After naturalist John Muir ascended the tallest mountain in the continental United States, he wrote, “Well-seasoned limbs will enjoy the climb of 9,000 feet required by this direct route. But soft, succulent people should go the mule... Read More

Whether a lavish wreath is decorating a door for the holidays, or a simple bouquet is used as the centerpiece for a gathering of friends, flowers nearly always evoke emotion in those who see and smell them. With wreaths, there’s a... Read More

Most conservation efforts appeal to ethics or emotion. It’s not often the argument is made to save an animal or a plant because it’s tasty, but that is exactly the consumer/gut driven conservation message of the Renewing America’s... Read More

The comedian George Carlin has a classic routine in which he compares the gentle, pastoral game of baseball with football, which he describes in martial terms. “In football, the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field... Read More

Goddesses have always formed a pervasive and important aspect of Indian Buddhism, but until recently, they have received little in-depth attention from academics. The author corrects this, asserting: “Although Buddhism has not... Read More

In his compelling, but often plodding, biography of Leonidas Polk (1806—1864), the author, assistant professor of history at Georgia Southwestern State University, offers a portrait of a man whose life combined the nobility of the... Read More

Provocative Performer. In 1919, thirteen-year-old Freda Josephine McDonald ran away from home to become a Vaudeville player. When she left the country several years later, she would become one of the most famous entertainers of the early... Read More

There is a special class of book, the Book That Changes Lives. Published in 1948, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, bible of conservationists, ecologists, and nature lovers, is one such life-changer, a book as significant to... Read More