Eagerly anticipated by our staff, this is new from the celebrated author of The Golden Spruce. An account of the devastating 2016 Fort McMurray fire in Alberta, this book couldn't be more timely. Author Robert Macfarlane rightly calls it "a landmark in non-fiction reportage on the Anthropocene."Publisher's description:
In May 2016, Fort McMurray, the hub of Canada's oil industry and America's biggest foreign supplier, was overrun by wildfire. The multi-billion-dollar disaster melted vehicles, turned entire neighborhoods into firebombs, and drove 88,000 people from their homes in a single afternoon. Through the lens of this apocalyptic conflagration--the wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina--John Vaillant warns that this was not a unique event, but a shocking preview of what we must prepare for in a hotter, more flammable world. Fire has been a partner in our evolution for hundreds of millennia, shaping culture, civilization, and, very likely, our brains. Fire has enabled us to cook our food, defend and heat our homes, and power the machines that drive our titanic economy. Yet this volatile energy source has always threatened to elude our control, and in our new age of intensifying climate change, we are seeing its destructive power unleashed in previously unimaginable ways. With masterly prose and a cinematic eye, Vaillant takes us on a riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America's oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the unprecedented devastation wrought by modern forest fires, and into lives forever changed by these disasters. John Vaillant's urgent work is a book for--and from--our new century of fire, which has only just begun.
Looking for a literary Western to read this summer? Check out Celia McGee's recent article, 
A guide to developing and maintaining lasting friendships that transcend difference. At the core of every real friendship is a bond bound by trust and understanding. At the core of discrimination is othering informed by distrust and misunderstanding. Kate Johnson believes that we can reconcile these two truths and create a path toward true equality by building friendships across divides. Radical Friendship draws on Johnson's experience as a biracial woman and her work in anti-bias education to guide us through forming relationships that bridge differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, physical ability, and more. Grounded in the Buddhist teachings of awareness, acceptance, and mindfulness, this book provides us with seven actionable strategies to make friends with ourselves and others. Johnson leads us on our journey to becoming a true friend by providing advice and guidance through every stage of a relationship, including meeting someone new, growing a friendship, or repairing existing tensions. Creating inclusive communities goes beyond a simple list of do's and don'ts, and Radical Friendship shows us the importance of working toward equality one relationship at a time.
Find Radical Friendship in our online catalog.