"Missouri, 1860. Rumors of war between the North and South are spreading across the land. In rural Green County, many of the farmers are already choosing sides. But not John Zachary. His loyalties lie with his family first--and his heart is telling him to go west. Hoping to build a new life in the fertile valleys of Oregon, he convinces his best friend, Emmitt Braxton, to pack up their families and join him on a wagon train across the Oregon Trail....

Rainwater Harvesting for? Drylands and Beyond , Volume 2? is a how-to guide enabling you to "plant the rain" by creating water-harvesting "earthworks"?or "rain gardens." Earthworks? are simple, inexpensive strategies and landforms that passively harvest multiple sources of free on-site water including rainfall, stormwater runoff, air conditioning condensate, and greywater within "living tanks" of soil and vegetation. The plants then pump the water...

"Make your garden flourish with rich soil you produce yourself! Written in clear and simple terms, understand everything you need to know about compost, how it works, and how you can make it and use it! Whether you have a large backyard, a small garden space, or only a balcony, composting can be customized to fit you and your lifestyle. With detailed chapters on the benefits of composting, getting started, making compost, various methods and techniques,,...

The problem of agriculture is as old as civilization. Throughout history, great societies that abused their land withered into poverty or disappeared entirely. Now we risk repeating this ancient story on a global scale due to ongoing soil degradation, a changing climate, and a rising population. But there is reason for hope. David R. Montgomery introduces us to farmers around the world at the heart of a brewing soil health revolution that could bring...

A family, and the security to enjoy it: that's all Tom and Anna Reed ever wanted. But years of infertility treatments, including four failed attempts at in-vitro fertilization, have left them with neither. The emotional and financial costs are straining their marriage and endangering their dreams. So when their downstairs tenant--a recluse whose promptly delivered cashier's checks were barely keeping them afloat--dies in his sleep, the $400,000 they...

"The world has come to Three Chimneys, Virginia. This tiny, rural town is home to Manda and Jake Frank, who overnight have become international celebrities as the parents of eleven tiny infants, born through fertility treatments. Their pastor and spokesperson, the Reverend Leland Vaughn, tries to shield them from the media frenzy, but even his head is turned when presidential hopeful Adams Brooke pays the family a visit." "But there is one woman in...

Locavore leaders such as Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Barbara Kingsolver all speak of the need for sweeping changes in how we get our food. A longtime leader of this movement is Wes Jackson, who for decades has taken it upon himself to speak for the land, to speak for the soil itself. Here, he offers a manifesto toward a conceptual revolution: Jackson asks us to look to natural ecosystemsor, if one prefers, nature in generalas the measure against...

"A massive storm was coming straight for Mama's little plot of land in the Mississippi Delta and there was no way any of them could outrun the weather. For three years Melody Mahaffey has been on the road, touring as a keyboardist with a terrible Christian pop band she can hardly stand. So when her mother calls, full of her usual dire news and dramatic pronouncements, Melody is relieved to pack her bags and call it quits. But at the sprawling, defunct...

"A groundbreaking chronicle of the birth--and death--of a pair of jeans, that exposes the fractures in our global supply chains, and our relationships to each other, ourselves, and the planet Take a look at your favorite pair of jeans. Maybe you bought them on Amazon or the Gap; maybe the tag says "Made in Bangladesh" or "Made in Sri Lanka." But do you know where they really came from, how many thousands of miles they crossed, or the number of hands...