In the spring of 1969 a small meeting was convened at the CSIRO Riverina Laboratory, Deniliquin, New South Wales, to discuss the biology of the genus Atriplex, a group of plants considered by those who attended to be of profound importance both in relation to range management in the region and as a tool in physiological research. The brief report of this meeting (Jones, 1970) now serves as a marker for the subsequent remarkable increase in research on this genus, and served then to interest the editors of the Ecological Studies Series in the present volume. This was an exciting time in plant physiology, particularly in the areas of ion absorption and photosynthesis, and unknowingly several laboratories were engaged in parallel studies of these processes using the genus Atriplex. It was also a time at which it seemed that numerical methods in plant ecology could be used to delineate significant processes in arid shrubland ecosystems. Nevertheless, to presume to illustrate and integrate plant physiology and ecology using examples from a single genus was to presume much. The deficiencies which became increasingly apparent during the preparation of the present book were responsible for much new research described in these pages.

"All you have to do is . . . " are, according to DJ Anderson, the six most dangerous words. How often have the complexities of a human life been distilled into this simple catch phrase in order to explain it all? Using a blog she has called "The Six Most Dangerous Words," Anderson's goal in posting is to focus on the absurdity of trying to dilute each story into a "category" and then expose the web of intricate emotional decisions that actually led to its outcome. Some of her stories are non-fiction-character studies of real people, using their real names . . . in many ways, tributes. Some of her stories are thinly disguised as fiction. To those who know her best, she says, "It won't be hard to make the connections back to the non-fictionalized circumstances that gave rise to these accounts." One of the things Anderson has learned about writing from memory is that her memory is sometimes not very reliable. Not wanting to be held accountable for details that she's filled in for the sake of the storytelling, she categorizes these stories as fiction. As a colleague's father used to say, "Don't let facts interfere with the telling of a good story." Finally, some of Anderson's stories are a complete fabrication coming entirely from her imagination. She occasionally throws in a poem here and there to change the pace. Volume I of "The Six Most Dangerous Words" is a collection of the first two years of blog postings. Additional stories can be found on the web at authordjanderson.blogspot.com

From author DJ Anderson comes a first novel full of heartache and honest truths about the human heart. Anderson's rich, textured storytelling and deep understanding of untold desires weave a striking romance on par with the best literary women's fiction. This intimate portrait of a modern woman, torn between the life she has chosen and the road not taken, will strike a chord with readers in their fifties as in their twenties. Set on the shores of Lake Michigan, Mercy of the Fallen follows the secret, failed romance between Elizabeth Sawyer and Simon Walker as they journey from adolescence into adulthood. Across time, distance, and lives that have grown entirely separate, they manage to keep track of each other through their mutual friend Sara Foley who inadvertently brings them to another crossroads. Delving into the often untold "What if?" questions of life, Mercy of the Fallen is a page-turning tale of forgiveness and redemption.