The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist

The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: Graphic Arts Books

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 088240900X

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Back to the city, or back to nature? Seattle author David Williams shows us how we can get the best of both. Botany and bugs, geology and geese, and creeks and crows; living in a major city doesn't have to separate us from the natural world. Stepping away from a guidebook format, Williams presents the reader with a series of essays and maps that weave personal musings, bits of humor, natural history observations, and scientific data into a multi-textured perspective of life in the city--descriptions of his journeys as a naturalist in an urban landscape. Williams addresses questions that an observant person asks in an urban environment. What did Seattle look like before Europeans got here? How does the area's geologic past affect us? Why have some animals thrived and other languished? How are we affected by the species with whom we share the urban environment and how do we affect them? This book captures all of the distinctive flavors of the Emerald City, urban and natural.


Book Synopsis The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist by : David B. Williams

Download or read book The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist written by David B. Williams and published by Graphic Arts Books. This book was released on 2012-11-15 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Back to the city, or back to nature? Seattle author David Williams shows us how we can get the best of both. Botany and bugs, geology and geese, and creeks and crows; living in a major city doesn't have to separate us from the natural world. Stepping away from a guidebook format, Williams presents the reader with a series of essays and maps that weave personal musings, bits of humor, natural history observations, and scientific data into a multi-textured perspective of life in the city--descriptions of his journeys as a naturalist in an urban landscape. Williams addresses questions that an observant person asks in an urban environment. What did Seattle look like before Europeans got here? How does the area's geologic past affect us? Why have some animals thrived and other languished? How are we affected by the species with whom we share the urban environment and how do we affect them? This book captures all of the distinctive flavors of the Emerald City, urban and natural.

Seattle Walks

Seattle Walks

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2017-03-15

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 0295741295

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Seattle is often listed as one of the most walkable cities in the United States. With its beautiful scenery, miles of non-motorized trails, and year-round access, Seattle is an ideal place to explore on foot. In Seattle Walks, David B. Williams weaves together the history, natural history, and architecture of Seattle to paint a complex, nuanced, and fascinating story. He shows us Seattle in a new light and gives us an appreciation of how the city has changed over time, how the past has influenced the present, and how nature is all around us—even in our urban landscape. These walks vary in length and topography and cover both well-known and surprising parts of the city. While most are loops, there are a few one-way adventures with an easy return via public transportation. Ranging along trails and sidewalks, the walks lead to panoramic views, intimate hideaways, architectural gems, and beautiful greenways. With Williams as your knowledgeable and entertaining guide, encounter a new way to experience Seattle. A Michael J. Repass Book


Book Synopsis Seattle Walks by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Seattle Walks written by David B. Williams and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2017-03-15 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seattle is often listed as one of the most walkable cities in the United States. With its beautiful scenery, miles of non-motorized trails, and year-round access, Seattle is an ideal place to explore on foot. In Seattle Walks, David B. Williams weaves together the history, natural history, and architecture of Seattle to paint a complex, nuanced, and fascinating story. He shows us Seattle in a new light and gives us an appreciation of how the city has changed over time, how the past has influenced the present, and how nature is all around us—even in our urban landscape. These walks vary in length and topography and cover both well-known and surprising parts of the city. While most are loops, there are a few one-way adventures with an easy return via public transportation. Ranging along trails and sidewalks, the walks lead to panoramic views, intimate hideaways, architectural gems, and beautiful greenways. With Williams as your knowledgeable and entertaining guide, encounter a new way to experience Seattle. A Michael J. Repass Book

Homewaters

Homewaters

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2021-04-24

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0295748613

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Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health now depend on a better understanding of the region’s ecological complexities. Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on, and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists, and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet, and today’s ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how the Sound’s ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change. Witty, graceful, and deeply informed, Homewaters weaves history and science into a fascinating and hopeful narrative, one that will introduce newcomers to the astonishing life that inhabits the Sound and offers longtime residents new insight into and appreciation of the waters they call home. A Michael J. Repass Book


Book Synopsis Homewaters by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Homewaters written by David B. Williams and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2021-04-24 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health now depend on a better understanding of the region’s ecological complexities. Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on, and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists, and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet, and today’s ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how the Sound’s ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change. Witty, graceful, and deeply informed, Homewaters weaves history and science into a fascinating and hopeful narrative, one that will introduce newcomers to the astonishing life that inhabits the Sound and offers longtime residents new insight into and appreciation of the waters they call home. A Michael J. Repass Book

Stories in Stone

Stories in Stone

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: University of Washington Press

Published: 2019-08-19

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0295746475

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Most people do not think to observe geology from the sidewalks of a major city, but all David B. Williams has to do is look at building stone in any urban center to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. In Stories in Stone, he takes you on explorations to find 3.5-billion-year-old rock that looks like swirled pink-and-black taffy, a gas station made of petrified wood, and a Florida fort that has withstood three hundred years of attacks and hurricanes, despite being made of a stone that has the consistency of a granola bar. Williams also weaves in the cultural history of stone, explaining why a white fossil-rich limestone from Indiana became the only building stone used in all fifty states; how in 1825, the construction of the Bunker Hill Monument led to America’s first commercial railroad; and why when the same kind of marble used by Michelangelo clad a Chicago skyscraper it warped so much after nineteen years that all 44,000 panels of it had to be replaced. This love letter to building stone brings to life the geology you can see in the structures of every city.


Book Synopsis Stories in Stone by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Stories in Stone written by David B. Williams and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2019-08-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most people do not think to observe geology from the sidewalks of a major city, but all David B. Williams has to do is look at building stone in any urban center to find a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. In Stories in Stone, he takes you on explorations to find 3.5-billion-year-old rock that looks like swirled pink-and-black taffy, a gas station made of petrified wood, and a Florida fort that has withstood three hundred years of attacks and hurricanes, despite being made of a stone that has the consistency of a granola bar. Williams also weaves in the cultural history of stone, explaining why a white fossil-rich limestone from Indiana became the only building stone used in all fifty states; how in 1825, the construction of the Bunker Hill Monument led to America’s first commercial railroad; and why when the same kind of marble used by Michelangelo clad a Chicago skyscraper it warped so much after nineteen years that all 44,000 panels of it had to be replaced. This love letter to building stone brings to life the geology you can see in the structures of every city.

The Street-smart Naturalist

The Street-smart Naturalist

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis The Street-smart Naturalist by : David B. Williams

Download or read book The Street-smart Naturalist written by David B. Williams and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Cairns

Cairns

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: Mountaineers Books

Published: 2012-08-27

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1594856826

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Download the first section from Cairns now. (Provide us with a little information and we'll send the free section directly to your inbox!) Praise for author David B. Williams: “Makes stones sing” --Kirkus Reviews “Williams’s lively mixture of hard science and piquant lore is sure to fire the readers’ curiosity” --Publisher’s Weekly *Part history, part folklore, part geology * Features charming black-and-white illustrations From meadow trails to airy mountaintops and wide open desert, cairns -- those seemingly random stacks of rocks -- are surprisingly rich in stories and meaning. For thousands of years cairns have been used by people to connect to the landscape and communicate with others, and are often an essential guide to travelers. Cairns, manmade rock piles can indicate a trail, mark a grave, serve as an altar or shrine, reveal property boundaries or sacred hunting grounds, and even predict astronomical activity. The Inuit have more than two dozen terms to describe cairns and their uses! In Cairns: Messengers in Stone, geologist and acclaimed nature writer David B. Williams (Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology) explores the history of cairns from the moors of Scotland to the peaks of the Himalaya -- where they come from, what they mean, why they’re used, how to make cairns, and more. Cairns are so much more than a random pile of rocks, knowing how to make cairns can drastically alter the meaning of the formation. Hikers, climbers, travelers, gardeners, and nature buffs alike will delight in this quirky, captivating collection of stories about cairns.


Book Synopsis Cairns by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Cairns written by David B. Williams and published by Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2012-08-27 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Download the first section from Cairns now. (Provide us with a little information and we'll send the free section directly to your inbox!) Praise for author David B. Williams: “Makes stones sing” --Kirkus Reviews “Williams’s lively mixture of hard science and piquant lore is sure to fire the readers’ curiosity” --Publisher’s Weekly *Part history, part folklore, part geology * Features charming black-and-white illustrations From meadow trails to airy mountaintops and wide open desert, cairns -- those seemingly random stacks of rocks -- are surprisingly rich in stories and meaning. For thousands of years cairns have been used by people to connect to the landscape and communicate with others, and are often an essential guide to travelers. Cairns, manmade rock piles can indicate a trail, mark a grave, serve as an altar or shrine, reveal property boundaries or sacred hunting grounds, and even predict astronomical activity. The Inuit have more than two dozen terms to describe cairns and their uses! In Cairns: Messengers in Stone, geologist and acclaimed nature writer David B. Williams (Stories in Stone: Travels through Urban Geology) explores the history of cairns from the moors of Scotland to the peaks of the Himalaya -- where they come from, what they mean, why they’re used, how to make cairns, and more. Cairns are so much more than a random pile of rocks, knowing how to make cairns can drastically alter the meaning of the formation. Hikers, climbers, travelers, gardeners, and nature buffs alike will delight in this quirky, captivating collection of stories about cairns.

Nature Obscura

Nature Obscura

Author: Kelly Brenner

Publisher: Mountaineers Books

Published: 2020-02-26

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1680512080

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With wonder and a sense of humor, Nature Obscura author Kelly Brenner aims to help us rediscover our connection to the natural world that is just outside our front door--we just need to know where to look. Through explorations of a rich and varied urban landscape, Brenner reveals the complex micro-habitats and surprising nature found in the middle of a city. In her hometown of Seattle, which has plowed down hills, cut through the land to connect fresh- and saltwater, and paved over much of the rest, she exposes a diverse range of strange and unknown creatures. From shore to wetland, forest to neighborhood park, and graveyard to backyard, Brenner uncovers how our land alterations have impacted nature, for good and bad, through the wildlife and plants that live alongside us, often unseen. These stories meld together, in the same way our ecosystems, species, and human history are interconnected across the urban environment.


Book Synopsis Nature Obscura by : Kelly Brenner

Download or read book Nature Obscura written by Kelly Brenner and published by Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2020-02-26 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With wonder and a sense of humor, Nature Obscura author Kelly Brenner aims to help us rediscover our connection to the natural world that is just outside our front door--we just need to know where to look. Through explorations of a rich and varied urban landscape, Brenner reveals the complex micro-habitats and surprising nature found in the middle of a city. In her hometown of Seattle, which has plowed down hills, cut through the land to connect fresh- and saltwater, and paved over much of the rest, she exposes a diverse range of strange and unknown creatures. From shore to wetland, forest to neighborhood park, and graveyard to backyard, Brenner uncovers how our land alterations have impacted nature, for good and bad, through the wildlife and plants that live alongside us, often unseen. These stories meld together, in the same way our ecosystems, species, and human history are interconnected across the urban environment.

Waterway

Waterway

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher: Historylink

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781933245430

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Why does a city surrounded by water need another waterway? Find out what drove Seattle's civic leaders to pursue the dream of a Lake Washington Ship Canal for more than sixty years and what role it has played in the region's development over the past century. Historians Jennifer Ott and David B. Williams, author of Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography, explore how industry, transportation, and the very character of the city and surrounding region developed in response to the economic and environmental changes brought by Seattle's canal and locks.


Book Synopsis Waterway by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Waterway written by David B. Williams and published by Historylink. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why does a city surrounded by water need another waterway? Find out what drove Seattle's civic leaders to pursue the dream of a Lake Washington Ship Canal for more than sixty years and what role it has played in the region's development over the past century. Historians Jennifer Ott and David B. Williams, author of Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography, explore how industry, transportation, and the very character of the city and surrounding region developed in response to the economic and environmental changes brought by Seattle's canal and locks.

Nature Noir

Nature Noir

Author: Jordan Fisher Smith

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 9780618711956

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Smith chronicles his 14 years as a park ranger on a huge tract of government land in the Sierras, illuminating some startling truths about America's wild lands.


Book Synopsis Nature Noir by : Jordan Fisher Smith

Download or read book Nature Noir written by Jordan Fisher Smith and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2006 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Smith chronicles his 14 years as a park ranger on a huge tract of government land in the Sierras, illuminating some startling truths about America's wild lands.

Seattle Walks

Seattle Walks

Author: David B. Williams

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780295741284

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Seattle Walks is an idiosyncratic walking guide to Seattle combining natural history, human history, and David Williams's unique store of knowledge as a life-long and very curious resident of Seattle. The walks offer surprises for those who think they know Seattle well and will be very appealing to Seattle newcomers and tourists seeking an active way to get to know the city.


Book Synopsis Seattle Walks by : David B. Williams

Download or read book Seattle Walks written by David B. Williams and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seattle Walks is an idiosyncratic walking guide to Seattle combining natural history, human history, and David Williams's unique store of knowledge as a life-long and very curious resident of Seattle. The walks offer surprises for those who think they know Seattle well and will be very appealing to Seattle newcomers and tourists seeking an active way to get to know the city.