Winner of the 2014 National Outdoor Book Awards for History/Biography Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great-grandmother had walked 800 miles along the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail. And in September 1955, having survived a rattlesnake strike, two hurricanes, and a run-in with gangsters from Harlem, she stood atop Maine's Mount Katahdin. There she sang the first verse of "America, the Beautiful" and proclaimed, "I said I'll do it, and I've done it." Grandma Gatewood, as the reporters called her, became the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail alone, as well as the first person—man or woman—to walk it twice and three times. Gatewood became a hiking celebrity and appeared on TV and in the pages of Sports Illustrated. The public attention she brought to the little-known footpath was unprecedented. Her vocal criticism of the lousy, difficult stretches led to bolstered maintenance, and very likely saved the trail from extinction. Author Ben Montgomery was given unprecedented access to Gatewood's own diaries, trail journals, and correspondence, and interviewed surviving family members and those she met along her hike, all to answer the question so many asked: Why did she do it? The story of Grandma Gatewood will inspire readers of all ages by illustrating the full power of human spirit and determination. Even those who know of Gatewood don't know the full story—a story of triumph from pain, rebellion from brutality, hope from suffering.

An illustrated reference guide to the history of modern architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1930 to 1979, with an inventory of key buildings and communities, and biographical sketches of practitioners including architects, landscape architects, planners and developers.

Finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction * New York Times Bestseller * A Huffington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of the Year * One of the Best Books of the Month on Goodreads * Library Journal Best Sci-Tech Book of the Year * An American Library Association Notable Book of the Year “Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk did for raptors.” —New Statesman, UK “One of the best science books of the year.” —Science Friday, NPR Another New York Times bestseller from the author of The Good Good Pig, this “fascinating…touching…informative…entertaining” (The Daily Beast) book explores the emotional and physical world of the octopus—a surprisingly complex, intelligent, and spirited creature—and the remarkable connections it makes with humans. In pursuit of the wild, solitary, predatory octopus, popular naturalist Sy Montgomery has practiced true immersion journalism. From New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, she has befriended octopuses with strikingly different personalities—gentle Athena, assertive Octavia, curious Kali, and joyful Karma. Each creature shows her cleverness in myriad ways: escaping enclosures like an orangutan; jetting water to bounce balls; and endlessly tricking companions with multiple “sleights of hand” to get food. Scientists have only recently accepted the intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees but now are watching octopuses solve problems and are trying to decipher the meaning of the animal’s color-changing techniques. With her “joyful passion for these intelligent and fascinating creatures” (Library Journal Editors’ Spring Pick), Montgomery chronicles the growing appreciation of this mollusk as she tells a unique love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching, and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about the meeting of two very different minds.

Dirt, soil, call it what you want—it's everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are—and have long been—using up Earth's soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. A rich mix of history, archaeology and geology, Dirt traces the role of soil use and abuse in the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China, European colonialism, Central America, and the American push westward. We see how soil has shaped us and we have shaped soil—as society after society has risen, prospered, and plowed through a natural endowment of fertile dirt. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.

"In loving yet unsentimental prose, Sy Montgomery captures the richness that animals bring to the human experience. Sometimes it takes a too-smart-for-his-own-good pig to open our eyes to what most matters in life.” —John Grogan, author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog A naturalist who spent months at a time living on her own among wild creatures in remote jungles, Sy Montgomery had always felt more comfortable with animals than with people. So she gladly opened her heart to a sick piglet who had been crowded away from nourishing meals by his stronger siblings. Yet Sy had no inkling that this piglet, later named Christopher Hogwood, would not only survive but flourish—and she soon found herself engaged with her small-town community in ways she had never dreamed possible. Unexpectedly, Christopher provided this peripatetic traveler with something she had sought all her life: an anchor (eventually weighing 750 pounds) to family and home. The Good Good Pig celebrates Christopher Hogwood in all his glory, from his inauspicious infancy to hog heaven in rural New Hampshire, where his boundless zest for life and his large, loving heart made him absolute monarch over a (mostly) peaceable kingdom. At first, his domain included only Sy’s cosseted hens and her beautiful border collie, Tess. Then the neighbors began fetching Christopher home from his unauthorized jaunts, the little girls next door started giving him warm, soapy baths, and the villagers brought him delicious leftovers. His intelligence and fame increased along with his girth. He was featured in USA Today and on several National Public Radio environmental programs. On election day, some voters even wrote in Christopher’s name on their ballots. But as this enchanting book describes, Christopher Hogwood’s influence extended far beyond celebrity; for he was, as a friend said, a great big Buddha master. Sy reveals what she and others learned from this generous soul who just so happened to be a pig—lessons about self-acceptance, the meaning of family, the value of community, and the pleasures of the sweet green Earth. The Good Good Pig provides proof that with love, almost anything is possible.

HarrisonI loved Laney Landers before most people learned to read.Blonde hair, blue eyes that rivaled the ocean, and an invisible halo over her head.She stole my heart the same day she threw sand in my face.What started as a friendship grew into so much more.I thought she'd be my forever.But then life threw me a curveball and I changed course.Laney moved on and found a different happily ever after...While I wallowed in grief and regret.And now she's here, reminding me that I made the biggest mistake of my life.LaneyI loved Harrison Montgomery since the first day he saved me a seat in kindergarten.He was my best friend, my own real-life prince.He taught me to ride a bike and showed me how to shoot a three-pointer in basketball.He was my first kiss.My first love.My first heartache.My first everything.I don't believe in happily ever after anymore.Harrison forced me to write a new ending to my story.But seeing him again after all these years-it makes me want things I shouldn't.Because that chapter of my life is closed forever.Or is it?

A former Marine turned assassin. A lethal killer stabbed in the back. Reed Montgomery is the hero who can't help playing the villain.From action-thriller writer Logan Ryles comes this explosive collection of the first three books in the Reed Montgomery Series: Overwatch, Hunt to Kill, and Total War. With non-stop action, high-stakes plots and enough mystery to keep you flipping pages, Ryles delivers a story with characters as complex and dynamic as the plots they are consumed by. Suspense, plot-twists, and unexpected romance hallmark these thrilling novels, ensuring that you won't be able to put them down until the last page.--Included in this exclusive box set: Three Reed Montgomery novels for one discounted price OVERWATCH - Book 1Reed Montgomery made a deal with the devil: thirty kills. Thirty lives snuffed out. That was the price of his freedom. Over the last three years, he's made good on that bargain, executing mobsters and businessmen, politicians and diplomats-anyone who became a target of Reed's ruthless employer. With each silenced heartbeat, Reed counts down the days until he can hang up the rifle and disappear forever, leaving behind the blood and carnage and losing himself in the masses. Maybe there will be a way to repay the cost of the slaughter. With only one kill remaining, Reed accepts a contract to assassinate a Georgia state senator. It's an easy job: one 745-yard shot, and he's home free. But as the clock winds down on the hit, every practiced instinct from years of living outside the law warn him that this is anything but the end. He's been set up, he's running out of time, and the noose is tightening. A cornered dog fights to the death.HUNT TO KILL - Book 2Reed Montgomery bought his freedom with blood. Thirty assassinations in exchange for liberty from death row-that was the deal. He delivered on twenty-nine of those kills before the kingpin of the hitman world turned on him. There's no deal now, but the killing has just begun.Only days after sidestepping a death trap in Atlanta, Reed is on the hunt for the man who betrayed him. It's not about freedom anymore-it's about justice, and maybe a taste of revenge. Far north of the city, amid the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains, Reed will stop at nothing to balance the scales and leave his former mentor in a pool of frozen blood.But as the frost sets in, a new player steps onto the stage. They call him The Wolf, and Reed has no idea who he's working for. Only one thing is clear: He's here to hunt. He's here to kill. He's here for Reed.TOTAL WAR - Book 3He didn't start this fight, but he's going to end it. Former Marine and professional assassin Reed Montgomery is facing the fallout of total betrayal. The shadowy organization he used to work for murdered one of his dearest friends, framed him for the assassination of a Georgia lawmaker, and destroyed the trust of the woman he loves.Reed is now torn between a fight to rebuild that trust and a burning desire for vengeance. Every move feels like a step through a dark hallway littered with deathtraps. He doesn't know who he's fighting, he still doesn't understand why he was framed, and for each answered question, two more are born.As Reed traces the truth through a maze of lies, deceit, and decades-old secrets, he begins to understand that there are far greater forces at work than the criminals who wrote his paychecks. The real story behind Reed's disastrous life began before he was born, and it strikes much closer to home than he could have ever imagined.

Magical healings, ghostly encounters, and alternate realities have been a part of American society since the first colonial settlements. Author Jack Montgomery provides ample historical and personal material to reveal a largely hidden world, primarily influenced by African, Celtic and German roots, that still exists today. It is a spiritual journey into the depths of American folk religion, shamanism and applied mysticism that spans over three decades of research.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's 'The Collected Works' is a comprehensive collection of her 20 novels, 170+ short stories, poems, letters, and memoirs, including beloved series like 'Anne of Green Gables' and 'Emily Starr Trilogy'. Montgomery's enchanting storytelling style blends realism with a touch of whimsy, capturing the beauty and complexity of life in early 20th century Canada. Her vivid descriptions of landscapes and profound insights into human nature make her work timeless and relatable to readers of all ages. The rich literary tapestry woven through her diverse body of work showcases her talent for crafting compelling narratives that resonate with readers worldwide. Montgomery's ability to bring her characters to life in a way that feels authentic and endearing has solidified her place in literary history as one of Canada's most celebrated authors. Fans of classic literature, coming-of-age stories, and heartfelt tales of love and friendship will delight in exploring Montgomery's expansive collection, which continues to captivate audiences with its enduring charm and depth.