This book brings together nearly every aspect of grassland research in the American Southwest and is written to appeal to both academics and the general public. It refutes conventional myths about some causes of grassland change, tests hypotheses in restoration ecology, and offers new perspectives on the recovery of ecosystems free from livestock grazing. It is a book that every naturalist or ecologist should read."—Conrad Bahre, author of A Legacy of Change "I expected another nature book. What I found was, to my surprise, a love story. Carl and Jane Bock visited the Research Ranch in the early 1970s and fell in love--with the Sonoita Plains, the plants and animals there, and the people who called it home. Like all good love stories, this one is full of passion and joy, excitement and disappointment, and sadness and humor. . . . With their successful blend of storytelling and scientific reporting, the Bocks share the most intimate details of their love affair and make the reader curious to learn more about this little-known land."—H. Ronald Pulliam, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia "Jane and Carl Bock write precisely as well as lovingly of the dynamics of the distinctive grasslands near the U.S./Mexico border in Arizona. They also bring 25 years of first-rate science to bear on their topic. Their seasoned view of ecological and perceptual changes in this community are unique and will go a long way toward healing and restoring the remaining fragments of this biome in southeastern Arizona."—Gary Paul Nabhan, author of Cultures of Habitat
Far to the south of Arizona’s sprawling metropolises, a rolling savanna of grass, oak, and mesquite rises above the surrounding deserts. The Sonoita Plain is a basin of a thousand square miles bracketed by mountains, a land once the domain of cowboys that is now more and more the focus of exurban development. These southwestern grasslands are both typical of and distinct from those of the Great Plains—similarly shaped by drought, grazing, and fire, but with a different flora and fauna, and the product of a different human history. The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch is a tract of 8,000 acres on the Sonoita Plain that was established in 1968 by the Appleton family and that is now part of the sanctuary system of the National Audubon Society. To all appearances, it is an ordinary piece of land, but for the last 35 years it has been treated in an extraordinary way—by leaving it alone. No grazing to influence grass production. No dam building to hold back flash floods. No pest control. No fire-fighting. By employing such non-action, might we gain a glimpse of what this land was like hundreds, even thousands, of years ago? Through essays and photographs focusing on the Sanctuary and surrounding area, this book reveals the complex ecology and unique aesthetics of its grasslands and savannas. Carl and Jane Bock and Stephen Strom share a passion for the remarkable beauty found here, and in their book they describe its environment, biodiversity, and human history. People have dominated the world’s grasslands and savannas for so long that today we have no clear idea what these lands might be like without us. By understanding the lessons of the Sonoita Plain, we might gain such insight—and, more important, discover approaches to protecting the very things that attract us to such lands in the first place.
Opening Windows / True Tales from the Mad, Mad, Mad World of Opera / Lois Marshall / John Arpin / Elmer Iseler / Jan Rubes / Music Makers / There's Music in These Walls / In Their Own Words / Emma Albani / Opera Viva / MacMillan on Music
Opening Windows / True Tales from the Mad, Mad, Mad World of Opera / Lois Marshall / John Arpin / Elmer Iseler / Jan Rubes / Music Makers / There's Music in These Walls / In Their Own Words / Emma Albani / Opera Viva / MacMillan on Music
This special twelve-book bundle is a classical and choral music lover’s delight! Canada’s rich history and culture in the classical music arts is celebrated here, both in the form of in-depth biographies and autobiographies (Lois Marshall, Lotfi Mansouri, Elmer Iseler, Emma Albani and more), but also in honour of musical places (There’s Music in These Walls, a history of the Royal Conservatory of Music; In Their Own Words, a celebration of Canada’s choirs; and Opera Viva, a history of the Canadian Opera Company). Canada plays an important role in the promotion and performance of art music, and you can learn all about it in these fine books. Includes Opening Windows True Tales from the Mad, Mad, Mad World of Opera Lois Marshall John Arpin Elmer Iseler Jan Rubes Music Makers There’s Music in These Walls In Their Own Words Emma Albani Opera Viva MacMillan on Music
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