Overview: There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them-at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. And in revealing that hidden logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and...

Known as the Thanksgiving Address, this message is the traditional way that Mohawk Native Americans start each morning.

Publisher Annotation: A powerful return to the forest, where trees have heartbeats and roots are like brains that extend underground. Where the color green calms us, and the forest sharpens our senses. 264pp., 60K

"In order to stave off the mass extinction of species, including our own, we must move swiftly to preserve the biodiversity of our planet, says Edward O. Wilson in his most impassioned book to date. Half-Earth argues that the situation facing us is too large to be solved piecemeal and proposes a solution commensurate with the magnitude of the problem: dedicate fully half the surface of the Earth to nature."--Amazon.

Diane Ackerman confronts the unprecedented reality that one prodigiously intelligent and meddlesome creature, Homo sapiens, is shaping the future of planet Earth. Humans have "subdued 75 percent of the land surface, concocted a wizardry of industrial and medical marvels, strung lights all across the darkness." We tinker with nature at every opportunity; we garden the planet with our preferred species of plants and animals, many of them invasive; and...

"In the 1990s, scientists lived inside Biosphere 2 (Biosphere 1 is the Earth itself) for two years, trying to figure out if colonizing Mars would ever be possible. Now scientists don't live there but instead conduct all sorts of studies and experiments aimed to help us better understand our environment and especially understand what sort of things are happening to it due to climate change and other man-made problems. It's a unique take on the Scientists...

"What is Earth's history, including the history of life? Where is Earth headed, and what can we do? A middle school science teacher addresses these questions with a friendly narrative voice and a focus both on how science is done and the diverse people who do it. Women like Mary Anning and Rachel Carson get equal attention to men like James Hutton and Georges Cuvier. Present problems of the Earth discussed include not only climate change but human-caused...

"We have spent the last two centuries building a civilization on coal and the last century building it bigger still on oil. Fossil fuels have been the wellspring of our complex, glorious modern world, but they are about to run out. By the end of the 21st century, our oil and natural gas supplies will be virtually nonexistent, and limited coal supplies will be restricted to only a handful of countries. Environmental scientist Steve Hallett and veteran...

Explains how Nokomis Josephine Mandamin, an Ojibwa from Canada, inspired by her traditional respect for water, founded the Mother Earth Water Walkers, who walk around the Great Lakes and in other areas to call attention to water conservation.

A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the follow-up that shows just how close people are to a real energy revolution.