In A Sweet Magnolia Time makes a major contribution to American history and American literature, for it explores the life and times and legacy of Waties Waring, the South Carolina federal judge whose epic opinion in Briggs v. Elliot that “separate but equal is not equal,” predated by two years of the 1954 Supreme Court Decision that came to the same conclusion.

Homunculus is a dark comedy of expatriation and overdose in the hills of Central Mexico.

Neptune Speaks is packed with full-color photographs of tropical fish on every page, but this book is more than just a beautiful guide. It’s a call to defend the creatures of the sea that are under attack by fierce predators—humans. The popularity of keeping tropical fish in home and office aquariums, and the overfishing of waters around the world to satisfy the demands of diners looking for ever-more exotic fare have put these amazing species in danger of disappearing entirely.

The three main hubs of aquarium trade devastation are Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Each has its own sad story of political corruption and theft of natural resources to benefit a greedy, ruthless few. Yet, despite facing a litany of challenges, each hub shows faint hope for progress: with Komodo National Park in Indonesia, a few bright lights in the development of Philippine reef management, and an anti-aquarium campaign taking hold in Hawaii. A beautiful coffee table photo book ...

Decades of isolation from tourism and development have left Cuba’s coral reefs among the most pristine in the world, an “exceptionalism” that stands in stark contrast to the island nation’s poverty and political situation. Famed diver/photographer Robert “Snorkel Bob” Wintner showcases these magnificent reefs with his astounding underwater images, while also capturing terrestrial life in the cities and villages of the island nation.Reef Libre is not a travelogue, but asks the big q...

Whirlaway is mind and body adventure of the double-edge 80s, a time of growth, beyond idealism and self-absorption of the 60s and 70s. Bolder reaching for the gold ring made success seem attainable.Many young folk enjoyed cocaine as a cultural stimulant, for encouragement, confidence and assurance, while it lasted. It cost a bit and a bit more but beat depression. The 80s also marked the beginning of the end for nature on Earth. Human population, doubling since the 50s, generated t...

Toucan Whisper, Toucan Sing is the story of two brothers, one a gregarious gigolo, the other a mute psychopath who loves nature. Both work at a resort hotel, as does Lyria, betrothed to the joyous one yet drawn to the silent one. In the tangle is a murder on the beach and extrication, Mexican style.With glittering potential sullied, along with betrothal, Lyria is compelled to alliance with the “older woman” so fervently in need of Antonio’s effusing attention. Baldo takes solace in the com...

Critical mass may be a minimum for chain reaction or a maximum for stability. Either way, things go off. Collective consciousness and common behaviors accelerate in chaos.Subtle change builds to drastic consequence. Mass media covers hateful simpletons gaining market share on slap diddle, shouting lies on fire. Road rage is self-expression. Stress compresses, on the way to another big bang.Will human density bring a correction, as predicted? Will things shake out, reducing ...

1969 was pivotal for baby boomers, young, innocent and facing a needless war. On a grand tour, youth united for peace, resisting war, living the parables of high time. Some will remember. Some can’t. All bore witness to a time like none before or ever since, when a few seasons defined the difference between right and wrong.The profit motive gave way to greed. Truth twisted to propaganda. National interest got bent for defense contractors. Democracy buckled on a war of attrition, an...

Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters.Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right.Sent by their m...

" The Enchanted wrapped its beautiful and terrible fingers around me from the first page and refused to let go after the last. A wondrous book that finds transcendence in the most unlikely of places. . . . So dark yet so exquisite." — Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night CircusAn astonishing and redemptive novel for readers of Alice Sebold and Toni Morrison, told from the point of view of a convict whose magical interpretations of prison ...

A beautiful new edition of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, the iconic, beloved and deeply moving first volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography.***'The international classic and bestseller, Maya Angelou's memoir paints a portrait of 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA'One of my favourites' TINA KNOWLES'I write about being a Black American woman, how...