The Batik Art of Mary Edna Fraser


Book Description

A lavishly illustrated guide to the work and technique of the internationally renowned artist Mary Edna Fraser has taken the art of batik to otherworldly heights. An internationally renowned artist, Fraser has had works grace galleries, museums, and public buildings throughout the United States—creating wonder, awe, and an awareness of the environment around us as few artists have had the talent and vision to manage. Using fabric, wax, and dye, Fraser has transformed the techniques of batik from its ancient origins and forged new panoramas and vistas of our unique planet from the sky above us to the ground beneath our feet, and even down to the evocative landscapes that sprawl across the ocean floor. These images not only astonish us with their allure; they also remind of us of our place in the world and our responsibility to respect and care for it. Part history and guide to the challenging techniques of this form, The Batik Art of Edna Fraser affords not only a full-color introduction to Fraser's stunning perceptions of the glaciers, icebergs, coastlines, atmospheres, mountains, and rivers that grace our globe, but gives us an intimate look at the artist at work and the philosophies that guide her singular imagination as well. Bold, beautiful, thoughtful, and always visceral, Fraser's art invites us outside to see with new eyes the horizons that surround us—and inside to see ourselves in our inextricable connection with the land, the seas, the skies, the earth, as we are woven together as one in the fabric of our existence on this, our home, the vibrant blue planet hurtling through space and time.




Global Climate Change


Book Description

An internationally recognized expert on the geology of barrier islands takes on climate change deniers in an outstanding and much-needed primer on the science of global change and its effects.




A Celebration of the World's Barrier Islands


Book Description

Although these islands are vastly different in many ways, they also share many common features.







Islands from the Sky


Book Description




What the Water Gives Me


Book Description




Madam Chief Justice


Book Description

The story of South Carolina’s first female Chief Justice, with contributions by Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, legal scholars, family members, and more. As a lawyer, legislator, and judge, Jean Hoefer Toal is one of the most accomplished women in South Carolina history. In this volume, contributors—including two United States Supreme Court Justices, federal and state judges, state leaders, historians, legal scholars, leading attorneys, family, and friends—provide analysis, perspective, and biographical information about the life and career of this dynamic leader and her role in shaping South Carolina. Growing up during the 1950s and ‘60s, Jean Hoefer was a youthful witness to the civil rights movement in the state and nation. Observing the state’s premier civil rights lawyer, Matthew J. Perry Jr., in court encouraged her to attend law school, where she met her husband, Bill Toal. When she was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1968, fewer than one hundred women had been admitted in the state’s history. From then on she was both a leader and a role model. She excelled in trial and appellate work and won major victories on behalf of Native Americans and women. In 1975, she was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, and despite her age and gender quickly became one of the most respected members of that body. During her years in the House, Toal promoted major legislation on issues including constitutional law, criminal law, utilities regulation, local government, state appropriations, workers compensation, and freedom of information. In 1988, she was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court of South Carolina, and twelve years later she was elected Chief Justice, becoming the first woman ever to hold the highest position in the state’s judiciary. As Chief Justice, Toal modernized not only her court, but also the state’s judicial system. As a child, she loved roller skating in the lobby of the post office—a historic building that now serves as the Supreme Court of South Carolina. From a child in Columbia to Madam Chief Justice, her story comes full circle in this compelling account of her life and influence. Contributors include: Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. * Joan P. Assey * Jay Bender * C. Mitchell Brown * W. Lewis Burke Jr. * M. Elizabeth (Liz) Crum * Tina Cundari * Cameron McGowan Currie * Walter B. Edgar * Jean Toal Eisen * Robert L. Felix * Richard Mark Gergel * Ruth Bader Ginsburg * Elizabeth Van Doren Gray * Sue Erwin Harper * Jessica Childers Harrington * Kaye G. Hearn * Blake Hewitt * I.S. Leevy Johnson * John W. Kittredge * Lilla Toal Mandsager * Mary Campbell McQueen * James E. Moore * Sandra Day O’Connor * Richard W. Riley * Bakari T. Sellers * Robert J. Sheheen * Amelia Waring Walker * Bradish J. Waring




The World's Beaches


Book Description

Take this book to the beach; it will open up a whole new world. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, maps, and graphics, it explores one of the planet’s most dynamic environments—from tourist beaches to Arctic beaches strewn with ice chunks to steaming hot tropical shores. The World’s Beaches tells how beaches work, explains why they vary so much, and shows how dramatic changes can occur on them in a matter of hours. It discusses tides, waves, and wind; the patterns of dunes, washover fans, and wrack lines; and the shape of berms, bars, shell lags, cusps, ripples, and blisters. What is the world’s longest beach? Why do some beaches sing when you walk on them? Why do some have dark rings on their surface and tiny holes scattered far and wide? This fascinating, comprehensive guide also considers the future of beaches, and explains how extensively people have affected them—from coastal engineering to pollution, oil spills, and rising sea levels.




A Grain of Sand


Book Description

"To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower. To hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour." William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"1805 Here is the world viewed within a grain of sand, thanks to the stunning three-dimensional microphotography of Dr. Gary Greenberg. To some, all sand looks alike--countless grains in a vast expanse of beach. Look closer--much closer--and your view of sand will never be the same. Employing the fantastic microphotographic techniques that he developed, Greenberg invites readers to discover the strange and wonderful world that each grain of sand contains. Here are the sands of Hawaii and Tahiti, the Sahara and the Poles, a volcano, each exquisitely different, and each telling a fascinating geological story. Red sand and yellow, white sand and black, singing sand and quicksand: Greenbergs pictures reveal the subtle differences in their colors, textures, sizes, and shapes. And as this infinitesimal world unfolds so does an intriguing explanation of how each grain of sand begins and forms and finds itself in a particular place, one of a billion and one of a kind.




The Beach Book


Book Description

Waves and tides, wind and storms, sea-level rise and shore erosion: these are the forces that shape our beaches, and beach lovers of all stripes can benefit from learning more about how these coastal processes work. With animation and clarity, The Beach Book tells sunbathers why beaches widen and narrow, and helps boaters and anglers understand why tidal inlets migrate. It gives home buyers insight into erosion rates and provides natural-resource managers and interested citizens with rich information on beach nourishment and coastal-zone development. And for all of us concerned about the long-term health of our beaches, it outlines the latest scientific information on sea-level rise and introduces ways to combat not only the erosion of beaches but also the decline of other coastal habitats. The more we learn about coastline formation and maintenance, Carl Hobbs argues, the better we can appreciate and cultivate our shores. Informed by the latest research and infused with a passion for its subject, The Beach Book provides a wide-ranging introduction to the shore, and all of us who love the beach and its associated environments will find it timely and useful.