Public Lands

In search of an explanation for the crisis that reached an unsettling crescendo in 2020 - a year of pandemic, civil unrest, and political turmoil - National Book Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Evan Osnos returned to three places he knew firsthand: Greenwich, Connecticut; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Chicago, Illinois. Reported over the course of six years, Wildland follows ordinary individuals as they navigate the varied landscapes of 21st-century America. Through their powerful, often poignant stories, Osnos traces the sources of America’s political dissolution.

One hundred fifty years ago, the McCoy brothers of Springfield, Illinois, bet their fortunes on Abilene, Kansas, then just a slapdash way station. Instead of an endless horizon of prairie grasses, they saw a bustling outlet for hundreds of thousands of Texas longhorns coming up the Chisholm Trail. The Chisholm Trail follows the McCoys' vision and the effects of the Chisholm Trail from post-Civil War Texas and Kansas to the multimillion-dollar beef industry that remade the Great Plains, the American diet, and the national and international beef trade.

At stake in 1896 was the new idea that some landscapes should be collectively, permanently owned by a democratic government. Although many people today think of public lands as an American birthright, their very existence was then in doubt and dependent on a merger of the talents of these two men. Natural Rivals examines a time of environmental threat and political dysfunction not unlike our own and reveals the complex dynamic that gave birth to America’s rich public lands legacy.

Florida has long beckoned retirees seeking to spend their golden years in the sun, but, for many, the American dream of owning a home there was financially impossible. That changed in the 1950s, when the so-called "installment land sales industry" appeared out of nowhere to hawk billions of dollars of Florida residential property, sight unseen, to retiring northerners. For only $10 down and $10 a month, working-class pensioners could buy a piece of the Florida dream: a graded homesite that would be waiting for them in a planned community when they were ready to build.

American Zion is the story of the Bundy family, famous for their armed conflicts in the West. With an antagonism that goes back to the very first Mormons who fled the Midwest for the Great Basin, they hold a sense of entitlement that confronts both law and democracy. Today their cowboy confrontations threaten public lands, wild species, and American heritage.

Longtime fly fisherman Quinn Grover had contemplated the “why” of his fishing identity before, more recently, becoming focused on the “how” of it. He realized he was a dedicated fly fisherman, in large part, because public lands and public waterways in the West made it possible. In Wilderness of Hope Grover recounts his fly-fishing experiences with a strong evocation of place, connecting those experiences to the ongoing national debate over public lands.

An eye-opening examination of how treating land as a source of profit has a massive impact on racial inequality and the housing, gentrification, and environmental crises.

One woman's enlightening trek through the natural histories, cultural stories, and present perils of thirteen national monuments.

Abrechnung und Perspektive zugleich. Ob Asyl-Chaos, Bildungsnotstand, Abschiebe-Irrsinn oder unsere kaputten Brücken und Straßen. Ob im Bund, auf Länderebene oder vor der eigenen Haustüre - in den vergangenen Jahren sorgten viele politische Entscheidungen beim Wahlvolk für Erstaunen, Kopfschütteln, ja sogar Wut. Immer mehr Menschen stellen sich die Frage: "Geht's noch?" Mit dieser bewusst zugespitzten Formulierung greift Claus Strunz die aktuelle Stimmung in Deutschland auf.

In this brilliant, gracefully written, and important new book, former Secretary of the Interior and Governor of Arizona Bruce Babbitt brings fresh thought to questions of how we can build a future we want to live in.

Today, we are at a turning point as we face ecological and political crises that are rooted in conflicts over the land itself. But these problems can be solved if we draw on elements of our tradition that move us toward a new commonwealth - a community founded on the well-being of all people and the natural world.

Securing venture capital (VC) funding can be a game-changer for startups, providing the financial resources needed to scale and grow. However, preparing for and successfully landing VC funding requires meticulous planning, understanding the current market landscape, and strategically positioning your startup. These suggestions will hopefully provide an overview of how to prepare for and secure venture capital funding in 2024-25.

Introducing "Displaced to Realigned: The Proven Skills Pitch Strategy to Land the Right Role with Intention" by Ajayi Pickering-Haynes—an innovative blend of self-help and career development that transcends the conventional boundaries of job hunting rhetoric. In this groundbreaking audiobook, Ajayi shares his transformative journey from displacement to realignment after experiencing a job layoff in September 2023. But instead of succumbing to defeat, Ajayi leveraged this setback as an opportunity for growth and innovation.