A study of seven autobiographies by women who defied the domestic ideology of 19th-century America by serving as itinerant preachers. Literally and culturally homeless, all of them used their autobiographies to construct plausible identities as women and Christians.

A stunning combination of landscape photography and thematic essays exploring how the concept of wilderness has evolved over time Our ideas of wilderness have evolved dramatically over the past one hundred and fifty years, from a view of wild country as an inviolable "place apart" to one that exists only within the matrix of human activity. This shift in understanding has provoked complicated questions about the importance of the wild in American environmentalism, as well as new aesthetic expectations as we reframe the wilderness as (to some degree) a human creation. Wild Visions is distinctive in its union of landscape photography and environmental thought, a merging of short, thematic essays with a striking visual narrative. Often, the wild is viewed in binary terms: either revered as sacred and ecologically pure or dismissed as spoiled by human activities. This book portrays wilderness instead as an evolving gamut of understandings, a collage of views and ideas that is still in process.

A stunning combination of landscape photography and thematic essays exploring how the concept of wilderness has evolved over time Our ideas of wilderness have evolved dramatically over the past one hundred and fifty years, from a view of wild country as an inviolable “place apart” to one that exists only within the matrix of human activity. This shift in understanding has provoked complicated questions about the importance of the wild in American environmentalism, as well as new aesthetic expectations as we reframe the wilderness as (to some degree) a human creation. Wild Visions is distinctive in its union of landscape photography and environmental thought, a merging of short, thematic essays with a striking visual narrative. Often, the wild is viewed in binary terms: either revered as sacred and ecologically pure or dismissed as spoiled by human activities. This book portrays wilderness instead as an evolving gamut of understandings, a collage of views and ideas that is still in process.

Explores the development of natural history since the Renaissance and contextualizes current discussions of biodiversity.

In their successful, internationally published book A Boat in Our Baggage, Maria Coffey and Dag Goering described their year-long, worldwide expedition by kayak. Since then, they have continued to travel many parts of the globe, including some of the last truly wild places of the British Columbia coast. Their latest adventure - a 1,000-plus kilometre journey circumnavigating Vancouver Island in its entirety - is detailed and illustrated in Visions of the Wild. Coffey and Goering set off from their home on Protection Island, BC, in July 1999. For three months they confronted some of the most exposed, storm-battered coastlines British Columbia has to offer: infamous places such as Cape Scott, Estevan Point and the imposing Brooks Peninsula, all of which have become the sites of shipwrecks and fatalities. The voyagers experienced deadly currents, whirlpools and enormous waves, were buffeted relentlessly by wind and rain and spent many a wet, miserable camping trip ashore. But they also explored the serene waters of Nootka Sound, the Gulf Islands and the Broken Group Islands, where they saw stands of ancient rainforests interspersed with raw clearcuts, and spectacular vistas of ocean and sky juxtaposed with intricate coves, rocks and reefs. They had encounters with whales, bears, wolves, sea lions and puffins; and as they stopped at different Native villages, fishing ports and old homesteads, they made friends with many of the diverse people who call the island home. Brimming with breathtaking colour photographs and compelling journal entries from all stages of their exciting kayaking journey, Visions of the Wild is at once an inspiring chronicle of the adventure of a lifetime, and a beautiful book of photographs that rejoices in the untamed spirit of Canada's west coast.

Visions are a traditional, time-honored technique for discovering the deeply hidden truths of life and the universe. Knowing they are hidden, seekers have turned to drugs (they thought it was the food of the Gods) or deprivation and torture (to make themseves worthy, to prove how much they deserve to know). But the Truths are not hidden; they are right there in plain sight, and always have been. All you have to do is discard your preconceptions (not an easy thing), ignore what you have been told by Authorities (which amounts to the same thing), and look. That is hardest of all, because people will not believe anything could be that simple and straightforward.That is what this book is about. There is a little about how to do it. You do not need mathematics or a long education. You certainly do not have to be an egghead or a brain-box. Anyone can do it. The rest is things I have seen. There are a couple of flights of fancy, taking the concepts to extremes. There are a few insights that may significantly change your life. Mostly they are simply fresh looks at common things, showing them to be quite different from what "everybody knows." At the least, they are fun. At the most, well, the sky is no limit.