Non-Fiction Books

We have always loved turtles, and we have often suspected them of loving us. A World of Turtles , which gathers literary sightings of turtles over many times and many cultures, celebrates the long-standing place of these creatures in the human imagination. All through our history we have attributed greatly anthropomorphic values to turtles—as this anthology will confirm. Wise, droll, bright, wary, dependable, serious, and shrewd come to mind, but also, somehow, noble, steadfast, loving. Turtles are constant symbols of strength, patience, endurance, and long life. Yet, for us, from childhood through adulthood, they are perpetual sources of delight as well With writings from Aesop to Melville, and folklore from the Abenaki to the Wagarra, A World of Turtles is an anthology of literary, folkloric, and scientific selections about turtles and tortoises, compiled from ancient, modern, and contemporary sources. It looks at these cherished creatures from every possible human perspective, revealing them (and us) in their many guises.

Fleeing a failed marriage and haunted by ghosts of his past, Luis Alberto Urrea jumped into his car several years ago and headed west. Driving cross-country with a cat named Rest Stop, Urrea wandered the West from one year's spring through the next. Hiking into aspen forests where leaves "shiver and tinkle like bells" and poking alongside creeks in the Rockies, he sought solace and wisdom. In the forested mountains he learned not only the names of trees—he learned how to live. As nature opened Urrea's eyes, writing opened his heart. In journal entries that sparkle with discovery, Urrea ruminates on music, poetry, and the landscape. With wonder and spontaneity, he relates tales of marmots, geese, bears, and fellow travelers. He makes readers feel mountain air "so crisp you feel you could crunch it in your mouth" and reminds us all to experience the magic and healing of small gestures, ordinary people, and common creatures. Urrea has been heralded as one of the most talented writers of his generation. In poems, novels, and nonfiction, he has explored issues of family, race, language, and poverty with candor, compassion, and often astonishing power. Wandering Time offers his most intimate work to date, a luminous account of his own search for healing and redemption.

This important book from a Pulitzer Prize finalist follows the brutal journey a group of men take to cross the Mexican border: "the single most compelling, lucid, and lyrical contemporary account of the absurdity of U.S. border policy" ( The Atlantic ). Named a Best Book of the 21st Century by Kirkus Reviews . In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the Mexican border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, the "Devil's Highway." Three years later, Luis Alberto Urrea wrote about what happened to them. The result was a national bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a "book of the year" in multiple newspapers, and a work proclaimed as a modern American classic.