2013 frankfurt rights guide | island press

FALL 2013

Foreclosing the Future 9

Design for an Empathic World 10

The Nature of Urban Design 11

The Hidden Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods 12

Food, Genes, and Culture 13

Seven Modern Plagues (and How We are Causing Them) 14

About Island Press

Island Press, a nonprofit organization founded in 1984, works to provide the best ideas and information

to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex

problems. Visit us at www.islandpress.org to learn more.

Rights Contact

Rebecca Bright | [email protected] | 202.232.7933 x12

Contents

SPRING 2014

The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change 1

Sharing Water 2

Land Use and Society, Third Edition 3

Next Generation Infrastructure 4

Blue Urbanism 5

An Indomitable Beast 6

Tactical Urbanism 7

Forests in Our Changing World 8

China Bardon-Chinese Media Agency| Joanne Yang

[email protected]

Japan Tuttle Mori | Shoko Kobayashi

[email protected]

Spain/Portugal RDC Agencia Literaria | Beatriz Coll

[email protected]

Korea Duran Kim Agency | Duran Kim and Joe Moon

[email protected] | [email protected]

PubHub Literary Agency | Moonseong Lee

[email protected]

Brazil Agencia Riff | João Paulo Riff

[email protected]

International Subagents

Cover illustration by Sim Van der Ryn

FEATURED BACKLIST 15

ISLAND PRESS | Frankfurt 2013 Rights Guide

1

The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change

Yoram Bauman and Grady Klein

Publication Date:

April 2014 | 220 pages | Four-color illustrations

World Rights Available

Rights Contact:

Rebecca Bright | [email protected]

Comedian and economist Yoram Bauman and award-winning illustrator Grady Klein made the

principles of economics hilarious and accessible for students through their successful The Cartoon

Introduction to Economics books. Now, Bauman and Klein turn their pens to the most critical

environmental challenge of this century, using humor and cartoons to illuminate the latest

developments in climate change science and policy.

The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change will incorporate findings from the International Panel on

Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report, to be released in 2013, with three sections covering basic

climate science, impacts of climate change, and climate policy. In this readable guide, the IPCC’s

conclusions are conveyed through diagrams, humor, and an engaging narrative, designed to appeal to a

range of readers, from high school and introductory college students to citizen activists.

Rights to The Cartoon Introduction to Economics sold into Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China,

Indonesia, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland

Yoram Bauman, the world's first and only stand-

up economist, has over 1 million hits on You-

Tube and performs at colleges, corporations, and

comedy clubs around the world. He has a PhD in

economics from the University of Washington

and teaches part-time at UW, at Lakeside High

School in Seattle, and at Bainbridge Graduate

Institute.

Grady Klein is a cartoonist, animator, and

graphic designer. He is the co-author with Yoram

Bauman, of "The Cartoon Introduction to Eco-

nomics," Volumes One and Two; the co-author

with Alan Dabney, of "The Cartoon Introduction

to Statistics," and the creator of "The Lost Col-

ony" series of graphic novels


2

Sharing Water

Brian Richter

Publication Date:

May 2014 | 208 pages


Rights Contact:


Water scarcity is spreading and intensifying in many regions of the world, with dire consequences for

local communities, economies, and freshwater ecosystems. Current approaches tend to rely on policies

crafted at the state or national level, which on their own have proved insufficient to arrest water

scarcity. To be durable and effective, water plans must be informed by the culture, economics, and

varied needs of affected community members.

International water expert Brian Richter argues that sustainable water sharing in the twenty-first

century can only happen through open, democratic dialogue and local collective action. In Sharing

Water, Richter tells a cohesive and complete story of water scarcity: where it is happening, what is

causing it, and how it can be addressed. Through his engaging and nontechnical style, he strips away

the complexities of water management to its bare essentials, providing information and practical

examples that will empower community leaders, activists, and students to develop successful and long-

lasting water programs.

Sharing Water will provide local stakeholders with the tools and knowledge they need to take an active

role in the watershed-based planning and implementation that are essential for sustainable water

sharing in this century.

Brian Richter has been a leader in river science and conservation for more than 20 years. He is the

Director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature Conservancy, and has consulted on more than

120 river projects worldwide. He serves as a water advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations

and investment banks, and has testified before the US Congress on multiple occasions. He has published

many scientific papers on the importance of ecologically sustainable water management in international

science journals, and co-authored a book with Sandra Postel entitled Rivers for Life: Managing Water for

People and Nature.

A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability


3

Land Use and Society, Third Edition

Rutherford H. Platt

Publication Date:

May 2014 | 380 pages


Rights Contact:


From sprawling cities to patchwork farmland, human land use decisions are not carried out in a

vacuum, but are a product of complex interactions between physical, ecological, and human factors.

Law is a critical element, with a widespread impact on how societies use the land, water, and

biodiversity around them. Land Use and Society, Third Edition is a clear and compelling guide to the role

of law in shaping patterns of land use and environmental management. Originally published in 1996

and revised in 2004, this third edition has been improved by data from the 2010 U.S. Census, a

streamlined and updated table of contents, and discussion of the critical issues in land use and law

today.

Land Use and Society, Third Edition retains the historical approach of the original text while providing a

more concise and topical survey of the evolution of urban land use, from Europe in the Middle Ages

through the present day United States. Rutherford W. Platt then examines the “nuts and bolts” of land

use decision-making in the present day and analyzes key players, including private landowners, local

and national governments, and the courts. This third edition is enhanced by a discussion of the current

trends and issues in land use, from demographic shifts and social injustice in cities to the growing

influence of grassroots initiatives in land use management.

Land Use and Society, Third Edition is a vital resource for any student seeking to understand the

intersection between law, politics, and the natural world. While Platt examines specific rules, doctrines,

and practices from an American context, an understanding of the role of law in shaping land use

decisions will prove vital for students, policymakers, and land use managers around the world.

Rutherford H. Platt is Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Massachusetts Amherst

and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Cities, City University of New York (CUNY). He holds

a B.A. in Political Science from Yale and both a J.D. (law) and Ph.D. (geography) from the University of

Chicago. He specializes in public policy concerning urban land and water resources. His books include

Land Use and Society, The Humane Metropolis, and Disasters and Democracy. He was also lead editor of The

Ecological City.

Geography, Law, and Public Policy


4

Next Generation Infrastructure

Hilary Brown

Publication Date:

June 2014 | 202 pages


Rights Contact:


The 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis-St. Paul quickly became symbolic of the debilitated interstate

highway system—and of what many critics see as America’s disinvestment in its infrastructure. The

extreme vulnerability of single-purpose, aging infrastructure was highlighted once again when

Hurricane Sandy churned its way across the northeast United States. Inundating New York City’s vital

arteries, floodwaters overwhelmed tunnels and sewers; closed bridges; shut down mass transit;

curtailed gas supplies; and destroyed streets, buildings, and whole neighborhoods.

How can our complex, interdependent utilities support an urbanizing world, subject to carbon

constraints and the impacts of climate change? How might these critical networks be made more

efficient, less environmentally damaging, and more resilient? Such questions are at the heart of the

approaches and initiatives explored in Next Generation Infrastructure. The book highlights hopeful

examples from around the world, ranging from the Mount Poso cogeneration plant in California to

urban rainwater harvesting in Seoul, South Korea, to the multi-purpose Marina Barrage project in

Singapore. Through these projects, the author explores how we can optimize the facilities and assets of

public services in order to chart a course for global sustainability.

In their conception and design, the innovative projects highlighted in Next Generation Infrastructure

encourage us to envision infrastructure within a larger economic, environmental, and social context, and

to share resources across systems, reducing costs and extending benefits. Through this systems

approach to lifeline services, we can begin to move toward a more resilient future.

Hillary Brown is principal of New Civic Works, where she specializes in green design for infrastructure,

public buildings, universities, and schools. While at the City of New York's Department of Design and

Construction, Hillary founded the Office of Sustainable Design and was managing editor and co-author

of the city's internationally recognized High Performance Building Guidelines. She has also co-authored

High Performance Infrastructure: Best Practices for the Public Right-Of-Way and the U.S. Green Building

Council's State and Local Green Building Toolkit.

Principles for Post-Industrial Public Works


5

Blue Urbanism

Timothy Beatley

Publication Date:



Rights Contact:


What would it mean to live in cities designed to foster feelings of connectedness to the ocean? As coastal

cities begin planning for climate change and rising sea levels, Tim Beatley sees opportunity for a

complete rethinking of the relationship between urban development and the ocean. Modern society is

more dependent upon ocean resources than most people realize—from oil and gas extraction to wind

energy, to the vast amounts of fish harvested annually in all parts of the world, to medicinal compounds

derived from sea creatures, and more. In Blue Urbanism, Beatley argues that, given all we have gained

from the sea, city policies, plans, and daily urban life should acknowledge and support a healthy ocean

environment.

Beatley finds evidence of a changing urban ethic in cities around the world: a marine biodiversity

census in Singapore, decreasing support for shark-finning in Hong Kong, “water plazas” in Rotterdam,

a new protected area along the rocky shore of Wellington, New Zealand, “bluebelt” planning in

Manhattan and Laguna Beach, California, a visionary aquarium in Lisbon, a new waterfront in Toronto,

and plans to make Oslo a “fjiord city” are just a few of his exciting examples. While no one city “has it

all figured out,” Beatley’s chapters, which range from resource extraction and renewable energy

processes, to urban design, land use issues, and creating a culture of “ocean literacy” offer a framework

for incorporating the benefits we receive from healthy oceans into account in our city plans, practices,

and policies.

Equal parts inspiration and practical advice for urban planners, ocean activists, and policymakers, Blue

Urbanism is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at the challenges and great potential for urban

areas to integrate ocean health into their policy and planning.

Timothy Beatley is Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities in the Department of Urban and

Environmental Planning, in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught

for more than twenty years. He is the author of many books, including Green Cities of Europe, Resilient

Cities, Green Urbanism, and Green Urbanism Down Under, all published by Island Press.

Exploring Connections Between Cities and Oceans


6

An Indomitable Beast

Alan Rabinowitz

Publication Date:



Rights Contact:


When the world’s first jaguar preserve was established in the 1980s, the future for the big cat looked

bright—yet as the twenty-first century began, jaguar populations were in decline worldwide with

scientists at a loss for how to help. Armed with decades of his own research, big-cat expert Alan

Rabinowitz came to a surprising realization: the world’s jaguars are all one species, linked

geographically by a massive corridor from northern Mexico to Argentina. Preserving one tract of forest

won’t save the jaguar, he realized; instead, conservationists need to focus on protecting linked habitat

on a much bigger scale.

In this follow-up to his classic book Jaguar, Rabinowitz details the history of the jaguar, from its

prehistoric origins and early interactions with humans to the present century, when cultural changes

and deforestation have threatened its survival. In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the

Jaguar, Rabinowitz offers fascinating accounts from the field, along with maps, tables, and a color insert

of spectacular photography to bring new research to life for scientists, anthropologists, and animal

lovers alike. In his personal and engaging style, Rabinowitz outlines a new conservation paradigm, in

which the human landscape and natural movement of a species must become critical components of

efforts to save them.

In An Indomitable Beast, Rabinowitz takes readers on a compelling journey into jaguar country as he

works to understand the decline of the big cat and establish an ambitious protected corridor throughout

its range. This cutting-edge approach represents our best hope for protecting the jaguar—and other

threatened species—in the decades to come.

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz is one of the world’s leading big cat experts, and has been called ‘The Indiana

Jones of Wildlife Conservation’ by TIME Magazine. Dr. Rabinowitz graduated from the University of

Tennessee in 1981 with an M.S. in zoology and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and is currently the CEO of

Panthera, a nonprofit organization devoted to saving the world’s wild cat species. Prior to co-founding

Panthera, Rabinowitz served as the Executive Director of the Science and Exploration Division for the

Wildlife Conservation Society for almost 30 years. He has authored over one hundred scientific and

popular articles and six books, including Jaguar, Chasing the Dragon’s Tail, Beyond the Last Village, and,

most recently, Life in the Valley of Death.

The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar


7

Tactical Urbanism

Mike Lydon

Publication Date:

August 2014 | 256 pages | Four-color illustrations


Rights Contact:


In the twenty-first century, cities worldwide must respond to a growing and diverse population, ever-

shifting economic conditions, and a changing climate. Short-term, community-based projects—from pop

-up parks to open streets days—have become a powerful and adaptable tool of urban activists, planners,

and policy-makers seeking to create lasting improvements in their cities and beyond. The essence of the

Tactical Urbanism movement, these quick, often low-cost projects offer a way to gain public and

government support for new projects, inspiring residents and civic leaders to experience urban spaces in

a new way.

Tactical Urbanism, written by Mike Lydon, one of the founders and best-known representatives of the

movement, promises to be the foundational guide for urban transformation. Lydon begins with an

in-depth history of the Tactical Urbanism movement and its place among other social, political, and

urban planning trends. A detailed set of case studies, from open streets in Madison, Wisconsin to pop-

up cafes and parklets in San Francisco, show the breadth and scalability of tactical urbanism

interventions. Finally, Lydon provides a detailed toolkit for conceiving, planning, and carrying out

projects, including how to adapt them based on local needs and challenges.

Tactical Urbanism will inspire and empower a new generation of engaged citizens, urban designers, land

use planners, architects, and policymakers to become key actors in the transformation of their

communities.

Mike Lydon is a Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative. An internationally recognized planner, he

was a writer of The Smart Growth Manual and the creator and primary author of the reports “The Open

Streets Project” and “Tactical Urbanism” Vol.1 and Vol.2. He is a founding member of the New

England Chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), a Board Member for CNU New York,

and a steering committee member of the Next Generation of New Urbanists, and speaks internationally

on smart growth, livable cities, tactical urbanism, and other topics.

Before launching The Street Plans Collaborative in 2009, Lydon worked for Smart Growth Vermont, the

Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition, and Ann Arbor’s GetDowntown Program. From 2006 - 2009 he worked

for Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company (DPZ), an international leader in the practice of smart growth

planning, design, and research techniques.


8

Forests in Our Changing World

Joe Landsberg and Richard Waring

Publication Date:

August 2014 | 304 pages


Rights Contact:


Joe Landsberg is a former chief of the CSIRO Division of Forest Research. He worked for NASA in its

Terrestrial Ecology Program in the early 1990s, and with Richard Waring developed a landmark

computer model for CSIRO during the late 1990s used to assess the influence of climate on the growth

and yield of forests.

Richard Waring is Professor Emeritus of Forest Science at Oregon State University. In his long career, he

has held guest and visiting professorships at leading institutions around the world, and has served as

administrator of a NASA program exploring land-atmosphere interactions and as a long-term

consultant to NASA on forest modeling projects.

Scientists tell us that climate change is upon us and the physical world is changing quickly with serious

implications for biodiversity and for human well-being. Because they cover vast regions of the globe,

forests can serve as a first line of defense against the worst effects of climate change, but only if we can

keep them healthy and resilient.

Forests in Our Changing World tells us how to do that. Authors Joe Landsberg and Richard Waring pre-

sent an overview of forests around the world, describing basic precepts of forest ecology and physiology

and how forests will change as earth’s climate warms. Drawing on years of research and teaching, they

discuss the values and uses of both natural forests and plantation-based forests. In easy-to-understand

terms, they describe the ecosystem services forests provide, such as clean water and wildlife habitat,

present economic concepts important to the management and policy decisions that affect forests, and

introduce the use of growth-and-yield models and remote-sensing technology that provide the data be-

hind those decisions.

Forests in Our Changing World offers a uniquely integrated treatment of biophysical processes underlying

forest growth and distribution. It is a useful guide for undergraduates as well as managers, administra-

tors, and policy makers in environmental organizations and government agencies looking for a clear

overview of basic forest processes and realistic options that protect the health of forests while realizing

their value as wood-producing systems that humans depend on.

New Principles for Conservation and Management


9

Foreclosing the Future

Bruce Rich

The World Bank and the Politics of Environmental Destruction

Publication Date:

September 2013 | 344 pages


Rights Contact:


World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has vowed that his institution will fight poverty and climate

change, a claim that World Bank presidents have made for two decades. But if worldwide protests and

reams of damning internal reports are any indication, it is doing just the opposite. By funding

development projects and programs that warm the planet and destroy critical natural resources on

which the poor depend, the Bank has been hurting the very people it claims to serve. What explains this

blatant contradiction?

If anyone has the answer, it is arguably Bruce Rich—a lawyer and expert in public international finance

who has for the last three decades studied the Bank’s institutional contortions, the real-world

consequences of its lending, and the politics of the global environmental crisis. What emerges from the

bureaucratic dust is a disturbing and gripping story of corruption, larger-than-life personalities,

perverse incentives, and institutional amnesia. The World Bank is the Vatican of development finance,

and its dysfunction plays out as a reflection of the political hypocrisies and failures of governance of its

188 member countries.

Foreclosing the Future shows how the Bank’s failure to address the challenges of the 21st Century has

implications for everyone in an increasingly interdependent world. Rich depicts how the World Bank is

a microcosm of global political and economic trends—powerful forces that threaten both environmental

and social ruin. Rich shows how the Bank has reinforced these forces, undercutting the most idealistic

attempts at alleviating poverty and sustaining the environment, and damaging the lives of millions.

Readers will see global politics on an increasingly crowded planet as they never have before—and come

to understand the changes necessary if the World Bank is ever to achieve its mission.

Bruce Rich is a lawyer who has worked for three decades with national environmental organizations.

He is an expert on pubic international finance and the environment. He received the United Nations

Global 500 Award for environmental achievement for his research and advocacy concerning multilateral

development banks. He is the author of Mortgaging the Earth and To Uphold the World, as well as articles

in publications including The Financial Times, The Ecologist, and Environmental Forum, the policy journal

of the Environmental Law Institute.


10

Design for an Empathic World

Sim Van Der Ryn

Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self

Publication Date:

October 2013 | 160 pages | Four-color illustrations


Rights Contact:


“[Van der Ryn] effectively, often poetically, conveys his message… he offers detailed outlines of how

designers should approach architectural sites, working with the landscape, and accommodating natural

light and water availability for maximum energy efficiency.”

— Publishers Weekly

“A tour de force that leaves the reader with a deeper sense of the possibilities for beauty in our lives

and sustainable living on our planet.”

— Robert B. Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, U of California, Berkeley

Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is exploding. The US green building

market has expanded dramatically since 2008 and is projected to double in size by 2015. But green-

building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn says, “greening” our buildings is not enough. He advocates for

“empathic design,” in which a designer not only works in concert with nature, but with an

understanding of and empathy for the end user and for one’s self. It is not just one of these connections,

but all three that are necessary to design for a future that is more humane, equitable, and resilient.

Sim’s lifelong focus has been in shifting the paradigm in architecture and design. Instead of thinking

about design primarily in relation to the infrastructure we live in and with—everything from buildings

to wireless routing—he advocates for a focus on the people who use and are affected by this

infrastructure. Basic design must include a real understanding of human ecology or end-user

preferences. Understanding one’s motivations and spirituality, Sim believes, is critical to designing with

empathy for natural and human communities.

Sim Van der Ryn is President of The Ecological Design Collaborative, a design and consulting practice

providing comprehensive services though the non-profit Ecological Design Institute established in 1969.

He has been at the forefront of integrating ecological principles into the built environment, creating

multi-scale solutions driven by nature’s intelligence for over 40 years. Sim has served as California’s first

energy-conscious State Architect, authored seven influential books, including Ecological Design, and won

numerous honors and awards for his leadership and innovation in architecture and planning.


11

The Nature of Urban Design

Alexandros Washburn

A New York City Perspective on Resilience

Publication Date:

October 2013 | 256 pages | Four-color illustrations


Rights Contact:


“Alex Washburn shows planning in New York as it is really done… Urban leaders around the world

will learn much from this insightful book about designing for greater resiliency to climate change.”

— Enrique Peñalosa, President of the Board, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy of

New York; Former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia

“Washburn synthesizes the top-down views of Robert Moses with the more organic and democratic

attitude of Jane Jacobs...effectively illustrating his points with examples drawn from around the world.

Sensibly organized and lavishly illustrated, the book will interest all urbanites, and especially planners.”

— Publishers Weekly

The global shift to an urban population comes with an uncomfortable corollary. People who live in cities

as they are currently designed produce more greenhouse gasses than their non-urban counterparts—as

a global average about three times more. But people in cities, particularly in coastal cities, are waking up

to their vulnerability as well as to their responsibility. This newly acknowledged responsibility is

reflected in current trends in urban design, in newly conceived projects, plans and standards that try to

make cities more resilient in the way they are designed, built and inhabited. To truly prosper, cities need

to accommodate a growing number of citizens in dignity, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and still be

worth living in.

In this visually rich book Alexandros Washburn redefines urban design by looking at the process and

products within the context of rapid urbanization and climate change. The Nature of Urban Design uses

real-life examples, drawing heavily from the New York experience, to show how to design beautiful

urban spaces that achieve multiple goals and objectives—such as greater resilience, livability and

equity—while addressing the political and financial challenges that can accelerate or slow

implementation. With examples ranging from the High Line to the post-Sandy recovery of Red Hook,

Brooklyn, The Nature of Urban Design shows how a well-designed, well-built city can be the most

efficient, equitable, safest, and enriching place on earth.

Alex Washburn is the Chief Urban Designer of the New York City Department of City Planning and

former Public Works Advisor and chief architect for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He lives in Red

Hook, Brooklyn.


12

The Hidden Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods

Harrison Fraker

Lessons from Low-Carbon Communities

Publication Date:

August 2013 | 240 pages | Four-color illustrations


Rights Contact:


How do you achieve effective low-carbon design beyond the building level? How do you create a

community that is both livable and sustainable? More importantly, how do you know if you have

succeeded? Harrison Fraker goes beyond abstract principles to provide a clear, in-depth evaluation of

four first generation low-carbon neighborhoods in Europe, and shows how those lessons can be applied

to the U.S. Using concrete performance data to gauge successes and failures, he presents a holistic model

based on best practices.

The four case studies are: Bo01 and Hammarby in Sweden, and Kronsberg and Vauban in Germany.

Each was built deliberately to conserve resources: all are mixed-used, contain at least 1,000 units, and

have aggressive goals for energy and water efficiency, recycling, and waste treatment.

For each case study, Fraker explores the community's development process and goals and objectives as

they relate to urban form, transportation, green space, energy, water and waste systems, and a social

agenda. For each model, he looks at overall performance and lessons learned.

Later chapters compare the different strategies employed by the case-study communities and develop a

comprehensive model of sustainability, looking specifically at how these lessons can be employed in the

United States, with a focus on retrofitting existing communities. This whole-systems approach promises

not only a smaller carbon footprint, but an enriched form of urban living.

The Hidden Potential of Sustainable Neighborhoods will be especially useful for urban designers, architects,

landscape architects, land use planners, local policymakers and NGOs, citizen activists, students of

urban design, planning, architecture, and landscape architecture.

Harrison S. Fraker is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, and former Dean of the School of

Architecture, at the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Berkeley, California.


13

Food, Genes, and Culture

Gary P. Nabhan

Eating Right for Your Origins

Publication Date:

September 2013 | 244 pages


Rights Contact:


Vegan, low fat, low carb, slow carb: Every diet seems to promise a one-size-fits-all solution to health.

But they ignore the diversity of human genes and how they interact with what we eat.

In Food, Genes, and Culture, renowned ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan shows why the perfect diet for one

person could be disastrous for another. If your ancestors were herders in Northern Europe, milk might

well provide you with important nutrients, whereas if you’re Native American, you have a higher

likelihood of lactose intolerance. If your roots lie in the Greek islands, the acclaimed Mediterranean diet

might save your heart; if not, all that olive oil could just give you stomach cramps.

In this revised edition of Why Some Like it Hot, Nabhan traces food traditions around the world, from

Bali to Mexico, uncovering the links between ancestry and individual responses to food. The

implications go well beyond personal taste. Today’s widespread mismatch between diet and genes is

leading to serious health conditions, including a dramatic growth over the last 50 years in auto-immune

and inflammatory diseases.

Gary Paul Nabhan holds the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable Food Systems at the

University of Arizona Southwest Center, and is the author of books including Growing Food in a Hotter,

Drier Land; Where Our Food Comes From; and Renewing America’s Food Traditions.

Praise for the first edition:

"Mixing the compulsively readable insights of a well-researched biography with the painstaking details

of a scientific treatise, Nabhan offers a historical and contemporary framework for determining the

viability of sustainable agriculture."

— Booklist

"A marked critique of the worldwide simplification of agricultural systems. It pins its hopes on local,

traditional agriculture and is sceptical of top-down approaches to increasing food production, such as

calls for another 'green revolution'."

— Nature

First edition rights sold:

Italian (Codice Edizioni), Spanish (Fondo de Cultura Económica), Croatian (Naklada Jesenski i Turk)


14

Seven Modern Plagues (and How We are Causing Them)

Mark J. Walters

Publication Date:

January 2014 | 250 pages


Rights Contact:


Every time we sneeze, there seems to be a new form of flu: bird flu, swine flu, Spanish flu, Hong Kong

flu, H5N1, and most recently, H5N7. While these diseases appear to emerge from thin air, in fact,

human activity is driving them. And the problem is not just flu, but a series of rapidly evolving and

dangerous modern plagues.

According to veterinarian and journalist Mark Walters, we are contributing to—if not overtly causing—

some of the scariest epidemics of our time. Through human stories and cutting-edge science, Walters

explores the origins of seven diseases: Mad Cow Disease, HIV/AIDS, Salmonella DT104, Lyme Disease,

Hantavirus, West Nile, and new strains of flu. He shows that they originate from manipulation of the

environment, from emitting carbon and clear-cutting forests to feeding naturally herbivorous cows

“recycled animal protein.”

In this revised edition of Walters’ successful Six Modern Plagues, readers will both learn how today’s

plagues first developed and discover patterns that could help prevent the diseases of tomorrow.

Mark Jerome Walters is a veterinarian, a journalist, and a professor at the University of South Florida

St. Petersburg. He is the author of five books, including A Shadow and a Song and Seeking the Sacred

Raven.

Praise for the first edition:

"Dr. Walters tells the tale of each disease like a detective story . . . . [The book] draws compelling, even

disturbing, connections between disease and forces as implacable as population growth, deforestation,

and modern lifestyles that consume fuel, meat, and acreage at an ever-growing pace." — The New York Times

"Refreshingly, this latest book explores the underlying shifts in human ecology and behavior that have

potentiated recent epidemics . . .Walters achieves a balance between environmental science, clinical

medicine, human interest, and social comment."

— Tony McMichael, Nature

First edition rights sold:

Korean (Book World), Spanish (Fondo de Cultura Económica), Japanese (Vient)


15

Featured Backlist

The Kingdom of Rarities Eric Dinerstein

Published Jan. 2013 | World Rights Available

“Dinerstein...provides nature lovers with an armchair tour of the world, focusing on rare species from

New Guinea to Hawaii. In clear, concise prose he discusses the circumstances responsible for rarity like

evolution, habitat loss, and war…highly recommended.” — Publishers Weekly

The Kingdom of Rarities presents a new context for understanding rarity and its implications both for our

understanding of how the natural world works, and for what it can teach us about protecting

biodiversity during a time of large-scale environmental change. Using cutting-edge science from remote

outposts around the world, award-winning author Eric Dinerstein animates the key questions that

scientists are asking themselves about why some species are so abundant and others not.

Tibet Wild George Schaller

Published Sept. 2012 | Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified), Audio

“Schaller is a guiding light in global wildlife conservation. In this richly textured chronicle, he combines

a provocative apologia with unforgettable tales of his encounters with gorillas, tigers, pandas, snow

leopards, and jaguars… Schaller’s forthright, enlightening book of discovery reseeds our appreciation

for the wonders of the planet...” — Booklist

Throughout his celebrated career, Schaller has spent more time in Tibet than in any other part of the

world. Tibet Wild is Schaller’s account of three decades of exploration in the most remote stretches of

Tibet: the wide rangelands of the Chang Tang and the canyons of the southeastern forests. In Tibet,

what began as a purely scientific endeavor became Schaller’s mission: to work with local communities,

regional leaders, and national governments to protect the unique ecological richness and culture of the

Tibetan Plateau.

Corporation 2020 Pavan Sukhdev

Published Sept. 2012 | Rights Sold: Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, German, Reprint (Indian

subcontinent), Audio

There is an emerging consensus that all is not well with today’s market-centric economic model. Around

$1 trillion a year in perverse subsidies and barriers to success for alternative products maintain

“business-as-usual” while obscuring their associated environmental and societal costs. The result is the

broken system that marks today’s corporations.

In Corporation 2020, Pavan Sukhdev lays out a sweeping new vision for tomorrow’s corporation: one

that will increase human wellbeing and social equity, decrease environmental risks, and still generate

profit. Through a combination of internal changes in corporate governance and external regulations and

policies, Corporation 2020 can become a reality in the next decade—and it must, argues Sukhdev, if we

are to avert catastrophic social imbalance and ecological harm.


16

Featured Backlist

Principles of Ecological Landscape Design Travis Beck

Published Feb. 2013 | Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified)

Today, there is a growing demand for designed landscapes—from public parks to backyards—to be not

only beautiful and functional, but also sustainable. Sustainability means more than just saving energy

and resources. It requires integrating the landscapes we design with ecological systems. With Principles

of Ecological Landscape Design, Travis Beck gives professionals and students the first book to translate the

science of ecology into design practice.

This groundbreaking work explains key ecological concepts and their application to the design and

management of sustainable landscapes. It covers biogeography and plant selection, assembling plant

communities, competition and coexistence, designing ecosystems, biodiversity and stability, disturbance

and succession, landscape ecology, and global change. Beck draws on real world cases where

professionals have put ecological principles to use in the built landscape.

Ecological Restoration, Second Edition Andre F. Clewell and James Aronson

Published Jan. 2013 | World Rights Available

The field of ecological restoration is a rapidly growing discipline that encompasses a wide range of

activities and brings together practitioners and theoreticians from a variety of backgrounds and

perspectives, ranging from volunteer backyard restorationists to highly trained academic scientists and

professional consultants.

Ecological Restoration offers for the first time a unified vision of ecological restoration as a field of study,

one that clearly states the discipline’s precepts and emphasizes issues of importance to those involved at

all levels. In a lively, personal fashion, the authors discuss scientific and practical aspects of the field as

well as the human needs and values that motivate practitioners.

Green Cities of Europe Timothy Beatley

Published May 2012 | Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified)

"This is essential reading for all those concerned with urban sustainability."

— International Making Cities Livable

Green Cities of Europe draws on the world's best examples of sustainability to show how other cities can

become greener and more livable. Timothy Beatley brings together leading experts from Paris,

Freiburg, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Venice, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and London to illustrate groundbreaking

practices in urban planning. These cities are creating greenways, improving public transit, conserving

energy, instituting "green audits" for government, and strengthening their city centers.


17

Featured Backlist

The Shape of Green Lance Hosey

Published Jun. 2012 | Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified)

"Hosey's holistic investigation of the way we perceive and react to our surroundings is fascinating. His

underlying argument—that green living doesn't have to be punishing, expensive, or boring—is a

refreshing take on an old debate that fans of Malcolm Gladwell and other big thinkers will find

informative and illuminating." —Publisher’s Weekly

Does going green change the face of design or only its content? The first book to outline principles for

the aesthetics of sustainable design, The Shape of Green argues that beauty is inherent to sustainability,

for how things look and feel is as important as how they’re made. Drawing from a wealth of scientific

research, Hosey demonstrates that form and image can enhance conservation, comfort, and community

at every scale of design, from products to buildings to cities.

Resilience Thinking Brian Walker and David Salt

Published Aug. 2006 | Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified)

"Resilience thinking" embraces human and natural systems as complex entities continually adapting

through cycles of change, and seeks to understand the qualities of a system that must be maintained or

enhanced in order to achieve sustainability. It explains why greater efficiency by itself cannot solve

resource problems and offers a constructive alternative that opens up options rather than closing them

down.

In Resilience Thinking, scientist Brian Walker and science writer David Salt present an accessible

introduction to the emerging paradigm of resilience. Rather than complicated theory, the book offers a

conceptual overview along with five case studies of resilience thinking in the real world. It is an

engaging and important work for anyone interested in managing risk in a complex world.

Resilience Practice Brian Walker and David Salt

Published Aug. 2012 | World Rights Available

"Walker and Salt provide a practical guide written in clear, simple language, with a rich endowment of

examples. This is the most important book of the year for environmental managers and scientists."

— Stephen R. Carpenter, Director and Professor, Center for Limnology, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison

In Resilience Practice, authors Brian Walker and David Salt take the notion of resilience one step further,

applying resilience thinking to real-world situations and exploring how systems can be managed to

promote and sustain resilience. Resilience Practice will help people with an interest in the “coping

capacity” of systems—from farms and catchments to regions and nations—to better understand how

resilience thinking can be put into practice.


18

Featured Backlist

Naturalist E.O. Wilson

Published April 2006 | Rights Sold: Korean, Chinese (complex), Reprint (South Asia), Audio

Edward O. Wilson – winner of two Pulitzer prizes, eloquent champion of biodiversity – is arguably one

of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His career represents both a blueprint and a

challenge to those who seek to explore the frontiers of science. In Naturalist, Wilson describes for the

first time both his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science he has helped define.

As the narrative of Wilson's life unfolds, the reader is treated to an inside look at the origin and

development of ideas that guide today's biological research. Theories that are now widely accepted in

the scientific world were once untested hypotheses emerging from one man's studies. The story of

Wilson's life provides fascinating insights into the making of a scientist, and a valuable look at some of

the most thought-provoking ideas of our time.

The Dominant Animal Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich

Published Jun. 2008 | Rights Sold: Korean, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil)

In humanity’s more than 100,000 year history, we have evolved from vulnerable creatures clawing

sustenance from Earth to a sophisticated global society manipulating every inch of it. In short, we have

become the dominant animal. Why, then, are we creating a world that threatens our own species? What

can we do to change the current trajectory toward more climate change, increased famine, and epidemic

disease?

Renowned Stanford scientists Paul R. Ehrlich and Anne H. Ehrlich believe that intelligently addressing

those questions depends on a clear understanding of how we evolved and how and why we’re

changing the planet in ways that darken our descendants’ future. The Dominant Animal arms readers

with that knowledge, tracing the interplay between environmental change and genetic and cultural

evolution since the dawn of humanity. In lucid and engaging prose, they describe how Homo sapiens

adapted to their surroundings, eventually developing the vibrant cultures, vast scientific knowledge,

and technological wizardry we know today.

In Search of Nature E.O. Wilson

Published July 1996 | Rights Sold: Korean, Turkish, Audio

Perhaps more than any other scientist of our century, Edward O. Wilson has scrutinized animals in their

natural settings, tweezing out the dynamics of their social organization, their relationship with their

environments, and their behavior, not only for what it tells us about the animals themselves, but for

what it can tell us about human nature and our own behavior. In Search of Nature presents for the first

time a collection of his seminal short writings, addressing in brief and readable form the themes that

have engaged Wilson throughout his career.


19

Featured Backlist

The Unnatural History of the Sea Callum M. Roberts

Published July 2007 | Rights Sold: Korean, Reprint (United Kingdom)

“His impressive book, replete with quotations from the reports of early explorers, merchants and

travelers describing seas teeming with life that's unimaginable today, is a vivid reminder of what we've

lost and a plea to save what is left and help the sea recover some of its earlier bounty.”

— Publisher’s Weekly

In The Unnatural History of the Sea, Callum M. Roberts explains that the oceans’ bounty didn’t disappear

overnight. While today’s fishing industry is ruthlessly efficient, intense exploitation began not in the

modern era, or even with the dawn of industrialization, but in the eleventh century in medieval Europe.

Roberts explores this long and colorful history of commercial fishing, taking readers around the world

and through the centuries to witness the transformation of the seas.

Where Our Food Comes From Gary Paul Nabhan

Published September 2008 | Rights Sold: Korean, French

"Equal parts travelog, biography and botanical history, Nabhan breathes life into the exploits of Russia’s

botanical adventurer.” — Science News

The future of our food depends on tiny seeds in orchards and fields the world over. In 1943, one of the

first to recognize this fact, the great botanist Nikolay Vavilov, lay dying of starvation in a Soviet prison.

But in the years before Stalin jailed him, Vavilov had traveled over five continents, collecting seeds in an

effort to outline agricultural diversity and guard against hunger. Now, another remarkable scientist and

storyteller has retraced his footsteps. In Where Our Food Comes From, Gary Paul Nabhan weaves together

Vavilov’s extraordinary story with his own expeditions. Retracing Vavilov’s path from the Colombian

Amazon to the glaciers in Tajikistan, he draws a vibrant portrait of changes that have occurred since

Vavilov’s time and why they matter. In telling Vavilov’s story, Where Our Food Comes From brings to life

the intricate relationships among culture, politics, the land, and the future of the world’s food.

Ecological Economics, Second Edition Herman E. Daly and Joshua Farley

Published October 2010| Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified), Japanese

This introductory-level textbook describes a relatively new “transdiscipline” that incorporates insights

from the biological, physical, and social sciences. It provides students with a foundation in traditional

economic thought, but places that foundation within a framework that embraces the linkages among

economic growth, environmental degradation, and social inequity. The second edition of Ecological

Economics provides a clear overview of a field of study that continues to grow in importance. It remains

the only stand-alone textbook that offers a complete explanation of theory and practice in the discipline.

2013 frankfurt rights guide | island press

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