Reading the Roots is an unprecedented anthology of outstanding early writings about American nature--a rich, influential, yet critically underappreciated body of work. Rather than begin with Henry David Thoreau, who is often identified as the progenitor of American nature writing, editor Michael P. Branch instead surveys the long tradition that prefigures and anticipates Thoreau and his literary descendants. The selections in Reading the Roots describe a diversity of landscapes, wildlife, and natural phenomena, and their authors represent many different nationalities, cultural affiliations, religious views, and ideological perspectives. The writings gathered here also range widely in terms of subject, rhetorical form, and disciplinary approach--from promotional tracts and European narratives of contact with Native Americans to examples of scientific theology and romantic nature writing. The volume also includes a critical introduction discussing the cultural, scientific, and literary value of early American nature writing; headnotes that contextualize all authors and selections; and a substantial bibliography of primary and secondary sources in the field. Reading the Roots at last makes early American landscapes--and a range of literary responses to them--accessible to scholars, students, and general readers.

This is book is a gem! We thought long and hard about what else the serious Latin scholar or general scholar might need, and we have really outdone ourselves with this one. The Book of Roots offers weekly exercises based on a comprehensive list of English derivatives and Latin root words coordinated with the vocabulary in Latina Christiana. Students will learn the definition and etymology of over 1,500 English derivatives, along with prefixes, suffixes, and supplemental Latin vocabulary lists. This is definitely the book to use if your student loves words or if you want him to! The Book of Roots will surely impart how pervasive Latin is in the English language and provide yet another reason to study Latin. Fascinating on its merits as a vocabulary roots course, this book also has significant practical appeal - it is an ideal standardized test prep course, training students to uncover the meanings of words by deciphering parts. The Book of Roots is a Latin roots course, vocabulary building course, Latin dictionary, and etymology reference book all in one! It is enthusiastically recommended for all Latin students! The Book of Roots is a self contained vocabulary course that doesn t require a Latin background, however, it does coordinate with Latina Christiana I for students who are studying Latin grammar at the same time."

Explains what roots look like and how they function in plants.

Roots & Branches is rooted in a story of love and longing based on a fatal accident in a primitive upper Egyptian village over a century ago. In this rich and powerful story Meguid explores his remarkable early life based on a journal, letters and photos, which amply illustrate the book. How does a four-year-old boy uprooted from a cozy Egyptian family endure abandonment in impoverished post-war Germany? In his vivid biography of his formative years Meguid traces his childhood-alone, forsaken and often threatened with corporal punishment. Born to an Egyptian father and a German mother, his earliest memories of Cairo are idyllic, but his mother's refusal to adapt to Egyptian life resulted in upheaval. At the age of four, his parents left him in Hamburg with his German grandparents, where life became defined by the rigid rules of his Prussian grandfather. The desertion left him with a gaping hole, howling loneliness, and a longing that rippled through him. When his parents collected him five years later, they took him to England, where once again he had to adapt to being an outsider. When he eventually returned to his beloved Egypt, he had been gone so long that he no longer quite fit in there either. His father's premature death thrusted Meguid into another existential crisis of abandonment. Facing conscription and an uncertain future, Meguid learned to navigate his own path.

Understanding Roots uncovers one of the greatest mysteries underground—the secret lives and magical workings of the roots that move and grow invisibly beneath our feet. Roots, it seems, do more than just keep a plant from falling over: they gather water and nutrients, exude wondrous elixirs to create good soil, make friends with microbes and fungi, communicate with other roots, and adapt themselves to all manner of soils, winds, and climates, nourishing and sustaining our gardens, lawns, and woodlands. Understanding Roots contains over 115 enchanting and revealing root drawings that most people have never seen, from prairies, grasslands, and deserts, as well as drawings based on excavations of vegetable, fruit, nut, and ornamental tree roots. Every root system presented in this book was drawn by people literally working in the trenches, sketching the roots where they grew. The text provides a verydetailed review of all aspects of transplanting; describes how roots work their magic to improve soil nutrients; investigates the hidden life of soil microbes and their mysterious relationship to roots; explores the question of whether deep roots really gather more unique nutrients than shallow roots; shares the latest research about the mysteries of mycorrhizal (good fungal) association; shows you exactly where to put your fertilizer, compost, water, and mulch to help plants flourish; tells you why gray water increases crop yields more than fresh water; and, most importantly, reveals the science behind all the above (with citations for each scientific paper). This book contains at least eighty percent more new information, more results of the latest in-depth and up-to-date explorations, and even more helpful guidelines on roots than the author’s previous book (Roots Demystified: Change Your Garden Habits to Help Roots Thrive). This is not a revised edition—it’s a whole new stand-alone book.