Other books that might interest you

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  The Oak Papers

  James Canton

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  ""A profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the bows of an ancient oak tree.""—Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees 
  ""James Canton knows so much, writes so well and understands so deeply about the true forest magic and the important place these trees have in it. Knowledge and joy.""— Sara Maitland, author of How to Be Alone 
  Joining the ranks of The Hidden Life of Trees and H is for Hawk, an evocative memoir and ode to one of the most majestic living things on earth—the oak tree—probing the mysteries of nature and the healing role it plays in our lives. 
  Thrown into turmoil by the end of his long-term relationship, Professor James Canton spent two years meditating beneath the welcoming shelter of the massive 800-year-old Honywood Oak tree in North Essex, England. While considering the direction of his own life, he began to contemplate the existence of this colossus tree. Standing in England for centuries, the oak would have been a sapling when the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. 
  In this beautiful, transportive book, Canton tells the story of this tree in its ecological, spiritual, literary, and historical contexts, using it as a prism to see his own life and human history. The Oak Papers is a reflection on change and transformation, and the role nature has played in sustaining and redeeming us.  
  Canton examines our long-standing dependency on the oak, and how that has developed and morphed into myth and legend. We no longer need these sturdy trees to build our houses and boats, to fuel our fires, or to grind their acorns into flour in times of famine. What purpose, then, do they serve in our world today? Are these miracles of nature no longer necessary to our lives? What can they offer us?  
  Taking inspiration from the literary world—Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Katherine Basford’s Green Man, Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare, and others—Canton ponders the wondrous magic of nature and the threats its faces, from human development to climate change, implores us to act as responsible stewards to conserve what is precious, and reminds us of the lessons we can learn from the world around us, if only we slow down enough to listen.

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  The Green Devotional - Active...

  Karen Speerstra

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  Secular and sacred, ancient and new, words for contemplation—and inspiration to act in defense of the earth. 
   
  Our planet, our home, is in crisis, plain and simple—and this collection of quotes, poems, essays, and prayers will inspire all to actively reverse the man-made causes of global warming, stem the tide of environmental destruction, and reconnect to the good earth. 
   
  Short essays of topical interest introduce each of the eight sections of this book, and the 250 voices inside, most of them contemporary, began to harmonize together as they seem to call out for their own canonical structure — one bounded by the ancient elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water. This collection of voices is like a “green book of devotional hours,” reminiscent of the Books of Hours medieval people used to hold in their palms. And like that medieval book, The Green Devotional reminds us that we are connected to something broader and wiser than ourselves. 
   
  Including selections from Rachel Carson, Cornel West, Bill McKibben, Alice Walker, Sue Monk Kidd, Dean Koontz, Barbara Kingsolver, Daniel Pinchbeck, Arundhati Roy, and many others, The Green Devotional ends with a section of “Closing Prayers” that prepare us not just to go to sleep, but to rest up for another day of passionate action.

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  3000 Miles in the Great Smokies

  William A. Hart

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  A hiking memoir by “a man whose soul is held in thrall by remote places in the Smokies where . . . rising trout and fog-laden valleys rule supreme” (Jim Casada, The Literature of Hiking in the Smokies).   Bill Hart has hiked, camped and fished in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than forty years. In over three thousand miles of walking, he has recorded experiences and impressions that will delight readers of all ages. Whether exploring some of the most remote sections of the Smokies, angling for trout, meeting mountain folk, or marveling at the flora and fauna around him, Bill has a gift for heartfelt storytelling and a wealth of knowledge to share about the park. Join him for an unforgettable journey through a beloved national treasure.   Includes photos   “[A] collection of essays and journal entries of over 40 years of hiking, camping and exploring in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.” —Go Knoxville   “A compilation of thoughts and reminiscences of his wonderful days and nights there.” —Smoky Scout’s Hiking Adventures

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  The World Encyclopedia of Serial...

  Susan Hall

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  The 4th volume of this comprehensive work features hundreds of serial killers from Sacramento to Soviet Russia—plus numerous unsolved cases.  The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers is the most complete reference guide on the subject, featuring more than 1,600 entries about the lives and crimes of serial killers from around the world. Defined by the FBI as a person who murders three or more people with a hiatus of weeks or months between murders, the serial killer has presented unique and terrifying challenges to  have walked among us since the dawn of time—a fact this extensive record makes chillingly clear.   The series concludes with Volume Four, T-Z. Entries include the Terminator Anatoly Yuriyovych Onoprienko; Trailside Killer David Joseph Carpenter; Vampire of Sacramento Richard Trenton Chase; and the Voroshilovgrad Maniac Zaven Almazyan; plus the unsolved cases of the Adelaide Child Murders; the Axeman of New Orleans; the Chillicothe Killer; the Dead Women of Juarez; the Korea Frog Boy Murders; and the Volga Maniac.

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  China's Media in the Emerging...

  Hugo De Burgh

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  'I have fond memories of watching Hugo de Burgh handle the Chinese media and I can think of no one better qualified to tell us about a subject of ever-growing importance' Boris Johnson, Prime Minster, United Kingdom 
  'An excellent, well-written and important survey which should be on the shelves of all those interested in China and in the media' Alan MacFarlane, Professor of Anthropology, University of Cambridge 
  'Well written and a good access point particularly for students that have not previously been exposed to the Chinese media... I will definitely recommend it to my students' Dr Pablo Morales, Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of Leeds 
  China is challenging the mighty behemoths, Google and Facebook, and creating alternative New Media. 750 million people are active on its Social Mediascape and there are a billion mobile phones deploying the innovative apps with which the Chinese conduct their lives. 
  Though late starters, already four of the world's leading New Media companies are Chinese. China's old media - television, newspapers, radio - challenge the established powers which were long thought unassailable, such as CNN and BBC. Produced in many languages on every continent, they are re-defining the agenda and telling the story in China's way, with not just news and documentary series but also entertainment. The world's biggest manufacturer of TV drama is now making its stories for export. 
  China's Media tells you why and how. It investigates the Chinese media, their strengths and weaknesses and how they are different. from the West. This detailed and comprehensive guide aims to showcase their immense variety and diversity, and demonstrates how they came to be a powerful new force in the media world.

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  Meat Planet - Artificial Flesh...

  Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft

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  Meat Planet explores the quest to generate meat in the lab — a substance sometimes called "cultured meat" — and asks what it means to imagine that this is the future of food.Neither an advocate nor a critic of cultured meat, Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft spent five years researching the phenomenon. In Meat Planet, he reveals how debates about lab-grown meat reach beyond debates about food, examining the links between appetite, growth, and capitalism. Could satiating the growing appetite for meat actually lead to our undoing? Are we simply using one technology to undo the damage caused by another? Like all problems in our food system, the meat problem is not merely a problem of production. It is intrinsically social and political, and it demands that we examine questions of justice and desirable modes of living in a shared and finite world.Benjamin Wurgaft tells a story that could utterly transform the way we think of animals, the way we relate to farmland, the way we use water, and the way we think about population and our fragile ecosystem's capacity to sustain life. He argues that even if cultured meat does not "succeed," it functions — much like science fiction — as a crucial mirror that we can hold up to our contemporary fleshy dysfunctions.

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