In Dreamers and Defenders Douglas H. Strong relates the triumphs and defeats of twelve environmentalists from Henry David Thoreau to Barry Commoner. Their biographies form the dramatic and ongoing story of the conservationømovement in America. Beginning with Thoreau, Frederick Law Olmsted, and George Perkins Marsh, Strong shows that conservation enjoyed the support of a few writers and scientists even in the heyday of land development in the mid-nineteenth century. Later chapters are devoted to John Wesley Powell, who after the Civil War attempted to introduce enlightened land policies in the arid West; Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt's chief forester; ]ohn Muir, who popularized the gospel of wilderness preservation; Stephen Mather, who launched the National Park Service; and Aldo Leopold, advocate of an ethical attitude toward the land. Other chapters deal with Harold Ickes, who as Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of the interior spurred conservation efforts and encouraged economic recovery from the Great Depression; David Brower, the controversial executive director of the Sierra Club; and Rachel Carson and Barry Commoner, who alerted Americans to the dangers of an environment increasingly polluted by toxic chemicals.

Appendices include: Glossary, Important environmental activities, Criminal sanctions outlined in federal environmental legislation, environmental legal cases, environmental crimes investigations for law enforcement officers.

For centuries international order has been troubled by small wars, insurrections, and revolts--low intensity conflicts. With the implosion of the Soviet empire many thought such violence could be eradicated through the growth of democracy, open societies, and increased productivity and education. Instead the world remains filled with turmoil, pogroms, famine, civil war, rebellion, and terror, often instigated by armed and dangerous zealots. To Americans such killers seem alien and inexplicable, fanatics without reason, beyond the reach of conventional containment or retaliation. J. Bowyer Bell here explores the psychological and strategic ecosystems (which he terms dragon worlds) of modern political violence and suggests how America might effectively deal with it.Dragonwars combines analysis with historical examples drawn from America's involvement with armed struggle in Lebanon, Central Am-erica, Greece, and Vietnam. In each instance, Bell argues, American policy was flawed by lack of empathy and historical understanding combined with a belief that failure could be traced to mistakes in details and procedures. The break up of the old bipolar U.S.-Soviet confrontation released suppressed ambitions, tribal greed, and greater flexibility for the small player. With new technologies of terror, zones of security will become smaller, since open societies present attractive targets for zealots. Bell rejects the notion that massive force can effect a swift and final result. Instead, a new type of warrior will be required; one versed in history and empathetic to the belief-systems of the dragonworlds in which they are deployed.Bell acknowledges that his proposals run counter to American belief and practice, but argues that in the face of insoluble conflicts, incremental advantages, through limited altered global arena, Dragonwars will prove an indispensable guide for policymakers, military planners, historians, and political scientists.

Did you know that some children's storybooks can encourage and develop children's creativity to help them become responsible, loving, and self-confident adults? Defenders of the Land of Dreams is one of these books and it shows us a truly inspiring story capable of encouraging and developing creativity in children to help shape caring adults who are capable of overcoming any challenge that they may face later on in life. The characters that make up this story are siblings William, Richard, Maurice, Mia; King Joseph IV Stonewall and his wife, Queen Rachel Goodheart, and the Dark Sorceress, Meredith Shaw. This tale teaches us that when fear gets a hold of us in moments of distress, we must trust our ability to change things and believe in the power of prayer, which is able to make any negative feelings we may have in our hearts disappear. A tale that promotes values such as trust, kindness, honor, honesty, hope, joy, justice, among others very important to raise children to be responsible and loving adults who are able to show their kindness in every decision they make throughout their lives, no matter how big or small they may seem. How can we help our children to be able to overcome as adults even more than what we have accomplished? By simply telling them stories inspired by a world where everything is possible.

For generations, the blessed warriors and magi of the Order of Eternal Defenders had fought to defend their lands from the endless hordes of demons.The legendary warrior Kraasian Darkwood has lost friends and family to the demons. When Tyr'eshal, his twenty-year-old son, accepts the offer to wield an almost forgotten power, Kraasian realizes there might never be a better chance to defeat the demons forever.But the resurgence of an underestimated foe with their eyes set on Tyr'eshal, and the challenges of waging a war with just a few Eternal Defenders will test Kraasian and his hope. More so when the cost of victory might be higher than he anticipated.

In Europe and North and South America during the early modern period, people believed that their dreams might be, variously, messages from God, the machinations of demons, visits from the dead, or visions of the future. Interpreting their dreams in much the same ways as their ancient and medieval forebears had done—and often using the dream-guides their predecessors had written—dreamers rejoiced in heralds of good fortune and consulted physicians, clerics, or practitioners of magic when their visions waxed ominous. Dreams, Dreamers, and Visions traces the role of dreams and related visionary experiences in the cultures within the Atlantic world from the late thirteenth to early seventeenth centuries, examining an era of cultural encounters and transitions through this unique lens. In the wake of Reformation-era battles over religious authority and colonial expansion into Asia, Africa, and the Americas, questions about truth and knowledge became particularly urgent and debate over the meaning and reliability of dreams became all the more relevant. Exploring both indigenous and European methods of understanding dream phenomena, this volume argues that visions were central to struggles over spiritual and political authority. Featuring eleven original essays, Dreams, Dreamers, and Visions explores the ways in which reports and interpretations of dreams played a significant role in reflecting cultural shifts and structuring historic change. Contributors: Emma Anderson, Mary Baine Campbell, Luis Corteguera, Matthew Dennis, Carla Gerona, María V Jordán, Luís Filipe Silvério Lima, Phyllis Mack, Ann Marie Plane, Andrew Redden, Janine Rivière, Leslie Tuttle, Anthony F. C. Wallace.