Our Ocean Backyard: Collected Essays 2 brings together 106 previously published articles from Gary Griggs's popular column for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Written for anyone with an interest in the oceans, the essays draw upon our rich history of ocean exploration and discovery, shedding light on what we can expect in the years and decades to come.

In a time of accelerating sea level rise and increasingly intensifying storms, the world’s sandy beaches and dunes have never been more crucial to protecting coastal environments. Yet, in order to meet the demands of large-scale construction projects, sand mining is stripping beaches and dunes, destroying environments, and exploiting labor in the process. The authors of Vanishing Sands track the devastating impact of legal and illegal sand mining over the past twenty years, ranging from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean to South America and the eastern United States. They show how sand mining has reached crisis levels: beach, dune, and river ecosystems are in danger of being lost forever, while organized crime groups use deadly force to protect their illegal mining operations. Calling for immediate and widespread resistance to sand mining, the authors demonstrate that its cessation is paramount for saving not only beaches, dunes, and associated environments but also lives and tourism economies everywhere.

Spiritual Essays – A Personal Collection, provides answers to many of the questions Christian bible study produces. These questions range from “Why is my life seemingly a mix of blessings and sufferings?”, or “If Satan is real what threat does he pose for me?” or “Why is God such a jealous God?” or “When Christians speak of peace, how does that differ from worldly peace?“ Many Christians today, both male and female, are seeking a more inclusive religion, one which promotes a greater role for them in their relationship with God. Arnold has found some very significant theological evidence that an inclusive Christianity is precisely what Jesus Christ had in mind for his Church. His essay on Synerology - A Theology of Participation develops this evidence in an exceptionally clear and persuasive manner. Another big question in this postmodern age is whether the Bible is inerrant. Arnold’s essay on this subject should prove to be very convincing and uplifting. Other essays consider the difference between the spirit and the soul, trials and temptations, belief and obedience, and the meaning of Predestination. In these 25 Essays the reader will discover the meaning of life and will become engaged in a study of the Bible.

Since antiquity, musk has been a valued perfume and medicine. Because the musk deer only lives in Central Eurasia, people in other locations had to trade for its musk. For medieval Islamic civilization, musk became the most important of all aromatics. The musk trade thus illuminates the nature of medieval Asian trade and musk's cultural effects on the Islamic world. Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World examines the history of musk from its origins in Asia to its uses in the medieval Middle East, surveys the Islamic literature on musk, and discusses the roles of musk in perfumery and medicine, as well as the symbolic importance of musk in Islam.

Collection of texts published previously.