Nature Books

"Jungle Janes" isn't just an adventure story; it's an exploration of personal growth amid extreme circumstances. It dives deep into the philosophy of stepping outside comfort zones and how such experiences can lead to self-discovery. If you're intrigued by the idea of ordinary people testing their limits in the wild, this book offers a unique perspective on resilience and empowerment.

If you're drawn to local histories that offer a window into America's evolving small towns, you'll enjoy "Matawan and Aberdeen – Of Town and Field." The book delivers a rich narrative of how a modest agricultural and shipping hub grew into a dynamic suburban locality. Plus, its emphasis on preservation efforts underscores a community's love for its heritage, making it a heartwarming read for those interested in the cultural tapestry of America.

If you're intrigued by how travel reshapes landscapes and cultural norms, "Environment and Tourism" is a book you'll find enlightening. Andrew Holden deftly analyzes tourism’s multifaceted effects on natural and cultural environments, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the sustainability and ethical concerns of our wanderlust. It reveals much about how we interact with the world around us when we venture out to explore.

This book is a must-read for individuals who are interested in understanding the waste management challenges that cities in Africa face. It provides an overview and compares situations in different cities, highlighting the successes and failures of typical governance systems when dealing with waste. It's perfect for researchers, policy makers, urban planners, municipal engineers, and any individual or organization interested in contributing to waste management solutions in Africa's urban areas.

In 2015, Singapore celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its independence. From its founding as a British colony with no natural resources, the country has transformed itself into one of the most urbanized and prosperous nations in the world. Just as remarkable is the harmonious diversity of the people who identify themselves as Singaporeans—a fusion of ethnicities, languages, religions, and places of origin.Starry Island presents essays, fiction, and poetry by two dozen contemporary writers whose stories of Singapore express the complex tensions and interconnections of this anomalous, confounding, and paradoxical society. These fresh and accomplished works range from meditative essays to magical realist fiction and lyric poetry.Contributing writers include Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, Kim Cheng Boey, Grace Chua, Dan Ying, Jeffrey Greene, Philip Jeyaretnam, Khoo Seok Wan, Amanda Lee Koe, Jee Leong Koh, Desmond Kon, Karen Kwek, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Nicholas Liu, Jason Erik Lundberg, Christopher Mooney-Singh, Eleanor Neo, Ng Yi-Sheng, O Thiam Chin, Wena Poon, Alfian Sa'at, Toh Hsien Min, Cyril Wong, Wong Yoon Wah, and Jerrold Yam.The volume includes photographs of Singapore's spectacular contemporary architecture and portraits of early twentieth-century Chinese and Peranakan families.

How aluminum enabled a high-speed, gravity-defying American modernity even as other parts of the world paid the price in environmental damage and political turmoil. Aluminum shaped the twentieth century. It enabled high-speed travel and gravity-defying flight. It was the material of a streamlined aesthetic that came to represent modernity. And it became an essential ingredient in industrial and domestic products that ranged from airplanes and cars to designer chairs and artificial Christmas trees. It entered modern homes as packaging, foil, pots and pans and even infiltrated our bodies through food, medicine, and cosmetics. In Aluminum Dreams , Mimi Sheller describes how the materiality and meaning of aluminum transformed modern life and continues to shape the world today. Aluminum, Sheller tells us, changed mobility and mobilized modern life. It enabled air power, the space age and moon landings. Yet, as Sheller makes clear, aluminum was important not only in twentieth-century technology, innovation, architecture, and design but also in underpinning global military power, uneven development, and crucial environmental and health concerns. Sheller describes aluminum's shiny utopia but also its dark side. The unintended consequences of aluminum's widespread use include struggles for sovereignty and resource control in Africa, India, and the Caribbean; the unleashing of multinational corporations; and the pollution of the earth through mining and smelting (and the battle to save it). Using a single material as an entry point to understanding a global history of modernization and its implications for the future, Aluminum Dreams forces us to How do we assemble the material culture of modernity and what are its environmental consequences? Aluminum Dreams includes a generous selection of striking images of iconic aluminum designs, many in color, drawn from advertisements by Alcoa, Bohn, Kaiser, and other major corporations, pamphlets, films, and exhibitions.

Eco-Justice is an important collection of essays that offer a unique, global perspective on the relationship between environment and society. It offers a compelling argument for why we need to adopt an eco-justice approach to address the pressing environmental issues that we face today. The essays are written by experts from different parts of the world who bring diverse perspectives and insights to the discussion. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex relationship between society and the environment and how we can create a more just and sustainable future.

Earth's environmental problems are far from being resolved. A large part of these are due to ever-growing cities. Despite more efforts made to improve cities, it has been difficult to change cities. One of the fundamental reasons is that people are not motivated to help change their cities. Apathy is now the number one obstacle to positive change. There is hope and Love is the antidote.What you love, you will sustain. Cities of Love aims to urge, persuade and provoke fellow residents of our earth to collectively shape the cities we live in. To achieve this, her residents must again uncover the reasons to love and therefore sustain her cities. To this end, Cities of Love tries to identify the ingredients that could possibly be the reasons for such active love. When a city is filled by the people who love their cities, then can a city have a greater chance of advancing towards a better tomorrow. Love is a mighty force to be reckoned with.Cities of Love comes alive with augmented reality! See, watch, and read beyond the contents of the book. Scan the pages for more photos and maybe selfie videos of the author in a new city exploring urban developments around the world. Immerse and discover more things to love about cities and inspire yourself to do the same with yours. An app will be available for download (from the App store and Google Play store). Watch this space for more exciting features of the book!

The major challenge for the current generation of mankind is to develop a shared vision of a future that is both desirable to the vast majority of humanity and ecologically sustainable. Creating a Sustainable and Desirable Future offers a broad, critical discussion on what such a future should or can be, with global perspectives written by some of the world's leading thinkers, Wendell Berry, Van Jones, Frances Moore Lappe, Peggy Liu, Hunter Lovins, Gus Speth, Bill McKibben, and many more.

Placing Animals could be a good read for animal lovers interested in exploring the intersection of geography and animal studies. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the field, with a focus on human-animal relations. The author examines the many ways in which animals are placed and positioned in our lives, from the food we eat to the pets we keep, and how these relationships shape our understanding of the world around us. This book is ideal for students looking to deepen their knowledge of the field, as well as anyone interested in the complex and fascinating ways in which humans and animals coexist.

Forests of Belonging examines the history and ongoing transformation of ethnic and social relationships among four distinct communities--Bangando, Baka, Bakwéle, and Mbomam--in the Lobéké forest region of southeastern Cameroon. By slotting forest communities into ecological categories such as "hunters" and "gatherers," previous analyses of social relationships in tropical forests have resulted in binary frameworks that render real-life relationships invisible and that have perpetuated correspondingly misleading labels, such as "pygmy." Through rich descriptive detail resulting from field work among the Bangando, Stephanie Rupp illustrates the complexity of social ties among groups and individuals, and their connections with the natural world. She demonstrates that social and ethno-ecological relations in equatorial African forests are nuanced, contested, and shifting, and that the intricacy of these links must be considered in the design and implementation of aid policies and strategies for conservation and development.

Environmental Social Science offers a new synthesis of environmental studies, defining the nature of human-environment interactions and providing the foundation for a new cross-disciplinary enterprise that will make critical theories and research methods accessible across the natural and social sciences.

This book is a perfect read for those interested in a practical approach to solving environmental problems. It presents a unique perspective that balances both social and organizational aspects of sustainability. The author's discussion on "pragmatic environmentalism" offers a fresh perspective on the matter. The book stands out in its comprehensive portrayal of environmental issues from the material world's perspective, including air, water, biodiversity, and trash.