Landscape is much more than scenery to be observed or even terrain to be traveled, as this fascinating and many-layered book vividly shows us. Etched into the land is the history of how we have inhabited it, the storms and fires that have shaped it, and its response to these and other changes. An intrepid sleuth and articulate tutor, Wessels teaches us to read a landscape the way we might solve a mystery. What exactly is the meaning of all those stone walls in the middle of the forest? Why do beech and birch trees have smooth bark when the bark of all other northern species is rough? How do you tell the age of a beaver pond and determine if beavers still live there? Why are pine trees dominant in one patch of forest and maples in another? What happened to the American chestnut? Turn to this book and no walk in the woods will ever be the same.

Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England

Science & Math

Wessels, Tom

Biological Sciences

Countryman Pr

From the author/illustrator team that produced the bestselling Reading the Forested Landscape comes this fascinating and beautiful natural history of North America's granite summit balds. This fascinating new book focuses on a rare and dramatic landscape: the granite summit balds of North American mountains. Tom Wessels synthesizes history, geology, biology, and personal narrative to enhance our understanding and appreciation of these high, wild places. He explores the unique and fragile ecosystem that is common to exposed granite expanses from Acadia to Yosemitehow it evolved slowly over millennia, and how it is threatened today by foot traffic and overuse. Wessels' dramatic photographs and Brian Cohen's beautifully detailed illustrations bring the denizens of the granite bald to life. The mountains they celebrate include: Acadia National Park in Maine; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; the Adirondacks of New York; the Wind Rivers of Wyoming; the Beartooths of Montana; the Enchantments of Washington; and Yosemite National Park in California. 18 black &amp; white photographs, 30 illustrations, 1 map, glossary, index.

The Granite Landscape: A Natural History of America's Mountain Domes, from Acadia to Yosemite

Cohen, Brian D.

Countryman Press

From the author/illustrator team that produced the bestselling Reading the Forested Landscape: a fascinating and beautiful natural history of North American granite summit balds. In The Granite Landscape Tom Wessels synthesizes history, geology, biology, and personal narrative to enhance our understanding and appreciation of these high, wild placesthe granite summit balds of North America. He explores the unique and fragile ecosystem that is common to exposed granite expanses from Acadia to Yosemitehow it evolved slowly over millennia, and how it is threatened today by foot traffic and overuse. Wessels' wonderfully informative and accessible text combine with his dramatic photographs and Brian Cohen's beautifully detailed illustrations to bring the denizens of the granite bald to life. The mountains they celebrate include: Acadia National Park in Maine; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; the Adirondacks of New York; the Wind River Range of Wyoming; the Beartooths of Montana; the Enchantments of Washington; and Yosemite National Park in California. 18 photographs, 30 illustrations, 1 map, glossary, index.

Take some of the mystery out of a walk in the woods with this new field guide from the author of Reading the Forested Landscape.
Thousands of readers have had their experience of being in a forest changed forever by reading Tom Wessels's Reading the Forested Landscape. Was this forest once farmland? Was it logged in the past? Was there ever a major catastrophe like a fire or a wind storm that brought trees down?
Now Wessels takes that wonderful ability to discern much of the history of the forest from visual clues and boils it all down to a manageable field guide that you can take out to the woods and use to start playing forest detective yourself. Wessels has created a key―a fascinating series of either/or questions―to guide you through the process of analyzing what you see. You’ll feel like a woodland Sherlock Holmes. No walk in the woods will ever be the same. 50 color photographs

Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape

Sports & Outdoors

Into the Field provides teachers with curriculum ideas for engaging students in the natural and cultural history of their communities. The book is both theoretical and practical, combining pedagogical background on why field work enhances educational experiences with the nuts and bolts details of how one gets started.

Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching (Nature Literacy Series No. 3)

Education & Teaching

Leslie, Clare Walker

Tallmadge, John

Schools & Teaching

Orion Society

Acadia National Park, on Maine’s Mount Desert Island, is among the most popular national parks in the United States. From the road, visitors can experience magnificent vistas of summit and sea, but on a more intimate scale, equally compelling views abound along Acadia’s hiking trails. Tom Wessels, an ecologist, naturalist, and avid hiker, attributes the park’s popularity―and its unusual beauty―to the unique way in which earth, air, fire, and water―in the form of glacially scoured granite, winter winds, fire, and ocean fog―have converged to create a landscape that can be found nowhere else. In this beautifully illustrated book, Wessels invites readers to investigate the remarkable natural history of Mount Desert Island, along with the unique cultural story it gave rise to. This account of nature, terrain, and human interaction with the landscape will delight those who like to hike these bald summits, ride along the carriage roads, or explore the island’s rugged shoreline. Wessels concludes with a guided tour of one of his favorite hikes, a ten-mile loop that will acquaint the reader with the diverse ecosystems described throughout his book.

Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia

History

Americas

University Press of New England

In this compelling and cogently argued book, Tom Wessels demonstrates how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs absolutely contrary to three foundational scientific laws that govern all complex natural systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Wessels explains his theory with his three Laws of Sustainability: (1) the law of limits to growth, (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption, and (3) the law of self-organization, which results in the marvelous diversity of such highly evolved systems as the human body and complex ecosystems. These laws, scientifically proven to sustain life in its myriad forms, have been cast aside since the eighteenth century, first by western economists, political pragmatists, and governments attracted by the idea of unlimited growth, and more recently by a global economy dominated by large corporations, in which consolidation and oversimplification create large-scale inefficiencies in material and energy usage. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible by offering examples of how the Laws of Sustainability function in the complex systems we can observe in the natural world around us. He shows how systems such as forests can be templates for developing sustainable economic practices that will allow true progress. Demonstrating that all environmental problems have their source in the Myth of Progress's disregard for the Laws of Sustainability, he concludes with an impassioned argument for cultural change.

The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future

Business & Money

Economics

Univ of Vermont

In this compelling and cogently argued book, Tom Wessels demonstrates how our current path toward progress, based on continual economic expansion and inefficient use of resources, runs absolutely contrary to three foundational scientific laws that govern all complex natural systems. It is a myth, he contends, that progress depends on a growing economy. Wessels explains his theory with his three laws of sustainability: (1) the law of limits to growth, (2) the second law of thermodynamics, which exposes the dangers of increased energy consumption, and (3) the law of self-organization, which results in the marvelous diversity of such highly evolved systems as the human body and complex ecosystems. These laws, scientifically proven to sustain life in its myriad forms, have been cast aside since the eighteenth century, first by Western economists, political pragmatists, and governments attracted by the idea of unlimited growth, and more recently by a global economy dominated by large corporations, in which consolidation and oversimplification create large-scale inefficiencies in both material and energy usage. Wessels makes scientific theory readily accessible by offering examples of how the laws of sustainability function in the complex systems we can observe in the natural world around us. He shows how systems such as forests can be templates for developing sustainable economic practices that will allow true progress. Demonstrating that all environmental problems have their source in a disregard for the laws of sustainability that is based on the myth of progress, he concludes with an impassioned argument for cultural change.

UPNE

Product Description 
Step Out of Your Car and Right into Nature!New England’s Roadside Ecology guides you through 30 spectacular natural sites, all within an easy walk from the road. The sites include the forests, wetlands, alpines, dunes, and geologic ecosystems that make up New England. Author Tom Wessels is the perfect guide. Each entry starts with the brief description of the hike's level of difficulty—all are gentle to moderate and cover no more than two miles. Entries also include turn-by-turn directions and clear descriptions of the flora, fauna, and fungi you are likely to encounter along the way. New England’s Roadside Ecology is a must-have guide for outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, and tourists in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 
 Review 
“A primer on the characteristics of the landscape of the region, emphasizing the exciting and complex interrelationships among species.” — 
The Boston Globe\n“An indispensable guide… 
New England’s Roadside Ecology is likely to become a perennial reference for years to come.” 
—Comfort Me with Nature\nAbout the Author \nTom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology. With interests in forest, desert, arctic, and alpine ecosystems, plus geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, and the interface of landscape and culture, Tom considers himself a generalist. He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades.

New England's Roadside Ecology: Explore 30 of the Region's Unique Natural Areas

Timber Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wessels, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wessels, Tom

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wessels, Tom. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England

The Granite Landscape: A Natural History of America's Mountain Domes, from Acadia to Yosemite

The Granite Landscape: A Natural History of America's Mountain Domes, from Acadia to Yosemite

Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape

Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching (Nature Literacy Series No. 3)

Granite, Fire, and Fog: The Natural and Cultural History of Acadia

The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future

The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future

The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future

New England's Roadside Ecology: Explore 30 of the Region's Unique Natural Areas