Today's (2/10/2012) New Book Releases on Travel
Marrakech,The High Atlas & Essaouira: Full colour regional travel guide to Marrakech, The High Atlas & Essaouira (Footprint - Destination Guides) by - 288 pages
Stroll through 'The Red City' and discover a medieval world full of flavoursome food stalls, vibrant souks, acrobats, musicians and snake-charmers: it's easy to see why Marrakech is one of North Africa's best-loved destinations. Head south to the dramatic High Atlas Mountains which offer a veritable feast of experiences, from skiing and trekking to sightseeing or simple R&R. Enjoy the slower pace of life and the sleepy coastal town of Essaouira, where you can wander through the whitewashed streets or find yourself swept along one of its many beautiful beaches. Discover this region for yourself with Footprint's brand new full-colour guide.
Almost French by - Audio CD
After backpacking her way around Europe journalist Sarah Turnbull is ready to embark on one last adventure before heading home to Sydney. A chance meeting with a charming Frenchman in Bucharest changes her travel plans forever. Acting on impulse, she agrees to visit Fredric in Paris for a week. Put a very French Frenchman together with a strong-willed Australian girl and the result is some spectacular – and often hilarious – cultural clashes. Language is a minefield of misunderstanding and the simple act of buying a baguette is fraught with social danger. But as she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from the sophisticated cafes and haute couture fashion houses to the picture postcard French countryside, little by little Sarah falls under its spell: passionate, mysterious, infuriating, and charged with that French specialty – seduction. And it becomes her home. "An engaging, endearing view of the people and places of France." — Publishers Weekly
Cave Life of Oklahoma and Arkansas: Exploration and Conservation of Subterranean Biodiversity (Animal Natural History Series) by - 248 pages
Speleobiology, the study of cave life, is a relatively new science. The diversity of species that live in caves, springs, and aquifers is just beginning to be documented, and much of the underground world has yet to be explored. The surveys of cave life reported in this book represent an important step forward in understanding the biodiversity of caves in Oklahoma and Arkansas.The project whose research led to the publication of Cave Life of Oklahoma and Arkansas began in the 1970s as a study of Ozark cavefish and expanded to encompass two states and involve a number of research topics and collaborators. The authors and their team donned snorkeling gear, cave suits, and climbing harnesses and descended into caves in Oklahoma and Arkansas to study, inventory, and photograph this hidden world.The result is a comprehensive checklist of the region’s cave fauna, complete with descriptions of these rare animals’ distribution and ecological niches. The cast of characters ranges from familiar and charismatic species, such as cave crayfish and gray bats, to rare and bizarre fauna, such as blind salamanders and cave dung beetles. More than 175 full-color illustrations include stunning, never-before-seen photographs (from the cameras of Dave Bunnel, Tim Ernst, and Danté B. Fenolio, among others)of cave animals—even some newly discovered species. The authors also address conservation of subterranean biodiversity, discussing not only threats to cave life such as invasive species, resource extraction, and habitat loss, but also current methods of preservation and protection, including legislation, land acquisition, people management, and cave gates. The book’s appendices provide a comprehensive cave bibliography and checklists of subterranean animals for each cave.Speleology is critical to science. Subterranean organisms are key indicators of groundwater quality, and their adaptations can lead to advances in medicine. Cave Life of Oklahoma and Arkansas advances our knowledge of, and can thus help us save, subterranean ecosystems—among the world’s last frontiers.