David Brown Book Company

How the world will change with global warming.

While not a naysayer with regard to the global warming trend, Valsson (planning, U. of Iceland) atypically emphasizes advantages (yin) rather than the dark side (yang) of global warming. E.g., warming of the far North and increased Arctic shipping will compensate for areas that become too hot for habitation. The book includes color illustrations, websites, a glossary, and a poem reflecting his "Let's Embrace Change" attitude. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Water meadows; history, ecology and conservation.

They are not swamps or mud flats; neither are they entirely the result of nature. Practitioner Cook, Williamson (landscape history, U. of East Anglia) and their contributors describe the elaborate workings of the English water meadow, a plot of land which farmers flooded periodically to stimulate the growth of grass and improve the summer hay crop. Although they were a feature of southern English agriculture between 1600 and 1900 few working examples now exist. Contributors show evidence of how "floating" and "drowning" worked with nature to produce higher yields, explain how that evidence makes it clear water meadows were a part of farming for much longer than we assumed, and give ways the practice is still applicable and in fact could be important to sustainable agriculture. Includes period maps and illustrations, photographs, and applications to modern agriculture. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)