Andrea M. Jones: reading, signing, & blogging

Michael's On Main in Canon City, Colorado will be hosting a reading and reception for Andrea M. Jones, author of Between Urban and Wild: Reflections from Colorado. Andrea Jones will be reading from and signing copies of her new book. If you plan on attending, RSVP at our Facebook event!

Reading & Reception
Date: Saturday, December 7
Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Michael's On Main, 605 Main St., Canon City, CO

Can't make it to the reading? Get your nature writing fix at Andrea Jones' new blog, Between Urban and Wild!

Praise for Between Urban and Wild
In Between Urban and Wild, Andrea Jones explores the dangers and contradictions of establishing her home between urban and wild lands. Wasting no energy on blame, anger, or excuses, she examines ways to live more responsibly, demonstrating how we must thoughtfully adjust to our surroundings rather than changing the landscape to fit our whims."—Linda M. Hasselstrom, author, No Place Like Home: Notes from a Western Life

Hot off the Press: SALAMANDERS IN YOUR POCKET, by Terry VanDeWalle

The University of Iowa Press is proud to announce the release of our newest Bur Oak Guide, Salamanders in Your Pocket: A Guide to Caudates of the Upper Midwest, by Terry VanDeWalle and photographs by Suzanne L. Collins.

Terry VanDeWalle provides a complete description of each series as well as distinguishing characteristics for twenty-one subspecies, from the striking orange and yellow spots of the spotted salamander to the lichenlike patches of the green salamander to the prominent rounded head of the mole salamander. He also includes information about the salamanders' range and habitat preferences, from twilight zones of limestone caves and crevices to seepages and spring-fed bogs. Superb photographs by Suzanne Collins make this new guide the perfect companion for outdoor expeditions in all kinds of moist environments.

Hot off the Press: THE LOST REGION: TOWARD A REVIVAL OF MIDWESTERN HISTORY, by Jon K. Lauck

The University of Iowa Press is proud to present our newest Iowa and the Midwest Experience book, The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History, by Jon K. Lauck!

Praise for The Lost Region
"Jon Lauck justifiably laments the neglect of the Midwest by both the contemporary media and, more surprisingly, by historians, but this book is a robust and persuasive response rather than a complaint. The Midwest is vital to any explanation of the United States, and at one time midwesterners—particularly his Prairie Historians—explained the region to itself and praised its importance to the rest of the country. He is right. Historians need to refill the space they once occupied."—Richard White, Stanford University

"The Lost Region should be a significant contribution to midwestern history. As far as I know, no one has pulled together such a substantial reflection of the past and potential future of the field."—Pamela Riney-Kehrberg, Iowa State University

Plant of the Week: water hemlock

Water hemlock

Cicuta maculata L.

other common names: beaver poison, cowbane, musquash root, spotted cowbane, spotted hemlock

Cicuta: the ancient Latin name for poison hemlock

Maculata: from Latin, meaning “spotted” or “mottled”

Parsley family: Apiaceae (Umbelliferae)

Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition, by Sylvan Runkel and Dean M. Roosa, photographs by Thomas Rosburg