Discover the wildest places on earth, and meet the amazing people dedicating their lives to conserving them. Embark on the journey of a lifetime to 20 of the world's wildest places! Explore each environment and learn about the keepers who are working to preserve them for future generations. Meet the animals and plants who call the wilderness home, and discover how you can take active steps to make a difference. Featuring colorful original illustrations and stunning photography, The World's Wildest Places brings the excitement of the jungle and the adventure of the rainforest to your lap.
From cocoa farming in Ghana to the orchards of Kent and the desert badlands of Pakistan, taking a practical approach to sustaining the landscape can mean the difference between prosperity and ruin. Working with Nature is the story of a lifetime of work, often in extreme environments, to harvest nature and protect it - in effect, gardening on a global scale. It is also a memoir of encounters with larger-than-life characters such as William Bunting, the gun-toting saviour of Yorkshire's peatlands and the aristocratic gardener Vita Sackville-West, examining their idiosyncratic approaches to conservation. Jeremy Purseglove explains clearly and convincingly why it's not a good idea to extract as many resources as possible, whether it's the demand for palm oil currently denuding the forests of Borneo, cottonfield irrigation draining the Aral Sea, or monocrops spreading across Britain. The pioneer of engineering projects to preserve nature and landscape, first in Britain and then around the world, he offers fresh insights and solutions at each step.
A moving, inspiring, personal look at the vastly changing world of wildlife on planet earth as a result of human incursion, and the crucial work of animal and bird preservation across the globe being done by scientists, field biologists, zoologists, environmentalists, and conservationists. From a longtime, much-admired activist, impassioned wildlife proponent and conservationist, former chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, four time Academy Award nominee, and Tony Award and two-time Emmy Award-winning actress. In Wild Things, Wild Places, Jane Alexander movingly, with a clear eye and a knowing, keen grasp of the issues and on what is being done in conservation and the worlds of science to help the planet's most endangered species to stay alive and thrive, writes of her steady and fervent immersion into the worlds of wildlife conservation, of her coming to know the scientists throughout the world--to her, the prophets in the wilderness--who are steeped in this work, of her travels with them--and on her own--to the most remote and forbidding areas of the world as they try to save many species, including ourselves.
With beautiful, unique maps and evocative photography, Atlas of Untamed Places is an intrepid voyage to nature’s wildest places. In a world that has increasingly become tamed by human activity, the true wild holds a growing mysticism. Rugged landscapes with unspoilt scenery invoke romantic visions of paradise, but there are also intense and powerful wildernesses that produce fear and awe alike and unexplored zones where feral wildlife roams in the shadows. Chris Fitch takes you on a journey through the world’s most wild places, visiting immensely diverse floral kingdoms, remote jungles abundant with exotic birds, and both freezing cold and scorching hot inhospitable environments. From these natural havens we travel to the extreme and the incredible: lightning inducing lakes, acidic mud baths, and man-eating tiger kingdoms. We encounter places being reclaimed by nature, such as Chernobyl, that after being left abandoned for years are returning to a natural wilderness, free from human intervention. Not forgetting those most bizarre of destinations, such as the tidal surges of the Qiantang River, the bridge to Modo Island that emerges from the sea, and the strange magnetic pull of Jabuka rock. Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Improbable Places, Atlas of the Unexpected, Atlas of Vanishing Places.
Examines the land, vegetation, wildlife, and people of the Great Rift Valley, a 4,000-mile fissure in the earth's crust that stretches from the Lebanon to Mozambique.
A beautifully presented entry point text about our oceans and other watery worlds for 6 years and up Dive into the world's wildest oceans, rivers, and waterways and get ready for an underwater adventure! Embark on the journey of a lifetime to 20 of the world's wildest waters! Explore each environment and learn about the people who are working to preserve them for future generations. Meet the creatures who call these watery worlds home and discover how you can take active steps to make a difference. Featuring colorful original illustrations and stunning photography, The World's Wildest Oceans brings the excitement of the high seas and the mystery of the ocean's dark, hidden depths to your lap.
This is the ironic story of how Italian Renaissance and Baroque gardens encouraged the preservation of the American wilderness and ultimately fostered the creation of the world's first national park system. Told via Mitchell's sometimes disastrous and humorous travels - from the gardens of southern Italy up through Tuscany and the lake island gardens - the book is filled with history, folklore, myths, and legends of Western Europe, including a detailed history of the labyrinth, a common element in Renaissance gardens. In his attempt to understand the Italian garden in detail, Mitchell set out to create one on his own property - with a labyrinth.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Academy Award–winning director of Free Solo and National Geographic photographer presents the first collection of his iconic adventure photography, featuring some of the greatest moments of the most accomplished climbers and outdoor athletes in the world, and including more than 200 extraordinary photographs. “An extraordinary work of art.”—Jon Krakauer Filmmaker, photographer, and world-class mountaineer Jimmy Chin goes where few can follow to capture stunning images in death-defying situations. There and Back draws from his breathtaking portfolio of photographs, captured over twenty years during cutting-edge expeditions on all seven continents—from skiing Mount Everest, to an unsupported traverse of Tibet's Chang Tang Plateau on foot, to first ascents in Chad’s Ennedi Desert and Antarctica’s Queen Maud Land. Along the way, Chin shares behind-the-scenes details about how he captured such astounding images in impossible conditions, and tells the stories of the legendary adventurers and remarkable athletes he has photographed, including Alex Honnold, the star of his Academy Award–winning documentary film Free Solo; ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers; snowboarder Travis Rice; and mountaineers Conrad Anker and Yvon Chouinard. These larger-than-life images, coupled with stories of outsized drive and passion, of impossible goals with life or death stakes, of partnerships forged through incredible hardship, are sure to inspire wonder and awe.
From Ravens to Jackdaws and Choughs to Jays, crows are among some of Britain's most familiar, abundant and opinion-dividing birds. The UK's eight crow species all belong to the Corvidae family, and they have been deeply intertwined in our lives and culture since prehistoric times. Crows have long attracted a bad press. Reviled as scavengers, crop raiders and jewellery thieves, these birds – known to scientists are corvids – have often found themselves on the wrong end of a shotgun. Yet behind crows' supposed misdemeanours lies exceptional intelligence and resourcefulness, which both explain their success and have taught us much about animal behaviour. In Spotlight Crows, Mike Unwin introduces the UK's eight corvid species, outlining their fascinating natural history and offering essential identification tips. He also explores the mythology and folklore that have embedded these remarkable birds so deeply in our culture, from nursery rhymes to horror movies. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviour of our favourite animals with eye-catching colour photography and informative expert text.
For far too long humans have been ignoring nature. As the most dominant, overproducing, overconsuming, big-brained, big-footed, arrogant, and invasive species ever known, we are wrecking the planet at an unprecedented rate. And while science is important to our understanding of the impact we have on our environment, it alone does not hold the answers to the current crisis, nor does it get people to act. In Ignoring Nature No More, Marc Bekoff and a host of renowned contributors argue that we need a new mind-set about nature, one that centers on empathy, compassion, and being proactive. This collection of diverse essays is the first book devoted to compassionate conservation, a growing global movement that translates discussions and concerns about the well-being of individuals, species, populations, and ecosystems into action. Written by leading scholars in a host of disciplines, including biology, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, political science, and philosophy, as well as by locals doing fieldwork in their own countries, the essays combine the most creative aspects of the current science of animal conservation with analyses of important psychological and sociocultural issues that encourage or vex stewardship. The contributors tackle topics including the costs and benefits of conservation, behavioral biology, media coverage of animal welfare, conservation psychology, and scales of conservation from the local to the global. Taken together, the essays make a strong case for why we must replace our habits of domination and exploitation with compassionate conservation if we are to make the world a better place for nonhuman and human animals alike.
