Land of rivers

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Tim Robinson

The first volume of Tim Robinson's Connemara trilogy, Listening to the Wind, covered Robinson's home territory of Roundstone and environs. The Last Pool of Darkness moves into wilder territory: the fjords, cliffs, hills and islands of north-west Connemara, a place that Wittgenstein, who lived on his own in a cottage there for a time, called 'the last pool of darkness in Europe'. Again combining his polymathic knowledge of Connemara's natural history, human history, folklore and topography with his own unsurpassable artistry as a writer, Tim Robinson has produced another classic.

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Tony Andersen

"Tony Andersen's paean to small towns in his home state of Minnesota began as an exericise in photography. His goal was to photograph twenty-six randomly selected towns, one for each letter of the alphabet. His simple criteria was that these towns have a population of under one thousand and be evenly distributed throughout the state. ... [Andersen] came away with a profound appreciation not only of rural life but also of the kindness innate in all of us ..."--Cover flap.

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Constantine Nomikos Vaporis

Travel in Tokugawa Japan was officially controlled by bakufu and domainal authorities via an elaborate system of barriers, or sekisho, and travel permits; commoners, however, found ways to circumvent these barriers, frequently ignoring the laws designed to control their mobility. In this study, Constantine Vaporis challenges the notion that this system of travel regulations prevented widespread travel, maintaining instead that a "culture of movement" in Japan developed in the Tokugawa era. Using a combination of governmental documentation and travel literature, diaries, and wood-block prints, Vaporis examines the development of travel as recreation; he discusses the impact of pilgrimage and the institutionalization of alms-giving on the freedom of movement commoners enjoyed. By the end of the Tokugawa era, the popular nature of travel and a sophisticated system of roads were well established: Vaporis explores the reluctance of the bakufu to enforce its travel laws, and in doing so, beautifully evokes the character of the journey through Tokugawa Japan.

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Monte Nagler

"A nationally recognized landscape photographer, Monte Nagler has traveled throughout the world to capture unique and fleeting moments on film. Now with this collection of recent work, Monte applies his exceptional skills to his home state, sharing his interpretations through a medley of new and familiar scenes." "These 92 black and white photographs, including 6 spectacular panoramic views, invite you to explore the wonders, the seasons, and the diverse landscapes that are Michigan."--BOOK JACKET.