The increasing global demand for marine-derived food and energy resources has intensified competition for seascapes, creating unprecedented challenges for sustainable ocean governance.This seminal book presents the first comprehensive analysis of decades of coexistence between fisheries and offshore oil industries in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico —a region central to Mexico’s economy, cultural heritage, ecological resilience, and the livelihoods of coastal communities. Employing ...

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the world's most important palms, and contributes significantly to the income and livelihood of many people in tropical countries. Widely referred to as the 'tree of life', coconut has been used as a source of food, drink, oil, medicine, shelter and wood for around 500 years. Every part of the coconut palm can be utilized. The demand for coconut fruit and its products has increased recently as people have become aware of its nutritional and he...

Before Doppler radar and broadcast weather reports, Spanish-born Benito Viñes (1837–1893) spent decades observing the skies at Belen Observatory in colonial Cuba, routinely issuing weather reports and forecasts to local newspapers. And before storm trackers and emergency alerts, Viñes made it his mission to teach the public what he was learning about the weather. He developed the first network of weather observation stations in the Caribbean, and his research laid the groundwork for the hu...

This book investigates youth employment programmes across nine African countries, providing important insights into the world’s youngest continent by population, in which 60% of people are aged under 25.By 2050, the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to be almost double the size of the labour force in high-income countries, representing a massive shift in the world’s working population and providing a significant challenge for job creation. In this book, contributors br...

**THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING TRAVEL MEMOIRWhat happens when an unadventurous adventure writer tries to re-create the original expedition to Machu Picchu?**In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and “discovered” Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the great archeological site, Mark Adams set out to retrace the explorer’s perilous path in search of the t...

An explorer searches the Peruvian Andes for a lost ruin in "a gem of a book [that] transcends the travel writing genre" with fascinating Inca history ( Los Angeles Times).A New York Times Notable BookWith the backdrop of the ever-intriguing Andes mountains, Hugh Thomson explores the intoxicating history of the Inca people and their heartland. The author, an acclaimed documentary filmmaker and explorer, expertly weaves accoun...

"Heart-stopping. . . . A gripping disaster story [and] a scathing account of human folly, arrogance and ambition." – The New York Times Book ReviewOn January 14, 1993, a team of scientists descended into the crater of Galeras, an Andean volcano in Colombia, for a day of field research. As the group slowly moved toward the heart of the volcano, Galeras erupted. Nine men died instantly.Colombian geologist Marta Calvache raced into the rumbling crater, ...

Winner of the Phi Alpha Theta Best Subsequent Book AwardFinalist: Los Angeles Times Book PrizeThe captivating and definitive account of the most consequential natural disaster of modern times.On All Saints’ Day 1755, tremors from an earthquake measuring perhaps 9.0 (or higher) on the moment magnitude scale swept furiously from their origin along the Atlantic seabed toward the Iberian and African coasts. Directly in their path was Lisbon, then one of ...

From a Bancroft Prize-winning historian, the gripping tale of a shipwrecked Spaniard who walked across America in the sixteenth century.**“Once you start this book, it's nearly impossible to put it down.” -**Washington PostIn 1527, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane and knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, the mission quickly became a des...

“A thoughtfully observed travel memoir and history as richly detailed as it is deeply felt” (Kirkus Reviews) of South America, from Butch Cassidy to Che Guevara to cocaine king Pablo Escobar to Charles Darwin, all set in the Andes Mountains.The Andes Mountains are the world’s longest mountain chain, linking most of the countries in South America. Kim MacQuarrie takes us on a historical journey through this unique region, bringing fresh insight and contempo...

In the early years of the 18th century, a band of French scientists set off on a daring, decade-long expedition to South America in a race to measure the precise shape of the earth. Like Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West, their incredible mission revealed the mysteries of a little-known continent to a world hungry for discovery. Scaling 16,000foot mountains in the Peruvian Andes, and braving jaguars, pumas, insects, and vampire bats in the jungle, the scientists barely com...

In the early eighteenth century, at the peak of the Enlightenment, an unlikely team of European scientists and naval officers set out on the world's first international, cooperative scientific expedition.Intent on making precise astronomical measurements at the Equator, they were poised to resolve one of mankind's oldest mysteries: the true shape of the Earth.In Measure of the Earth, award-winning science writer Larrie D. Ferreiro tells the full story of the Geodesic Missi...