The Wrack Line

Edited by John Wilks, this is a fine selection of both poetry and short fiction that represents the very best writing from 12 weeks of The NOT The Whittaker Prize 2013. Contributors from the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA

This final volume in the author's trilogy, which began with Stirring the Mud and Entering the Stone gives nature writing a human dimension and throws light on the mysterious and overlooked wonders on beaches as far-flung as Morocco, St. Croix, or Alaska, and as familiar as California and Cape Cod.

THE WRACK LINE is a moving collection of poems about how family, loss, the passage of time, and social/environmental stresses demarcate symbolic wrack lines across our lives as we scatter the flotsam from our choices behind us. From personal lyric poems to narrative poems about hurricane Katrina, global warming and violence, the poet uses imagery and a modern take on myths that transform language into beautiful, sensual, sometimes lush depictions of the world in its dark complexities.

A recent renaissance in the field of "event" stratigraphy has promoted a much more thorough examination of the geologic record of particular fossil-bearing strata. This reference work compiles the findings of leading researchers on fossil beds, epiboles and global bioevents, mapping out a definitive temporal and regional classification of event horizons. Based primarily on research with Lower and Middle Paleozoic rocks of eastern North America, 'this volume significantly links these events to relatively short-term phenomena, including storms and climate-forcing cycles. An invaluable resource for specialists and students in the fields of paleontology, paleoecology, stratigraphy, and sedimentology, Paleontological Events helps to clarify the biological and taphonomic significance of these horizons.

A beautifully illustrated field guide to the Mid-Atlantic region, from the Jersey Shore to Cape Hatteras The Outer Banks of North Carolina and the beaches of the Mid-Atlantic Coast are among the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. This book is a richly illustrated field guide that surveys the geology, environmental history, natural history, and human history of a region that spans the eastern seaboard from Sandy Hook in New Jersey south to Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is organized around environments, not particular locations. Included are the geology of beaches and barrier islands, the environmental history of the region, as well as detailed looks at the natural history of beaches, dunes, maritime forests, coastal marshes, and estuaries. Also covered are issues involving human activity and climate change, which have become dominant forces shaping geophysical and biological environments. This guide will enable users to walk into a salt marsh or onto a beach and identify much of what they see.

This accessibly written and authoritative guide updates the beloved and much-used 1970s classic Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas. In this completely reimagined book, Paul E. Hosier provides a rich, new reference guide to plant life in the coastal zone of the Carolinas for nature lovers, gardeners, landscapers, students, and community leaders. Features include: * Detailed profiles of more than 200 plants, with color photographs and information about identification, value to wildlife, relationship to natural communities, propagation, and landscape use. * Background on coastal plant communities, including the effects of invasive species and the benefits of using native plants in landscaping. * A section on the effects of climate change on the coast and its plants. * A list of natural areas and preserves open to visitors interested in observing native plants in the coastal Carolinas. * A glossary that includes plant names and scientific terms. With a special emphasis on the benefits of conserving and landscaping with native plants, this guide belongs on the shelf of every resident and visitor to the coasts of the Carolinas.

A richly illustrated full-color guide to the unique plants, wildlife, and environments of Cape Cod and the other nearby "Outer Lands" that face the Atlantic Ocean This essential guidebook presents the most abundantly illustrated and fascinating account of the natural history of Cape Cod, its nearby islands, Block Island, the western coast of Rhode Island, and southeastern Long Island ever published. Exploring the ecology and most common plants and animals of the various regional environments--beaches, dunes, salt marshes, heathlands, and coastal forests--the book also encompasses marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish offshore. For nature-loving local residents and visitors alike, this essential book will be a treasured resource.