Best Forests & Forestry

Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded. Though the ‘stranger’ in the title is Knight, one closes the book with the sense that Knight, like all seers, is the only sane person in a world gone insane—that modern civilization has made us strangers to ourselves." —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times "Michael Finkel has done something magical with this profound book… [His] investigation runs deep, summoning…the human history of our own attempts to find meaning in a noisy world."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not only is this story of Chris Knight one of the most compelling that I have read in some time, but the lengths that you went to, to research his venture into the woods of Maine, to understand him, to get to know him, clearly better than anyone else has, and to represent him with such dignity, astounds me. While some, especially those whose homes were burgled, might still never understand what would cause a person to want to live in such extreme conditions let alone in solitude, far removed from the ‘regular’ world, after reading the book, while I will never spend a night, let alone an hour in the woods, what drew Knight makes sense to me now. It’s not to say that after reading THE STRANGER IN THE WOODS that every reader will feel compelled to pick up and leave their jobs, families, and the comfort of modern society behind, but it sure does offer food for thought."
"Many of us dream of secluding from the busyness of modern living—the fast-paced, noisy, cyclical nature in which life has become; yet many of us do not have the courage or tenacity to pursue such a dream, much less achieve this dream for the amount of time that Knight did. On a practical level, Michael Finkel has written this biographical account excellently."
"I wanted to read this book as the Maine woods have been a part of my life and I was unfamiliar with this story until I saw this book. I realized from the start that at the core of this story was an important topic I already have been worrying about that I feel American society either is unaware of or is purposefully ignoring: the neuro-atypical person and the challenge of how they will live (not thriving but suffering) in modern America. Knight was content and found peace in living that life until he was caught with the help of sophisticated surveillance equipment while robbing food from a nonprofit camp for disabled children (including kids on the Autism Spectrum). The heartbreaking part of this story is that the suffering that Knight endured was due to square pegs not fitting in the round holes of modern American society, his relief and contendedness was found living in isolation in nature, but this is not really allowed in America, and when possible it's only available to those who are able to financially support themselves due to an inheritance or some income stream that they are lucky to find that meshes with their talents and abilities. But this book provides more food for thought, for me at least, than just Knight's hermit years story. I hope this book is a catalyst for Americans to think about this issue, with the rising rates of Autism and mental illness, we have more people this decade than ever before who are not fitting in with the mandatory American public school system and who are not fitting in to work jobs as adults enough to support themselves independently let alone the issue of if a person is happy or content."

From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands- sometimes millions-of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home. Most important, Mr. Haskell is asensitive writer, conjuring with careful precision the worlds he observes anddelighting the reader with insightful turns of phrase."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I got this as a gift for a friend who is a knowledgeable and keen observer of the natural world."
"I found this a very enjoyable book to read."
"Our family has spent a lot of time in the woods near sesames so it was like coming home."
"The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature, by David George Haskell, is a Walden for the twenty-first century."
"This is a delightful book."
"Excellently written and wonderfully informative."
"Takes you on a journey through the woods."
"Beautifully written and informative (sometimes too scientific), this book is a diary of a naturalist/poet who spends a year exploring a 3' circle in the Tennessee woods and what he observes."

The latest Scandinavian publishing phenomenon is not a Stieg Larsson–like thriller; it's a book about chopping, stacking, and burning wood that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Norway and Sweden and has been a fixture on the bestseller lists there for more than a year. "You don't need to have a wood-burning stove or fireplace to be captivated by the craft and lore surrounding a Stone Age method of creating heat."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm very pleased with this book."
"We were building a cabin and it gave us LIFESAVING advice on which woodstove to puchase, as well as how to select woods, split, stack for optimal drying, etc."
"Yes it is, my seatmate starving for a topic of discussion while we sit trapped on an Amarillo runway waiting for the Denver air traffic to clear, yes it is."
"I really enjoyed reading this, gave me insights and Ideas on how to handle my firewood better."
"I now enjoy cutting trees, examining wood, stacking wood, and burning wood."
"super simple and well written."
"He loves it, I mentioned to him to let our neighbor borrow it,but he doesn't seem to want to part with it!"
"my husband and dad love this book."
Best Hiking & Camping

Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded. Though the ‘stranger’ in the title is Knight, one closes the book with the sense that Knight, like all seers, is the only sane person in a world gone insane—that modern civilization has made us strangers to ourselves." —Jennifer Senior, The New York Times "Michael Finkel has done something magical with this profound book… [His] investigation runs deep, summoning…the human history of our own attempts to find meaning in a noisy world."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Not only is this story of Chris Knight one of the most compelling that I have read in some time, but the lengths that you went to, to research his venture into the woods of Maine, to understand him, to get to know him, clearly better than anyone else has, and to represent him with such dignity, astounds me. While some, especially those whose homes were burgled, might still never understand what would cause a person to want to live in such extreme conditions let alone in solitude, far removed from the ‘regular’ world, after reading the book, while I will never spend a night, let alone an hour in the woods, what drew Knight makes sense to me now. It’s not to say that after reading THE STRANGER IN THE WOODS that every reader will feel compelled to pick up and leave their jobs, families, and the comfort of modern society behind, but it sure does offer food for thought."
"Many of us dream of secluding from the busyness of modern living—the fast-paced, noisy, cyclical nature in which life has become; yet many of us do not have the courage or tenacity to pursue such a dream, much less achieve this dream for the amount of time that Knight did. On a practical level, Michael Finkel has written this biographical account excellently."
"I wanted to read this book as the Maine woods have been a part of my life and I was unfamiliar with this story until I saw this book. I realized from the start that at the core of this story was an important topic I already have been worrying about that I feel American society either is unaware of or is purposefully ignoring: the neuro-atypical person and the challenge of how they will live (not thriving but suffering) in modern America. Knight was content and found peace in living that life until he was caught with the help of sophisticated surveillance equipment while robbing food from a nonprofit camp for disabled children (including kids on the Autism Spectrum). The heartbreaking part of this story is that the suffering that Knight endured was due to square pegs not fitting in the round holes of modern American society, his relief and contendedness was found living in isolation in nature, but this is not really allowed in America, and when possible it's only available to those who are able to financially support themselves due to an inheritance or some income stream that they are lucky to find that meshes with their talents and abilities. But this book provides more food for thought, for me at least, than just Knight's hermit years story. I hope this book is a catalyst for Americans to think about this issue, with the rising rates of Autism and mental illness, we have more people this decade than ever before who are not fitting in with the mandatory American public school system and who are not fitting in to work jobs as adults enough to support themselves independently let alone the issue of if a person is happy or content."
Best Fisheries & Aquaculture

It was the storm of the century, boasting waves over one hundred feet high—a tempest created by so rare a combination of factors that meteorologists deemed it "the perfect storm." In The Perfect Storm , author Sebastian Junger conjures for the reader the meteorological conditions that created the "storm of the century" and the impact the storm had on many of the people caught in it.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The author's research on tuna fishing is amazing."
"The book talks about the life of fisherman and how dangerous sword fishing is, but despite the dangerous voyages, fisherman have to make money somehow even if it means risking their lives and never coming back to their loved ones."
"Much better than the movie."
"Must be read much better then the movie."
"It was almost as informative as being in that area and having a knowledgeable tour guide tell the story of the place and the people. Since I have a deep concern for the sustainability of the environment, it is of interest to read about the forces that push people to essentially destroy the very hand that feeds them. The book combines a personal life story, history, psychology, and world economics and even international relations."
"The Andrea Gail and the events that took place in October of 1991 are brought to bear on the reader by delving into the personal lives of the men who sailed upon her. Junger has given the reader a glimpse into the lives of men who were doing their daily job, yet done in the face of danger."
"While much of what he supposes went through the minds of those who died is wild conjecture, he does give that disclaimer in the intro and does a reasonable job of trying to extrapolate from other maritime disasters and the records from their survivors."