21 April 2011

New Books - April 2011



Happy Earth Day from the Whole Earth Library! Have a salutary day reflecting on your place in the natural world and hopefully eating a lovely picnic. Here are some books recently added to the collection that might help you with that, touching as they do on a variety of subjects from healthy food to environmental protection to nonprofit management and more. And see you at the Thoreau Center Earth Day Craft Fair, Friday, April 22, 11:30am to 2:00pm.

Temra Costa. Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat. (2010)

Sustainable food and farming advocate Temra Costa, former director of California's Buy Fresh/Buy Local campaign, profiles twenty-six women working to create a more regional, resilient, and transparent food system in America that respects the environment, supports our health, treats workers fairly, and strengthens local economies and communities. They are pioneering farmers, activists, chefs, and advocates embracing a wide range of approaches to grow food, prepare food, change policies, build new relationships between fields and eaters, preserve traditional cultures, and raise awareness about the far-reaching effects of the food choices we make. Thoreau Center connections: includes profiles of the Cultural Conservancy's Melissa K.Nelson and Claire Hope Cummings, and of Social Venture Network emeritus board member Judy Wicks.

Dyan deNapoli. The Great Penguin Rescue: 40,000 Penguins, a Devastating Oil Spill, and the Inspiring Story of the World's Largest Animal Rescue. (2010)

On June 23, 2000, the iron-ore carrier MV Treasure sank off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, releasing 1,300 tons of oil and contaminating a large portion of the habitat of the already threatened African penguin. Dyan deNapoli of the New England Aquarium joined 12,500 other volunteers from around the world in a massive three month effort to rescue these penguins, clean them, feed them, and rehabilitate them for release back into the wild. While ultimately one of the most successful penguin rescues ever, with over ninety percent of the oiled birds surviving, penguin populations worldwide are plummeting under pressure from increased ship transportation, pollution, irresponsible fishing practices, and climate change. Today, deNapoli actively campaigns to conserve penguins and protect the health of the oceans.

Janet Poppendieck. Free for All: Fixing School Food in America. (2010)

This first comprehensive assessment of school food in the United States explores its realities and the obstacles to its improvement. What is preventing schools from providing all children with free, fresh, appealing, and healthy meals? Poppendieck argues it is the result of specific social choices, including the disinvestment in public education, an industrialized food system, and school food programs operated on a business model rather than a public health approach. She presents the possibility of sweeping change based on innovative projects in action around the country today that support a vision of sustainable agriculture and that see school food expenditures as investments in the future health and well-being of our children.

Miriam Pawel. The Union of Their Dreams: Power, Hope, and Struggle in Cesar Chavez's Farm Worker Movement. (2009)

Former Newsday and Los Angeles Times reporter and editor, Miriam Pawel, tells the story of the United Farm Workers of America from the perspective of eight key participants - lawyers, sudents, clergy, and farm workers – who bring new insights into the spectacular growth and eventual collapse of the union, to the point that only a small percentage of California's farm workers are unionized today. Based on interviews and extensive research, including six hundred hours of tapes of meetings, rallies, and interviews recorded between 1969 and 1980, Pawel's nuanced analysis challenges popular views of Chavez's legacy, emphasizing the tension between his vision of leading a comprehensive social movement and the practical work of managing a union. The effects of Chavez's efforts to retain control and stifle dissent highlight the dilemmas faced by social justice movements as they seek to balance the vision of charismatic leadership with the slow effort of consolidating real gains for poor people.


Judith B. Margolin, ed. After the Grant: The Nonprofit's Guide to Good Stewardship. (2010)

“Congratulations, you got a grant!” From the Foundation Center, this collection written by expert fundraisers and foundation staff is a guide to what a nonprofit organization should do next to turn that grant proposal into measurable accomplishments, manage grant funds successfully, and build an enduring relationship with the funder through effective communication. Covering each step in the grant cycle, it also includes analytical case studies, and a troubleshooting guide for those inevitable times when things do not go according to plan.

Galina Tachieva. Sprawl Repair Manual. (2010)

Sprawl – the car-dependent pattern of development that has been the defining feature of most of the suburban growth in the United States since the end of World War II. Imposing heavy environmental, societal, and economic burdens, sprawl can be transformed into vibrant, livable communities through thoughtful design interventions, responsive regulatory frameworks, and new permitting strategies and financial incentives, as this book demonstrates. Step-by-step guides and case studies demonstrate how to repair the full range of suburban conditions from the regional scale down through to blocks, roads, and buildings.

And a special bonus pick by China Brotsky, Senior Vice President, Tides and Managing Director, Tides Shared Spaces:

K.M. Kostyal. Great Migrations: Official Companion to the National Geographic Channel Global Television Event. (2010)

"In a world of changing global temperatures and conditions on land and in the sea, the annual journeys of wild species become stories of astonishing strength and the sheer will to survive. State-of-the-art images — including heart-pounding scenes captured by world-class photographers and iconic stills from the film — offer exciting new perspectives on migratory animals and their remarkable behaviors, some of which have never before been seen or recorded." - from the publisher.

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