Recommendations based on "K2"

Streetlamps, neon signs – an ever-present glow that has changed the natural world and adversely affected our health; Paul Bogard illuminates the problems caused by a lack of darkness.We live awash in artificial light. But night’s natural darkness has always been invaluable for our spiritual health and the health of the natural world, and every living creature suffers from its loss.Paul Bogard investigates what we mean when we talk about darkness. He travels between the intensely lit cities – from glittering Las Vegas to the gas-lit streets of Westminster – and the sites where real darkness still remains, such as the Brecon Beacons and the island of Sark. Encountering scientists, physicians, activists and writers, Bogard discusses how light is negatively affecting the natural world; how our well-being is significantly influenced by darkness or its lack; and how it’s not a matter of using light at night or not, but rather when and where, how and how much.A beautiful invocation of our constant companion, the night, which returns every day of our lives, this book reminds us of the power and mystery of the dark.

In 1991, Doug Tompkins abandoned his comfortable life in San Francisco and flew 6,500 miles south to a shack in Patagonia. Instead of the Golden Gate Bridge, Tompkins stared out the window at Volcano Michinmahuida, blanketed in snow and prowled by mountain lions. Shielded by waterfalls and wilderness, the founder of such groundbreaking companies as Esprit and The North Face suddenly regretted the corporate capitalism from which he had profited from years. As a CEO he had caused much pollution and, “made things nobody needed.” Now, he declared, it was time to reverse the damage to the planet, and maybe even himself.In A Wild Idea, award-winning journalist and bestselling author Jonathan Franklin tells the incredible true story of Douglas Tompkins, who became one of the primary founders of our modern conservation and land protection movement.Piloting his small plane, Tompkins explored the uninhabited lands of Patagonia and gaped at the singular beauty: active volcanoes, forests never logged, rivers never dammed—all so undisturbed, so exquisitely designed.Could he protect this wild beauty? For the ensuing quarter century, that dream— that obsession—became his life. Only in death did it become his legacy.

For nearly two decades, Scott Jurek has been a dominant force€”and darling€”in the grueling and growing sport of ultrarunning. In 1999, as a complete unknown, he took the lead of the Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile traverse over the old Gold Rush trails of the California Sierra Nevada. He won that race seven years in a row, setting a course record along the way. Twice he won the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile €œjaunt€ through Death Valley. He triumphed in the 153-mile Spartathlon in Greece three times. And he was one of the elite runners who traveled to Mexico to run with the Tarahumara Indians, as profiled in the runaway bestseller Born to Run. His accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary, but that he has achieved all of this on a plant-based diet makes his story all the more so.In Eat and Run, Scott Jurek opens up about his life and career€”as an elite athlete and a vegan€”and inspires runners at every level. From

Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener brings Hawaii’s epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959. As the volcanic Hawaiian Islands sprout from the ocean floor, the land remains untouched for centuries—until, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers make the perilous journey across the Pacific, flourishing in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions. Then, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrive, bringing with them a new creed and a new way of life. Based on exhaustive research and told in Michener’s immersive prose, Hawaii is the story of disparate peoples struggling to keep their identity, live in harmony, and, ultimately, join together.Praise for Hawaii“Wonderful . . . [a] mammoth epic of the islands.”—The Baltimore Sun“One novel you must not miss! A tremendous work from every point of view—thrilling, exciting, lusty, vivid, stupendous.”—Chicago Tribune“From Michener’s devotion to the islands, he has written a monumental chronicle of Hawaii, an extraordinary and fascinating novel.”—Saturday Review“Memorable . . . a superb biography of a people.”—Houston Chronicle

A true story of survival from one of America's most respected outdoorsman."The first track is the end of a string. At the far end, a being is moving; a mystery, dropping a hint about itself every so many feet, telling you more about itself until you can almost see it, even before you come to it. The mystery reveals itself slowly, track by track, giving its genealogy early to coax you in. Further on, it will tell you the intimate details of its life and work, until you know the maker of the track like a lifelong friend."In this powerful memoir, famous "Pine Barrens" tracker Tom Brown Jr. reveals how he acquired the skill that has saved dozens of lives—including his own. His story begins with the chance meeting between an ancient Apache and a New Jersey boy. It tells of an incredible apprenticeship in the Wild, learning all that is hidden from modern man. And it ends with a harrowing search in which far more than survival is at stake.

A major new talent redefines the literature of rural life.Old world met new when a shepherd in the English Lake District impulsively started a Twitter account. A routine cell phone upgrade left author James Rebanks with a pretty decent camera and a pre-loaded Twitter app--the tools to share his way of life with the world. And what began as a tentative experiment became an international phenomenon.James has worked the land for years, as did his father, and his father before him. His family has lived and farmed in the Lake District of Northern England as long as there have been written records (since 1420) and possibly much longer. And while the land itself has inspired great poets and authors we have rarely heard from the people who tend it. One Twitter account has changed all that, and now James Rebanks has broken free of the 140-character limit and produced "the book I have wanted to write my whole life." The Shepherd's Life is a memoir about growing up amidst a magical, storied landscape, of coming of age in the 1980s and 1990s among hills that seem timeless, and yet suffused with history. Broken into the four seasons, the book chronicles the author's daily experiences at work with his flock and brings alive his family and their ancient way of life, which at times can seem irreconcilable with the modern world.An astonishing original work, The Shepherd's Life is an intimate look from inside a seemingly ordinary life, one that celebrates the meaning of place, the ties of family to the land around them, and the beauty of the past. It is the untold story of the Lake District, of a people who exist and endure out of sight in the midst of the most iconic literary landscape in the world.

“A first-rate historical page turner.” —New York Times Book ReviewThe acclaimed and bestselling account of Ferdinand Magellan’s historic 60,000-mile ocean voyage.Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled with sex, violence, and amazing adventure. Now in Over the Edge of the World, prize-winning biographer and journalist Laurence Bergreen entwines a variety of candid, firsthand accounts, bringing to life this groundbreaking and majestic tale of discovery that changed both the way explorers would henceforth navigate the oceans and history itself.Now updated to include a new introduction commemorating the 500th anniversary of Magellan’s voyage.

An account of the ascent of the 21,000ft Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had achieved the summit before the first disaster struck. What happened and how they dealt with the psychological traumas that resulted is the subject of this book.

A firsthand account of the author's twelve-year quest to find the sunken luxury liner is illustrated with dozens of photographs and includes moment-by-moment accounts of the tragedy and the successful discovery expedition. Reprint."

It's December 1997 And A Man-eating Tiger Is On The Prowl Outside A Remote Village In Russia's Far East. The Tiger Isn't Just Killing People, It's Annihilating Them, And A Team Of Men And Their Dogs Must Hunt It On Foot Through The Forest In The Brutal Cold. To Their Horrified Astonishment It Emerges That The Attacks Are Not Random: The Tiger Is Engaged In A Vendetta. Injured And Starving, It Must Be Found Before It Strikes Again, And The Story Becomes A Battle For Survival Between The Two Main Characters: Yuri Trush, The Lead Tracker, And The Tiger Itself. As John Vaillant Vividly Recreates The Extraordinary Events Of That Winter, He Also Gives Us An Unforgettable Portrait Of A Spectacularly Beautiful Region Where Plants And Animals Exist That Are Found Nowhere Else On Earth, And Where The Once Great Siberian Tiger - The Largest Of Its Species, Which Can Weigh Over 600 Lbs At More Than 10 Feet Long - Ranges Daily Over Vast Territories Of Forest And Mountain, Its Numbers Diminished To A Fraction Of What They Once Were. We Meet The Native Tribes Who For Centuries Have Worshipped And Lived Alongside Tigers - Even Sharing Their Kills With Them - In A Natural Balance. We Witness The First Arrival Of Settlers, Soldiers And Hunters In The Tiger's Territory In The 19th Century And 20th Century, Many Fleeing Stalinism. And We Come To Know The Russians Of Today - Such As The Poacher Vladimir Markov - Who, Crushed By Poverty, Have Turned To Poaching For The Corrupt, High-paying Chinese Markets. Throughout We Encounter Surprising Theories Of How Humans And Tigers May Have Evolved To Coexist, How We May Have Developed As Scavengers Rather Than Hunters And How Early Homo Sapiens May Have Once Fit Seamlessly Into The Tiger's Ecosystem. Above All, We Come To Understand The Endangered Siberian Tiger, A Highly Intelligent Super-predator, And The Grave Threat It Faces As Logging And Poaching Reduce Its Habitat And Numbers - And Force It To Turn At Bay. Beautifully Written And Deeply Informative, The Tiger Is A Gripping Tale Of Man And Nature In Collision, That Leads Inexorably To A Final Showdown In A Clearing Deep In The Siberian Forest.