We experience, learn about, and enjoy nature throughout our lifetimes in woods close to home. In the spirit of Walden, author Kevin Patrick spent a year connecting with White's Woods, a 500-acre tract in an Allegheny forest adjacent to his home in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He captured in prose and photographs the four seasons of this near-woods paradise, weaving natural history with human experience to create a geography of place to stand for all similar near-woods places.

With the eye of a biologist and the soul of an artist, Tim Goodwin guides the reader on a personal and educational journey through the Northwoods of the Great Lakes Region. He reflects on the elegance of the evolutionary process and the interconnectedness of all living things. At times a microscopic examination of the forest floor, and at others a far-reaching gaze into the wonders of a night sky. Goodwin explores this enchanted place and the delicate dance its history, geology, and organisms have performed since before recorded time. Along the way, he asks the hard questions about stewardship and spirituality that only connecting to nature and understanding our place in it can begin to answer.

The second novel in the thrilling Stone Barrington Series by #1 New York Times Bestselling author Stuart Woods "Blackmail, murder, suspense, love—what else could you want in a book?" –Cosmopolitan Feared and loathed for her poison pen and ice queen persona, Amanda Dart has made her share of enemies. Then the tables are turned. An anonymous gossipmonger is faxing Amanda's personal and private peccadilloes to anyone who can read. Desperate to save her reputation, she enlists the help of New York lawyer and private investigator Stone Barrington to learn the identity of the faxer. And everyone in the world of tabloid journalism becomes a suspect. But the faxes don't stop. In fact, they get worse. And Stone winds up with more leads than one man can handle, until Amanda takes matters dangerously into her own hands and turns the world of gossip on its head. As the circle of suspects shrinks, Stone discovers that even the most respected members of the social scene will stop at nothing—even homicide—to clear their sullied names.

Muir Woods: a cool, silent northern California redwood wilderness so tranquil that one could forget it's only a dozen miles from San Francisco. Like any good guidebook, Susan and Phil Frank's Insider's Guides enhance the pleasure of a trip to one of our national parks. But they go far beyond the other guides in several unique ways. Narrated by a friendly and extremely knowledgeable cartoon guide, each Insider's Guide offers a lively, funny tour of a splendid place. Readers will learn when to visit, what to bring, what to see, and how to see it. They'll arrive properly equipped for a safe and enjoyable visit. They'll come away knowing plenty about the park's geological and human history, flora, fauna, and future prospects. The question-and-answer format yields information without a lot of searching. A quick-reference section offers, among other things, a telephone directory, guide to area resources, backpacker's checklist, lists of outfitters and transportation companies, and an overview of regional conservation and educational programs. Susan Frank's text has been reviewed by park personnel and regional experts to ensure timeliness and accuracy. Illustrations by San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Phil Frank add a warmth that other guidebooks do not achieve. This series adds immeasurably to visitors' understanding and enjoyment of our national parks -- and offers a lot of fun while they're planning their trip!

Early in the year, our North American forests come to life as native wildflowers start to push up through patches of snow. With longer days and sunlight streaming down through bare branches of towering trees, life on the forest floor awakens from its winter sleep. Plants such as green dragon, squirrel corn, and bloodroot interact with their pollinators and seed dispersers and rush to create new life before the trees above leaf out and block the sun's rays. Wake Up, Woods showcases the splendor of our warming forests and offers clues to nature's annual springtime floral show as we walk in our parks and wilderness areas, or even in shade gardens around our homes. Readers of Wake Up, Woods will see that Gillian Harris, Michael Homoya and Shane Gibson, through illustrations and text, present a captivating look into our forests' biodiversity, showing how species depend on plants for food and help assure plant reproduction. This book celebrates some of nature's most fascinating moments that happen in forests where we live and play.

God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake a gruelling hike along the world's longest continuous footpath—The Appalachian Trail. The 2,000-plus-mile trail winds through 14 states, stretching along the east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in North America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas. With his offbeat sensibility, his eye for the absurd, and his laugh-out-loud sense of humour, Bryson recounts his confrontations with nature at its most uncompromising over his five-month journey. An instant classic, riotously funny, A Walk in the Woods will add a whole new audience to the legions of Bill Bryson fans.