The Knew York Times

by John Fraser Hart

Few Americans know much about contemporary farming, which has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. In The Changing Scale of American Agriculture, the award-winning geographer and landscape historian John Fraser Hart describes the transformation of farming from the mid-twentieth century, when small family farms were still viable, to the present, when a farm must sell at least $250,000 of farm products each year to provide an acceptable level of living for a family. The increased scale of agriculture has outmoded the Jeffersonian ideal of small, self-sufficient farms. In the past farmers kept a variety of livestock and grew several crops, but modern family farms have become highly specialized in producing a single type of livestock or one or two crops. As farms have become larger and more specialized, their number has declined. Hart contends that modern family farms need to become integrated into tightly orchestrated food-supply chains in order to thrive, and these complex new organizations of large-scale production require managerial skills of the highest order. According to Hart, this trend is not only inevitable, but it is beneficial, because it produces the food American consumers want to buy at prices they can afford. Although Hart provides the statistics and clear analysis such a study requires, his book focuses on interviews with farmers: those who have shifted from mixed crop-and-livestock farming to cash-grain farming in the Midwest agricultural heartland; b

by Andrew Rowell

Exposes the political Right and industry as they fight back at environmental movements, examines the threats and challenges and concludes how the environmental movement must re-evaluate and change to overcome the backlash.

by Rachel Carson

Presents Rachel Carson's 1962 environmental classic "Silent Spring," which identified the dangers of indiscriminate pesticide use; and includes an introduction by biographer Linda Lear and an afterword by scientist Edward O. Wilson.

by Norbert Wiener

It appers impossible for anyone seriously interested in our civilization to ignore this book. It is a 'must' book for those in every branch of science . . . in addition, economists, politicians, statesmen, and businessmen cannot afford to overlook cybernetics and its tremendous, even terrifying implications.

by Alex Maltman

This pioneering book explains geology wholly in the context of wine, including how it works in vineyards and its possible effects on wine taste.

by Joshua Schimel

This book takes an integrated approach, using the principles of story structure to discuss every aspect of successful science writing, from the overall structure of a paper or proposal to individual sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words. It begins by building core arguments, analyzing why some stories are engaging and memorable while others are quickly forgotten, and proceeds to the elements of story structure, showing how the structures scientists and researchers use in papers and proposals fit into classical models. The book targets the internal structure of a paper, explaining how to write clear and professional sections, paragraphs, and sentences in a way that is clear and compelling.

by David McCullough

A monumental tale of American ambition, told by Pulitzer Prize–winning author and master historian David McCullough. This gripping saga of the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the country’s boldest engineering achievements, reveals not only the politics and personalities behind "America’s Eiffel Tower," but charts New York’s ascent as a thriving metropolis. Around 1870, during the Age of Optimism—a time when Americans believed anything was possible—the ambitious idea of constructing an unprecedented bridge across the East River to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn took root. This monumental project demanded a vision and determination on par with the efforts that built the great cathedrals of history. Spearheaded by the Roebling family, the project faced staggering odds throughout its fourteen years of construction. Bodies were crushed, lives were lost, political empires fell, and waves of public emotion constantly threatened its progress. The Roeblings, too, were not immune to personal tragedies. Yet, Emily Roebling rose above these challenges to become the pivotal force behind the bridge’s completion, shattering all societal expectations of her era. This is not just the story of an engineering miracle; it is a sweeping narrative of the social climate of the time and the heroes and rascals who either built or exploited this groundbreaking enterprise.

by Ned Kaufman

In Place, Race, and Story, author Ned Kaufman has collected his own essays dedicated to the proposition of giving the next generation of preservationists not only a foundational knowledge of the field of study, but more ideas on where they can take it. Through both big-picture essays considering preservation across time, and descriptions of work on specific sites, the essays in this collection trace the themes of place, race, and story in ways that raise questions, stimulate discussion, and offer a different perspective on these common ideas. Including unpublished essays as well as established works by the author, Place, Race, and Story provides a new outline for a progressive preservation movement – the revitalized movement for social progress.

by Tom Beer

The second edition of Environmental Oceanography is the first textbook to link the needs of the coastal oceanographer and the environmental practitioner. The ever-increasing human impact on the environment, and particularly on the coastal zone, has led governments to carefully examine the environmental implications of development proposals. This book provides the background needed to undertake coastal oceanographic investigations and sets them in context by incorporating case studies and sample problems based on the author's experience as an environmental consultant.

by Robert L. O'Connell

Ranging from prehistoric times to the Nuclear Age, demonstrates how social and economic conditions have determined the types of weapons and tactics employed in warfare.

by John D. Leshy

In this highly entertaining as well as profoundly scholarly study of the 1872 Mining Law, John Leshy has produced both a legal treatise and a history of the West written from the vantage point of mineral exploration and production. The Mining Law illuminates some of the more obscure corners of Western history, federal land and resource policy, and the relationships among various branches of government in making and carrying out policy. For more than a century the mining of hard-rock minerals in the United States has been carried out under this law, which was written to promote mineral development in the age of the pick-and-shovel prospector. It is the last important survivor of the great laws undergirding the westward expansion. The Mining Law has never been changed to reflect modern mining technologies or newer social values that question whether mineral extraction is the best use of the land and its resources. From its enactment, the Mining Law's inadequacies have given rise to illegal abuse, litigation, and patchwork regulation by federal agencies and judge-made law. Leshy explains how the law has survived by a combination of executive and judicial manipulation in the face of legislative paralysis. Today, as concern mounts about economic efficiency, government regulation, environmental protection, the rebuilding of the nation's industrial base, and competing uses of the land and its resources, the argument for reform of the law becomes compelling. The present law not only

by Jeffrey Hoorfar

The identification and control of food contaminants rely on careful investigation and implementation of appropriate management strategies. Using a wide range of real-life examples, Case studies in food safety and authenticity provides a vital insight into the practical application of strategies for control and prevention.Part one provides examples of recent outbreak investigations from a wide range of experts around the world, including lessons learnt, before part two goes on to explore examples of how the source was traced and the implications for the food chain. Methods of crisis management are the focus of part three, whilst part four provides studies of farm-level interventions and the tracking of contaminants before they enter the food chain. Part five is focussed on safe food production, and considers the challenges of regulatory testing and certification, hygiene control and predictive microbiology. The book concludes in part six with an examination of issues related to food adulteration and authenticity.With its distinguished editor and international team of expert contributors, Case studies in food safety and authenticity is a key reference work for those involved in food production, including quality control, laboratory and risk managers, food engineers, and anyone involved in researching and teaching food safety. - Delivers a vital insight into the practical application of strategies for control and prevention of food contaminants - Provides detailed examples of re

by Susan Freinkel

"In American Chestnut, Susan Freinkel tells the dramatic story of the stubborn band of optimists who have refused to let this cultural icon go. In a compelling weave of history, science, and personal observation, Freinkel relates their quest to save the tree through methods that range from classical plant breeding to cutting-edge gene technology. But the heart of her story is the cast of unconventional characters who have fought for a century to bring the tree back, undeterred by setbacks or skeptics, fueled by their dreams of restored forests and their powerful affinity for a fellow species. Their efforts offer hope and inspiration in an era in which a plant or animal species passes into oblivion every twenty minutes."--BOOK JACKET.