Product Description
Photographs and accompanying essays chronicle a voyage of ecological discovery through Maryland's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Is it still possible to make a voyage of discovery here in Maryland, the nation's fifth most densely settled state?The Great Marsh: An Intimate Journey into a Chesapeake Wetland David W. Harp's vivid photography and Tom Horton's eloquent prose produce a compelling portrait of one such journey in an intriguing and endangered habitat.

Into this remarkable territory—whose shrinking dimensions frighten every naturalist and ecologist—Harp and Horton embarked on a canoe trip exploring, documenting, and photographing the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County.This volume, at its core, is the story of a single crossing of the Blackwater's length, east to west.Separate "sidebar" essays discuss how the marsh functions as a refuge for migrating butterflies, the wetlands sustain a lonely trapper, and the bogs yield archeological treasures—remnants of American Indian hunting forays and colonial boat building—to careful investigation.

The edges of the Chesapeake Bay offer Americans some of their loveliest (and most sensitive) wetlands.The fertile waters and soggy vegetation provide a home to ducks, geese,eagles, and dozens of other species of birds; muskrats, squirrels, foxes; and of course insect varieties almost too numerous to count.The environmental importance of the marshes lies in their filtering pollutants, retarding erosion, and helping to maintain a natural balance among the critters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A journey without the bugbites!
I have always been curious about the Chesapeake Wetlands.They are so beautiful and mysterious. The Great Marsh took me on a wonderful tour.I have a new appreciation for the ecological importance of the Chesapeake Wetlands, and for the potential danger of attempting to navigate them as a novice. This is a great coffee table book as well.The photos are beautiful.

A sad, slanted view of a lovely habitat...
Many exquisite photos grace this volume, as well as some interesting facts. However, the excessive references (both in photos and text) to trapping, fishing, and hunting frequently intrude upon what could otherwise have been an enjoyable and informative coffee-table-type introduction to the marsh habitat.Those who love the marsh for its beauty and for non-violent enjoyment of its wildlife might want to look for a more wildlife-friendly book. The graphic descriptions of skinning animals are especially offensive and unnecessary. ... Read more

Product Description

Completely revised and updated, Treatment Wetlands, Second Edition is still the most comprehensive resource available for the planning, design, and operation of wetland treatment systems. The book addresses the design, construction, and operation of wetlands for water pollution control. It presents the best current procedures for sizing these systems, and describing the intrinsic processes that combine to quantify performance.

The Second Edition covers:

• New methods based on the latest research
• Wastewater characterization and regulatory framework analyses leading to detailed design and economics
• State-of-the-art procedures for analyzing hydraulics, hydrology, substrates and wetlands biogeochemistry
• Definition of performance expectations for traditional pollutants such as solids, oxygen demand, nutrients and pathogens, as well as for metals and a wide variety of individual organic and inorganic chemicals
• Discussion of methods of configuration, construction, and vegetation establishment and startup considerations
• Ancillary benefits of human use and wildlife habitat
• Specific examples of numerous applications
• Extensive reference base of current information
  

The book provides a complete reference that includes: detailed information on wetland ecology, design for consistent performance, construction guidance and operational control through effective monitoring. Case histories of operational wetland treatment systems illustrate the variety of design approaches presented allowing you to tailor them to the needs of your wetlands treatment projects. The sheer amount of information found in Treatment Wetlands, Second Edition makes it the resource you will turn to again and again.

Customer Reviews (4)

Treatment Wetlands - Second Edition
Salve mi chiamo Rosario e ho acquistato Treatment Wetlands per una ricerca sui sistemi di fitodepurazione. Ho usato il libro per la mia tesi (facoltà di Agraria) e lo trovato sicuramente "più che completo". Il libro è composto da poco più di 1000 pagine in formato A4 (quando lo visto mi è preso un colpo, lo avevo immaginato più piccolo)e l'ho ricevuto in circa 10 giorni (anche se Amazon considera come ipotetica data di arrivo i 30 giorni successivi l'acquisto). Un mio docente l'ho aveva definito "il testo sacro della fitodepurazione", aveva ragione!

Very Thorough
A very very thorough review of all things treatment wetlands.Those searching for help as to what to DO (whether in design or measurement) may find themselves overwhelmed with details.With the ability to select vital information out of this book, it becomes a one-stop-shop for all things wetland to this point.

Treatment Wetlands
This text is a very comprehensive book on how to design wetlands for a variety of pollutants. Very Thorough.

Comprehensive Reference
An outstanding volume.Extrememly well organized and comprehensive.Aimed at serious practitioner or professional engineer needing quantitative methods and process understanding.This is more than an engineering design manual - a thorough extremely well organized treatment of treatment wetlands.Restoration scientists and practitioners using simple "permanent pools" in stormwater wetlands will benefit from the wetland science and process engineering organized here into the best current reference available. ... Read more

Product Description
A spectacular tour of the world's largest wetland.

The Pantanal covers 81,000 square miles in the middle of South America, extending over parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.

About half the size of California and 20 times the size of the Everglades, the Pantanal flood plain is the largest wetland network on Earth.

Pantanal reveals the abundant wildlife and beauty of this remarkable eco-system, home to some of the most spectacular concentrations of flora and fauna on the planet.

The text explains the Pantanal's ecology, its people, plants and animals, presented in five chapters:
- The Pantaneiro: People of the Pantanal
- Wetlands
- Grasslands
- Forests of the Pantanal
- Caiman: the comeback crocodile.

The book also examines the impact of deforestation, overfishing and overhunting in the Pantanal and the efforts by conservationists to protect this magnificent region for future generations.

Pantanal is a superbly photographed tour of one of the most memorable regions on the planet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pantanal
I live in Venezuela and I am planning to go to the Pantanal in Brasil, this book is perfect for anyone interested in doing Ecoturism in Pantanal, it is complete with information on the animals you can see in Pantanal.

Splendid photography
Pantanal - just one word that makes you itch to see for yourself the wonders of this magical wetland in the heart of Brazil! Dozens of caimans lurking in the current, mouths agape; a big jaguar comes stalking through the understory at the shoreline; giant otters appear out of thin air right next to the boat; a tapir crosses the lagoon in marvelous light; a group of hyacinth macaws gathers on a fence of a fazenda, and in the savanna a young giant anteater clings cutely to his mother's fur - wildlife photographers' dreams, subjects everyone exploring the Pantanal with a camera longs for.
Theo Allofs got all these images - thanks to his patience, photographic excellence and his cooperation with Conservation International (CI), opening doors to subjects of some of the most beautiful farms in the area.
Large pictures, great colors and fine printing - impressive, even at a first glance. A closer look reveals that among some 150 pictures there is no weak or even mediocre one! A photographic gourmet-piece and yet, even more: the publisher and the CI writers found an elegant and well balanced way of presenting pictures and heaps of information on such a vast region, its human inhabitants and breathtaking biodiversity. A fine example of a cooperation between nature conservation and nature photography! ... Read more

Product Description
Explains what a wetland is, why it is important, threats facing this ecosystem, and efforts to protect wetlands. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Don't be duped by Marketplace listings
If you want a copy of this EXCELLENT book, you can purchase it from the University of Florida IFAS website for only $35.00.Don't let marketplace sellers fool you into paying $100.00 or more!

Not just another pretty picture book!
John Tobe, Mark Garland, Maynard Sweely, and the other authors are to be commended for this excellent piece of work.The guide is clear, concise, and has few errors.It doesn't have a number of species listed, but peoplemust remember that this book was written with the intention offamiliarizing people with plants that live in wetlands - it was not meantto be comprehensive, but rather pratical, useful, and friendly to those whoboth work with and love the plants of Florida's (and other states)wetlands.To this end they have done a remarkable job.

An excellent resource
FL Wetland Plants is put out by the FL DEP and is an excellent resource for the identification of wetland plants -- including thier agency status for wetland delineators.However, in many cases, only a few species of agenus are pictured.

A Useful Field Guide for Southern Wetland Plants
This new book is a good field guide- the four groups of vascular plants are color-coded, and the families are alpha-sorted for quick reference. There are line drawings and photo's for many species. Semi-technical inapproach- much more than a "picture-book," yet not a forbiddingtechnical manual. Excellent on the difficult grasses & sedges. It is abig paperback, printed on very high-quality paper, which makes it a bitheavy to carry on field trips. Curiously, Tobe et.al. does not includeSmilax, a frequent wetland genus in Florida. All-in-all,"FloridaWetland Plants" is a welcome, relevant guide for those who areinterested in our vanishing Florida and Gulf Coast wetlands. ... Read more

Product Description
PREHISTORIC LIFEWAYS IN THE GREAT BASIN WETLANDS examines how the earliest inhabitants of the Great Basin in Nevada, Utah, and Oregon made use of the ancient marshes and lakes.When the Great Salt Lake receded in the 1980s from its highest historically recorded levels, it exposed a large number of archaeological and burial sites. Other wetland areas in the region experienced similar flooding and site exposure. The resulting archaeological bonanza resolved long-standing controversy over the role of wetlands in prehistoric Great Basin human subsistence. Previously, archaeologists argued that wetlands offered a wealth of resources and served as a magnet for human occupation and rather sedentary lifestyles; or wetlands provided only meager fare, insufficient to promote increased sedentism. The exposure of human remains coincided with improved analytic techniques, enabling new conclusions about diet, behavior, and genetic affiliation.This volume presents findings from three Great Basin wetland areas: Great Salt Lake, Stillwater Marsh (Nevada) and Malheur Lake (Oregon). The evidence presented here does not indicate the superiority of one interpretation over another but offers a more complex picture of variable adaptation, high mobility, and generally robust health among peoples living in a harsh setting with heavy physical demands. It is the first volume to draw together new approaches to the study of earlier human societies, including analysis of mtDNA for population reconstruction and cross-sectional geometric assessment of long bones for behavioral interpretation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good reading for scholars of Great Basin Archaeology
worth every dime.... too many articles to let go by.... no one any more biased than one would expect.... a good reference all around, especially if you have half a mind about the NUA expansion and Great Basin proliferation.... read it and make your own opinions.....

rw ... Read more

Product Description
An understanding of environmental gradients (physical, chemical, hydrological, and biological) is a prerequisite to the accurate delineation of wetland boundaries. Presenting the wide-ranging views of academicians, environmentalists, policy makers, consultants, planners, engineers, hydrologists, biologists, geochemists, ecologists, and conservationists, Wetlands: Environmental Gradients, Boundaries, and Buffers focuses on current topics and research related to wetland delineation; summarizes the main issues of concern; and provides recommendations on research needs.In addition to integrating the most important research and theoretical aspects, this book includes a strong prescriptive component, providing practicing professionals with specific guidance on defining the true dimensions of a wetland area. ... Read more

Product Description

Tidal freshwater forested wetlands are unique wetland systems. Occupying low relief coastal areas which are subject to both upland runoff and tidal flooding, these systems are especially vulnerable to pressure from human development and to climate change impacts of sea-level rise and increased drought/flood frequency. Yet to date the ecological dynamics, distribution, and conservation status of these communities is poorly understood.

This book draws together the latest findings from investigators focusing on the hydrological processes, community organization, and stress physiology of freshwater, tidally influenced land-margin forests of the southeastern United States. It describes the land use history that led to the restricted distribution of these wetlands, and provides descriptions of the hydrology, soils, biogeochemistry, and physiological ecology of these systems, highlighting the similarities shared among tidal freshwater forested wetlands.

Including case studies from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana, Ecology of Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands of the Southeastern United States will be an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers and students interested in understanding the complex dynamics of this unique coastal ecosystem; one that has been altered by land-use history and which is now undergoing decline due to changing climate, sea-level rise and hurricanes. In particular, it provides current knowledge on those biological, geological, hydrological and physical forcing factors that may influence the possible alternatives and likely success of coastal restoration projects for these vulnerable ecosystems.

Product Description
Coastal Wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Health, Habitat, and Indicators is the first book to comprehensively evaluate the status of drowned river mouth and open lake wetlands in the Laurentian Great Lakes. This research brings together leading experts from the United States and Canada to present innovative techniques and applications to monitor and assess this important resource. As coastal wetlands disappear, this research provides important benchmarks for understanding the structure and function of these communities. The text describes the classification of aquatic plants, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and fish assemblages for biological indicator development and provides indices of biotic integrity by leading experts in the field for each Great Lake and connecting channel. The contributors are among the top researchers and environmental biologists in North America and provide their own perspectives on current aspects of biological criteria implementation. From it factors affecting coastal wetlands to case studies, Coastal Wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes will help readers better understand the quality and impacts of environmental stressors on biological communities, and thus protect and restore water resources of the Great Lakes. FEATURES: 1) Uses a variety of environmental indicators including water quality, habitat, aquatic macrophytes, macroinvertebrates, crayfish, and fish. 2) Provides classification and original compilations of literature on biological indicators and case studies. 3) Presents perspectives on coastal wetland classification and indicator tools that will further the field of wetland science. 4) Includes new state-of-the-art diagnostic tools that can be used to evaluate the magnitude and extent of impacts. ... Read more

Product Description
Forty-two chapters by international experts from a wide range of disciplines make The Wetlands Handbook the essential tool for those seeking comprehensive understanding of the subject. A departure from more traditional treatises, this text examines freshwater wetland ecosystem science from the fundamentals to issues of management and policy.

Introductory chapters address the scope and significance of wetlands globally for communities, culture and biodiversity. Subsequent sections deal with processes underpinning wetland functioning, how wetlands work, their uses and values for humans and nature, their sensitivity to external impacts, and how they may be restored. The text is illustrated by numerous examples, emphasising functional and holistic approaches to wetland management, including case studies on the wise use and rehabilitation of wetlands in farmed, urban, industrial and other damaged environments, highlighting the long-term benefits of multiple use. The Wetlands Handbook will provide an invaluable reference for researchers, managers, policy-makers and students of wetland sciences. ... Read more

Product Description
This concise and easy-to-use field guide provides a wealth of information about the plants of the rich wetland ecosystems of our region. Grouped by habitat, this guide describes wooded wetland, wetland prairie, marshy shore, shrub swamp, and the submerged and floating community. Wetland Plants of Oregon and Washington includes:
-- Descriptions of more than 330 plants species
-- Over 300 exceptional color photos

-- 74 line drawings providing additional detail

-- Hints for distinguishing easily confused species

-- Intriguing notes on endangered plants, wildlife uses, associated species and natural history. --

This authoritative and attractive field guide will help raise awareness and improve stewardship of an irreplaceable natural resource. Whether you are a naturalist or an armchair adventurer, you will find this book an indispensable addition to your bookshelf or backpack. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

...but not exclusively Oregon
Although the author is admittedly part of the vibrant botany research community in the Corvallis-Eugene area, many of the species found in Western Oregon are found also in similar habitats in Western Washington and far NW Calif.Very few, if any, plants are described for east of the Cascades.The range for the book is clearly stated in the introduction. Note that as a wetland delineator, I find it to be excellent for a field reference for many typical wetland and fringe species.For specific identification, though, a flora such as Hitchcock's _Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest_ (5 vol. set) or the abbreviated _Flora of the Pacific Northwest_ is more appropriate.

Very Oregon-centered
I was dissapointed with this book.It is separated by region, the Willamette Valley section being about half the book.If I lived, there, it would have been a great reference.But its coverage of other areas is not complete enough for my taste. ... Read more

Product Description
This easy-to-use Atlas provides the historical notes and maps of Michigan created by surveyors from the federal General Land Office (GLO) between 1816 and 1856. In addition, present-day maps have been overlain on the historic maps so that readers can locate the original forest and grassland types within Michigan today. This book affords readers the opportunity to see how areas throughout the state appeared to surveyors more than 150 years ago.

Between 1988 and 1995, a team of ecologists assembled the original GLO maps and overlaid topographic, county, and statewide information onto them. They also mapped the boundaries of distinct forest types, modern topography and soils information, and the interpretations of expert field ecologists. Each forest, wetland, or prairie type shown on the GLO maps is accompanied by a photograph, a brief description, and a statewide map showing the distribution of each land type. Cartography by Helen Enander. Illustrated with vintage General Land Office maps, modern maps, and photographs, references, index ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

charting Michigan's 19th-century environment before settlement
"A major purpose of this atlas is to provide current Michigan residents with a sense of place--as sense of the landscape in which they now live. Since this "landscape...is increasingly isolated from its ecological history," this sense of place related to its appearance is waning. The authors help to make up for this, however, by citing surviving areas in Michigan where residents can go to see what the landscape of their locale looked like before it was depleted by development.

These areas of surviving landscape are cited in a section coming before the maps. One would read the map having the place where one lived--or any other place in Michigan one was curious about; find what the landscape was like using the legend on the front or back gatefold (i. e., jacket flap; and then look at the pictures and read the descriptive text in the section. The legend having thirty different colors recognizes as many types of landscape or mixed types within the broader headings of water or wetlands and under uplands, open, woodland or savanna, and forest. Landscapes damaged by fire, beaver flooding, or windthrow are also recognized.

The 103 maps of parts of Michigan are modern-day maps with major highways, many secondary roads, cities and towns noted. The "early Michigan" landscape superimposed on these, so to speak, is from General Land Offices surveys done between 1816 and 1856 by the U.S. government in anticipation of land sales and settlement. Full-page in this folio-size atlas, the maps are quite detailed. They could be use to travel throughout Michigan though their purpose is representation of the early Michigan landscape (meaning types of vegetation for the most part).

Secondary uses for the atlas, in the hope of the authors, are as a "tool for conservationists" and aid to historians in answering questions about settlement patterns. Regarding this latter interest for example, the General Land Office surveys likely account for the slow growth of the city if Detroit to the south. For they describe this land "as a broad and uninviting patchwork of swamps and wet prairies." What roads there were were impassable for parts of the year, and mosquitoes were rife in the swamplands.

This well-done, smartly and economically organized, atlas is a model for ones that should be done for any state where 19th-century or any early-date surveys of landscape and vegetation are available. It is useful and interesting in a range of ways; and it documents much historical environment material from different sources.

A softcover, king-sized reference of early Michigan's natural environment
Atlas of Early Michigan Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands is a softcover, king-sized reference of early Michigan's natural environment. Compiled from interpretations of the 1816-1856 General Land Office surveys, the full-color, full-page maps allow one to read the names of Michigan's criss-crossing roads. An introductory essay briefs the reader on Michigan's natural history, how the maps were made, and how they are meant to be used, but the bulk of Atlas of Early Michigan Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands is devoted to the maps themselves. An excellent resource for anyone interested in studying the geographical and environmental layout of Michigan in the past, or for possible comparisons to Michigan in the modern day.
... Read more

Product Description
Efforts to direct the recovery of damaged sites and landscape date back as far as the 1930s. If we fully understood the conditions and controlling variables at restoration sites, we would be better equipped to predict the outcomes of restoration efforts. If there were no constraints, we could merely plant the restoration site and walk away. However, the development of restoration theory has not yet lead to predictability. The Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands fills an important gap in current restoration ecology literature. It provides a broad-based compilation of case studies and principles to guide the management of tidal restoration sites. Thoroughly illustrated with more than 170 figures and tables, the book covers a full range of topics including:"the conceptual planning for coastal wetlands restoration"strategies for the manipulation of hydrology and soils"the reestablishment of vegetation and assemblages of fishes and invertebrates"the process of assessing, monitoring, and sustaining restored wetlandsCombining detailed examples from coastal research studies along the Pacific coast of southern California with information drawn from the literature on coastal restoration across the globe, the Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands is a must-have guide if you are involved in coastal mitigation and restoration projects. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Practical book will be useful to restoration practitioners
Review of Handbook for Restoring Tidal Wetlands, J. B. Zedler, editor, CRC Press, 2000, 439 pp.

Reviewed byKirk R. Barrett, Ph.D., P. E., P.W.S., Research Director Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI) Rutgers University CIMIC, Newark, New Jerseyhttp://cimic.rutgers.edu/meri

This book helps fill a large gap in the wetland restoration literature. Although there are many articles on the subject there are few handbook-like treatments of wetland restoration and apparently no others specific to tidal wetlands.Given this fact alone, this book is certainly valuable to its intended audience of planners, practitioners, resource managers and students.

The book contains chapters by 6 different authors on hydrology and substrate, establishing vegetation, restoring invertebrates and fish communities, assessment and monitoring, and identifying and solving management problems; each chapter ends with its own thorough, up-to-date reference lists.In these chapters, the book lives up to its title of a handbook, providing specific, real-world, how-to (or how-not-to) advice.For example, very practical and helpful is the ordered list of issues to consider when designing hydrology and geomorphology.Also useful is a discussion of what methods of establishing vegetation (e. g., seeding) did and did not work in particular cases, and why.

Despite the numerous authors, the book holds together as a coherent, comprehensive treatment, rather than a collection of loosely related chapters.However, there are 25 "boxes" which are stand-alone vignettes on different topics, akin to what one would find at a "poster session" at a conference

I was disappointed when I learned that the book was heavily focused on southern California (all of the authors are or were associated with Pacific Estuarine Research Lab based at San Diego State University).All of the case studies are focused on this region, as are the 6 appendices comprising about 60 pages containing species lists and the like and, as such, are likely to be little use for those of us interested other areas.Over 60 plates contain wonderful pencil drawings of salt marsh biota.Unfortunately, the plates are not indexed nor integrated with the text, limiting their usefulness.

A major limitation of the book is its lack of information on costs. Also lacking is a discussion of special construction techniques appropriate for marsh restoration.Finally, I wish the book contained a systematic assessment including a statistical summary of the success of a significant number of salt-marsh restorations, but perhaps that is beyond the scope of a handbook.Perhaps these can be included in the next edition, along with a list of addresses for useful Worldwide Web sites.

Despite a few shortcomings, the book should be quite valuable to its intended audience by allowing them to learn from the experience of others. Indeed, before you invest ten or hundreds of thousands of dollars to design, build, monitor or manage a tidal wetland, invest $90 and a few hours to buy and read this book.

Note: The author of this review retains the right to distribute,to publish, assign rights to publish this review elsewhere. ... Read more

Product Description
From the desert to the rain forest, animals adapt to their surroundings for survival. Explore the world's habitats and the animals that make these places their homes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Very good.
For its coverage area, I'd give this book a five, but absent is information from mountain wetlands and those from the east side of the Cascades (although the author makes no pretenses about this). Although I understand the absence of east-side plants, given the number on montane wetlands on the west-side, the lack of coverage plants in these habitats is problematic.Another negative is the presence of photographic plates rather than photographs accompanying plant descriptions.In this day and age of computer publishing technology, there is no excuse for this.That said, the line drawings are excellent and the absence of accompanying photgraphs doesn't detract much.The information presented on each species is tremendous and extremely thorough.Contrary to many other regional wetland guides with which I am familiar, submersed aquatic plants are given appropriate coverage.Maps are crisp and clear and leave little to the imagination.Simply put, if you want to know nearly everything there is to know about a plant that could be found in a lowland west-side wetland, this book will tell you about it.Anyone with interest in wetlands in the coastal Northwest should get this book.

Awesome Field Guide for the Wetland Scientist or Hobbyist!
I am a wetland scientist and environmental planner.I use Sarah Cooke's book on a regular basis for the identification of wetlands.This book is awesome!The CLEAR pictures, plant keys, and plant descriptions areexteremely useful.The plant field indicator status is a help for thewetland delineator.Sarah's book is a MUST for any outdoor's enthusiast,developer, wetland scientist, or environmental planner!

A fantastic guide to identify wetland plants with drawings
This is a must for anyone working with wetlands. It has descriptions, drawings and photos of most wetland plants. ... Read more

Product Description
Join in on a trip that tests the spirit, the body and the sense of humor of everyone involved. The action starts as soon as Humberto leaves the house, and doesn't stop until he and his buddies have been shocked, scared, gassed, gored, trampled and battered into submission. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

enjoyable read
this book is a fun read as was Humberto Fontanva's companion book Hell Diver's Rodeo.He does repeat himself in the two books but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of reading.

Rousing tales of danger and wild pig encounters
Take a hunting and fishing adventure story, set it in the wetlands of the Mississippi River mouth, and add two middle-age participants with a passion for hell-raising adventure and an ounce of sense and you have The Hellpig Hunt, a rowdy hunting trip into Louisiana territory which will have even the most seasoned hunter on the edge of his seat. Rousing tales of danger and wild pig encounters are anything but boaring and come from a maniacal hunter, fisherman, and author alike.

Hellacious
For anybody on your Christmas list who thinks golf is for wussies too housebroken to engage in bloodsport, there's Humberto Fontova's very funny The Hellpig Hunt: A Hunting Adventure in the Wild Wetlands at the Mouth of the Mississippi River by Middle-Aged Lunatics Who Refuse to Grow Up.

In case that title's insufficiently descriptive, here's Humberto's previous book's title: The Helldivers' Rodeo : A Deadly, Extreme, Scuba-Diving, Spear Fishing Adventure Amid the Offshore Oil-Platforms in the Murky Waters off the Gulf of Mexico. The Hellpig Hunt resembles what you'd get if Hunter S. Thompson went hunting with Bluto and the rest of the gang from Animal House. Plus, Humberto tosses in philosophical asides on the predatory nature of the human male from Camille Paglia, Edward O. Wilson, and the head philosopher of hunting, Jose Ortega Y Gasset of "Revolt of the Masses" fame.

A couple of years ago I tried to explain to Humberto the appeal of golf to guys like me: "You see, it's a like a suburbanized form of hunting. It's a battle against nature played out in an ideal landscape for hunting." My little dissertation appears to have been refracted back through Humberto's twisted brain on p. 138 of his tome:

"'Then why don't more men hunt?' you ask.

"'Lack of opportunity,' I answer. "They turn to golf for the same reason men turn to sodomy in prisons.'"

Gee, Humberto, thanks for phrasing my idea like that. ... Read more