This book provides a fresh look at one of the most enduring, absorbing, and universal questions human beings face: What happens to us after we die? In secular thought, the standard answer is simple: we disappear into oblivion. David Harmon takes us in a different direction, by making the case that a nonconscious portion of our personality survives death-literally, not figuratively-and explains how this kind of naturalistic afterlife can be emotionally relevant to us while we are still living. Combining insights from the arts, history, philosophy, and science, a compelling argument takes shape for an afterlife without God.

The Full Value of Parks is the first comprehensive look at the values associated with parks and other kinds of protected areas. Much has been written about the importance of parks to the tourism industry, yet the reasons why people care deeply about them usually have little or nothing to do with money. Instead, people value parks as sacred sanctuaries and places of spiritual self-discovery, as settings of breathtaking beauty, as venues of scientific inquiry, as destinations for much-needed recreation-even as places where one can go to heal a wounded psyche. The profound attachment that people feel to the world's great natural areas and cultural sites arises from an incredibly diverse, complex, and sometimes conflicting array of values. After a thorough overview of the kinds of values found in parks, the unique challenges of managing parks to accommodate differing viewpoints are surveyed in this path-breaking book. Drawing on insights from a broad group of international experts, and offering examples from Siberia to tropical Africa, from the Andes to the Australian outback, The Full Value of Parks is an engaging and lucid exploration of the entire range of benefits and values of protected areas-from economics to the intangible.

Enacted in 1906, the Antiquities Act is one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation in American history and has had a far-reaching influence on the preservation of our nationas cultural and natural heritage. Thanks to the foresight of thirteen presidents, parks as diverse as Acadia, Grand Canyon, and Olympic National Park, along with historic and archaeological sites such as Thomas Edisonas Laboratory and the Gila Cliff Dwellings, have been preserved for posterity. A century after its passage, this book presents a definitive assessment of the Antiquities Act and its legacy, addressing the importance and breadth of the actaas well as the controversy it has engendered. Authored by professionals intimately involved with safeguarding the nationas archaeological, historic, and natural heritage, it describes the applications of the act and assesses its place in our countryas future. With a scope as far-reaching as the resources the act embraces, this book offers an unparalleled opportunity for todayas stewards to reflect on the actas historic accomplishments, to remind fellow professionals and the general public of its continuing importance, and to look ahead to its continuing implementation in the twenty-first century. The Antiquities Act invites all who love Americaas natural and cultural treasures not only to learn about the actas rich legacy but also to envision its next hundred years.