Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2017 -

This is a landmark book on rangelands and an exemplary work on the relationship between science and policy. Sayre (geography, Univ. of California, Berkeley) has written a well-researched history about the scientific study and resource management of the American range. Not only is this work a penetrating analysis of the mutual application and misapplication of science and policy, it is a compelling story. Sayre succeeds in bringing to life the people and ideas that informed livestock grazing practices on western public lands for decades. Problems arose when data from study sites that reflected one set of conditions at a specific time and spatial scales were generalized to other conditions and scales. This failed model persisted for economic and political reasons, and then was exported to pastoral societies in developing countries, where it was even more inappropriate. Sayre advocates a practice that has become more promising, combining science with local cultural knowledge about the most sustainable use of that particular landscape. This is a very important and excellent addition for library collections in the western United States and in other rangeland communities.Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates and above; faculty and professionals.

As urban areas expand into surrounding natural habitat, there are inevitably more interactions between humans and wildlife. In this third edition, Adams (emer., wildlife and fisheries sciences, Texas A&M Univ., College Station) updates a work that filled a void--no comprehensive treatment of the subject had previously existed. Significant enhancements to previous editions (CH, Oct'06, 44-0909) include five new chapters, four case studies, seven appendixes/species profiles, and 90 figures. Additional research and data mining contribute a significant amount of new information to this edition. New chapters highlight special management considerations for various types of urban vertebrates. A short profile of an urban species follows each chapter. Though examples and case studies are heavily focused on the United States, the general principles can apply to urban wildlife in any area of the world. Designed to serve as a textbook, this volume synthesizes current information and is the standard text on this subject. It can also serve as a general resource for those interested in this topic. More than 1,000 references fill 41 pages. A similar book, Urban Wildlife Conservation (CH, Jul'15, 52-5883) complements this title, but Adams's work serves as a better introduction to the subject.Summing Up: Essential. All readers.