"Sanctuary Almanac brings into the new millennium the finest nature writing in the grand tradition of William Bartram, Henry David Thoreau, and John Burroughs-the pursuit of natural history in the original Greek sense of historyas an inquiryinto nature. Jim Stapleton probes, reflects, and fully immerses himself in the natural world in such a transformative way that every day becomes joyously revelatory. The startling originality of his observations makes us feel whisked onto a newly discovered planet that happens to be named Earth." - Frank Bergon, author of Shoshone Mikeand editor of The Wilderness Reader "I love it ....what a delightful tour Jim Stapleton gives of life through the seasons at the Slabsides Sanctuary of writer-naturalist John Burroughs. In upstate New York, nestled between the Hudson and the Catskills, Jim is witness to the seasons, marking time with all the life that swirls about him. Any reader of this Almanac will inevitably become more observant (and protective) of the Sanctuaries around and within each of us." - Donald Kroodsma, author of The Singing Life of Birds "Sanctuary Almanacis a true delight, a personal phenology with all the charm and power of John Burroughs' own essays. Stapleton has written an elegant, good-hearted, and nuanced portrait of a natural history shrine. Readers will come away with a new and clearer way of seeing their own place." - Robert Michael Pyle, author of Sky TIme in Gray's River "Hearing a faint scream in the blue Hudson Valley sky, I glance up from my work in the wood yard ..the red-shouldered hawks are back "And with them, spring returns to the John Burroughs Sanctuary, a 180-acre nature preserve nestled in the gently rolling hills of West Park, NY, where Jim Stapleton was resident naturalist for a decade. In Sanctuary Almanac, Stapleton takes the reader on a fascinating ramble through the natural year at the reserve: How does it feel to fly like a March crow? Or quake like an aspen tree? What state of mind does an accident victim share with a wounded muskrat? Jim Stapleton outlines a tidy cottage industry using chickadee labor and an age-old marking technique to save wildlife from leg-hold traps. Equal parts natural history, meditation on 'sanctuary', and personal memoir, Sanctuary Almanac is an enchanting walk ABOUT THE AUTHOR As a young boy growing up in Toledo, Ohio in the 1940's, Jim Stapleton was fascinated by how things work. This preoccupation eventually led him to Gottingen, West Germany and a degree in theoretical physics.He returned to the U.S.in 1962 and spent the next eight years as a hermit in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. Moving on, he worked on a series of farms, settled in the Mid-Hudson Valley, and pursued advanced degrees in biology and environmental science. In the 1980's he taught at various colleges (Bard, Vassar, and the New School for Social Research); and helped found Hudsonia, a not-for-profit environmental research institute. Stapleton now writes plays -Henry & Emily, an imagined encounter between Thoreau & Dickinson, Playing for Keeps, a love story, Tango As-If. He lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington with his wife, Diana Bigelow."

Fascinating profiles of flora and fauna celebrate the richness and complexity of a unique ecosystem, exploring the entire ecology of this dynamic and delicate area.

Your Concise Guide to All Things Catholic No matter what you want to know about the Catholic Church, you'll find the answer in this one-volume guide. From the composition of the Curia to contemporary saints, from major doctrines to the Third Secret of Fatima, if it's part of the Catholic world, it's here.

David Pelly tells the Thelon’s story, exploring the mystery of Man’s relationship with this special place in the heart of Canada’s vast Arctic barrenlands. From Thanadelthur and Telaruk to J.W. Tyrrell, John Hornby and Eric Morse, the history is detailed, complete and exciting. The Thelon is the setting for a compelling Canadian adventure tale – with all its drama, intrigue, joy and tragedy. But the writer goes beyond that to contemplate the significance of the Thelon wilderness, and to examine its uncertain future. "It is the richness of human experience, layered on top of the natural splendour of the river valley and its wildlife, that really sets the Thelon apart. The place has a history, both Native and non-Native, which gives it standing beyond the intrinsic value of wilderness itself." David Pelly writes as one who has been there time and again. He knows the Thelon from personal experience. As a freelance writer for 20 years, he has travelled many parts of the Arctic, but claims that "nowhere draws me back more powerfully than the Thelon."

Christopher Paolini's world of Alagaësia is a magical land, full of mysterious people, objects, and places-one that has captivated millions of fans across the globe. Now, with the Inheritance Fan Book, those fans have a resource in the form of an A-to-Z almanac, where they can find everything they ever wanted to know about this fascinating world. From Arya to Zar'roc, this is an exhaustive encyclopedia about the land of the Inheritance cycle that also offers little-known facts gleaned from dozens of interviews with Christopher Paolini. Did you know . . . -that Helgrind, the den of the Raz'ac, is based on a real rock formation? -that Saphira's blue-tinted vision was inspired by Paolini's own color blindness? -that the Broddrings are the original humans who traveled to Alagaësia with King Palancar? A must-have book for every Inheritance fan!