Where I Walk provides a vivid answer to how we can find our place, not only in nature but within ourselves and the world we walk.
River of contrasts: the Texas Colorado by ISBN: 9781603447478Publication Date: 2012-01-01Writer and artist Margie Crisp has traveled the length of Texas' Colorado River, which rises in Dawson County, south of Lubbock, and flows 860 miles southeast across the state to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay. Echoing the truth of Heraclitus's ancient dictum, the river's character changes dramatically from its dusty headwaters on the High Plains to its meandering presence on the coastal prairie. The Colorado is the longest river with both its source and its mouth in Texas, and its water, from beginning to end, provides for the state's agricultural, municipal, and recreational needs. As Crisp notes, the Colorado River is perhaps most frequently associated with its middle reaches in the Hill Country, where it has been dammed to create the six reservoirs known as the Highland Lakes. Following Crisp as she explores the river, sometimes with her fisherman husband, readers meet the river's denizens--animal, plant, and human--and learn something about the natural history, the politics, and those who influence the fate of the river and the water it carries. Those who live intimately with the natural landscape inevitably formulate emotional responses to their surroundings, and the people living on or near the Colorado River are no exception. Crisp's own loving tribute to the river and its inhabitants is enhanced by the exquisite art she has created for this book. Her photographs and maps round out the useful and beautiful accompaniments to this thoughtful portrait of one of Texas' most beloved rivers. Former first lady Laura Bush unveils this year's Texas Book Festival poster designed by artist Margie Crisp, author of River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado. The poster features cliff swallows flying over the Colorado River. Photo by Grant Miller To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
Sightlines by ISBN: 9781615191758Publication Date: 2013-09-10Winner of the 2014 Orion Book Award for Nonfiction Winner of the John Burroughs Association 2014 Medal for Distinguished Natural History Book In Sightlines, Kathleen Jamie reports from the field--from her native Scottish "byways and hills" to the frigid Arctic in fourteen enthralling essays. She dissects whatever her gaze falls upon--vistas of cells beneath a hospital microscope, orcas rounding a headland, the aurora borealis lighting up the frozen sea. In so doing, she questions what, exactly, constitutes "nature," and upends the idea that it is always picturesque. Written with precision, subtlety, and wry humor, Sightlines urges the reader: "Keep looking, even when there's nothing much to see."
Rock, Water, Wild by ISBN: 9780803226098Publication Date: 2009-09-01For Nancy Lord, what began as a yearning for adventure and a childhood fascination with a wild and distant land culminated in a move to Alaska in the early 1970s. Here she discovered the last place in America “big and wild enough to hold the intact landscapes and the dreams that are so absent today from almost everywhere else.” In Rock, Water, Wild, Lord takes readers along as she journeys among salmon, sea lions, geese, moose, bears, glaciers, and indigenous languages and ultimately into a new understanding, beyond geographic borders, of our intricate and intimate connections to the natural world. Vast and beautiful, and much more than a mere place, Alaska is nonetheless inescapably a land of natural extremes and exquisite subtleties. In Lord’s explorations, “the country” of Alaska evokes reflections on the importance of place and space in our lives; arguments over roads carved in the wilderness; musings on the role of location and landscape in the Dena’ina Athabascan langua≥ accounts of sport fishing in the Russian Far East in the first days of perestroika and of climbing in the Arrigetch Peaks of Alaska’s Brooks Ran≥ and considerations of the politics of whaling. In the tradition of naturalists John Muir and John Burroughs, Lord proves an excellent guide to the challenges and pleasures of making oneself at home on this Earth.
Emerald Labyrinth by ISBN: 9781512600971Publication Date: 2017-11-07Emerald Labyrinth is a scientist and adventurer's chronicle of years exploring the rainforests of sub-Saharan Africa. The richly varied habitats of the Democratic Republic of the Congo offer a wealth of animal, plant, chemical, and medical discoveries. But the country also has a deeply troubled colonial past and a complicated political present. Author Eli Greenbaum is a leading expert in sub-Saharan herpetology--snakes, lizards, and frogs--who brings a sense of wonder to the question of how science works in the twenty-first century. Along the way he comes face to face with spitting cobras, silverback mountain gorillas, wild elephants, and the teenaged armies of AK-47-toting fighters engaged in the continent's longest-running war. As a bellwether of the climate and biodiversity crises now facing the planet, the Congo holds the key to our planet's future. Writing in the tradition of books like The Lost City of Z, Greenbaum seeks out the creatures struggling to survive in a war-torn, environmentally threatened country. Emerald Labyrinth is an extraordinary book about the enormous challenges and hard-won satisfactions of doing science in one of the least known, least hospitable places on earth.
The 10 Best of Everything National Parks by ISBN: 9781426207341Publication Date: 2011-04-12National parks are more than the best idea America ever had--they're our country's best playgrounds for millions of vacationers who want to enjoy recreation activities, nature and wildlife, and down-time with friends, family, or as solo travelers. This timely, idea-filled guide covers "classic" parks, national historical parks, national monuments, national battlefields, national scenic trails, and beyond. Hundreds of Top 10 lists highlight every park's best attractions--best lodges, best hikes, best star-gazing spots, best campfire meal spots. Destinations are covered by region, theme, season, and occasion. Photos, anecdotes from park rangers, and insider tips, plus traveler resources such as hotels and restaurants, make this the national parks guide travelers have long sought.
National Geographic guide to state parks of the United States by ISBN: 9781426207822Publication Date: 2011The Exclusive Edition of the National Geographic Guide to State Parks of the United States and Canadian Provincial Parks contains something for everyone in America's State Parks and beyond. Includes more than 200 state parks in the 50 states and 30 provincial parks from across Canada. Insider tips from state parks' staff. 233 color photos capture the splendor of the parks. 43 easy-to-use maps highlight sites, trails, and campgrounds.National Geographic Field Guide to the Water's Edge by
ISBN: 9781426209390Publication Date: 2012-01-01"More than 236 different plant and animal groups that you will find at the water's edge, from manatees and sharks in the ocean to algae and dragonflies in the pond; all the images and clues you need to identify your finds, including detailed descriptions of appearance, behavior, and habitat; fun facts about waterways and water creatures, such as why the oceans have tides but the Great Lakes don't, where tsunamis occur most often, how to keep a hermit crab for a pet, and much more; special 'on location' sections featuring 16 distinctive water's edge destinations throughout North America, from Barrow, Alaska, to Sanibel Island, Florida; exclusive bonus! Steve Leatherman ('Dr. Beach'), creator of the famous annual Top 10 beaches, recommends North America's 20 all-time top beaches, 10 top rivers, and 5 top Great Lakes destinations"--P. [4] of cover.