Bücher veröffentlicht von Counterpoint

Several years ago, Wendell Berry recommended we read Marco Pallis' Peaks and Lamas. He had obtained a copy of this out of print and elusive title, and upon reading it wrote saying, "I have a very high opinion of it." He praised the writing on travel and mountaineering, but he was specially drawn to the writing about Buddhism, the chapters on Tibetan Art, and went on "this is the best book, in my limited reading, in connecting a form of Buddhism with its sustaining culture. It would be useful to anybody interested in what a traditional culture is or might be, and how such a culture might preserve itself."With Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder and Robert Aitken offering encouragement, we could hardly ignore the imperative of putting this remarkable text, out of print for at least thirty years, back into print for a whole new generation of readers.

Heathen Valley, Romulus Linney's haunting and original novel, was born from the church histories of the Valle Crucis mission in western North Carolina. Told in four parts, it is a story set in an almost unknown valley, "Heathen, a valley That Forgot God." With a quiet, muscular violence and biblical grace that readers of Cormac McCarthy will recognize, Linney takes us into the 1850s, where an idealistic Bishop from New England and a life-whipped, sorrowful transient named Starns, struggle to win souls and transform the valley. Widely reviewed when it was first published in 1962 and selected as an alternate for the Book of the Month Club, Romulus Linney's first novel Heathen Valley was never reprinted and has never before been in paperback."Starns was thirty-two years old that night, but he looked fifty. He was like a much older man who comes late in life to what learning he possesses, and therefore has no fear of what he knows he will never understand." from Heathen Valley

“Patterson beautifully parses the consequences of one woman’s fall in this memorable, penetrating, fully achieved novel.” —The New York Times Book Review Story Prize and California Book Award finalist Victoria Patterson revisits Newport Beach in This Vacant Paradise, examining the intersections of economics, class, race, sex, and family expectations during the mid–1990s. Esther lives with her grandmother, a virulent matriarch who controls her family through her wealth. Esther knows that an advantageous marriage replete with social standing, familial and peer approval, and financial rewards will alleviate her struggles. But she has been known to self–sabotage, and her loved ones are rooting for her not to blow it with her latest beau, especially since she’s at the ripe old age of thirty–three. All is well until she begins a tumultuous love affair with Charlie, a local college professor known for his unconventional ideals as much as for his golf game and good looks. He sets a fire inside Esther, sparking and delivering her—whether by choice or not—from the insular, safe, and stifling confines of societal expectations to an alternate, unglamorous, and indefinable course. The result is a stunning debut novel: a powerful work of fiction sure to provoke and engage. “Patterson writes with the exuberance of a natural storyteller. Her cast is rich, her narrative sinuous and masterfully structured.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Considering the subject matter—the real housewives of Orange County—Patterson’s debut novel (after story collection Drift) is surprisingly sophisticated and nuanced.” —Publishers Weekly

Lee, a high school shop teacher in Evergreen, Colorado, managed to survive his messy divorce only to hurtle into what some might call a full–on midlife crisis. Looking for a way to spend his weekends and the now painfully long summer vacation, Lee buys a gold mine off the internet—a real, honest–to–God mine, complete with tall tales of riches, a history of disappointment, and a couple of Pakistani–by–the–way–of–Jackson–Hole prospectors willing to kill for its contents.With the frequently unwanted help of a band of locals, Lee becomes a weekend warrior, attempting to work the mine and keep himself distracted from his other midlife disturbances. There are the Pakistanis, of course, along with his mercurial brother Grant, just released from prison, who is trying in his typically perilous way to pull Lee from his midlife funk. There is his ex–wife Lorraine and her slick boyfriend, Stan Beachum, and the lovely yet mysterious Rayna, the first woman Lee's wanted to date since his divorce.In Daniel Pyne's sharp, fun, and raucous style, A Hole in the Ground Owned by a Liar is part mystery and part gold–infused tall tale with a cast of refreshingly quirky characters and one highly unexpected payout.

With "Lament for the Makers" W. S. Merwin honors the lives and work of twenty-three poets of our time. Each of them has been important to him, and all of them died during his life as a poet. Following the title poem, Merwin presents works by Dylan Thomas, Wallace Stevens, Edwin Muir, Sylvia Plath, William Carlos Williams, Robert Frost, Theodore Roethke, Louis MacNeice, T. S. Eliot, Randall Jarrell, John Berryman, W. H. Auden, Marianne Moore, Ezra Pound, David Jones, Robert Lowell, Elizabeth Bishop, James Wright, Howard Moss, Robert Graves, Howard Nemerov, William Stafford, and James Merrill. Photographs and brief biographies of the poets are also included. "Lament for the Makers" connects the work of one of our most gifted contemporary poets with the modern masters who have defined the twentieth-century poetic tradition.

Jane Vandenburgh, the author of two highly acclaimed novels and a recent memoir, offers aspiring writers the tools to create powerful and unique novels filled not only with good writing but also dynamic storytelling. Architecture of the Novel is an ambitious blueprint for writers, one that reveals the underlying machinery that propels a plot that is dynamic, coherent, and interesting. Architecture of the Novel derives from the many years Vandenburgh has spent teaching the craft of fiction writing. Her method points to the elemental nature of narrative: A story consists of its events, which are told in scenes. These scenes naturally place themselves along the arc of the story in an order that provides suspense and mystery, drawing characters toward the inevitability of their fictive destinies. Profoundly practical yet encouraging to writers at all levels, Architecture of the Novel offers the maps and mechanics to successfully guide writers toward the story that must be told.

How do we make sense of the modern world? Science is a profoundly affecting aspect of contemporary life, and yet the gulf between experts and everyone else is widening. Colette Brooks bridges the gap by playing the role of curious layperson, serving as a tour guide to some of the most important discoveries and innovations of the last five centuries. Through serious and absurd stories alike, Brooks takes readers back and forth in time, from dark, cavernous laboratories to the pristine facilities of the twenty-first century. Laugh along with Newton, peer at the moon with Galileo, work beside the Wright Brothers, ride with the astronauts of Apollo 11, watch for UFOs in the 1950s, probe the secrets of the fruit fly, visit Chernobyl, or examine suspicious packages in a Hazmat suit. With Brooks as the guide, it's easy to become immersed in the twists, turns, and surprises of each imaginative leap forward. Through a series of "thought experiments," Brooks also poses questions and offers helpful tips that ease the reader's way into this strange but provocative territory. Bringing her unique perspective to the larger cultural conversation about science, Brooks ultimately unleashes the most powerful force of all: our own wonder.

A close examination of the questions facing communities across the United States where dam removal is on the environmental and political agenda.. Dams and diversions along America's rivers have transformed the country and in doing so created environmental problems whose resolution will, in many ways, determine how we live in the next century. There are over 75,000 dams in the country and almost no major river in the country remains undammed. But now, for the first time in our nation's history, the pace of dam removal has overtaken the pace of construction as communities across the country commit themselves to river restoration, including the removal of harmful dams.Questioning the value of dams requires a serious readjustment in the country's notion of progress, a prospect threatening to some and daunting to all. Watershed examines the implications of dam removal to America's rivers and their communities by exploring the stories of a number of places where dam removal and river restoration are now underway. This is a story of people and place, and of a vital turning point in the nation's relationship to its rivers. 0813367824 the Spirit of American Law : an Anthology

First published in 1979, Bike Touring introduced tens of thousands of riders to the joys of bicycle travel, and quickly became the go-to reference for an entire generation of bike-touring enthusiasts. But much has changed in the last three decadesand this fully revamped edition provides authoritative information on both the latest equipment and the ever-expanding universe of touring options for a whole new generation of riders.Readers learn how to train, equip, plan, and pack for tours of any length and difficulty, from overnight trips near home to multiweek journeys abroad. Author Raymond Bridge surveys the wide range of touring options, which now include extensive commercial offerings and roof-to-roof (or credit card) tours, as well as independent, self-contained travel. Chapters covering bike stylesroad, mountain, and world-touring modelsalong with bike frames and fit, drive trains, wheels, brakes, saddles and handlebars, and accessories, offer up-to-date guidance on the myriad equipment choices from the booming bike industry. And chapters on camping, transporting bikes, and roadside repairs are full of expert advice to help both novice and experienced bike travelers get maximum pleasure from any journey while saving money and staying safe.

For more than thirty years, Frederick Kirschenmann has explored the ethical and practical principles of sustainable agriculture. An accomplished theologian, philosopher, and third-generation farmer, Kirschenmann is a dynamic leading voice in the dialogue about the challenges of modern agriculture.Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher follows Kirschenmann's personal and professional evolution as a lifelong proponent of new agrarianism. Together with agricultural economist Constance L. Falk, Kirschenmann has compiled a collection of his essential writings on farming, philosophy, and sustainability. In this fascinating blend of personal history, philosophical discourse, spiritual ruminations, and practical advice, Kirschenmann shares candid, valuable insights about the agricultural challenges facing the modern world and the necessity of achieving ecologically sound and responsible stewardship of the land.This rich book follows the development of Kirschenmann's long and distinguished career, from childhood lessons learned on the family farm to his inventive approaches for addressing contemporary agrarian issues. More than a mere retrospective, these these essays serve as an introduction to the life and wok of an extraordinary agricultural thinker.

This rollicking collection—personally selected by the author (in collaboration with his editor Tom Marksbury)—gathers the best of Ed McClanahan's work, making it a must-have for both long-time fans and newcomers alike. Comprised of fourteen works, I Just Hitched in from the Coast is an admixture of fiction and non-fiction, memoir and imagination. It includes such classics as "Fondelle, or: The Whore with a Heart of Gold," and the wry essay "The Day the Lampshades Breathed," chronicling McClanahan's time in the 1960s.In "The Essentials of Western Civilization," McClanahan imagines the affairs of Assistant Professor Harrison B. Eastep, MA, of Arbuckle State in Oregon, and of the gradual erosion of his dedication to academia. Weaving together Vietnam, rock and roll, a lackluster counterculture past, and the Great Plague of London, this is storytelling at its best by a master of the craft.The foremost stylist of the Yippie generation, McClanahan writes with bemused affection. He parlays his Southern sensibilities and California experiences with a mastery of language, to tantalize his readers with musings that are absurd, whimsical, outrageous, and, in the words of one reviewer, "wickedly sharp."

Wildlife and nature films are a hugely popular entertainment genre: networks such as Animal Planet and Discovery are stars in the cable television universe, viewers flock to IMAX theaters to see jaw–dropping footage from the wild, and the venerable BBC still scores triumphs with series such as Planet Earth. As cinematic technology brings ever more breathtaking images to the screen, and as our direct contact with nature diminishes, an ever–expanding audience craves the indirect experience of wild nature that these films provide.But this success has a dark side, as Chris Palmer reveals in his authoritative and engrossing report on the wildlife film business. A veteran producer and film educator, Palmer looks past the headlines about TV host Steve Irwin's death by stingray and filmmaker Timothy Treadwell falling prey to his beloved grizzlies, to uncover a more pervasive and troubling trend toward sensationalism, extreme risk–taking, and even abuse in wildlife films. He tracks the roots of this trend to the early days of the genre, and he profiles a new breed of skilled, ethical filmmakers whose work enlightens as well as entertains, and who represent the future that Palmer envisions for the industry he loves.