Island Press E-ssentials
In 2012, Island Press launched the E-ssentials Program, a series of electronic-only works, to complement our book program. We hope that these timely examinations of important issues—short enough to be read in a couple of hours, yet long enough to illuminate complex topics—will inspire readers to help sustain a healthy planet.
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Now Available:
Urbanism Without Effort
By Charles R. Wolfe
In this beautifully illustrated E-ssential, Charles Wolfe explores the idea that to create vibrant, sustainable urban areas, we must first understand "what happens naturally when people congregate in cities -- innate, unprompted interactions of urban dwellers with each other and their surrounding urban and physical environment.” Wolfe draws upon his professional experiences as a land use and environmental lawyer, providing compelling vignettes from everyday life to illustrate examples of these spontaneous and thriving urban communities.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Discovering Big Cat Country
On the Trail of Tigers and Snow Leopards
By Eric Dinerstein
In Discovering Big Cat Country: On the Trail of Tigers and Snow Leopards, Dinerstein tells the story of two formative journeys from his early days as a biologist: two and a half years as a young Peace Corps Volunteer in the jungles of Nepal and later, as a newly-minted Ph.D., an arduous trek to search for snow leopards in the Kashmir region of India.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Simple Pleasures
Thoughts on Food, Friendship, and Life
By Stephanie Mills
In Simple Pleasures: Thoughts on Food, Friendship, and Life we highlight two chapters from Stephanie Mill’s reflection on the pleasures, as well as the virtues and difficulties, of a perhaps simpler than average North American life. It is a thoughtful paean to living, like Thoreau, a deliberate life. Mill’s writing is beautifully crafted, fluid, inspiring, and enlightening, and these chapters encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your own life.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Thinking Like a Mountain
An Ecological Perspective on Earth
By R. Edward Grumbine
In Thinking Like a Mountain, we have excerpted a clear and inviting introduction to the science of conservation biology from Ed Grumbine's previous book, Ghost Bears. Grumbine offers a succinct and evocative description of why we should all care about biodiversity, protected lands, connectivity, and extinction rates, and the advantages to be gained by attempting to 'think like a mountain', as so eloquently phrased by Aldo Leopold.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Trash Backwards
Innovating Our Way to Zero Waste
By David Naylor
Trash Backwards: Innovating Our Way to Zero Waste examines the various kinds of trash Americans produce in staggering quantities, and profiles a range of innovative processes, people, and companies who are thinking creatively about how to not just reduce pressure on landfills, but redefine what’s possible in the realm of recycling.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Bedside Essays for Lovers (of Cities)
By Daniel Solomon
In this provocative collection of essays, renowned architect Daniel Solomon delves into the complexities of what makes a city vibrant. However fond you are of your city, or however much you feel it needs improvement, this short collection of essays offers an enticing vision of the future. All of our cities have a past worth examining, a richness of experience that can shape the future in wonderful, surprising ways. Solomon’s prose is thought-provoking and inspiring, well worth keeping close by wherever you do your reading—be it your bedside, couch, a park, or on the metro.
Available at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
Making Transit Fun!
How to entice motorists from their cars (and onto their feet, a bike, or bus)
By Darrin Nordahl
Read Chapter 1 or Download Press Kit
Why do people in Stockholm prefer to take the stairs instead of the escalator? How do carmakers convince us to buy environmentally damaging, wallet-draining machines? It's called the fun theory. What Darrin Nordahl illustrates in this delightful book is that transit can be just as inviting, exciting, and seductive as the automobile, if designed with passenger experience in mind.
Purchase at these retailers:
Apple | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google | Sony | Kobo
