The authors assemble more than 100 experts, whose ideas were distilled into a simple, easy-to-read story that provides an expansive view of manufacturing.

In Surinam F.W. Hostmann allowed vampire bats to suck his toes; in West Africa, William Grant Milne sold his clothes and travelled naked for 200 miles. These and other incidents are recorded in this compilation of accounts of the experiences of 19th- and 20th-century plant collectors.

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is the only book on foraging and edible weeds to focus on the thirteen weeds found all over the world, each of which represents a complete food source and extensive medical pharmacy and first-aid kit. More than just a field guide to wild edibles, it is a global plan for human survival. When Katrina Blair was eleven she had a life-changing experience where wild plants spoke to her, beckoning her to become a champion of their cause. Since then she has spent months on end taking walkabouts in the wild, eating nothing but what she forages, and has become a wild-foods advocate, community activist, gardener, and chef, teaching and presenting internationally about foraging and the healthful lifestyle it promotes. Katrina Blair’s philosophy in The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is sobering, realistic, and ultimately optimistic. If we can open our eyes to see the wisdom found in these weeds right under our noses, instead of trying to eradicate an “invasive,” we will achieve true food security. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is about healing ourselves both in body and in spirit, in an age where technology, commodity agriculture, and processed foods dictate the terms of our intelligence. But if we can become familiar with these thirteen edible survival weeds found all over the world, we will never go hungry, and we will become closer to our own wild human instincts—all the while enjoying the freshest, wildest, and most nutritious food there is. For free! The thirteen plants found growing in every region across the world are: dandelion, mallow, purslane, plantain, thistle, amaranth, dock, mustard, grass, chickweed, clover, lambsquarter, and knotweed. These special plants contribute to the regeneration of the earth while supporting the survival of our human species; they grow everywhere where human civilization exists, from the hottest deserts to the Arctic Circle, following the path of human disturbance. Indeed, the more humans disturb the earth and put our food supply at risk, the more these thirteen plants proliferate. It’s a survival plan for the ages. Including over one hundred unique recipes, Katrina Blair’s book teaches us how to prepare these wild plants from root to seed in soups, salads, slaws, crackers, pestos, seed breads, and seed butters; cereals, green powders, sauerkrauts, smoothies, and milks; first-aid concoctions such as tinctures, teas, salves, and soothers; self-care/beauty products including shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste (and brush), face masks; and a lot more. Whether readers are based at home or traveling, this book aims to empower individuals to maintain a state of optimal health with minimal cost and effort.

In The Power of a Plant, globally acclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) Stephen Ritz shows you how, in one of the nation’s poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom. What if we taught students that they have as much potential as a seed? That in the right conditions, they can grow into something great? These are the questions that Stephen Ritz—who became a teacher more than 30 years ago—sought to answer in 2004 in a South Bronx high school plagued by rampant crime and a dismal graduation rate. After what can only be defined as a cosmic experience when a flower broke up a fight in his classroom, he saw a way to start tackling his school’s problems: plants. He flipped his curriculum to integrate gardening as an entry point for all learning and inadvertently created an international phenomenon. As Ritz likes to say, “Fifty thousand pounds of vegetables later, my favorite crop is organically grown citizens who are growing and eating themselves into good health and amazing opportunities.” The Power of a Plant tells the story of a green teacher from the Bronx who let one idea germinate into a movement and changed his students’ lives by learning alongside them. Since greening his curriculum, Ritz has seen near-perfect attendance and graduation rates, dramatically increased passing rates on state exams, and behavioral incidents slashed in half. In the poorest congressional district in America, he has helped create 2,200 local jobs and built farms and gardens while changing landscapes and mindsets for residents, students, and colleagues. Along the way, Ritz lost more than 100 pounds by eating the food that he and his students grow in school. The Power of a Plant is his story of hope, resilience, regeneration, and optimism.

“Dan Hinkley is a rare man, generous, inspired, and gifted with an eye for beauty that is given to few people. How I long to wander again in the galloping beauty of his garden at Windcliff. Here it is, in all its inspiring wonder.” —Anna Pavord, author of Landskipping and The Curious Gardener Daniel Hinkley is widely recognized as one of the fore­most modern plant explorers and one of the world’s leading plant collectors. He has created two outstanding private gardens—Heronswood and Windcliff. Both gardens, and the story of how one begat the other, are beautifully celebrated in Hinkley’s new book, Windcliff. In these pages you will delight in Hinkley’s recounting of the creation of his garden, the stories of the plants that fill its space, and in his sage gardening advice. Hinkley’s spirited ruminations on the audacity and importance of garden-making—contemplations on the beauty of a sunflower turning its neck from dawn to dusk, the way a plant’s scent can spur a memory, and much more—will appeal to the hearts of every gardener. Filled with Claire Takacs’s otherworldly photography, Windcliff is spectacular for both its physical beauty and the quality of information it contains.

“An empowering and expertly curated look at the horticultural world.” —Gardens Illustrated In this beautiful and empowering book, Jennifer Jewell introduces 75 inspiring women. Working in wide-reaching fields that include botany, floral design, landscape architecture, farming, herbalism, and food justice, these influencers are creating change from the ground up. Profiled women include flower farmer Erin Benzakein; codirector of Soul Fire Farm Leah Penniman; plantswoman Flora Grubb; edible and cultural landscape designer Leslie Bennett; Caribbean-American writer and gardener Jamaica Kincaid; soil scientist Elaine Ingham; landscape designer Ariella Chezar; floral designer Amy Merrick, and many more. Rich with personal stories and insights, Jewell’s portraits reveal a devotion that transcends age, locale, and background, reminding us of the profound role of green growing things in our world—and our lives.

Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Networked Manufacturing Enterprises Management addresses prominent concepts and applications of AI technologies in the management of networked manufacturing enterprises. The aim of this book is to align latest practices, innovation and case studies with academic frameworks and theories, where AI techniques are used efficiently for networked manufacturing enterprises. More specifically, it includes the latest research results and projects at different levels addressing quick-response system, theoretical performance analysis, performance and capability demonstration. The role of emerging AI technologies in the modelling, evaluation and optimisation of networked enterprises’ activities at different decision levels is also covered. Artificial Intelligence Techniques for Networked Manufacturing Enterprises Management is a valuable guide for postgraduates and researchers in industrial engineering, computer science, automation and operations research.