Best Nature & Ecology
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."
"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."
"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."
"My heart goes out to Mr. Knight."
From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” ( Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. Experience a real intelligence based on a sense of touch that humans can barely imagine.” (Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation ). "Renowned author Sy Montgomery's latest gem is a must read for those who want to dissolve the human-constructed borders between "them" (other animals) and us. (Vicki Constantine Croke, author of Elephant Company ). "In The Soul of an Octopus , Sy Montgomery immerses readers into an intriguing, seductive world just beneath the ocean waves and the lives of the creatures living within. Sy Montgomery faces these questions head-on in her engaging new book as she explores the world of octopuses, making friends with several and finding heartbreak when they die. (Virginia Morell, author of ANIMAL WISE: How We Know Animals Think and Feel ). "With apparent delight, Montgomery puts readers inside the world of these amazing creatures. (Library Journal Editors' Spring Pick). "Sweet moments are at the heart of Montgomery's compassionate, wise and tender new book... Only a writer of her talent could make readers care about octopuses as individuals... Entertaining books like The Soul of an Octopus remind us of just how much we not only have to learn from fellow creatures, but that they can have a positive impact on our lives." (Newsday). "Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what. Helen Macdonald 's H Is for Hawk did for raptors." (Columbus Dispatch). "Naturalist Montgomery writes exceptionally affecting and enlightening books inspired by both rigorous scientific curiosity and enraptured wonder and empathy for all living beings...In prose as gripping and entwining as her. subjects’ many arms, Montgomery chronicles the octopus’ phenomenal strength, dexterity, speed... She also tells funny and moving stories about her friendships... Montgomery’s uniquely intimate portrait of the elusive octopus profoundly recalibrates our perception of consciousness, communication, and community." In the end, the book leaves one with the impression that our way of interacting with the world is not the only way or the most superior way and that sentience similarly comes in a variety of equally astounding forms, all worthy of recognition and compassion.” (Science Magazine). “Montgomery’s journey of discovery encourages the reader to reflect on his or her own definition of consciousness and “soul.” In the end, the book leaves one with the impression that our way of interacting with the world is not the only way or the most superior way and that sentience similarly comes in a variety of equally astounding forms, all worthy of recognition and compassion.” (Shelf Awareness, Best Book of 2015 List) A Notable Book of the Year (Huffington Post). " The Soul of an Octopus is an astoundingly beautiful read in its entirety, at once scientifically illuminating and deeply poetic, and is indeed a worthy addition to the best science books of the year ." The book takes readers on a vivid tour of their complex inner world… explores their proclivities, their relationships and their intelligence and ultimately tries to deduce whether they possess consciousness… It is hard to come away from this book without a new appreciation for these wonderful creatures.” (Scientific American) 2016 Notable Book (American Library Association) Sy Montgomery is a naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and author of twenty acclaimed books of nonfiction for adults and children, including the National Book Award finalist The Soul of an Octopus and the memoir The Good Good Pig , a New York Times bestseller.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I once kept an octopus in a sea water aquarium. She had so much impact on me that by the end of the week I knew I had to put her back in the ocean."
"I would probably not have given this book a second glance except that just days before it was offered to me for review I had read Turtle Reef, an Australian contemporary romance novel, in which the heroine, working at a marine park, befriended an octopus. It offers a very readable and rather unique blend of personal experience, scientific knowledge and philosophical opinion about what is understood, and unknown, about the nature of octopuses. During her time spent at the New England Aquarium she befriended several individual octopuses including Athena, who was the subject of a popular 2011 Orion magazine piece, "Deep Intellect" which went viral and was the inspiration for this book, Octavia, Kali and Karma."
"Perhaps so, perhaps not - she offers little to support this beyond the sensation of suckers winding up her arms, and what may have just as likely been the animals' desperate attempts to find relief from such close boring confines. If as seems the case that the author and aquarium staff care so deeply for these creatures, how can they then reconcile confining - alone - in a small dark boring pickle barrel for months at a time, animals captured in young and mid-life from their wild free oceanic homes. One can reasonably argue the value, plusses and minuses of zoos and aquarium in general, but capturing and tightly confining smart, free, wild animals for eventual display - and losing some in this process as the price of doing business - does have implications that are an inherent yet all but unacknowledged under-theme of this book."
A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Kurlansky traces the history of salt's influences from prehistoric China and ancient Africa (in Egypt they made mummies using salt) to Europe (in 12th-century Provence, France, salt merchants built "a system of solar evaporation ponds") and the Americas, through chapters with intriguing titles like "A Discourse on Salt, Cadavers and Pungent Sauces." The book is populated with characters as diverse as frozen-food giant Clarence Birdseye; Gandhi, who broke the British salt law that forbade salt production in India because it outdid the British salt trade; and New York City's sturgeon king, Barney Greengrass. [For another book on the topic, see Pierre Laszlo's more esoteric Salt: Grain of Life, LJ 7/01; other recent micro-histories include Joseph Amato's Dust, Mort Rosenblum's Olive, and Tom Vanderbilt's The Sneaker Book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We forget how important salt was to our forebears, for one thing, and I hadn't realized how important it was to development."
"Take a pinch of Salt add the motivation of Homo sapiens and see what happens?"
"A world Perspective from a different view."
"I'm a huge fan of history books, and SALT has become one of the seminal books of my collection."
"I urge considering this book no matter if your interests are culinary, historical, cultural or economic."
Best Animal Rights
Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his life oscillating between enthusiastic carnivore and occasional vegetarian. *Starred Review* If this book were packaged like a loaf of bread, its Nutrition Facts box would list high percentages of graphic descriptions of factory farm methods of animal breeding, mass confinement, and assembly-line slaughter as well as the brutality and waste of high-tech fishing methods; fresh studies of animal (fish included) intelligence and their capacity for suffering; and undiluted facts about industrial animal agriculture’s major role in global warming. He presents assiduously assembled facts (supported by70 pages of end notes) about the miserable lives and deaths of industrialized chickens, pigs, fish, and cattle and about agricultural pollution and how factory farming engenders species-leaping flu pandemics.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Foer makes reading about hog s*%t and chicken fecal soup an interesting, sometimes moving experience."
"An amazing book that looks at so many aspects of why we eat what we do."
"In much the same way as a smoker or gun owner needs to be aware of the effects and responsibilities of their choice, so should anyone who eats animals, especially those from factory farms, understand the consequences of theirs."
"This book should be required reading."
"He hones in on the factory farming industry, our justifications for eating meat, and the environmental toll of this cultural habit."
"I went into this book already aware that factory farming was horrific and environmentally unstable."
"This book will be confronting for anyone who doesn't really know how animals are raised and slaughtered for food.The book consolidates the information and arguments that I have encountered since I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet 30 years ago."
"Foer doesn't stand on a soap box and try to convert everyone to become vegan or vegetarian, but he gathers and presents sufficient incontrovertible evidence that how we currently raise animals for food (factory farming) is unhealthy, inhumane and unsustainable."
Best Ecology of Lakes & Ponds
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come. In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it. “Dan Egan has done more than any other journalist in America to chronicle the decline of this once-great ecosystem.”. - Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, Special Merit citation. “Important.… Egan’s book serves as a reminder that the ecological universe we inhabit is vastly connected and cannot be easily mended by humility and good intentions.”. - Meghan O’Gieblyn, Boston Review. “Egan’s knowledge, both deep and wide, comes through on every page, and his clear writing turns what could be confusing or tedious material into a riveting story.”. - Margaret Quamme, Columbus Dispatch. Dan Egan is a reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a senior water policy fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"He makes a cogent argument that the Great Lakes are left open to the import of more invasive species in small ship ballast tanks, which are the only ones which can still get through the St. Lawrence Seaway, and these ships bring less than 2% of foreign cargo into the United States. Bottom Line: That cargo could just as easily be off-loaded to trains and trucks at our seaports at very little extra cost."
"If you like having fresh water to drink from the Great Lakes or live near one of the "HOMES," this book is for you."
"All Americans and especially those who live near or have a familiarity with the Great Lakes will be disturbed by what is presented in this well-written book."
"I live near the great lakes and have been a big fan of all the shore lines."
"A well-researched book that should be required reading for every Michigander."
"Having lived,vacationed and traveled around the Great Lakes most of my life, I have gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for these spectacular inland seas."
"Any midwesterner drawing water from the Great Lakes will appreciate this thoughtful and well-researched book."
"Sad reading about one calamity after another to the Great Lakes."
Best Ecology of Mountains
But beyond that lay the unknown territory: a flooded corridor that had blocked all previous comers, claimed a diver's life, and drove the rest of the team back-except for William Stone and Barbara am Ende, who forged on for 18 more days, with no hope of rescue, to set the record for the deepest cave dive in the Western Hemisphere. Set in stygian gloom, this account of a 1994 caving expedition in southern Mexico produces what adventure readers crave: danger, dissension, death, and ultimate success. As the saga unfolds (dramatically assisted by admittedly reconstructed dialogue), the riskiness of the enterprise becomes apparent as the cavers survive various snafus, which rattle some group members who come to resent Stone's hard-charging style. -- Wade Davis, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society, author of THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW "... describes one of the most significant achievements of modern exploration, with personal stories that make this an exciting, page-turning read."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a great book written by two of the cavers involved in the expedition."
"This is a good book about a sort of Everest expedition though 'upside down.'."
"I was looking for a good book about real life adventure, and this surely paid off."
"Fantastic story, great writing."
"an obscure "sport" and now i want to find out so much more about the people who have the need to explore our world."
"Excellently written!"
"An excellent read."
Best Natural Resources
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."
"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."
"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."
"My heart goes out to Mr. Knight."
Best Ecology of Oceans & Seas
From the author of the forthcoming book, Valiant Ambition , the riveting and critically acclaimed bestseller, soon to be a major motion picture starring Chris Hemsworth, directed by Ron Howard, premiering on December 11, 2015 Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson will star in a new film based on this National Book Award–winning account of the true events behind Moby Dick . Nathaniel Philbrick 's In the Heart of the Sea is certainly cast from the same mold, examining the 19th-century Pacific whaling industry through the arc of the sinking of the whaleship Essex by a boisterous sperm whale. The story that inspired Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick has a lot going for it--derring-do, cannibalism, rescue--and Philbrick proves an amiable and well-informed narrator, providing both context and detail. The epicenter of the whaling industry was Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod; most of the whales were in the Pacific, necessitating a huge journey around the southernmost tip of South America. A maritime historian, Philbrick recounts the hellish wreck of the Essex (which inspired Melville's Moby-Dick) and its sailors' struggle to make their way to South America, 2,000 miles away. Philbrick shows how the Quaker establishment of Nantucket ran a hugely profitable whaling industry in the 18th and 19th centuries and provides a detailed account of shipboard life.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Very good book, and a great story."
"Interesting."
"I thoroughly enjoyed this true story."
"Based on watching the trailer, I'm very happy that I read the book first."
"Very entertaining and well researched, and it is a fascinating look at the life of whaling men, and those back on shore as well during that time period."
"Not for the weak of heart."
"I recently read other books by Philbrick, Bunker Hill and Valiant Ambition which I liked very much."
"One of the best books I have ever read."
Best Nature of Rocks & Minerals
Crystal Reference. Crystal Innovations. Crystal Beings. Crystal Structure High Vibration Crystals. Exploring Crystal Potential. Crystal Skulls. Building in Stone. The Madagascar Stones. She is the author of over 40 books, including the bestselling Crystal Bible (2003) and The Crystal Bible 2 (2009).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Keep in mind none of the stones are duplicated from one book to another, so buying #3 does NOT mean you get everything in 1 and 2."
"Great book!"
"Daughter got this as a gift and is using it a lot."
"Really cool full color pictures and great info!"
"This is full of good information on stones and comes in handy."
"Packed & packed with information."
"This review is for the kindle edition only."
"I wish I had realized that there is one other review here for the Kindle version and it clearly states there are no pictures."
Best Water Supply & Land Use
"The definitive work on the West's water crisis." ''When archaelogists from another planet sift through the bleached bones of our civilization, they may conclude that our temples were dams, says Reisner in this angry, exhaustive and gracefully written account of America's quest to turn the inhospitable, irredeemably dry West into a Garden of Eden…Not the first book on the subject, but one of the best.''. -- Kirkus Reviews ''[This] timely and important book should be required reading for all citizens.''. ''Masterful…Among the most influential environmental books published by an American since Silent Spring .''.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is a timeless work detailing the history of water wealth and distribution in the West."
"Man this book is encyclopedic, with all that implies."
"While the editing causes some revisiting of projects ant times, this book gives a clear picture of the technical, economic, political, and bureaucratic forces surrounding the largest group of public works in American history."
"I recommend this book to anyone wanting to understand the history of the water "crisis" or has the least bit of interest in our nation's history!"
"It is not a perfect work: the author occasionally allows his passion to overwhelm his recounting of the facts, and it detracts from both his case and the flow of the book."
"It's easy to call all cities in the American West "cancers", and state or imply how and how much the West should've been settled, based on 20/20 hindsight and without thought for where settlers could've gone if every inch West of the 100th meridian had been settled only by a very limited number of environmentally prophetic, conscientious stewards."
"Between this book and the "King of California" a very concise history of water in the lands west of the Mississippi and then west of Sierra Nevada Mountains is painted and highlighted with political and bureaucratic bumbling that has lead to the "crisis" that lives on today."
"Although written in 1986, revised and updated in 1993, it is a useful source of history and a means of understanding how we got ourselves into the difficulties we are now facing."
Best Outdoor & Nature Reference
Dr. Carl Sagan takes us on a great reading adventure, offering his vivid and startling insight into the brain of man and beast, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most haunting legends--and their amazing links to recent discoveries.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Thi is the most interesting way of looking at the evolution of humans."
"Sagan is poetic in his descriptions, and provides significant, well constructed, arguments towards the evolution of human intelligence and beyond."
"So, since I read and re-read so much of it, I had to buy it again."
"If Sagan were still alive and wrote the book today he would almost certainly incorporate newer information and reach his conclusions via slightly different routes, but his overarching message would remain the same: "the mind... [is] a consequence of its anatomy and physiology and nothing more.""
"Anything by Sagan is a great read."
"A must read for everyone."
"It is still interesting but with so much time passing I'm suspecting that many "facts" are out of date, thus putting into jeopardy many of his suppositions."
"This book is a wonderful overview of the development of the structures and functions of the human and primate brains."