This beautifully written book weaves reflections on anthropological fieldwork together with evocative meditations on a spectacular landscape as it takes us to the remote indigenous villages on the shore of Lake Titicaca, high in the Peruvian Andes. Ben Orlove brings alive the fishermen, reed cutters, boat builders, and families of this isolated region, and describes the role that Lake Titicaca has played in their culture. He describes the landscapes and rhythms of life in the Andean highlands as he considers the intrusions of modern technology and economic demands in the region. Lines in the Water tells a local version of events that are taking place around the world, but with an unusual outcome: people here have found ways to maintain their cultural autonomy and to protect their fragile mountain environment. The Peruvian highlanders have confronted the pressures of modern culture with remarkable vitality. They use improved boats and gear and sell fish to new markets but have fiercely opposed efforts to strip them of their indigenous traditions. They have retained their customary practice of limiting the amount of fishing and have continued to pass cultural knowledge from one generation to the next--practices that have prevented the ecological crises that have followed commercialization of small-scale fisheries around the world. This book--at once a memoir and an ethnography--is a personal and compelling account of a research experience as well as an elegantly written treatise on themes of global importance. Above all, Orlove reminds us that human relations with the environment, though constantly changing, can be sustainable.

Anyone who has ever tied a blood knot in a leader or spun a line on the reel, felt the tug of a salmon or seen the glimmer of a brook trout in the early morning sun, understands that fishing is more than a sport. It is, for many, a way of life. In Lines on the Water, we are reminded why this is so. Writing with the same mastery that has won him praise for his fiction, Richards takes us—even those unfamiliar with days spent in chilly waters—on an unforgettable journey to the famed Miramichi River. Casting new light on the mysterious and elegant world of fly fishing, it teems with lore and wisdom, humor, and most of all, passion.

Proceedings of a conference held at University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Feb. 11-12, 2005.

Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously' How do we get ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve compassion' The speech captures Wallace's electric intellect as well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it became a treasured piece of writing reprinted in The Wall Street Journal and the London Times, commented on endlessly in blogs, and emailed from friend to friend. Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with every reading.

Investigates advantages and disadvantages of continuing Federal Barge Lines vis a vis selling them to private industry. Apr. 22 hearing was held in Chicago, Ill.; Apr. 25, 26 hearings were held in Omaha, Nebr.; Apr. 28 hearing was held in New Orleans, La.; Apr. 30 hearing was held in Memphis, Tenn.; May 1, 2 hearings were held in St. Louis, Mo.

Part 1: Even tethered to his high performance fire-engine red Jeep Cherokee wheelchair, Kenny was a force of nature. His spirit and zest for life made his shenanigans and antics even more laughable. There was nothing that he couldn't do, and he did everything with style and panache. His teacher, Mr. Sap, was Kenny's biggest fan and advocate. When Kenny was growing up and becoming his own person, Mr. Sap realized it was time to let him go. Part 2: The forest and grasslands in the western part of the United States were ablaze. Sap and the Ground Pounders of the Southern Colorado Wildland Firefighting Crew were called to action to the Beaver Mountain ski resort in Logan, Utah. Together with the combined efforts of the Lone Peak Hotshot Prisoner Crew from the Department of Corrections and the Rosebuds Native American crews, the mischief of the fire was managed. Soon the healing of the land would begin, and Sap knew that it was time for him to let it go.