Selected as one of LitHub's 38 Favorite Books of 2022 Finalist for the 2022 Big Other Book Award for Nonfiction In this uncompromising essay, Jonathan Crary presents the obvious but unsayable reality: our 'digital age' is synonymous with the disastrous terminal stage of global capitalism and its financialization of social existence, mass impoverishment, ecocide, and military terror. Scorched Earth surveys the wrecking of a living world by the internet complex and its devastation of communities and their capacities for mutual support. This polemic by the author of 24/7 dismantles the presumption that social media could be instruments of radical change and contends that the networks and platforms of transnational corporations are intrinsically incompatible with a habitable earth or with the human interdependence needed to build egalitarian post-capitalist forms of life.
Nothing has been easy for Nila since the fire that claimed her husband's life. Unable to complete her education in the U.S., Nila returns to India, where she resorts to dancing in a bar. Being a widow and single mother is hard enough, but being accused of her husband's murder has made life almost unbearable. When she runs into Malcolm, a handsome, womanizing, and ambitious acquaintance from her college days, a friendship emerges that sends Nila on a journey of self-discovery. Nila's mother-in-law is still determined to have her incarcerated for murder, and Malcolm and Nila soon find themselves drawn into a battle of good versus evil. Malcolm feels torn about jeopardizing his future and his fortune because of Nila's problems. His conflicted feelings make him the perfect target for the rich American runway model who attempts to steal his heart. Nila must re-evaluate her relationship with Malcolm, and her newly found faith is tested. When the heat is turned up, will Malcolm and Nila be able to overcome their conflicting cultures and ambitions to finally find real love, the kind that only comes from God?
A global history of environmental warfare and the case for why it should be a crime The environmental infrastructure that sustains human societies has been a target and instrument of war for centuries, resulting in famine and disease, displaced populations, and the devastation of people’s livelihoods and ways of life. Scorched Earth traces the history of scorched earth, military inundations, and armies living off the land from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, arguing that the resulting deliberate destruction of the environment—"environcide"—constitutes total war and is a crime against humanity and nature. In this sweeping global history, Emmanuel Kreike shows how religious war in Europe transformed Holland into a desolate swamp where hunger and the black death ruled. He describes how Spanish conquistadores exploited the irrigation works and expansive agricultural terraces of the Aztecs and Incas, triggering a humanitarian crisis of catastrophic proportions. Kreike demonstrates how environmental warfare has continued unabated into the modern era. His panoramic narrative takes readers from the Thirty Years' War to the wars of France's Sun King, and from the Dutch colonial wars in North America and Indonesia to the early twentieth century colonial conquest of southwestern Africa. Shedding light on the premodern origins and the lasting consequences of total war, Scorched Earth explains why ecocide and genocide are not separate phenomena, and why international law must recognize environmental warfare as a violation of human rights.
In 1988, forest fires raged in Yellowstone National Park, destroying more than a million acres. As the nation watched the land around Old Faithful burn, a longstanding conflict over fire management reached a fever pitch. Should the U.S. Park and Forest Services suppress fires immediately or allow some to run their natural course? When should firefighters be sent to battle the flames and at what cost? In Scorched Earth, Barker, an environmental reporter who was on the ground and in the smoke during the 1988 fires, shows us that many of today's arguments over fire and the nature of public land began to take shape soon after the Civil War. As Barker explains, how the government responded to early fires in Yellowstone and to private investors in the region led ultimately to the protection of 600 million acres of public lands in the United States. Barker uses his considerable narrative talents to bring to life a fascinating, but often neglected, piece of American history. Scorched Earth lays a new foundation for examining current fire and environmental policies in America and the world. Our story begins when the West was yet to be won, with a colorful cast of characters: a civil war general and his soldiers, America's first investment banker, railroad men, naturalists, and fire-fighters-all of whom left their mark on Yellowstone. As the truth behind the creation of America's first national park is revealed, we discover the remarkable role the U.S. Army played in protecting Yellowstone and shaping public lands in the West. And we see the developing efforts of conservation's great figures as they struggled to preserve our heritage. With vivid descriptions of the famous fires that have raged in Yellowstone, the heroes who have tried to protect it, and the strategies that evolved as a result, Barker draws us into the very heart of a debate over our attempts to control nature and people. This entertaining and timely book challenges the traditional views both of those who arrogantly seek full control of nature and those who naively believe we can leave it unaltered. And it demonstrates how much of our broader environmental history was shaped in the lands of Yellowstone.
From the New York Times bestselling author of We All Looked Up comes the exciting conclusion to the “haunting…beautiful and heartbreaking” (School Library Journal) Anchor & Sophia trilogy, where the rules of humanity come to a head in the final battle between two warring cities. In this thrilling conclusion to the Anchor & Sophia trilogy, the great war has finally begun. The Descendancy must fight for its survival against not only the Sophian army, but a Wesah nation newly galvanized by the Black Wagon Massacre. And four young people will once again find themselves at the center of the maelstrom. Accused of a crime she didn’t commit, Paz Dedios is on the run from the law...and the man she loves. Traumatized by the near-genocide of her people and the death of her lover, Athène is bent on revenge. Newly reunited in the Anchor, Clive and Clover Hamill will struggle to come to terms with the reappearance of a ghost from the past. Who will win the war for the future? And who will be left standing when it’s all over?
In the year 2032, a record-breaking drought grips the nation. Tinder-dry conditions fuel massive fires. Water reserves plummet to new and dangerous lows. Draconian water laws punish even minimal waste without mercy. And there’s no relief in sight. A fast-moving inferno ignites in Western Nebraska, driving Jake and Lexi from their home in the middle of the night with almost no time to pack up their belongings. They flee west on the interstate, along with their infant daughter Ava, hoping the fire will soon be contained and they can return home. Instead, the fire races out of control, quickly consuming much of the Nebraska Panhandle, forcing Jake and Lexi to decide on a hasty relocation plan. They hit the road through the Nevada desert, heartbroken over the widespread destruction and their loss, but hoping to find a new and better life out West. But the road takes them places they never could have expected...places they never wanted to go. Jake and Lexi thought they’d already lost everything to the fire. They were wrong. Which road should you take when escape is only an illusion?
Winera showed her talent as a Scorcher in a spectacular first display of heat and destruction. The Citadel welcomed her with open arms. Years after joining the Citadel, she is finally a full-fledged Scorcher and ready for her first official mission with a member of the Sector Guard. She had no idea that she was getting more than just a partner when a bundle of feathery fluff claims her as his own, much to her new partner�s amusement. Hyl has been waiting for the matchmaker to find him a partner that he can do more than go into battle with. One look at Winera and he knows that this fiery woman could set his senses ablaze. Smudge is a Yaluthu who has been patiently waiting for his person. When he sees the woman of fire, he knows she is the one that he is destined to be with, and he flings himself into her arms. Let�s not talk about the ship. She has too much attitude.
The world is in danger…The fabric of the Universe is unraveling… Magic has been corrupted, tainted, polluted by a malicious force with designs on world domination… The man made for her, her Mate, the only one she will ever love, is keeping something from her…and secrets are just as good as a knife to the back in a war where nothing is as it seems. There is no denying the pull she has on him, no getting away from the call of Fate that he lost all those decades ago. But she is hiding something, and in a world gone mad…secrets can be deadly. With the Fate of the world resting squarely on their shoulders, can this Guardian and her Mate save mankind and find their happily ever after?
The ladies of the Cackleberry Club café serve up justice in the latest installment from the New York Times bestselling author of Eggs in a Casket. TIME TO EGGS-TINGUISH AN ARSONIST. Getting her hair colored at Root 66, Suzanne is stunned to witness the County Services office next door suddenly go up in flames. Sadly, the fire claims the life of longtime civil service worker—and friend to the Cackleberry Club—Hannah Venable. When it’s discovered that an accelerant was used to fan the flames, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to smoke out the culprit. When Suzanne finds a possible connection between the fire and the nearby Prairie Star Casino, she comes to realize that the arsonist wanted something very big and bad kept secret. And if the ladies aren’t careful, they may be the ones gambling with their lives…
