A Call of Nature and Other Short Stories By: David Vahlberg A Call of Nature and Other Short Stories is a trip into the unknown. Stories of love, fear, death, and the supernatural come together to express a deeper part of the human condition. Fall into the deep, dark worlds venturing over a multitude of landscapes and time periods. Experience love and loss, and be willing to endure many hardships with each troubled character. A collection not to be missed, these stories will stay with you from the first page to the last.

The Call of the Wild is Now a Major Motion Picture Starring Harrison Ford! Out of the white wilderness, out of the Far North, Jack London, one of America’s most popular authors, drew the inspiration for his robust tales of perilous adventure and animal cunning. Swiftly paced and vividly written, the novel and five short stories included here capture the main theme of London’s work: the law of the club and the fang—man’s instinctive reversion to primitive behavior when pitted against the brute force of nature. Includes The Call of the Wild, Diable: A Dog, An Odyssey of the North, To the Man on the Trail, To Build a Fire, and Love of Life

The Book That Launched an International Movement Fans of The Anxious Generation will adore Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv's groundbreaking New York Times bestseller. “An absolute must-read for parents.” —The Boston Globe “It rivals Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.” —The Cincinnati Enquirer “I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are,” reports a fourth grader. But it’s not only computers, television, and video games that are keeping kids inside. It’s also their parents’ fears of traffic, strangers, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus; their schools’ emphasis on more and more homework; their structured schedules; and their lack of access to natural areas. Local governments, neighborhood associations, and even organizations devoted to the outdoors are placing legal and regulatory constraints on many wild spaces, sometimes making natural play a crime. As children’s connections to nature diminish and the social, psychological, and spiritual implications become apparent, new research shows that nature can offer powerful therapy for such maladies as depression, obesity, and attention deficit disorder. Environment-based education dramatically improves standardized test scores and grade-point averages and develops skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that childhood experiences in nature stimulate creativity. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv talks with parents, children, teachers, scientists, religious leaders, child-development researchers, and environmentalists who recognize the threat and offer solutions. Louv shows us an alternative future, one in which parents help their kids experience the natural world more deeply—and find the joy of family connectedness in the process. Included in this edition: A Field Guide with 100 Practical Actions We Can Take Discussion Points for Book Groups, Classrooms, and Communities Additional Notes by the Author New and Updated Research from the U.S. and Abroad

Fiction lies in order to tell the truth and seeks reality through shadows. Philosophy attempts to dispel false realities; it pursues clear understanding of things as they are. While the relation of philosophy and fiction is, perhaps, paradoxical, they implicate one another's picture of human experience. This book uses fiction to help readers process philosophical themes, and the philosophical reflection, in turn, helps clarify the fiction. The study moves through roughly a hundred years of modern fiction, from Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker" (1824) through James M. Cain's Double Indemnity (1936). Several "classic" works of literary fiction are examined, a few largely forgotten stories and several popular novels. Reading fiction through the lens of philosophy helps readers perceive the complexity and richness of fiction, reinvigorating the pursuit of wisdom that lies just beneath the surface of the words on the page.

Addressing the pervasive longing for meaning and fulfillment in this time of crisis, Nature and the Human Soul introduces a visionary ecopsychology of human development that reveals how fully and creatively we can mature when soul and wild nature guide us. Depth psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin presents a model for a human life span rooted in the cycles and qualities of the natural world, a blueprint for individual development that ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation. If it is true, as Plotkin and others observe, that we live in a culture dominated by adolescent habits and desires, then the enduring societal changes we so desperately need won’t happen until we individually and collectively evolve into an engaged, authentic adulthood. With evocative language and personal stories, including those of elders Thomas Berry and Joanna Macy, this book defines eight stages of human life — Innocent, Explorer, Thespian, Wanderer, Soul Apprentice, Artisan, Master, and Sage — and describes the challenges and benefits of each. Plotkin offers a way of progressing from our current egocentric, aggressively competitive, consumer society to an ecocentric, soul-based one that is sustainable, cooperative, and compassionate. At once a primer on human development and a manifesto for change, Nature and the Human Soul fashions a template for a more mature, fulfilling, and purposeful life — and a better world.