Below I’m highlighting some nonfiction books coming out in July. All of the mentioned titles are available to put on hold in our catalog and will also be made available via the library’s OverDrive website on the day of publication in eBook and downloadable audiobook format (as available). For a more extensive list of new nonfiction books coming out this month, check our online catalog.
Top Picks
“Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America’s Love for the Wild” by Heather Hansman (Jul 14)
Throughout the 20th century Georgie White, Anne LaBastille, and Dolores LaChapelle did more to inspire our love of the great outdoors than just about anyone. Georgie devoted her life to the Grand Canyon, kickstarting the river running craze in the 40s and igniting the recreation industry. Anne, a wilderness guide and bestselling author, protected endangered species and predicted the impacts of climate change from her isolated, off-grid cabin in the Adirondacks. And deep powder skier Dolores developed an environmental philosophy that shaped everything from the radical environmental movement of the ‘70s to modern conservation ethics. Now, for the first time, outdoor journalist and bestselling author Heather Hansman goes deep into multiple rugged American landscapes to bring three fascinating lives to the forefront of the outdoor movement, affirming their rightful place in the larger story of an evolving American wild.
“Biological War: A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen (Jul 28)
A lab accident, a bio-attack, a global pandemic, and the collapse of human society. In this essential new book, based on dozens of new interviews with experts with high-level political, governmental, medical, and military responsibility, Annie Jacobsen examines this very scenario. It would be only a matter of days from such a global infection before the infrastructure built to handle this gravest of situations would be in a battle for human existence. The fallout: mass death, total societal breakdown, widespread insurrection, anarchy, and a plague-ravaged wasteland that no longer resembles modern civilization. In other words: dystopia. Following the gripping narrative style, Jacobsen looks deeply at a situation that is in some ways the opposite of a nuclear bomb: There is no mushroom cloud, no shock wave or blast. Instead, the scenario that could end the world as we know it begins with something so small, and something so malicious, that when used for evil, only evil can result. This is what could happen; a ticking-clock roadmap to the hours, days, and weeks following the release of a biological agent, that serves as the most essential, forward-looking journalism in preparation for urgent societal upheaval.
“The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness” by Cal Flyn (Jul 28)
From the blacksand beaches of Iceland, to river crossings deep in the Amazon jungle, to the barren beauty of Antarctica, wildernesses make up some of the world’s more alluring natural landscapes. But what is a wilderness, really? It is a powerful, ancient concept, lying at the intersection of landscape, philosophy, and ecology. And for thousands of years, people have sought out uncontrolled, unknown, or uncharted nature in search of religious epiphany, self-actualization, and an escape from modern life. More recently these “pristine” places have been seen as the subject of a last effort to repair a planet imperiled by humans. But as award-winning writer Cal Flyn traverses the most forbidding, untamed and inhospitable wild lands — the supposedly uninhabited wilds of the world—she finds that such truly untouched lands don’t exist: Nearly every wilderness has been or is actively inhabited by humans. Here we meet ascetics in search of theophany in the desert; lonely shepherds running off wolves under the stars; missionaries preaching from shacks deep in the jungle; wise lamas meditating under lofty mountain peaks. “The Savage Landscape” takes us into these breathtaking wilds — deep into dark forests, to the tops of mountains, and into the hearts of deserts — asking provocative questions about the nature of wilderness, its preservation, and its meaning.
More Notable Releases in July
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Here is a new DVD list highlighting various titles recently added to the library’s collection.