Nautilus Award Gold Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic process-constantly transforming the self through contact with others, desiring ever more life. In clever and surprising ways, Weber recognizes that love-the impulse to establish connections, to intermingle, to weave our existence poetically together with that of other beings-is a foundational principle of reality. The fact that we disregard this principle lies at the core of a global crisis of meaning that plays out in the avalanche of species loss and in our belief that the world is a dead mechanism controlled through economic efficiency. Although rooted in scientific observation, Matter and Desire becomes a tender philosophy for the Anthropocene, a "poetic materialism," that closes the gap between mind and matter. Ultimately, Weber discovers, in order to save life on Earth-and our own meaningful existence as human beings-we must learn to love.

A Hammer horror classic starring Christopher Lee as Rasputin, the monk who the Russian Tsarina takes under her wing. The story begins with Rasputin, after using his powers to cure an innkeeper's wife, throwing a party, raping the innkeeper's daughter and cutting off the hand of her suitor. He then refuses to apologise to the Abbot of his monastery and leaves for St Petersburg, deciding to use his faith-healing powers for his own hedonistic ends. It is here that he eventually wangles his way into the Tsarina's court and she allows him more and more power.

"Set aside your "Bella Tuscanys " and "Year in Provences " for a different kind of travel book. "Pilgrimage to Vallombrosa " puts a walking stick in your hand and "Marsh's Man and Nature "in your knapsack, exploring how Italians have managed their natural and cultural heritage in ways that sustain both. John Elder's poetic meditations on land and life demonstrate that only by searching beyond our familiar boundaries can we discover better ways of living back at home."--Marcus Hall, author of "Earth Repair: A Transatlantic History of Environmental Restoration "

"This collaboration--between George Perkins Marsh and John Elder, between Vermont and Italy, between maple and olive--is one of the smartest, soundest, deepest books about the relationship between people and nature that I've ever read. It will be a classic."--Bill McKibben, author of "The End of Nature "

"Elder's impassioned pilgrimage shows us how to delight in messy wilderness, to secure a curative habitation of the world, and, with Marsh, to lend ecological nous to our gravest task: knowing ourselves and respecting one another. Let the maple seeds and olive stones of Elder's visionary harvest restore to us a reflective and redemptory future."--from the foreword by David Lowenthal

The pivotal figure in "Pilgrimage to Vallombrosa " is the nineteenth-century diplomat and writer George Perkins Marsh, generally regarded as America's first environmentalist. Like Elder, Marsh was a Vermonter, and his diplomatic career took him for some years to Italy, where, witnessing the ecological devastation wrought upon the landscape by runaway deforestation and the plundering of other natural resources, he was moved to produce his famous manifesto, "Man and Nature. " Marsh drew parallels between the despoiled Italian environment and his home landscape of Vermont, warning that the latter was vulnerable to ecological woes of a similar magnitude if not carefully maintained and protected. In short, his was a prescient voice for stewardship.

Elder follows in Marsh's footsteps along a trajectory running from Vermont to Italy, and at length fetches up at the managed forest of Vallombrosa. Punctuated throughout with learned and genial considerations of the poetry of Wordsworth, Basho, Dante, and Frost, Elder's narrative takes up issues of sustainability as practiced locally, reports on family doings, and returns finally--as did Marsh's--to Vermont, where he measures traditional stewardship values against more aggressive conservation-oriented measures such as the expansion of wilderness areas.

John Elder, Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, is the author of "Reading the Mountains of Home and The Frog Run. "

Under the Sign of Nature: Explorations in Ecocriticism

Imagine hearing the words of a song but not feeling the passion that lies within. Imagine living for years with someone in need and not being able to sense their sadness. Imagine your world turned upside down... Like so many others, John Elder Robison was born with Asperger's. Over the years, he misread others' emotions or missed them altogether. Yet he'd also married, raised a son and become a successful businessman, designing sound systems for rock bands, creating robot games for Milton Bradley and building a car business. Then, at the age of fifty, he became a participant in a major study that would use an experimental brain therapy in an effort to understand and address the issues at the heart of autism. Initially, the results are startling. John's world is shaken by a previously unknown level of emotional awareness. But over the weeks that follow he struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his 'disability' might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and maybe even some of his closest relationships.

A landmark work in the burgeoning field of literary ecology, Imagining the Earth explores the ways in which our attitudes toward nature are mirrored in and influenced by poetry. In the work of some of our most widely read poets, says John Elder, one can discern a resurgent vision of humanity in harmony with the rest of the natural order. To show us the power of poetry to identify, interpret, and celebrate a wide range of issues related to nature and our place in it, Elder uses numerous examples of works by Gary Snyder, Wendell Berry, A. R. Ammons, Denise Levertov, and William Everson. Elder places these poets within a cultural tradition flowing from William Wordsworth through Alfred North Whitehead, T. S. Eliot, and Robinson Jeffers, and uses their poems to illuminate the relationships between culture and wilderness, imagination and landscape, and science and poetry. Elder's commentaries are interlinked with two remarkable essays in which he describes his ow

"New York Times" Bestseller

"As sweet and funny and sad and true and heartfelt a memoir as one could find."
--from the foreword by Augusten Burroughs

Ever since he was young, John Robison longed to connect with other people, but by the time he was a teenager, his odd habits--an inclination to blurt out non sequiturs, avoid eye contact, dismantle radios, and dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, in them)--had earned him the label "social deviant." It was not until he was forty that he was diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger's syndrome. That understanding transformed the way he saw himself--and the world. A born storyteller, Robison has written a moving, darkly funny memoir about a life that has taken him from developing exploding guitars for KISS to building a family of his own. It's a strange, sly, indelible account--sometimes alien yet always deeply human.

"I believe those of us with Asperger's are here for a reason, and we have much to offer. This book will help you bring out those gifts."
In his bestselling memoir, "Look Me in the Eye," John Elder Robison described growing up with Asperger's syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn't exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact.
By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, John had already developed a myriad of coping strategies that helped him achieve a seemingly normal, even highly successful, life. In "Be Different," Robison shares a new batch of endearing stories
about his childhood, adolescence, and young adult years, giving the reader a rare window into the Aspergian mind.
In each story, he offers practical advice--for Aspergians and indeed for anyone who feels "different"--on how to improve the weak communication and social skills that keep so many people from taking full advantage of their often remarkable gifts. With his trademark honesty and unapologetic eccentricity, Robison addresses questions like:
- How to read others and follow their behaviors when in uncertain social situations
- Why manners matter
- How to harness your powers of concentration to master difficult skills
- How to deal with bullies
- When to make an effort to fit in, and when to embrace eccentricity
- How to identify special gifts and use them to your advantage
Every person, Aspergian or not, has something unique to offer the world, and every person has the capacity to create strong, loving bonds with their friends and family. "Be Different" will help readers and those they love find their path to success.

From the time he was three or four years old, John Elder Robison realised that he was different from other people. He was unable to make eye contact or connect with other children, and by the time he was a teenager his odd habits - an inclination to blurt out non-sequiturs, obsessively dismantle radios or dig five-foot holes (and stick his younger brother in them) - had earned him the label 'social deviant'. It didn't help that his mother conversed with light fixtures and his father spent evenings pickling himself in sherry. Look Me in the Eye is his story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome - a form of autism - at a time when the diagnosis simply didn't exist. Along the way it also tells the story of two brothers born eight years apart yet devoted to each other: the author and his younger brother Chris, who would grow up to become bestselling author Augusten Burroughs. This book is a rare fusion of inspiration, dark comedy and insight into the workings of the human mind. For someone who has struggled all his life to connect with other people, Robison proves to be an extraordinary storyteller.

Are you presenting a scientific research poster at an upcoming conference? Then this is the book for you You'll learn how to make a great research poster that gets noticed. It discusses technical aspects to making a poster, as well as marketing tactics to make your poster stand out It covers: - What software to use to create your poster - What size should your poster be - What font sizes should you use - What color schemes should you use - Should you use a template or design your own? - What file formats should you use for charts, graphs, and images - What is whitespace and what's it good for - Bold, Italics, Underlined text - what's appropriate and where - What are aspect ratios and why are they important - What should you expect to pay for a poster at different places - How to make your posters title stand out - How to make them stop walking and pay attention to your poster - And much much more. If you need to make a scientific research poster but don't know where to start, this is the book for you. It was written by John Elder and the good folks at MakeSigns.com and filled with tips, tricks, and online resources to help you make the best poster possible.

In this sequel to 'Evil of Frankenstein' (1964), the Baron (Peter Cushing) has taken up residence with well-meaning inebriate Doctor Hertz (Thorley Walters). When Hertz successfully revives Frankenstein after freezing his body, the latter deduces that the human spirit does not leave the body after death, and can therefore be transmuted into another form. He gets the chance to prove his theory when his young assistant, Hans, is hanged for a murder he did not commit, and Hans' disfigured lover, Christina, commits suicide in despair. After performing cosmetic surgery on Christina, the two scientists successfully transfer Hans' spirit into her body. However, Hans now sets out to take revenge on those responsible for his death.

Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894), though often overshadowed by her celebrity father, James Fenimore Cooper, has recently become recognized as both a pioneer of American nature writing and an early advocate for ecological sustainability. Editors Rochelle Johnson and Daniel Patterson have assembled here a collection of ten pieces by Cooper that represent her most accomplished nature writing and the fullest articulation of her environmental principles. With one exception, these essays have not been available in print since their original appearance in Cooper's lifetime.

A portrait of her thoughts on nature and how we should live and think in relation to it, this collection both contextualizes Cooper's magnum opus, "Rural Hours" (1850), and demonstrates how she perceived her work as a nature writer. Frequently her essays are models of how to catch and keep the interest of a reader when writing about plants, animals, and our relationship to the physical environment. By lamenting the decline of bird populations, original forests, and overall biodiversity, she champions preservation and invokes a collective environmental conscience that would not begin to awaken until the end of her life and century.

The selections include independent essays, miscellaneous introductions and prefaces, and the first three installments from Cooper's work of literary ornithology, "Otsego Leaves," arguably her most mature and fully realized contribution to American environmental writing. In addition to a foreword by John Elder, one of the nation's leading environmental educators, an introduction analyzes each essay in various cultural contexts. Brief but handy textual notes supplement the essays. Perfect for nature-writing aficionados, environmental historians, and environmental activists, this collection will radically expand Cooper's importance to the history of American environmental thought.

Medical Selection of Life Risks has long been recognised as the reference book on insurance medicine. The fourth edition provides a comprehensive guide to life expectancy for underwriters and clinicians involved in the life insurance industry. Extensively revised and expanded the 4th edition of Medical Selection of Life Risks reflects developments in life and healthcare insurance as well as medicine. There are completely new chapters: on the underwriting of genetic diseases, disability underwriting, impaired lives annuities, musculoskeletal and soft tissue disorders. Several major chapters have been completely re-written, including respiratory, ischemic and congenital heart diseases and oncology. Part I - deals with the principles of life and disability insurance and the logistics of life underwriting. Part II - is devoted to a systematic clinical appraisal of underwriting problems, mainly relating to life insurance but also, where appropriate, to disability, critical illness and long term care insurance.

The North Woods tradition of making maple syrup serves as an illuminating backdrop for John Elder’s reflections on nature, literature, playfulness, and fatherhood, as he builds a sugaring house with his sons. The tail end of the sugaring season in New England is called the “frog run,� when pools of snowmelt teem with frogs and the last run of sap good for making syrup flows from the maple trees. For John Elder, a longtime resident of Vermont, a professor of English, and a man at midlife, this moment is a metaphor of loss and resurgence. In The Frog Run, Elder describes how he found a way to balance his passions for literature and for the outdoors by building a sugarhouse with his sons in the Vermont woods. For Elder, who also writes in this book about the resurgence of New England forests and about his life as a reader—moving from the game of Go to the Psalms and Bash�—the frog run is a time to savor and celebrate the fleeting beauties of his family’s place on earth. Moving and elegant, The Frog Run is a testimony to the value of embracing what seems lost.

Medical Selection of Life Risks has long been recognised as the reference book on insurance medicine. The fourth edition provides a comprehensive guide to life expectancy for underwriters and clinicians involved in the life insurance industry. Extensively revised and expanded the 4th edition of Medical Selection of Life Risks reflects developments in life and healthcare insurance as well as medicine. There are completely new chapters: on the underwriting of genetic diseases, disability underwriting, impaired lives annuities, musculoskeletal and soft tissue disorders. Several major chapters have been completely re-written, including respiratory, ischemic and congenital heart diseases and oncology. Part I - deals with the principles of life and disability insurance and the logistics of life underwriting. Part II - is devoted to a systematic clinical appraisal of underwriting problems, mainly relating to life insurance but also, where appropriate, to disability, critical illness and long term care insurance.

Picking Up the Flute sets to music a former professor's musings on retirement, marriage, literature, and the natural world. From his home in historic Bristol, Vermont to Ireland's Connemara coast, travel through John Elder's exquisite topography and relish his explorations of nature, poetry, and geology. John Elder's memoir through music is permeated by his unique combination of prose and learning how to play the Irish flute. Elder revisits his time teaching at Middlebury College and explores the next phase of retirement, utilizing texts and memories from his past, whose meanings echo with a new sound now. Picking Up the Flute is an interactive, multimedia memoir that immerses the reader in Elder's provocative prose, while offering the ability to listen to his spirited playing on his website.

Contemporary Vermont Fiction: An Anthology is a 240-page collection of short fiction by established Vermont-based writers, each rendering their own unique and diverse perspectives on the cultural and physical landscape of the Green Mountain State. Featuring stories by Howard Frank Mosher, Annie Proulx, Wallace Stegner, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Castle Freeman, Laurie Alberts, Robert Olmstead, Joseph Bruchac, Suzanne Kingsbury and others, this book is a chorus of voices portraying the diversified landscape and culture of Vermont: farmers, hippies, loggers, summer people, immigrants, academics, the Abenaki, migrant workers, etc. Though we believe such a book will be particularly relevant to Vermont residents and tourists, Green Writers Press has national distribution and we hope the anthology will have broad reach and impact. We consider this collection not just an ode to a specific place, but a book about how places shape and are shaped by the people who inhabit them, how writers interpret places differently, and about the power of fiction itself: how stories are a means of engendering empathy, illuminating interconnection, prompting new ways of imagining and living, and by doing all of these, help birth cultures of conservation. Wallace Stegner wrote, No place is a place until things that have happened in it are rememberedfictions serve as well as facts. We at Green Writers Press agree and believe such literary renderings are key components to the conservation, understanding, appreciation and preservation of places."