A prairie dog town is a busy place. As author and field researcher Theodore Manno explains, a prairie dog's life can be full of mischief, romantic trysts, antipredator behavior, fighting, kissing, and infanticide that can all be witnessed over the course of a few months. In this definitive book on Utah prairie dogs, he vividly recounts the daily ups and downs of prairie dog life as well as his own trials and triumphs while observing these rare rodents in Bryce Canyon National Park. As part of John Hoogland's long-term study, Manno and other members of the "Dog Squad" recorded the behavior of the "town" residents from the vantage point of a nine-foot-tall tower. Over time, the researchers came to know the personalities and social structure of the town's inhabitants. Demonstrating an unbridled passion for research, Manno communicates the satisfaction, excitement, and sadness that comes with watching marked individuals over time. His narrative, accompanied by more than 150 photos by wildlife photographer Elaine Miller Bond, provides a full overview of what is currently known about Utah prairie dogs, a species that is threatened with extinction.

Theodore G. Manno traces the history of nutria from their natural range in South America to their status as an invasive species known for destroying the environmentally and economically important wetlands along the Gulf Coast. In this definitive book on "swamp rats," Manno vividly recounts western expansion and the explosion of the American fur industry. Then he details an apocalyptic turn-to replace an overhunted beaver population in North America, humans introduced nutria. With an eclectic repertoire of true stories that read like fiction and are played out by larger-than-life characters, Manno conveys the legend of empire-seeking fur trappers, the bizarre miscommunications that led to nutria releases, and the sadness that comes with killing millions of nutria whose ancestors were never meant to leave their South American habitat. He tells of disastrous interactions among hungry nutria, storm surges from Hurricane Katrina, and major oil spills. His extensively researched and epic narrative,accompanied by more than thirty photographs and entertaining interviews with biologists, historians, fashion designers, and chefs, weaves a poignant tale of empire, conquest, fortune, even of Tabasco Sauce. Manno provides a full overview of what is currently known about nutria-a species now aggressively hunted with a bountyprogram because of their reputation for wetland destruction.