The Last Place You'd Look for a Wallaby


Book Description

Glen Chilton returns with another scientific quest, this time to seek out species ill-advisedly introduced into foreign environments. Chilton visits Ireland to witness how rhododendrons, an ornamental plant that escaped a private garden, now threaten to choke out the last of the great oak forests of the United Kingdom. He escapes blood-thirsty midges and a murderous Hungarian architect while visiting a colony of forgotten Scottish wallabies; finds out how termites, brought in on packing crates after WWII, contributed to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans; dives with turtles in North Queensland; and dodges both crocodiles and big guns in the eucalyptus forests of Ethiopia. Along the way, Chilton never turns down the opportunity to share a few pints with eccentric locals, often finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.




Sustainable Planet [2 volumes]


Book Description

Sustainable Planet is a two-volume resource that provides comprehensive coverage on the world's most pressing environmental issues, their impact in countries around the world, and how—or if—they are being addressed. Sustainable Planet: Issues and Solutions for Our Environment's Future examines contemporary challenges to sustainability, including population, climate change, decreasing biodiversity, land degradation, and water quality. Each chapter analyzes one of these challenges by first providing an introduction to the topic as well as key concepts to provide readers with a basic understanding of the issue. Essays deepen comprehension by investigating different aspects of the challenge. Case studies written by experts in the field follow. Each case study considers how a specific country is affected by the particular issue as well as the measures the country is taking to find solutions that will provide for a more sustainable future. The final chapter of the book explores sustainability at a global level by examining, through annotated primary documents, a number of multinational initiatives and alliances intended to create a more sustainable planet.




The Attack Of The Killer Rhododendrons


Book Description

Glen Chilton, the author of the rollicking Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour finalist The Curse of the Labrador Duck, returns with yet another quest, this time to seek out species ill-advisedly introduced into foreign environments. Chilton visits Ireland to witness how rhododendrons, an ornamental plant that escaped a private garden, now threaten to choke out the last of the great oak forests of the United Kingdom. He escapes blood-thirsty midges and a murderous Hungarian architect while visiting a colony of forgotten Scottish wallabies; finds out how termites, brought in on packing crates after the Second World War, contributed to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans; and dodges crocodiles and big guns in the eucalyptus forests of Ethiopia. And, in true Glen Chilton fashion, he never turns down the opportunity to share a few pints with eccentric locals, often finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.




Paranormal America (second Edition)


Book Description

"Based on extensive research and their own unique personal experiences, the authors reveal that a significant number of Americans hold these beliefs, and that for better or worse, we undoubtedly live in a paranormal America. Readers will join the authors as they participate in psychic and palm readings, and have their auras photographed, join a Bigfoot hunt, follow a group of celebrity ghost hunters as they investigate claims of a haunted classroom, and visit a support group for alien abductees."--Provided by publisher.




The Larger Rhododendron Species


Book Description

The author, a Scottish nurseryman, is a leading figure in the world of rhododendrons. The dividing line between the two books occurs at about the 5-foot (1.5-meter) level for mature plants. Both offer detailed information on how rhododendrons grow in the wild & perform in cultivation.




The Book of the Dead


Book Description

Written in response to the Hawk's Nest Tunnel disaster of 1931 in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, The Book of the Dead is an important part of West Virginia's cultural heritage and a powerful account of one of the worst industrial catastrophes in American history. The poems collected here investigate the roots of a tragedy that killed hundreds of workers, most of them African American. They are a rare engagement with the overlap between race and environment in Appalachia. Published for the first time alongside photographs by Nancy Naumburg, who accompanied Rukeyser to Gauley Bridge in 1936, this edition of The Book of the Dead includes an introduction by Catherine Venable Moore, whose writing on the topic has been anthologized in Best American Essays.




Mortal Danger


Book Description

Only Ann Rule, the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling true-crime author, could lend her sharp insight into these cases of the spouse, lover, family member, or helpful stranger who is totally trusted--but whose lethally violent nature, though masterfully disguised, can kill. Original.




The Ghost of Helen Addison


Book Description

Leo Moran is not your average private detective. An avowed gourmet and wine connoisseur, he enjoys the pleasures of life to the hilt in the splendid isolation of his West End apartment. Ordinarily, his most pressing concerns involve which vintage of wine to pair with the finest organic steak, but at times he has more unsettling concerns: visions of violent crimes. After the ritualistic murder of a young woman in rural Argyll Leo decides to help the police. He arrives at a brooding, majestic landscape in the grip of winter and meets a host of strange and colourful characters who congregate in and around the Loch Dhonn Hotel – including the ghost of the victim. Frustrated by forces of evil summoned up the killer, at first Leo fails to make headway, and his intemperance wears thin the patience of his allies and the police. Cast out and close to despair, Leo must draw on all his powers to unmask the murderer before he himself becomes the next victim.







The Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping, 1939–1945


Book Description

This book was originally published in 1957. During the First World War, German use of unrestricted submarine warfare, supported by extensive mining and surface raids, very nearly forced Britain out of the war in 1917. The island’s heavy dependence on seaborne supplies was gravely threatened again in 1939, supplemented this time by air attacks on shipping. After the war, Commanders Waters and Barley wrote a Naval Staff History which has long been recognised as an authoritative study of the impact of the German campaign and its ultimate defeat by Britain and her allies. It remains an indispensable basis for any serious study of the Battle of the Atlantic and has here been updated and revised by Dr Grove, who also contributes a perceptive introduction outlining its significance.