“The MOST IMPORTANT BOOK I imagine I'll ever read.”—Mary Roach FROM AN AWARD-WINNING SCIENCE JOURNALIST comes an urgent investigation of environmental migration—the most underreported, seismic consequence of our climate crisis that will force us to change where—and how—we live. “An IMPORTANT and PROVOCATIVE start to a crucial conversation.” —Bill McKibben “We are facing a species emergency. We can survive, but to do so will require a planned and deliberate migration of a kind humanity has never before undertaken. This is the biggest human crisis you’ve never heard of.” Drought-hit regions bleeding those for whom a rural life has become untenable. Coastlines diminishing year on year. Wildfires and hurricanes leaving widening swaths of destruction. The culprit, most of us accept, is climate change, but not enough of us are confronting one of its biggest, and most present, consequences: a total reshaping of the earth’s human geography. As Gaia Vince points out early in Nomad Century, global migration has doubled in the past decade, on track to see literal billions displaced in the coming decades. What exactly is happening, Vince asks? And how will this new great migration reshape us all? In this deeply-reported clarion call, Vince draws on a career of environmental reporting and over two years of travel to the front lines of climate migration across the globe, to tell us how the changes already in play will transform our food, our cities, our politics, and much more. Her findings are answers we all need, now more than ever.

The inspiration for Chloé Zhao's 2020 Golden Lion award-winning film starring Frances McDormand. "People who thought the 2008 financial collapse was over a long time ago need to meet the people Jessica Bruder got to know in this scorching, beautifully written, vivid, disturbing (and occasionally wryly funny) book." —Rebecca Solnit From the beet fields of North Dakota to the campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older adults. These invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs and modified vans, forming a growing community of nomads. Nomadland tells a revelatory tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy—one which foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, it celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive, but have not given up hope.

In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, a winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books shows how four tools enabled has us humans to control the destiny of our species "A wondrous, visionary work." --Tim Flannery, scientist and author of the bestselling The Weather Makers What enabled us to go from simple stone tools to smartphones? How did bands of hunter-gatherers evolve into multinational empires? Readers of Sapiens will say a cognitive revolution -- a dramatic evolutionary change that altered our brains, turning primitive humans into modern ones -- caused a cultural explosion. In Transcendence, Gaia Vince argues instead that modern humans are the product of a nuanced coevolution of our genes, environment, and culture that goes back into deep time. She explains how, through four key elements -- fire, language, beauty, and time -- our species diverged from the evolutionary path of all other animals, unleashing a compounding process that launched us into the Space Age and beyond. Provocative and poetic, Transcendence shows how a primate took dominion over nature and turned itself into something marvelous.

During the nineteenth century, the development and codification of forest science in France were closely linked to Provence's time-honored tradition of mobile pastoralism, which formed a major part of the economy. At the beginning of the century, pastoralism also featured prominently in the economies and social traditions of North Africa and southwestern Anatolia until French forest agents implemented ideas and practices for forest management in these areas aimed largely at regulating and marginalizing Mediterranean mobile pastoral traditions. These practices changed not only landscapes but also the social order of these three Mediterranean societies and the nature of French colonial administration. In Nomad's Land Andrea E. Duffy investigates the relationship between Mediterranean mobile pastoralism and nineteenth-century French forestry through case studies in Provence, French colonial Algeria, and Ottoman Anatolia. By restricting the use of shared spaces, foresters helped bring the populations of Provence and Algeria under the control of the state, and French scientific forestry became a medium for state initiatives to sedentarize mobile pastoral groups in Anatolia. Locals responded through petitions, arson, violence, compromise, and adaptation. Duffy shows that French efforts to promote scientific forestry both internally and abroad were intimately tied to empire building and paralleled the solidification of Western narratives condemning the pastoral tradition, leading to sometimes tragic outcomes for both the environment and pastoralists.

A science journalist travels the world to explore humanity’s ecological devastation—and its potential for renewal in this “compelling read” (Guardian, UK). We live in times of profound environmental change. According to a growing scientific consensus, the dramatic results of man-made climate change have ushered the world into a new geological era: the Anthropocene, or Age of Man. As an editor at Nature, Gaia Vince couldn’t help but wonder if the greatest cause of this dramatic planetary change—humans’ singular ability to adapt and innovate—might also hold the key to our survival. To investigate this provocative question, Vince travelled the world in search of ordinary people making extraordinary changes to the way they live—and, in many cases, finding new ways to thrive. From Nepal to Patagonia and beyond, Vince journeys into mountains and deserts, forests and farmlands, to get an up close and personal view of our changing environment. Part science journal, part travelogue, Adventures in the Anthropocene recounts Vince’s journey, and introduces an essential new perspective on the future of life on Earth.

"Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute are a series of Chinese songs and poems about the life of Han Dynasty poet Cai Wenji, the songs were composed by Liu Shang, a poet of the middle Tang Dynasty. Later Emperor Gaozong of Song commissioned a handscroll with the songs accompanied by 18 painted scenes"--Wikipedia.

A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week From a modern master of the classic espionage novel comes William Christie's The Double Agent, featuring Alexsi Smirnoff - a Russian/German double agent loyal only to himself - in a desperate bid to protect himself, again becomes a double agent, this time for the English. Alexsi Smirnoff - a Russian orphan - was trained as an agent by the Russian Secret Service and inserted into Nazi Germany, where he rose to a position in German intelligence services. As the war grinds on, trapped between two brutal dictatorships, Alexsi betrays both sides in a desperate ploy that succeeds...and fails. His false identities burned, his life at risk, Alexsi attempts to disappear in the hills - but is caught by the British. Recruited by the SIS, and by "C" himself, Alexsi is once again a double agent. Initially betrayed by a Soviet agent inside the SIS (Kim Philby), Alexsi is sent beyond the reach of the Soviets, into Italy with a new identity as a sergeant in the German army. Settled into the headquarters of Field Marshall Albert Kesselring, Alexsi finds himself at the nexus at a critical point in World War II, balancing between the various forces vying for control in the Vatican, the Italian resistance, and the brutal German Army determined to maintain control of Northern Italy. And Alexsi, finally forced to choose sides over his own survival. Sequel to the well-regarded A Single Spy, The Double Agent is a fast-paced, compelling novel of espionage in the most momentous and dangerous of times. "... a riveting thrill ride." —Kirkus Reviews "Fans of Ken Follett’s and Len Deighton’s espionage novels will find much to admire." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A great fall thriller." —Red Carpet Crash "...as Alexsi makes his way across the European theater of the war, he becomes entangled in and surreptitiously shapes real-life events...engaging." —Bookpage

The Sunday Times bestselling debut novel from the master of the modern espionage thriller, James Swallow. ____________________ Marc Dane was always the MI6 field agent stuck at home behind a computer screen, one step away from the action. But when a brutal attack on his team leaves Marc as the only survivor - and with the shocking knowledge that there are traitors inside MI6 - he's forced into the front line. Worse still, every shred of evidence seems to point towards Marc as the perpetrator of the attack. Accused of betraying his country, and with no one left to trust, he is forced to rely on the elusive Rubicon group and their operative Lucy Keyes. Ex US Army, Lucy also knows what it's like to be an outsider, and she's got the field skills that Marc is sorely lacking. But Marc will soon realise he is just a pawn in a monstrous conspiracy. A terrorist attack is coming, one bigger and more deadly than has ever been seen before. And with the eyes of the security establishment elsewhere, only Marc and Lucy can stop the attack before it's too late. A brilliant, white-knuckle thrill ride, NOMAD is the book that launched the global bestselling Marc Dane series - perfect for fans of I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Dawson's John Milton, and Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp. ____________________ 10 REASONS TO READ JAMES SWALLOW: 'Frighteningly credible' - BEN AARONOVITCH 'Unputdownable' - WILBUR SMITH 'Fast-moving' - DAILY MAIL 'Enjoyable' - DAILY EXPRESS 'Exciting' - THE SUN 'Ultra fast-paced' - CHOICE 'Globe-trotting' - GUARDIAN 'Explosive' - IRISH EXAMINER 'Distinctly Bondian' - MORNING STAR 'Read it now' - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Digital Nomad tells us how current and future technological possibilities, combined with our natural urge to travel, will once again allow mankind to live, work, and exist on the move. This is what just some of the world?s major company leaders and thinkers are saying about Digital Nomad. "The book provides us with a deep insight into the lifestyle in the future" Kazuo Kashio, President, Casio Computer "The book is fun to read and the technical content is sound and perceptive" John G. Linvill, Professor of Electronic Engineering at Stanford University, California "This book answers the question ?What is the value of information for human beings??" Hiroo Toyoda, Chairman (former President), NTT Electronics "From a new perspective, based on fact, two famous authors describe a dramatic lifestyle change: global nomadism" Jürgen Knorr, President, Siemens Semiconductors, 1983?96 ("for 13 years one of those Digital Nomads") "Success in 21st century business will indeed depend on the ability to master the nomadic environment. A guide to this emerging world is therefore highly welcome" Pasquale Pistorio, President and CEO, SGS-Thomson Microelectronics "At heart we are travellers and explorers, unnaturally constrained to our place of work. This book?s unique insight into modern technology shows how we can be freed to roam again" Doug Dunn OBE, Chairman and CEO, Phillips Sound and Vision

This book examines how the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead, a speculative philosopher from the first half of the twentieth century, converses and entangles itself with continental philosophers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries around the question of a sustainable civilization in the present. Chapters are focused around economic and environmental sustainability, questions of how technology and systems relate to this sustainability, relationships between human and nonhuman entities, relationships among humans, and how larger philosophical questions lead one to think differently about what the terms sustainable and civilization mean. The book aims to uncover and explore ways in which the combination of these philosophies might provide the “dislocations” within thought that lead to novel ways of being and acting in the world.