My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir

My First Summer in the Sierra

by John Muir

In the summer of 1869, John Muir, a young Scottish immigrant, joined a crew of shepherds in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. The diary he kept while tending sheep formed the heart of this book and eventually lured thousands of Americans to visit Yosemite country.

First published in 1911, My First Summer in the Sierra incorporates the lyrical accounts and sketches he produced during his four-month stay in the Yosemite River Valley and the High Sierra. His record tracks that memorable experience, describing in picturesque terms the majestic vistas, flora and fauna, and other breathtaking natural wonders of the area.

Today Muir is recognized as one of the most important and influential naturalists and nature writers in America. This book, the most popular of the author’s works, will delight environmentalists and nature lovers with its exuberant observations.

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Desert Solitaire

by Edward Abbey

When Desert Solitaire was first published in 1968, it became the focus of a nationwide cult. Rude and sensitive. Thought-provoking and mystical. Angry and loving. Both Abbey and this book are all of these and more. Here, the legendary author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Abbey’s Road and many other critically acclaimed books vividly captures the essence of his life during three seasons as a park ranger in southeastern Utah. This is a rare view of a quest to experience nature in its purest form—the silence, the struggle, the overwhelming beauty. But this is also the gripping, anguished cry of a man of character who challenges the growing exploitation of the wilderness by oil and mining interests, as well as by the tourist industry.

Abbey’s observations and challenges remain as relevant now as the day he wrote them. Today, Desert Solitaire asks if any of our incalculable natural treasures can be saved before the bulldozers strike again.

Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America’s National Parks by Jim Burnett

Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America’s National Parks by Jim Burnett

Hey Ranger!: True Tales of Humor & Misadventure from America's National Parks

by Jim Burnett

In his thirty years with the National Park Service, Jim Burnett has seen it all: boat ramp mishaps that have sent cars into the water; skunks in the outhouse and bears at the dumpster; visitors looking for the bridge over the Grand Canyon.

Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford

Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford

Walking the Amazon: 860 Days. The Impossible Task. The Incredible Journey

by Ed Stafford

In April 2008, Ed Stafford began his attempt to become the first man ever to walk the entire length of the River Amazon. Nearly two and a half years later, he had crossed the whole of South America to reach the mouth of the colossal river.

With danger a constant companion—outwitting alligators, jaguars, pit vipers and electric eels, not to mention overcoming the hurdles of injuries and relentless tropical storms—Ed’s journey demanded extreme physical and mental strength. Often warned by natives that he would die, Ed even found himself pursued by machete-wielding tribesmen and detained for murder.

However, Ed’s journey was an adventure with a purpose: to help raise people’s awareness of environmental issues. Ed had unprecedented access to indigenous communities and witnessed the devastating effects of deforestation first-hand. His story of disappearing tribes and loss of habitats concerns us all.

Ultimately though, Amazon is an account of a world-first expedition that takes readers on the most daring journey along the world’s greatest river and through the most bio-diverse habitat on Earth.

Rick Hansen by Rick Hansen and Jim Taylor

Rick Hansen by Rick Hansen and Jim Taylor

Rick Hansen: Man in Motion

by Rick Hansen & Jim Taylor

The true story of Rick Hansen’s journey around the world in a wheelchair powered by nothing but the strength in his arms and the determination in his heart. He was an athlete facing a challenge and hoping that along the way he could raise awareness of the potential of people with disabilities, and raise money to fund spinal cord research, rehabilitation and awareness. If someone had told him that, two years later, he’d be a national hero and a symbol of hope for people everywhere, he’d have laughed. As it turned out, they underestimated… A motivational account of the success of Rick’s Man in Motion World Tour, the value of leadership, teamwork, and the strength of human spirit.

Assisted by John Stockton

Assisted by John Stockton

Assisted: An Autobiography

by John Stockton, with Kerry L. Pickett

A fast, gritty, durable player who could read a basketball floor as well as anyone who ever played the game, John Stockton left the NBA after nineteen seasons with the Utah Jazz, holding a massive assist record, including the career mark (15,806). He also twice led the league in steals—with a career total of 3,265—and retired as the NBA’s all-time leader. And during Stockton’s career, the Jazz never missed the playoffs.

Coach Frank Layden said, “Nobody thought that he was going to be this good. Nobody. But the thing was, nobody measured his heart.”

John’s autobiography, Assisted, pulls back the curtain on his very personal life to show fans a thoughtful recounting of the people, places, and events that have connected with John along his path of extraordinary success. This book clearly illustrates the importance of his family, his faith, and his unparalleled competitive spirit.

For the Love of the Game by Michael Jordan

For the Love of the Game by Michael Jordan

For the Love of the Game: My Story

by Michael Jordan

For 13 brilliant seasons Michael Jordan danced the dance of greatness across hardwood floors of basketball arenas from New York to Los Angeles to Barcelona and Paris. With a warrior’s heart and an artist’s grace, Jordan long ago transcended the sport to become one of the 20th century’s global icons.

On the court, his almost mythic flair for the spectacular prompted former Los Angeles Laker superstar Magic Johnson to say simply, “There’s Michael, then there’s all the rest of us.”
Off the court, Jordan’s ability to alter markets and drive the business of his marketing partners is unprecedented.

Through it all, Jordan showed the world that greatness, true greatness, comes from the inside out. He remains perhaps the greatest practice player in the history of sports, his desire to improve upon his own example legendary. When critics questioned his all-around ability, he became the game’s most dominant defensive player at his position. When teams decided to close down the lane and eliminate drives to the basket, he became a deadly jump shooter. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson had the most successfully teams of the 1980s but never won more than two consecutive championships. The Bulls won three straight—twice.

In For the Love of the Game, Jordan takes us through the wonder of his career on the court and away from the game. From the dream that preceded the game-winning shot against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA Finals to the methodical dissection of the Utah Jazz prior to his game-winning shot in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, Jordan pulls back the curtain on one of the most remarkable lives this century.

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

The Cloister Walk

by Kathleen Norris

Why would a married woman with a thoroughly Protestant background and often more doubt than faith be drawn to the ancient practice of monasticism, to a community of celibate men whose days are centered around a rigid schedule of prayer, work, and scripture? This is the question that poet Kathleen Norris asks us as, somewhat to her own surprise, she found herself on two extended residencies at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota. Part record of her time among the Benedictines, part meditation on various aspects of monastic life, The Cloister Walk demonstrates, from the rare perspective of someone who is both an insider and outsider, how immersion in the cloistered world—its liturgy, its ritual, its sense of community—can impart meaning to everyday events and deepen our secular lives. In this stirring and lyrical work, the monastery, often considered archaic or otherworldly, becomes immediate, accessible, and relevant to us, no matter what our faith may be.

Love Does by Bob Goff

Love Does by Bob Goff

Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

by Bob Goff

As a college student he spent 16 days in the Pacific Ocean with five guys and a crate of canned meat. As a father he took his kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state. He made friends in Uganda, and they liked him so much he became the Ugandan consul. He pursued his wife for three years before she agreed to date him. His grades weren’t good enough to get into law school, so he sat on a bench outside the Dean’s office for seven days until they finally let him enroll.

Bob Goff has become something of a legend, and his friends consider him the world’s best-kept secret. Those same friends have long insisted he write a book. What follows are paradigm shifts, musings, and stories from one of the world’s most delightfully engaging and winsome people. What fuels his impact? Love. But it’s not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings. Bob’s love takes action. Bob believes Love Does.

When Love Does, life gets interesting. Each day turns into a hilarious, whimsical, meaningful chance that makes faith simple and real. Each chapter is a story that forms a book, a life. And this is one life you don’t want to miss.

Light and fun, unique and profound, the lessons drawn from Bob’s life and attitude just might inspire you to be secretly incredible, too.

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