This is the ironic story of how Italian Renaissance and Baroque gardens encouraged the preservation of the American wilderness and ultimately fostered the creation of the world's first national park system. Told via Mitchell's sometimes disastrous and humorous travels - from the gardens of southern Italy up through Tuscany and the lake island gardens - the book is filled with history, folklore, myths, and legends of Western Europe, including a detailed history of the labyrinth, a common element in Renaissance gardens. In his attempt to understand the Italian garden in detail, Mitchell set out to create one on his own property - with a labyrinth.

A long-dead child. An artist who paints the fae. An ancient estate on a blood-filled land. The commission was close to Amelia's dream: a cosy cottage in Donegal over Christmas and the chance to paint the beautiful Glenveagh estate. But when the weather closes in and the country shuts down, a ritual begins - one that traps Amelia in its circles of magic. Stranded in a place where iron is power, her heart can no longer be trusted and the land itself is a weapon, Amelia's survival depends on unravelling the truth of a decades-old death. Even if it draws the same ancient danger to herself.

Photographer Ian Shive shows you the largest network of protected lands and waters in the world, the National Wildlife Refuge System. From the rugged reaches of Kenai, Alaska, to the vibrant coral reefs of the Palmyra Atoll, the National Wildlife Refuge System is dedicated to the preservation of America's natural habitats. Through the lens of Ian Shive, recipient of the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, Refuge will show you the greatest of these landscapes and wildlife, including the migratory birds of Midway Atoll, the golden prairies of the Rocky Flats, and more. Learn from America's leading experts: Includes essays from top environmental and conservation organizations such as the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Earth Island Institute, and the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign, giving you the context that you need to appreciate these natural wonders. Plan your own journey: A refuge map and index of traversable locations allows you to start planning your trip of a lifetime to these hallowed refuges. Over 300 awe-inspiring images will let you experience more than 40 refuges right from your coffee table, including Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Rachel Carson NWR, Bayou Sauvage NWR, Valle de Oro NWR, National Elk Refuge, and more.

Peter Ryhiner — hero, adventurer, and romantic — was one of the world's most active wild animal collectors. Born in Basel, Switzerland, on January 1, 1920, Peter knew by the time he was eight years old that he wanted to be a naturalist and explorer — and thought about nothing else. His parents listened to him with good natured amusement, but were not so amused when his interests caused him to flunk out of two schools and precipitated his expulsion from a third for truancy. Eventually, throwing up their hands in frustration, his family cut off his funds, and Peter had to use all his ingenuity to figure out how to continue collecting and studying animals — including breeding and developing unusual strains of mice, taming adders, and holding tortoise races. By the age of twenty, after a brief stint in the calvary during WW II and some time spent working for Geigy, a Swiss chemical company, he and an associate from Geigy's began importing animals as a side venture and Peter was soon launched in the animal business. His journeys led him around the globe, straight through Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, where he captured and sold thousands of animals to zoos and wildlife parks. His adventures were astonishing — trampled, crushed, chased, bitten, and almost drowned — the animals he sought not only provided Peter with a lucrative, though unpredictable, career, but repeatedly inspired a greater and greater curiosity and love for the wild animals of the world. Peter Ryhiner rarely carried a gun, his intention was not to harm but to study and learn and to educate others, and, in fact, he was a man with a vision well ahead of his time. As his success grew he was sought as a lecturer and made many television appearances. Soon, however, currency restrictions, conservation laws, regulations against importing or exporting many species, and transportation costs took their toll. Although increased awareness and protection of wild animals was desperately needed, new laws and higher costs meant that Peter Ryhiner and other wild animal collectors of the time gradually faded into oblivion.

Modern Spain is a revelation in this up-to-date overview. Stanton vibrantly describes the startling variety of landscape, people, and culture that make up Spain today. Included are a context chapter and others on religion, customs, media, cinema, literature, performing arts, and visual arts. Students of Spanish and a general audience will be rewarded with engrossing insights into what writer Ernest Hemingway called the very best country of all. Spain is a modern European nation, yet Spaniards are fiercely tied to their individual towns and regions—with their distinct social customs, dialects or languages, foods, landscape, and lifestyles—more than to a united country. Culture and Customs of Spain conveys the extremes, such as the hard-working Catalan contrasted to the leisurely paced Castilian, coexisting in first and third world conditions, and the love/hate relationship with the Catholic Church. Spain's institutions are described, and its contributions to the world—from unparalleled literature and cuisine to flamenco and filmmaker Pedro Almodovar—are celebrated. A chronology and glossary complement the text.