Books about Environment from Amazon.com

Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton.
Price: $15.38 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This eagerly anticipated update to the popular Photoshop CS2 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide uses a combination of task-based instruction and strong visuals to teach beginning and intermediate users how to create great-looking images with Photoshop. Best-selling authors Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas take readers step by step through all of today's Photoshop essentials: from importing digital photos through basic color manipulation and image correction to painting, masking, using filters, and more. Hot topics like working with Camera Raw, using the improved Photomerge command (that aligns and blends layers automatically) to stitch together images, making selections using the new Quick Selection tool and Refine Edge feature, and Smart Filters are all covered.

Both beginning users, who want a thorough introduction to the topic, and more advanced users, who are looking for a handy reference, will find what they need here. In this new edition, using a fresh new design and now illustrated in full color, the authors have streamlined the text by focusing on the most efficient means of accomplishing a task, rather than explaining all possible methods. By the end of the book, users will have a solid foundation for working in Photoshop CS3.



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Price: $17.73 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The narrator of this extraordinary tale is a man  in search for truth. He answers an ad in a local  newspaper from a teacher looking for serious  pupils, only to find himself alone in an abandoned  office with a full-grown gorilla who is nibbling  delicately on a slender branch. "You are the  teacher?" he asks incredulously. "I am  the teacher," the gorilla replies. Ishmael is  a creature of immense wisdom and he has a story  to tell, one that no other human being has ever  heard. It is a story that extends backward and  forward over the lifespan of the earth from the birth  of time to a future there is still time save.  Like all great teachers, Ishmael refuses to make the  lesson easy; he demands the final illumination to  come from within ourselves. Is it man's destiny  to rule the world? Or is it a higher destiny  possible for him-- one more wonderful than he has ever  imagined?.
Price: $7.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Richard Louv was the first to identify a phenomenon we all knew existed but couldn't quite articulate: nature-deficit disorder His book Last Child in the Woods created a national conversation about the disconnection between children and nature, and his message has galvanized an international movement. Now, three years after its initial publication, we have reached a tipping point, with Leave No Child Inside initiatives adopted in at least 30 regions within 21 states, and in Canada, Holland, Australia, and Great Britain.

This new edition reflects the enormous changes that have taken place since the book—and this grassroots movement— were launched. It includes:
• 101 Things you can do to create change in your community, school, and family.
• Discussion points to inspire people of all ages to talk about the importance of nature in their lives.
• A new afterword by the author about the growing Leave No Child Inside movement.
• New and updated research confirming that direct exposure to nature is essential for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.

This is a book that will change the way you think about your future and the future of your children..
Price: $8.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]

There's a reason that a large slice of the open-source movement has defected from running Linux on its laptops to running Mac OS X. The reason is the Unix core that underlies Mac OS X, and the development tools that run on that core. Cocoa makes it easy to create very slick Mac OS X interfaces for software (as well as to create applications in a hurry), and this new edition of Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X does an excellent job of teaching its readers how to put a Cocoa face on top of code (Objective-C code almost exclusively). If you know something about C and/or C++ programming and want to apply your skills to the Mac, this is precisely the book you want.

Author Aaron Hillegass teaches a Cocoa class, and his book reads like a demonstration-driven lecture in a computer lab. That is, the book takes a heavily example-centric approach to its subject, beginning with simple announcement windows and proceeding to cover the more advanced controls and object-oriented features of Cocoa and Objective-C. Throughout, he hops back and forth between descriptions of the goal to be accomplished, listings of the code that does the job, and instructions on how to use the Mac OS X development tools to speed the development process. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to write software for Mac OS X in Objective-C and, especially, with Cocoa. The new edition shows how to use NSUndoManager, add AppleScript capability to an application, do graphics work with OpenGL, and use Cocoa under Linux using GNUstep. As well, all the basic controls and design patterns are covered..
Price: $24.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As the author of twenty bestselling books, John Grisham has set the standard for legal thrillers since the debut of The Firm in 1991. Enjoy this Q&A--as well as a personal note to Amazon readers--from John Grisham

1. Your new novel starts off where most courtroom dramas end--with the verdict. Where did you get the idea to reverse the usual order of events this time around?
The actual trial is not a terribly significant part of the story. Most all of the action and intrigue begins after the trial is over, with the verdict and the subsequent appeal.


2. The Appeal overtly suggests that elected judges can be bought. If the novel is meant as a cautionary tale, what's next--the Presidential primaries?
Why not? Over one billion dollars will be spent next year in the Presidential primaries and general election. With that kind of money floating around, anything can be bought.


3. Speaking of electoral politics, you've been more vocal recently about your political views ... first supporting Jim Webb for Senate and now endorsing Hillary Clinton for the White House. Have you given any thought to running for office yourself?
No. I made that mistake 25 years ago, and promised myself I would never do it again. I enjoy watching and participating in politics from the sidelines, but it's best to keep some distance.


4. This is your first legal thriller in three years. How did it feel to get back to the genre that started it all, and can fans expect another thriller from you next year?
I still enjoy writing the legal thrillers, and don't plan to get too far away from them. Obviously, they have been very good to me, and they remain popular. I plan to write one a year for the next several years.


5. Your nonfiction book The Innocent Man continues to be a bestseller in paperback. In your ongoing work with The Innocence Project, have you come across another story of the wrongfully convicted that begs to be written as nonfiction?
There are literally hundreds of great stories out there about wrongfully convicted defendants. I am continually astounded by these stories, and I resist the temptation to take the plunge again into non-fiction.


6. What's on your bedside reading list at the moment?
1. The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin
2. Eric Clapton's autobiography
3. East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

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Price: $5.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years
of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since.
Timothy Egan's critically acclaimed account rescues this iconic chapter
of American history from the shadows in a tour de force of historical
reportage. Following a dozen families and their communities through
the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells of their desperate attempts to
carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the
death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe,
Egan does equal justice to the human characters who become
his heroes, "the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he
opens up with urgency and respect" (New York Times).

In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, The Worst
Hard Time is "arguably the best nonfiction book yet" (Austin Statesman
Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited
upon our land and a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of
trifling with nature..
Price: $7.49 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work..
Price: $7.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Visual QuickStart Guide—the quick and easy way to learn!

Users of Adobe InDesign will be impressed with the power, ease of use, and integration found in the new InDesign CS3, Adobe's page-design component of Creative Suite 3. Users will also find more robust file-placing capabilities, new Find features, and great new text and transparency effects, among other exciting features. Adobe InDesign CS3 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide will highlight the important new features, as well as covering the ones readers have relied on in previous versions of InDesign. Using the task-based, visual approach that readers count on in the Visual QuickStart Guides, this volume introduces readers to all aspects of InDesign CS3. Users will learn how to create and automate documents, import and style text and objects, manage long documents, export files for a wide variety of purposes, and

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through InDesign and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations let you get up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.much more.

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Price: $19.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Visual QuickStart Guide—the quick and easy way to learn!

Now revised and updated, this book uses simple step-by-step instructions, loads of screen shots, and an array of time-saving tips and tricks, serving both as the quickest route to Illustrator CS3 mastery for new users, and a handy reference for more experienced designers. This edition of the Visual QuickStart Guide covers Illustrator CS3's newest features, including new tools in Live Color, enhancements to essential drawing tools and controls, improvements to the powerful Control panel, the new Eraser tool and Crop Area tool, and much more. A full-color section of inspiring Illustrator artwork and highly readable text create a winning combination for Illustrator users of every level.

• Easy visual approach uses pictures to guide you through Illustrator and show you what to do.
• Concise steps and explanations let you get up and running in no time.
• Page for page, the best content and value around.

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Price: $19.10 [Notify me when price goes down.]