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The great hill stations of Asia
By Barbara Crossette. 1998
In 1997 this New York Times journalist traveled across Asia, visiting the classic hill towns built by several colonial powers.…
She recalls her journeys to these remote locations, discusses their history, and describes how each has evolved since being inherited by an independent nation. 1998.The good life: Helen and Scott Nearing's sixty years of self-sufficient living
By Scott Nearing, Helen Nearing. 1989
Describes how in 1932 a married couple left New York City for the backwoods of Vermont in search of a…
life of "simplicity, serenity, utility, and harmony." This account of their pioneering venture tells how they built a house, worked a self-sufficient farm, and lived a satisfying life in nature. c1989. Uniform title: Living the good lifeThe golden spruce: A True Story Of Myth, Madness And Greed
By John Vaillant. 2005
In 1997, when a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an Alaskan island north of the Canadian border,…
they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. The author braids together the strands of this mystery and brings to life the historical collision of Europeans and the Haida and the harrowing world of logging. Canada Reads 2012. Winner of the 2005 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. Bestseller. 2005.The great fire
By Jim Murphy. 1995
An account of the conflagration that levelled much of Chicago in 1871. Chronicles events from the fire's outbreak and rapid…
spread to its extinguishment by rain, as reported by survivors and in documents of the period. Examines the origins, circumstances, and official failures that contributed to the disaster. Grades 5-8. A 1996 Newbery Honor Book. c1995.Cahill continues his study of civilizations, begun in "How the Irish Saved Civilization" (DC15036), with an extended look at the…
Torah. He shows how events therein, especially the Jews' belief in one God and their ability to look at reality in a whole new way, influenced civilization. Some strong language. Bestseller. 1998.The follow: a true story
By Linda Spalding. 1998
The author recounts her expedition into the forests of Borneo in search of a reclusive primatologist, who has devoted her…
life to protecting orphaned orangutans. Describes the beauty of the island, the local society, and the despoilment of natural resources through poaching, deforestation, and misguided ecotourism. 1998.The flamingo's smile: reflections in natural history
By Stephen Jay Gould. 1985
Ten essays investigating curiosities and oddities in natural history. A research physician presents his findings on real phenomena, such as…
odd showers of fish or frogs falling with rain; and unreal specimens, such as the Feejee mermaid--a fraudulent creature assembled from fish and animal parts. 1999.The feather quest: a North American birder's year
By Pete Dunne. 1992
This book chronicles a year spent birding. The author and his wife embarked on their adventure before dawn on New…
Year's Day, crossing North America and joining the Christmas Bird Count twelve months hence. Dunne keeps an eye on more than birds; he observes humans and the world at large. Brief foreword contributed by Roger Tory Peterson. 1992.The far-off hills
By Rita Anton. 1979
Following her husband's death in 1976, Anton spent several years in India as a volunteer Jesuit Lay Missionary. Having travelled…
extensively in India, she presents a realistic look at this nation in transition. 1979.The Delta is my home: Ehdiitat shanankat t'agoonch'uu = Uvanga Nunatarmuitmi aimayuaqtunga (Land is our storybook)
By Tom McLeod, Mindy Willett. 2008
Tom McLeod is an eleven-year-old boy from Aklavik, of mixed Gwich'in and Inuvialuit heritage. Tom tells us why his home…
in the Mackenzie Delta is a special place and why he loves to live on the land. He describes hunting for survival while being careful about how his people use the land. Grades 3-6. 2008.The Everglades: river of grass
By Marjory Stoneman Douglas. 1997
Fiftieth-anniversary edition of the 1947 history and folklore of a North American region that had been viewed as a swampy…
"wasteland." This volume includes two new chapters, describing efforts to restore and preserve this valuable source of wildlife and water. c1997.The energy of slaves: oil and the new servitude
By Andrew Nikiforuk. 2012
A radical analysis of our master-and-slave relationship to energy and a call for change. Nikiforuk makes a comparison between slavery…
and fossil fuels. Like slaveholders, we feel entitled to surplus energy and rationalize inequality, even barbarity, to get it. But endless growth is an illusion, and now that half of the world's oil has been burned, our energy slaves are becoming more expensive by the day. What we need, the author argues, is a radical new emancipation movement. c2012.The end of elsewhere: travels among the tourists
By Taras Grescoe. 2003
Taras Grescoe plunges into the ruts where the tourists are thickest, starting at the tip of Spain's Land's End and…
finishing, nine months later, on the soldier-patrolled beaches of China's End of the Earth. Along the way, he crosses the entire Eurasian landmass, experiencing all sorts of travel such as all-inclusive resorts, pilgrimages, and bus tours. Some descriptions of sex and violence, some strong language. 2003.The end of absence: reclaiming what we've lost in a world of constant connection
By Michael Harris. 2014
Only one generation in history (ours) will experience life both with and without the internet. For everyone who follows us,…
online life will simply be the air they breathe. Today, we revel in ubiquitous information and constant connection, rarely stopping to consider the implications for our logged-on lives. The author chronicles this massive shift, exploring what we've gained and lost in the bargain. He argues that our greatest loss has been that of absence itself -- of silence, wonder and solitude. Winner of the 2014 Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction. 2014.The empathy exams: essays
By Leslie Jamison. 2014
A collection of essays explores empathy, using topics ranging from street violence and incarceration to reality television and literary sentimentality…
to ask questions about people's understanding of and relationships with others. Winner of the Gray Wolf Press Nonfiction Prize. 2014. The empathy exams -- Devil's bait -- La frontera -- Morphology of the hit -- Pain tours (I) : La plata perdida ; Sublime, revised ; Indigenous to the hood -- The immortal horizon -- In defense of saccharin(e) -- Fog count -- Pain tours (II) : Ex-votos ; Servicio supercompleto ; The broken heart of James Agee -- Lost boys -- Grand unified theory of female pain -- Judge's afterword / A conversation with Leslie Jamison. Uniform title: Essays.The devil and the disappearing sea: a true story about the Aral Sea catastrophe
By Robert W Ferguson. 2003
The Aral Sea, once the fourth-largest inland body of water, has lost over half its surface area and 80 percent…
of its volume since 1960, due to poorly planned irrigation systems. In January 2000, Canadian Rob Ferguson went to Uzbekistan to work on an environmental project to save the Aral Sea. After a year of dealing with corrupt officials, not only had the project gone nowhere, but Ferguson was under suspicion of murder. Some strong language. 2003.The clouded leopard: travels to landscapes of spirit and desire
By Wade Davis. 1998
Davis examines the link between the diversity of our biological landscape and cultural diversity. He argues that the more we…
destroy the biological landscapes of the Earth, the more we cause diverse cultures to assimilate with the more mainstream cultures. Davis uses his travels around the world to illustrate his argument and shares stories of his time spent with a variety of peoples throughout the world. c1998.The elephant whisperer: learning about life, loyalty and freedom from a remarkable herd of elephants
By Lawrence Anthony, Graham Spence. 2009
When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his reserve at Thula…
Thula, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival - notorious escape artists, they would all be killed if Lawrence wouldn't take them. 2009.The Harvey girls: women who opened the West
By Lesley Poling-Kempes. 1989
From the 1880s to the 1950s, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa…
Fe railway. At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque," they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region. Interviews, historical research, and photographs help re-create the Harvey Girl experience. The accounts are personal, but laced with the history the women lived: the dust bowl, the depression, and anecdotes about some of the many famous people who ate at the restaurants--Teddy Roosevelt, Shirley Temple, Bob Hope, to name a few. Winner of the 1991 New Mexico PressWomen's ZIA award. 1989.