Garden Essays

Humans have long turned to gardens—both real and imaginary—for sanctuary from the frenzy and tumult that surrounds them. Those gardens may be as far away from everyday reality as Gilgamesh’s garden of the gods or as near as our own backyard, but in their very conception and the marks they bear of human care and cultivation, gardens stand as restorative, nourishing, necessary havens.

Kate Humble has a knack for sharing her own journey towards a more pleasing and purposeful life in a way that inspires listeners, enables them to reassess their own lives and helps them achieve their personal goals. Having encouraged listeners to reconnect with nature in Thinking on My Feet and simplify their lifestyles in A Year of Living Simply, she turns now to reimagining the ideal home.

Angela Douglas shares the joys and curiosities of a decidedly ordinary patch of green in upstate New York cultivated through the art of “strategic neglect"―sometimes taking a hand to manage wildlife, more often letting nature go its own way. From the first flowers of spring and the fireflies of high summer to a hoarding chipmunk in the fall and cardinals singing in the winter, Douglas shows us the magic of welcoming unexpected plant life and animal life into one’s backyard.

In the era of wolf-whistle politics, women are sick of being degraded. When Sarah Hanson-Young called out the abuse she received from male parliamentarians as slut-shaming, she sparked a national conversation about the rampant sexism in politics. Placing the responsibility on women to defend themselves is the same cheap trick as asking, why didn't she just fight back? After witnessing verbal abuse levelled at female parliamentarians and public figures, Hanson-Young is convinced that now is the time to call it out and not retreat.

Paula Deitz has delighted readers for more than 30 years with her vivid descriptions of both famous and hidden landscapes. Her writings allow readers and listeners to share in the experience of her extensive travels, from the waterways of Britain's Castle Howard to the Japanese gardens of Kyoto, and home again to New York City's Central Park.

The life of a veterinarian is challenging: keeping up with advances in medical care, making difficult decisions about people's beloved companions, and, in Dr. Doug Mader's case, navigating the social unrest in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. The Vet at Noah's Ark follows Dr. Mader and his staff over the course of a year at Noah's Ark Veterinary Hospital, an inner-city LA area veterinary hospital where Dr. Mader treats not only dogs and cats, but also emus, skunks, snakes, foxes, monkeys, and a host of other exotic animals

Mark Kurlansky, winner of the James Beard Award for Excellence in Food Writing, leads us on a mouthwatering culinary tour around the world and through history and culture from the fifth century B.C. to the present day. This wonderful collection contains essays by Plato on the art of cooking, Pablo Neruda on french fries, and many other writers on the passions of cuisine.

A mouthwatering testament to the healing power of food, My Place at the Table is a moving coming-of-age story of how a gay man emerges from a wounding childhood, discovers himself, and finds love. Published here for the first time is Lobrano’s “little black book,” an insider’s guide to his thirty all-time-favorite Paris restaurants.

This story is actually a daily account of a naturalist's years of observing and writing about zoological and insect life on her estate. It takes place in the late 1890s at The Grove, Stanmore, in England, Mrs. Brightwen's very beautiful and secluded estate. Here, there were woods and shrubberies, a lake, and a large garden that offered a field for Mrs. Brightwen's zoological and insect observations. It was not, however, until her 60th year that she began to be a writer.

Each essay illuminates the life of a single species and its relationship to humans, and how these species can help us understand birds in general. A dedicated birdwatcher and teacher, Gedney finds wonder not only in the speed and glistening beauty of the Anna's hummingbird, but also in her nest building. He acclaims the turkey vulture's and red-tailed hawk's roles in our ecosystem, and he venerates the inimitable California scrub jay's work planting acorns.

Homer, the world-renowned Blind Wonder Cat, returns this holiday season with an ins-purr-ational tale filled with holiday cheer! Fifteen years earlier, doctors had warned that Homer - a tiny, sightless kitten - was unlikely to survive and probably wouldn't have much of a life even if he did. Miraculously and against all the odds, Homer grew into a feline dynamo who scaled seven-foot bookcases, saved his human mom's life when he chased a late-night burglar from their apartment, and rose to global fame-paving the way for other special-needs animals once considered "unadoptable".

There’s life...and then...there’s holiday life...and then...there’s holiday life when you’ve got time to think about it after retirement. And for this retired guy, that means it’s all about his dogs, his childhood memories and the memories he’s created throughout the years with his family. Welcome to the first holiday essay collection by Everett Kunzelman, the second book in his series - Humorous Essays on Life After Retirement.

住まい、健康、ふるまい、人間関係……人生を心地よく整えるたった一つのものさし。何が心地よく、何が美しいことなのか。

Perros de presa adiestrados por gente sin escrúpulos, un chucho mexicano tuerto y digno, el fila brasileño que no era un asesino, Jemmy y Boxer, que cruzaron el Valle de la Muerte con la Brigada Ligera, el perro flaco y bastardo de la batalla de Rocroi....