America's worsening nightmare of gridlock is given full attention in this illuminating study of the transportation crisis in Atlanta. Inconveniences and hardships created by too many automobiles and too few alternatives for movement have reached untenable levels. Miriam Konrad investigates three major transportation projects involving public transit and use of space issues in the Atlanta area: the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the bus and rail system that has been the backbone of metropolitan Atlanta's public transportation system for the past thirty years; the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), a superagency created in 1999 to address air quality issues in the region; and the Belt Line, a popular proposal to build a twenty-two-mile loop of greenspace, transit, and other amenities around an inner loop of the city on existing rail beds. She reveals how gridlock, over regional transportation policy and procedures, has emerged out of the competition between growth promoters, environmentalists, and social justice actors.

Destruction of habitat due to urban sprawl, pollution, and deforestation has caused population declines or even extinction of many of the world's approximately 2,600 snake species. Furthermore, misconceptions about snakes have made them among the most persecuted of all animals, despite the fact that less than a quarter of all species are venomous and most species are beneficial because they control rodent pests. It has become increasingly urgent, therefore, to develop viable conservation strategies for snakes and to investigate their importance as monitors of ecosystem health and indicators of habitat sustainability. In the first book on snakes written with a focus on conservation, editors Stephen J. Mullin and Richard A. Seigel bring together leading herpetologists to review and synthesize the ecology, conservation, and management of snakes worldwide. These experts report on advances in current research and summarize the primary literature, presenting the most important concepts and techniques in snake ecology and conservation. The common thread of conservation unites the twelve chapters, each of which addresses a major subdiscipline within snake ecology. Applied topics such as methods and modeling and strategies such as captive rearing and translocation are also covered. Each chapter provides an essential framework and indicates specific directions for future research, making this a critical reference for anyone interested in vertebrate conservation generally or for anyone implementing conservation and management policies concerning snake populations. Contributors: Omar Attum, Indiana University Southeast; Steven J. Beaupre, University of Arkansas; Xavier Bonnet, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Frank T. Burbrink, College of Staten Island-The City University of New York; Gordon M. Burghardt, University of Tennessee; Todd A. Castoe, University of Colorado; David Chiszar, University of Colorado; Michael E. Dorcas, Davidson College; Lara E. Douglas, University of Arkansas; Christopher L. Jenkins, Project Orianne, Ltd.; Glenn Johnson, State University of New York at Potsdam; Michael Hutchins, The Wildlife Society; Richard B. King, Northern Illinois University; Bruce A. Kingsbury, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne; Thomas Madsen, University of Wollongong; Stephen J. Mullin, Eastern Illinois University; James B. Murphy, National Zoological Park; Charles R. Peterson, Idaho State University; Kent A. Prior, Parks Canada; Richard A. Seigel, Towson University; Richard Shine, University of Sydney; Kevin T. Shoemaker, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York; Patrick J. Weatherhead, University of Illinois; John D. Willson, University of Georgia

Some forty scholars examine California's prehistory and archaeology, looking at marine and terrestrial palaeoenvironments, initial human colonization, linguistic prehistory, early forms of exchange, mitochondrial DNA studies, and rock art. This work is the most extensive study of California's prehistory undertaken in the past 20 years. An essential resource for any scholar of California prehistory and archaeology!

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most beautiful and most photographed structures in the world. It’s also the most deadly. Since it opened in 1937, more than 1,500 people have died jumping off the bridge, making it the top suicide site on earth. It’s also the only international landmark without a suicide barrier. Weaving drama, tragedy, and politics against the backdrop of a world-famous city, The Final Leap is the first book ever written about Golden Gate Bridge suicides. John Bateson leads us on a fascinating journey that uncovers the reasons for the design decision that led to so many deaths, provides insight into the phenomenon of suicide, and examines arguments for and against a suicide barrier. He tells the stories of those who have died, the few who have survived, and those who have been affected—from loving families to the Coast Guard, from the coroner to suicide prevention advocates.