Fire the Landscaper is a biting critique of current landscape design and maintenance practices. The book explores the health risks, cultural biases, origins, and the insults to Mother Nature caused by our culturally backed, legally enforced obsession with artificial representations of nature.
The author, Phil Williams, is a former owner of a successful lawn and landscape company. He exposes the waste, fraud, and downright ridiculousness of an industry focused solely on aesthetics. Through his subsequent training as a permaculture designer, he offers many practical solutions aligned with nature to increase the health and productivity of landscapes, and the world by extension, while simultaneously reducing the workload of upkeep.
What readers are saying. "Rarely does a gardening book raise eyebrows, let alone Hell. Phil M. Williams' "Fire the Landscaper" sounds a battle cry defending private property, homesteading and chemical-free living -- "weeds" and all. A former landscaping mogul, Williams exposes the industry's practice of over-fertilizing and over-mowing lawns, a cycle driven by homeowners chained to such maintenance by Home Owner's Association (HOA) rules or a "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. Williams also discusses questionable landscaper design and pricing practices, to educate consumers about what they're really paying for, from below-grade trees and shrubs to the lack of permaculture-style plantings that can provide food as well as aesthetics. Part biography, part instruction manual for turning lawns into natural and productive garden-spaces, Williams describes the pride and pitfalls of homesteading. From living with nosy neighbors who can't get their heads out of their mole-holes long enough to understand "perfect" lawns require plant killing toxins that impact land for generations, to downright mean folks who can't comprehend that so-called weeds are often edible, and necessary for healthy soil. For the intrepid homesteader, it seems, fighting City Hall often comes with nature-led land management. Williams bucks the system with style, however, and digresses from instructor to insider often. His stories includes a satisfyingly lurid dream sequence worthy of Sinclair Lewis' "It Can't Happen Here" guaranteed to make the reader want to start an illegal mulch pile immediately. Damn the HOA, full speed ahead After all, it's your property, right?" -Diana Morse ★★★★★ "Mr. Williams had me in tears a few time with his rich descriptions, story telling, and simplistic revelations of truth to a simpler, richer way of living. A definite MUST READ for everyone - and I mean everyone." -Terri R. ★★★★★ "As much about life as it is about the lawn, Fire the Landscaper is a quick and very timely read about the organized destruction of our ecosystems one yard at a time." - T. Hall ★★★★★ "Great book, I went through it in an evening. Mr Williams does an excellent job using real life examples to paint the picture of where we are, where were going, and where we could go. I wish I could stand on a corner and hand this out." - Matt M. ★★★★★ "What an awesome book Its great to have a book out there that challenges the cultural norms head on. It exposes the practices of the lawn care industry, and how toxic and wasteful it is for our environment. It definitely inspired me to get out there and grow some food in my yard instead of just mowing down my weeds, i mean grass...no weeds. A big thank you to Mr. Williams for writing this spectacular book " - Desiree H. ★★★★★ "This is one of the few books I have actually read in its entirety for many years. If you are one that seeks after true nature, this is the book for you. I can't w
Автор: McPhillips Stephen, Wordsworth Paul D. Название: Landscapes of the Islamic World ISBN: 0812247647 ISBN-13(EAN): 9780812247640 Издательство: Mare Nostrum (Eurospan) Рейтинг: Цена: 71020.00 T Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ. Описание:
Islamic societies of the past have often been characterized as urban, with rural and other extra-urban landscapes cast in a lesser or supporting role in the studies of Islamic history and archaeology. Yet throughout history, the countryside was frequently an engine of economic activity, the setting for agricultural and technological innovation, and its inhabitants were frequently agents of social and political change. The Islamic city is increasingly viewed in the context of long and complex processes of urban development. Archaeological evidence calls for an equally nuanced reading of shifting cultural and religious practices in rural areas after the middle of the seventh century. Landscapes of the Islamic World presents new work by twelve authors on the archaeology, history, and ethnography of the Islamic world in the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and Central Asia. The collection looks beyond the city to engage with the predominantly rural and pastoral character of premodern Islamic society. Editors Stephen McPhillips and Paul D. Wordsworth group the essays into four thematic sections: harnessing and living with water; agriculture, pastoralism, and rural subsistence; commerce, production, and the rural economy; and movement and memory in the rural landscape. Each contribution addresses aspects of extra-urban life in challenging new ways, blending archaeological material culture, textual sources, and ethnography to construct holistic studies of landscapes. Modern agrarian practices and population growth have accelerated the widespread destruction of vast tracts of ancient, medieval, and early modern landscapes, highlighting the urgency of scholarship in this field. This book makes an original and important contribution to a growing subject area, and represents a step toward a more inclusive understanding of the historical landscapes of Islam. Contributors: Pernille Bangsgaard, Karin Bartl, Jennie N. Bradbury, Robin M. Brown, Alison L. Gascoigne, Ian W. N. Jones, Phillip G. Macumber, Daniel Mahoney, Stephen McPhillips, Astrid Meier, David C. Thomas, Bethany J. Walker, Alan Walmsley, Tony J. Wilkinson, Paul D. Wordsworth, Lisa Yeomans.
Автор: Peter Verkinderen Название: Waterways of Iraq and Iran in the Early Islamic Period: Changing Rivers and Landscapes of the Mesopotamian Plain ISBN: 1780764715 ISBN-13(EAN): 9781780764719 Издательство: Bloomsbury Academic Рейтинг: Цена: 137280.00 T Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ. Описание: The waterways of ancient Iraq were crucial to its prosperity. While they were maintained, Iraq and neighbouring Khuzistan, in southwest Iran, were the richest and most productive agricultural areas of the Middle East, supporting the Sasanian, Umayyad and Abbasid empires. When the waterways changed or fell into decay, both the prosperity and the political role of Iraq largely disappeared. Understanding the course of the rivers and how they changed is therefore pivotal to understanding the history of the region. Peter Verkinderen's important book provides the first major re-examination of the waterways of early Islamic Iraq in almost seventy years. Combining a close reading of early Arab geographical and historical sources with analysis of modern satellite imagery, the author reconstructs the course of each of the major rivers--the Euphrates, Tigris, Karun, Jarrahi and Karhe-- from the 7th to the 12th centuries, showing how they changed over the intervening five hundred years. His extensive use of detailed narrative accounts found in Arab historical sources has never previously been undertaken and the use of remote sensing has allowed the author to link traces of ancient river beds and canal systems to the rivers and canals mentioned in the early Arab sources. Presenting a much fuller and more accurate picture than has previously been possible, Waterways of Iraq is a work of the first importance, unlikely to be superseded for many years to come.
Автор: Cilek Vaclav, Cailek Vaaclav Название: To Breathe with Birds: A Book of Landscapes ISBN: 0812246810 ISBN-13(EAN): 9780812246810 Издательство: Mare Nostrum (Eurospan) Рейтинг: Цена: 33400.00 T Наличие на складе: Есть у поставщика Поставка под заказ. Описание:
Just as there is love at first sight between people, Václav Cílek writes, there can be love at first sight between a person and a place. A landscape is more than a location, it is one party in a relationship—even when the spirit of a certain setting is not perceptible to those who visit. But whether we travel to experience rapture or excitement, to discover truth and beauty, or to be dazzled, we search for the essence of faraway landscapes to gain perspective on our own place within the world. To Breathe with Birds delves into the imaginative and emotional bonds we form with landscapes and how human existence—a recent development, geologically speaking—shapes and is shaped by a sense of place. In subtle and lyrical prose, renowned geologist and author Václav Cílek explores topics from the history of asphalt to the spirits we imagine in trees, from geodiversity to the mathematics of snowflakes. Weaving earth science and environmentalism together with memoir and myth, his chapters visit resonant locations from India to Massachusetts, though most are deeply rooted in the river-laced, war-scarred landscape of Cílek's Czech homeland. These reflections are accompanied by Morna Livingston's evocative photographs, which capture the beauty and strangeness of natural and human-made forms. The first book-length appearance of Cílek's work in English translation, To Breathe with Birds offers insightful perspectives on the symbolism of landscapes as we struggle to conserve and protect the depleted earth.
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