Natural Resources in The Books Store

Set in the tiny Native village of Egegik on the shores of Alaska's Bristol Bay, Bill Carter's Red Summer is the thrilling story of one man's journey from novice to seasoned fisherman over the course of four beautiful, brutal summers in one of the earth's few remaining wild places. As millions of salmon race toward their annual spawning grounds, Carter learns the ancient, backbreaking trade of the set net fisherman, one of the most exhilarating and dangerous jobs in the world.

Housed in a dilapidated shack with no hot water and boarded-up windows that keep the bears at bay, Carter spends his days battling the elements on the river and his nights drinking whiskey with a memorable group of hardworking, hard-living characters. There's Sharon, the tough, charismatic woman who runs Carter's fishing crew; Carl, her stoic but warmhearted colleague; and a half-dozen local fishermen, many born and raised in this unforgiving place. Their stories -- harrowing, touching, full of humor -- all underscore the credo of the village's fishermen: Do the work or leave.

With the Midwest under water, America had a chance to see how effectively it had "improved" its rivers. We've straightened and dredged them, revetted and rerouted them, made massive efforts to control them, yet our actions have been less than successful. Too often, physical changes made to a river conflict with natural processes, resulting in--rather than alleviating--damage. Applying available knowledge on how rivers form and act could prevent such problems. In this book, Luna Leopold seeks to organize such knowledge. Widely regarded as the most creative scholar in the field of river morphology, Leopold presents a coherent description of the river, its shape, size, organization, and action, along with a consistent theory that explains much of the observed character of channels.

The laws of physics that govern rivers allow for variations, many of them dictated by random chance. Thus, a river's adaptation, as Leopold describes it, tends toward the most probable form, the one with the least variance among hydraulic parameters. We see how this probabilistic tendency plays out as Leopold views the river as a whole from headwater to mouth, in the drainage net, in the behavior of meanders, and in aspects of sediment transport.

Grounded in hydraulics, geomorphology, and surveying, as well as in extensive fieldwork on rivers in the eastern and Rocky Mountain states, Leopold's view of a river is at once technical and personal, providing both a firm foundation for understanding the behavior of rivers--including instructions for getting started in backyard hydrology--and a wealth of firsthand observations by a thoughtful and experienced scientist. It will be of immediate interest and great use as we seek to develop, preserve, and appreciate our most fluid natural resource.

Association of American Publishers Professional and Scholarly Division Award Winner (Life Sciences)

"One of the ten best horticultural books of the century."--The Washington Post

"Diseases of Trees and Shrubs is by far the best book currently available for the horticulturist, arborist, or forester who wishes to identify disorders of forest and shade trees and woody ornamentals."--The Public Garden

"It may be used by anyone with knowledge of general biology as well as by someone with specialized plant knowledge for diagnosing plant disease problems. Highly recommended."--Library Journal

"This book is a remarkable contribution to the literature on tree pathology, providing a valuable source of reference on tree disease for all with an interest in the subject. It must surely be almost obligatory reading for the specialist tree pathologist, and will prove of great value to all tree care professionals. . . . It will fascinate any tree lovers who wish to find out more about the diseases and disorders that may afflict trees."--Arboricultural Journal

"It is well written and it is illustrated with photographs of such high quality that in this respect it could be described as a `coffee table' book of forest pathology."--Forestry