This is a book about the reality of place in America, the events and influences that led to the America we recognize today. It is a book about the growth of American cities and their suburbs during the twentieth century, about institutions and metropolitan governance, about real estate development and finance, about housing and the lack of it, about the emergence and perhaps the eventual debilitation of cities and suburbs alike. Incorporating the thinking of visionary city planners and land use economists, the author presents a lucid primer on the economics of land, its development and usage, and on how things actually get done in the real estate industry.

This is a book about the reality of place in America, the events and influences that led to the America we recognize today. It is a book about the growth of American cities and their suburbs during the twentieth century, about institutions and metropolitan governance, about real estate development and finance, about housing and the lack of it, about the emergence and perhaps the eventual debilitation of cities and suburbs alike. Incorporating the thinking of visionary city planners and land use economists, the author presents a lucid primer on the economics of land, its development and usage, and on how things actually get done in the real estate industry.

Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue in conservation. As people encroach into natural habitats, and as conservation efforts restore wildlife to areas where they may have been absent for generations, contact between people and wild animals is growing. Some species, even the beautiful and endangered, can have serious impacts on human lives and livelihoods. Tigers kill people, elephants destroy crops and African wild dogs devastate sheep herds left unattended. Historically, people have responded to these threats by killing wildlife wherever possible, and this has led to the endangerment of many species that are difficult neighbours. The urgent need to conserve such species, however, demands coexistence of people and endangered wildlife. This book presents a variety of solutions to human-wildlife conflicts, including novel and traditional farming practices, offsetting the costs of wildlife damage through hunting and tourism, and the development of local and national policies.

Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion--their voice--but he stutters uncontrollably.

Except when he talks to animals...

Then he is fluent.

Follow the life of the man "Time Magazine" calls, "the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation"as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves. This real-life story with tender illustrations by Catia Chien explores truths not defined by the spoken word.

The cougar is one of the most beautiful, enigmatic, and majestic animals in the Americas. Eliciting reverence for its grace and independent nature, it also triggers fear when it comes into contact with people, pets, and livestock or competes for hunters' game. Mystery, myth, and misunderstanding surround this remarkable creature. The cougar's range once extended from northern Canada to the tip of South America, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic, making it the most widespread animal in the western hemisphere. But overhunting and loss of habitat vastly reduced cougar numbers by the early twentieth century across much of its historical range, and today the cougar faces numerous threats as burgeoning human development encroaches on its remaining habitat. When Maurice Hornocker began the first long-term study of cougars in the Idaho wilderness in 1964, little was known about this large cat. Its secretive nature and rarity in the landscape made it difficult to study. But his groundbreaking research yielded major insights and was the prelude to further research on this controversial species. The capstone to Hornocker's long career studying big cats, "Cougar "is a powerful and practical resource for scientists, conservationists, and anyone with an interest in large carnivores. He and conservationist Sharon Negri bring together the diverse perspectives of twenty-two distinguished scientists to provide the fullest account of the cougar's ecology, behavior, and genetics, its role as a top predator, and its conservation needs. This compilation of recent findings, stunning photographs, and firsthand accounts of field research unravels the mysteries of this magnificent animal and emphasizes its importance in healthy ecosystem processes and in our lives.

In 1993, Alan Rabinowitz, called "the Indiana Jones" of wildlife science by "The New York Times," arrived for the first time in the country of Myanmar, known until 1989 as Burma, uncertain of what to expect. Working under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society, his goal was to establish a wildlife research and conservation program and to survey the country's wildlife. He succeeded beyond all expectations, not only discovering a species of primitive deer completely new to science but also playing a vital role in the creation of Hkakabo Razi National Park, now one of Southeast Asia's largest protected areas."Beyond the Last Village" takes the reader on a journey of exploration, danger, and discovery in this remote corner of the planet at the southeast edge of the Himalayas where tropical rain forest and snow-covered mountains meet. As we travel through this "lost world" -- a mysterious and forbidding region isolated by ancient geologic forces -- we meet the Rawang, a former slave group, the Taron, a solitary enclave of the world's only pygmies of Asian ancestry, and Myanmar Tibetans living in the furthest reaches of the mountains. We enter the territories of strange, majestic-looking beasts that few people have ever heard of and fewer have ever seen -- golden takin, red goral, blue sheep, black barking deer. The survival of these ancient species is now threatened, not by natural forces but by hunters with snares and crossbows, trading body parts for basic household necessities.The powerful landscape and unique people the author befriends help him come to grips with the traumas and difficulties of his past and emerge a man ready to embrace the world anew. Interwoven with hisscientific expedition in Myanmar, and helping to inform his understanding of the people he met and the situations he encountered, is this more personal journey of discovery.

The jaguar is one of the most mysterious and least-known big cats of the world. The largest cat in the Americas, it has survived an onslaught of environmental and human threats partly because of an evolutionary history unique among wild felines, but also because of a power and indomitable spirit so strong, the jaguar has shaped indigenous cultures and the beliefs of early civilizations on two continents. In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar, big-cat expert Alan Rabinowitz shares his own personal journey to conserve a species that, despite its past resilience, is now on a slide toward extinction if something is not done to preserve the pathways it prowls through an ever-changing, ever-shifting landscape dominated by humans. Rabinowitz reveals how he learned from newly available genetic data that the jaguar was a single species connected genetically throughout its entire range from Mexico to Argentina, making it unique among all other large carnivores in the world. In a mix of personal discovery and scientific inquiry, he sweeps his readers deep into the realm of the jaguar, offering fascinating accounts from the field. Enhanced with maps, tables, and colour plates, An Indomitable Beast brings important new research to life for scientists, anthropologists, and animal lovers alike. This book is not only about jaguars, but also about tenacity and survival. From the jaguar we can learn better strategies for saving other species and also how to save ourselves when faced with immediate and long-term catastrophic changes to our environment.

Here's summary of the broad-gauged set of topics (including the growth of the right wing) that are explored in three "notebooks: " Notebook I includes a bird's-eye view of the geopolitics of the war itself and of the World War II era, highlights FDR's Four Freedoms doctrine, and deals with many of the isms (such as fascism, socialism, and capitalism) then and still at large in the world. The four chapters in Notebook II develop themes about important changes that cry out for better understanding in today's world: the military-industrial complex, the communications revolution, Keynesianism and definitions of our mixed economy, the decline of colonialism and the creation of both the UN and its Declaration of Human Rights, and civil rights and civil liberties during the Cold War. The last part, Notebook III, is a commentary on present challenges to domestic well-being and international equilibrium in the early twenty-first century, a time that may someday be viewed as a watershed period that is as pivotal as the 1940s' decade proved to be.

Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue in conservation. As people encroach into natural habitats, and as conservation efforts restore wildlife to areas where they may have been absent for generations, contact between people and wild animals is growing. Some species, even the beautiful and endangered, can have serious impacts on human lives and livelihoods. Tigers kill people, elephants destroy crops and African wild dogs devastate sheep herds left unattended. Historically, people have responded to these threats by killing wildlife wherever possible, and this has led to the endangerment of many species that are difficult neighbours. The urgent need to conserve such species, however, demands coexistence of people and endangered wildlife. This book presents a variety of solutions to human-wildlife conflicts, including novel and traditional farming practices, offsetting the costs of wildlife damage through hunting and tourism, and the development of local and national policies.

Alan Rabinowitz provides the first comprehensive analysis of the nontraditional or social change philanthropists who help finance national campaigns and grassroots organizations that focus on improving American society and the environment, particularly for minority and low-income people. Written both for funders and grantees already in the field and those just beginning to fund nontraditional activities, "Social Change Philanthropy in America" examines the experience, operational practices, and future prospects of philanthropists who have been involved in such activities over the past thirty years. Rabinowitz offers new insights into who the funders are and how they think, how funders actually make decisions, what types of grants are made, and the tax, political, and historical aspects of social change funding and its role in America's philanthropic system.

Beginning with an introduction to the network of progressive social change funders and grantees and the philanthropic universe within which they operate, Rabinowitz goes on to analyze the flow of dollars through the nonprofit system. The next two sections present detailed portraits of social change funders and grantees. In part four, the author discusses whether grants for progressive social change are effective and worthwhile, whether grantees are sufficiently accountable, and whether funders and grantees are meeting each other's needs. He then explores progressive funding as an arena of controversy, conflicting ideologies, and, ultimately, electoral politics. The final chapter looks at challenges and prospects for the progressive social change community as strategies for organizing, campaigning, and fundraising are developed for the future. The appendix illustrates in more detail the range and substance of the field for readers with little previous knowledge of progressive social change philanthropy.

This book provides a thorough guide to the issues to be resolved to minimize risks and maximize private and public rewards for land development projects. The author fully explores the strategic considerations involved in selecting the right piece of land and in obtaining the necessary building approvals. The author investigates the impacts of economic conditions, federal programs, demographic and income-related trends, state and local policies, land use controls, and urban sprawl on the predevelopment process. "Recent Publications on Governmental ProblemS"

This is the first comprehensive examination of land investment at the predevelopment stage--when undeveloped land is converted into developable properties. This book provides a thorough guide to the issues to be resolved to minimize risks and maximize private and public rewards for land development projects. Rabinowitz fully explores the strategic considerations involved in selecting the right piece of land and in obtaining the necessary building approvals. He underscores the importance of a cooperative relationship between investor-developers and regulatory officials in an era of high land prices and increasingly complex permitting procedures. He investigates the impacts of economic conditions, federal programs, demographic and income-related trends, state and local policies, land use controls, and urban sprawl on the predevelopment process. In the last chapter Rabinowitz presents a cogent analysis of land prices and values at the predevelopment stage. Numerous tables, charts, and suggested readings amplify the discussion.