For over 33 years, gardeners in the South and beyond have turned to Garden Editor Steve Bender for his gardening expertise, delivered with equal doses of sarcasm and side-splitting humour. In his first book, he delivers valuable tips for planting, troubleshooting and growing success in his signature cantankerous style. Organised alphabetically by plant types and topics that run the gamut from azaleas and zoysia, and from chipmunks and chainsaws, The Grumpy Gardener offers a bumper crop of gardening know-how, pithy advice and ample humour for seasoned Southern gardeners, dirt-digging wannabes and plant assassins alike. This never boring read is a welcome gift for Grumpy fans, serious Southern gardeners and green thumbs everywhere who appreciate tried-and-true gardening advice as much as a great read.

Are we winning or losing the battle for safe environments? In 1984, leading disaster risk management professionals and researchers met in Jamaica for the Ocho Rios conference on Disaster Mitigation. In this collection, key experts reflect on the progress made in disaster risk reduction since that conference, with a particular emphasis on the Caribbean.

Areas of focus include:

• trends in disaster risk management
• the links between disaster risk management and development
• the development of community based actions
• the efficacy of regulations to achieve safety
• the evolution of risk management institutions.

The resulting volume provides a comprehensive overview of progress in the field and will be of interest to all those involved in disaster risk management and development.