Books about Sunbelt from Amazon.com

Despite the Coachella Valley s near tropical climate, creating gardens in this desert can be trying. Wind, heat, sand and a dozen other factors must be considered and then solved or mitigated before plants will grow. While milder parts of California grow gardens so easily that books are hardly needed, low desert gardening is a whole new world where residents need help, and lots of it.

This book blends numerous areas of interest:
First is the basic how-to of desert gardening: heat, soils, water and wind.
Second is the exploration of Palm Springs architecture from Spanish to Mid-century modern and how outdoor gardens are made to work with these styles.
Third is a detailed presentation of the plants that will thrive here under ordinary care, and are naturally adapted to the dry climates of Australia, Mexico, Africa and South America.
Rather than group plants by trees, shrubs and perennials as most books are laid out, Palm Springs Gardening organizes plants according to their botanical associations and their aesthetic ones so readers go straight to the kinds of plants they find most appealing..
Price: $15.22 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Suburban sprawl transformed the political culture of the American South as much as the civil rights movement did during the second half of the twentieth century. The Silent Majority provides the first regionwide account of the suburbanization of the South from the perspective of corporate leaders, political activists, and especially of the ordinary families who lived in booming Sunbelt metropolises such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Richmond.

Matthew Lassiter examines crucial battles over racial integration, court-ordered busing, and housing segregation to explain how the South moved from the era of Jim Crow fully into the mainstream of national currents. During the 1960s and 1970s, the grassroots mobilization of the suburban homeowners and school parents who embraced Richard Nixon's label of the Silent Majority reshaped southern and national politics and helped to set in motion the center-right shift that has dominated the United States ever since.

The Silent Majority traces the emergence of a "color-blind" ideology in the white middle-class suburbs that defended residential segregation and neighborhood schools as the natural outcomes of market forces and individual meritocracy rather than the unconstitutional products of discriminatory public policies. Connecting local and national stories, and reintegrating southern and American history, The Silent Majority is critical reading for those interested in urban and suburban studies, political and social history, the civil rights movement, public policy, and the intersection of race and class in modern America.

.
Price: $20.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Palms that grow in Canada? Bananas that overwinter in Michigan? How about southern crape myrtles that flower in Birmingham, England, instead of Birmingham, Alabama? Although the voice of authority --- and nursery labels --- might say, "You can't grow those plants here," author Dave Francko has a different message for gardeners: "Plants can't read the information on their tags." Laced with humorous anecdotes and based on years of first-hand observations and research, this book provides real-world information to help adventurous gardeners grow plants they never before dreamed possible. Nobody who reads this book will ever look at a plant label the same way again..
Price: $17.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The first field guide ever published on the world's most important birding country, and fills a huge gap in our knowledge of South American ornithology. Peru harbors almost 1,800 species of birds, including 118 endemics, in every habitat ranging from coast and deserts to 23,000-foot snow-capped Andean peaks, intermontane valleys, lush cloud forests and tropical rainforests. Almost all 1,800 of the species are illustrated on the 127 color plates included in this extensive guide. The text describes the main identification features of each species, plus its range in Peru, preferred habitat, and worldwide range..
Price: $14.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Following the phenomenal success of Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs, written for gardeners in the climates of USDA zones 3–6, this companion volume is a photographic encyclopedia of trees, shrubs, and vines for "warm temperate" zones. In North America, these areas (zones 7–11) stretch from the Mid-Atlantic states to the South, include most of Texas and the Southwest, and encompass the entire West Coast up to western Canada. Any gardener who lives in an area where average winter temperatures do not fall below 0° Fahrenheit (–18° Celsius) will want this book, and curious gardeners in colder zones may well want to test these select plants in their local microclimates. This remarkable volume shows both the habit and details—flower, fruit, bark, fall color—of more than 400 species and describes hundreds more cultivars and varieties. Certain genera offer myriad hybrids and selections, and photographs of many of the best of these are included as well—nearly 40 named crapemyrtles, a dozen teaolives, and 11 loropetalums. In all, more than 1400 photographs join with the authoritative text to bring the plants to life. From Abelia to Ziziphus, gardeners will encounter many new and unfamiliar plants that thrive in warmer climates. The book also reflects the author's inimitable personality, which holds nothing back when a plant deserves outright acclaim ("If prescriptions could be written for perfect garden plants, this species would come close to filling the order"), backhanded praise ("Use for accent, for novelty, or to drive visitors loony"), or frank condemnation ("Splays to the point of no redemption with time"). The book concludes with useful lists for selecting plants for a variety of conditions or for ornamental characteristics, such as flower color and fragrance, fruit, and fall color..
Price: $40.08 [Notify me when price goes down.]

San Diego County is full of great places for you and your dog to appreciate the fabulous scenery and famous climate, from "dog beaches" to desert hikes. Now local journalist Donna Lawrence has gathered the 77 best places to hike with your canine companion into one book. With dozens of trips—easy to difficult, short and long—the book is sure to provide inspiration for planning fun day trips for years to come. In Part One, "Traveling with Your Dog," Lawrence gives tips on planning a trip, including preparing your dog and yourself for a hike before you go, how much obedience training is necessary, what supplies to pack for you and your pet, and what you need to bring in case of emergencies.

Part Two begins with general tips for hikes with your pooch, describes the great wealth of exploring to be done in our National Forest, then moves on to California State Parks, including Palomar Mountain State Park and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Part Three, "Desert Dogs," concentrates on trails in and around Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Part Four lists all the City of San Diego regional parks and open spaces, plus county parks. Part Five, "Rex in the City," lists all of the San Diego dog parks from Balboa Park’s Morley Field to Escondido’s Mayflower Dog Park; plus dog beaches from O.B. to Del Mar; and finally some urban walks for you and your dog, from Shelter Island to Oceanside Harbor. Appendix 1 lists all the walks by their location, and Appendix 2 lists many local hotels and inns that welcome your best friend..
Price: $7.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This study opens a critical perspective on the slow death of socialism and the rebirth of capitalism in the world's most dynamic and populous country. Based on remarkable fieldwork and extensive interviews in Chinese textile, apparel, machinery, and household appliance factories, Against the Law finds a rising tide of labor unrest mostly hidden from the world's attention. Providing a broad political and economic analysis of this labor struggle together with fine-grained ethnographic detail, the book portrays the Chinese working class as workers' stories unfold in bankrupt state factories and global sweatshops, in crowded dormitories and remote villages, at street protests as well as in quiet disenchantment with the corrupt officialdom and the fledgling legal system.
.
Price: $16.98 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The San Diego County Bird Atlas addresses all the county's birds--wintering birds, migrants, and exotics as well as breeding birds. Each species account covers breeding distribution, nesting habits and schedule, migration, winter distribution, conservation outlook, and taxonomy, if relevant. The accounts include a chart showing the seasonal distribution of the nesting activity of each nesting species; they have at least one map for every regular breeding and wintering species. 645 pages with 468 color photographs, illustrating 89% of the 527 species covered..
Price: $31.56 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"Weekend Driver" columnist Jack Brandais has put his favorite drives together in a "must have" collection that will allow everyone from newcomers to natives to explore our diverse county and its intriguing environs.

From Point Loma to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, from Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley to Huntington Beach, Brandais has found some of the best roads—paved and unpaved, twisty and straight. A true driving enthusiast, he really knows his stuff, whether it is the best type of vehicle for each drive, the type of scenery to expect, or about how long it will take to complete.

Many of these drives originally appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s "Weekend Driver" column. They’ve been updated and expanded; each drive in the book includes complete directions, a map, photos, and tips for things to see and explore along the way..
Price: $7.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]