A timely study of change in a complex environment, Where There Are Mountains explores the relationship between human inhabitants of the southern Appalachians and their environment. Incorporating a wide variety of disciplines in the natural and social sciences, the study draws information from several viewpoints and spans more than four hundred years of geological, ecological, anthropological, and historical development in the Appalachian region. The book begins with a description of the indigenous Mississippian culture in 1500 and ends with the destructive effects of industrial logging and dam building during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Donald Edward Davis discusses the degradation of the southern Appalachians on a number of levels, from the general effects of settlement and industry to the extinction of the American chestnut due to blight and logging in the early 1900s. This portrait of environmental destruction is echoed by the human struggle to survive in one of our nation's poorest areas. The farming, livestock raising, dam building, and pearl and logging industries that have gradually destroyed this region have also been the livelihood of the Appalachian people. The author explores the sometimes conflicting needs of humans and nature in the mountains while presenting impressive and comprehensive research on the increasingly threatened environment of the southern Appalachians.

Each year, thousands of tourists visit Mount Mitchell, the most prominent feature of North Carolina's Black Mountain range and the highest peak in the eastern United States. From Native Americans and early explorers to land speculators and conservationists, people have long been drawn to this rugged region. Timothy Silver explores the long and complicated history of the Black Mountains, drawing on both the historical record and his experience as a backpacker and fly fisherman. He chronicles the geological and environmental forces that created this intriguing landscape, then traces its history of environmental change and human intervention from the days of Indian-European contact to today. Among the many tales Silver recounts is that of Elisha Mitchell, the renowned geologist and University of North Carolina professor for whom Mount Mitchell is named, who fell to his death there in 1857. But nature's stories--of forest fires, chestnut blight, competition among plants and animals, insect invasions, and, most recently, airborne toxins and acid rain--are also part of Silver's narrative, making it the first history of the Appalachians in which the natural world gets equal time with human history. It is only by understanding the dynamic between these two forces, Silver says, that we can begin to protect the Black Mountains for future generations.

Tricia and her brother, Shaun Morrissey, recovering from the tragic loss of their parents in an auto accident a couple of years earlier, undergo a period of turmoil in their previously placid lives in London. The turmoil is initiated by Tricia’s trip to the Himalayan mountain region in India, specifically to the mountain top temple of Kedarnath, at an elevation of 12,000 feet, where she suffered an event of memory lapse, possibly caused by inhalation of cannabis. Having returned to London and submitted herself to counseling by her psychotherapist, she is contacted by the newlyweds, Kris and Susan Hamsun, from Washington DC, claiming to know both—what caused the event and the way to emerge from it. Having convinced both Tricia and her skeptical brother, Shaun, as to the veracity of his claim, Kris, assisted by his Norwegian buddy, Jurgen, and other associates from his own treasure-hunting adventure, train and assist the duo in the successful recovery of the treasure. Post the successful task completion, Tricia is then advised to seek out the remaining 6 companions and similarly assist them in executing their treasure recovery task. While undertaking this transformation, Tricia makes her first contact with one companion, based on guidance received from the Dalai Lama and a Buddhist sage.

‘I watched the mirror for a last view, for now, of the frozen mountains of Glen Coe. As the road bent and the outline of Buachaille Etive Mor slid into sight, I did what I always did, and always would. I felt for that flutter of awe and that indefinable, unmistakable quickening of the pulse.’

Volcanic eruptions have killed thousands of people and damaged homes, villages, infrastructure, subsistence gardens, and hunting and fishing grounds in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The central business district of a town was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the case of Rabaul in 1994. Volcanic disasters litter not only the recent written history of both countries—particularly Papua New Guinea—but are recorded in traditional stories as well. Furthermore, evidence for disastrous volcanic eruptions many times greater than any witnessed in historical times is to be found in the geological record. Volcanic risk is greater today than at any time previously because of larger, mainly sedentary populations on or near volcanoes in both countries. An attempt is made in this book to review what is known about past volcanic eruptions and disasters with a view to determining how best volcanic risk can be reduced today in this tectonically complex and volcanically threatening region.

Christian Reid (Mrs. Frances Tiernan) wrote this her tenth novel in 1875. This book gave the North Carolina mountain region its name. A charming yet highly significant book, also included is an 1877 nonfiction article by Reid about the mountains. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.