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Author: Richard Manning Publisher: North Point Press ISBN: 1466823429 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
In this provocative, wide-ranging book, Against the Grain, Richard Manning offers a dramatically revisionist view of recent human evolution, beginning with the vast increase in brain size that set us apart from our primate relatives and brought an accompanying increase in our need for nourishment. For 290,000 years, we managed to meet that need as hunter-gatherers, a state in which Manning believes we were at our most human: at our smartest, strongest, most sensually alive. But our reliance on food made a secure supply deeply attractive, and eventually we embarked upon the agricultural experiment that has been the history of our past 10,000 years. The evolutionary road is littered with failed experiments, however, and Manning suggests that agriculture as we have practiced it runs against both our grain and nature's. Drawing on the work of anthropologists, biologists, archaeologists, and philosophers, along with his own travels, he argues that not only our ecological ills-overpopulation, erosion, pollution-but our social and emotional malaise are rooted in the devil's bargain we made in our not-so-distant past. And he offers personal, achievable ways we might re-contour the path we have taken to resurrect what is most sustainable and sustaining in our own nature and the planet's.
Author: Richard Manning Publisher: North Point Press ISBN: 1466823429 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
In this provocative, wide-ranging book, Against the Grain, Richard Manning offers a dramatically revisionist view of recent human evolution, beginning with the vast increase in brain size that set us apart from our primate relatives and brought an accompanying increase in our need for nourishment. For 290,000 years, we managed to meet that need as hunter-gatherers, a state in which Manning believes we were at our most human: at our smartest, strongest, most sensually alive. But our reliance on food made a secure supply deeply attractive, and eventually we embarked upon the agricultural experiment that has been the history of our past 10,000 years. The evolutionary road is littered with failed experiments, however, and Manning suggests that agriculture as we have practiced it runs against both our grain and nature's. Drawing on the work of anthropologists, biologists, archaeologists, and philosophers, along with his own travels, he argues that not only our ecological ills-overpopulation, erosion, pollution-but our social and emotional malaise are rooted in the devil's bargain we made in our not-so-distant past. And he offers personal, achievable ways we might re-contour the path we have taken to resurrect what is most sustainable and sustaining in our own nature and the planet's.
Author: Vince Beiser Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0399576444 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 306
Book Description
A finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award The gripping story of the most important overlooked commodity in the world--sand--and the crucial role it plays in our lives. After water and air, sand is the natural resource that we consume more than any other--even more than oil. Every concrete building and paved road on Earth, every computer screen and silicon chip, is made from sand. From Egypt's pyramids to the Hubble telescope, from the world's tallest skyscraper to the sidewalk below it, from Chartres' stained-glass windows to your iPhone, sand shelters us, empowers us, engages us, and inspires us. It's the ingredient that makes possible our cities, our science, our lives--and our future. And, incredibly, we're running out of it. The World in a Grain is the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it--and sometimes, even kill for it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand, which has received little public attention. Not all sand is created equal: Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful. Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world, taking readers on a journey across the globe, from the United States to remote corners of India, China, and Dubai to explain why sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter world-changing innovators, island-building entrepreneurs, desert fighters, and murderous sand pirates. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving, rippling with fascinating detail and filled with surprising characters.
Author: Richard Eng Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0764578405 Category : Games & Activities Languages : en Pages : 384
Book Description
How to enjoy a day at the races-and bet to win! The last two years have seen a record number of Americans tune in for climatic Triple Crown races featuring Smarty Jones and Funny Cide; in 2004, television viewership jumped a whopping 61 percent over the record set in 2003, and the Belmont Stakes race itself drew a record crowd of more than 120,000! This easy-to-understand guide shows first-time visitors to the track how to enjoy the sport of horse racing-and make smart bets. It explains: what goes on at the track what to look for in horses and jockeys how to read a racing form and do simple handicapping how to manage betting funds and make wagers that stand a good chance of paying off. Complete with coverage of off-track and online betting, it's just what anyone needs to play the ponies-and win! Richard Eng (Las Vegas, NV) is a racing writer and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a columnist for the Daily Racing Form, and the host of a horseracing radio program in Las Vegas. He was formerly a part of the ABC Sports team that covered the Triple Crown.
Author: Karen Lucas Publisher: Policy Press ISBN: 1861345690 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 320
Book Description
The lack of access to transportation among low-income groups is increasingly being recognised as a barrier to employment and social inclusion both in Britain and the United States. This work looks at the delivery of transport from a social policy perspective to assist in a better understanding of this issue.
Author: Bill Courtney Publisher: Weinstein Books ISBN: 1602862249 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 242
Book Description
Bill Courtney Ñ entrepreneur, football coach, and subject of the 2011 Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated Ñ shares his hard-won lessons on discipline, success, teamwork and triumph over adversity, in time for FatherÕs Day.
Author: Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 0743470877 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
A riveting compilation of pieces which perfectly capture the cultural shift in America after September 11th, 2001. Featured writers include Rick Moody, Janet Fitch, and Caroline Knapp, as well as other non-professional writers. After September 11, 2001, emotions couldn't be clearly defined. There were no words strong enough to justify, avenge, explain, or express the sheer magnitude of this horrifyingly unique moment in history. In this remarkable anthology, compiled by Salon's award-winning editorial team, Rick Moody, Janet Fitch, Caroline Knapp, and Jeffrey Eugenides join many contemporary literary talents and reporters in giving a voice to the day that left a stunning roar of silence across America. Dread, fear, heroism, and dignity color these pages from eyewitness accounts of ordinary citizens turned rescue workers, to an escape from the World Trade Center, a report on everyday New Yorkers finding comfort in "terror sex," and stories of miracles in the madness—like that of a blind man led by his seeing-eye dog down eighty-seven flights of stairs to safety. Afterwords also probes the aftermath of the attacks on the nation and the world's cultural, political, and social fabric through writing ranging from an in-depth interview with controversial social critic Noam Chomsky, to a female Pakistani-American journalist's meeting with a Taliban leader and his wives, and essays on how sheer horror gave way to heartening solidarity, macabre spectacle, and kitschy sentimentality. Immediate, raw, emotional, and empowering, this outstanding collection speaks brilliantly to the simple need to remember and comprehend what happened against that perfect blue sky on September 11, 2001. A portion of the royalties will be donated to the Twin Towers Fund and the Red Cross's Fund for Afghan Children.
Author: Christopher McDougall Publisher: Profile Books ISBN: 184765228X Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 296
Book Description
A New York Times bestseller 'A sensation ... a rollicking tale well told' - The Times At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an incredible cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark.
Author: W.B. Cannon Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing ISBN: 145755187X Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 238
Book Description
Student and teacher. Owner and pet. Frank Boxer and Duncan Cannon are both teachers: Boxer, an English teacher of seniors at Pines Environmental High School, and Duncan, Frank’s sixteen-year-old dachshund, whose life and fast-approaching departure from this world teach Frank far more than he ever expected. This is the poignant and yet intriguing story of a dog, a teacher, and an oppressive education system that keeps them both fighting for love, for life—and for each other, emotionally, spiritually, and in every other way in which dogs and humans connect. Duncan and Frank’s journey, both through the natural parks that beckon them, and through the re-creation of the most important nation on earth, the Imagine Nation, will pull you in and tug at your heartstrings, long after you have turned the final page. Call this an “educational love story,” if love means never having to say, “Sit down!” or “Play dead!” So, first, take your own dog for a long walk, and then settle in with Running to Duncan’s Field to experience the warmth, love, and strength of the bond between a man and his beloved dog.
Author: Richard Manning
Author: Richard Manning
Author: Vince Beiser
Author: Melanie Harding-Shaw
Author: Richard Eng
Author: Karen Lucas
Author: Bill Courtney
Author: 
Author: Erik Brynjolfsson
Author: Christopher McDougall
Author: W.B. Cannon