Latest Posts by princess-of-lions - Page 2

“Untitled“ by | Erin Moon

Mt. Baker, Whatcom County, Washington

my internal monologue when Ancient Egypt is mentioned: [don't talk about imhotep and the first codified diagnostic manual. the fact you know so much about it is deeply weird and nobody cares about medicine that much]

I grew up in northern California and I say crayfish

why are there so many terms for crawdads

Lol I never thought about it that way but it’s so true! I play piano and flute, but I’ve also picked up some guitar and ukulele along the way and I can manage a cello too. I can also play the piccolo, but not particularly well. I don’t know how to use a violin well enough to say I play it, but I’ve learned a couple simple songs on one. (I’ve wanted to learn the harp since I was 13 or so, but those aren’t easy to get a hold of.)

What instruments do you play?

Him: yes

I hope im not just a blog you follow but also the only person with 100% correct opinions about the little mermaid

the largest ray species in the world is the giant oceanic manta ray and they can grow to be more than 25 feet across.

look at them!!

...I really want to pet one.

Worshippers trapped inside Al-Aqsa are now being subjected to explosives, gas, stun grenades, and bullets. This video shows heavily armed soldiers throwing grenades, point blank, into a group of women and children trapped inside.

Women and children are being targeted, specifically.

Palestinians are being run down on the street in broad daylight. I chose to share screenshots instead of the video because it was too violent. Police and Military are protecting and endorsing this.

This woman was arrested after she fainted from exhaustion watching over her own home and trying to protect it. Then they arrested her entire family, too. Another woman was arrested for intervening and attempting to stop a soldier from kicking a little girl.

In further retaliation from the government, airstrikes in Gaza. The Arabic captions mention that women and children were the victims, among 9 others martyred.

These aren't "clashes" between two equal parties. This is a targeted campaign of violence and ethnic cleansing by an apartheid government funded by the USA and enabled by cowardly countries in the Middle East who have decided to turn a blind eye. If you pay taxes in the USA - know that over three billion dollars a year get sent in aid, which is used to fund this terrorism.

Media organizations only continue the colonialism by whitewashing the rhetoric and blocking hashtags and silencing voices.

One of our holiest sites is being desecrated in the holiest days of the year. The blood of the innocent is being shed. Children have been slaughtered, homes taken, bombs dropped, sexual violence runs rampant, and the western world continues to look the other way.

Do not be silent.

I could not figure out what this was about until the last sentence

The wrong Dodo went extinct

🐯 🐯 🐯

tsatsiki is the best I make a big batch of it like every other week

i am high on tzatziki

my sister was feeling kinda down so I let her paint my nails to cheer herself up and she painted them black lol. I haven’t worn nail polish at all for like two years and I think the last time I wore black nail polish I was like 15

How to see whether a Chinese handmade teapot is well done or not - quality of the spout is an important standard. 

cr: 承启 建水紫陶

this is terrifying and beautiful

Crystal clear ice of the frozen Baikal Lake

Technically, ice is a mineral. Minerals are defined by the presence of a uniform chemical composition and a regular crystalline structure. (Ice has a hexagonal structure, due to the polar nature of water molecules!) 

A rock is typically defined as an aggregate of one or more minerals.

This is beautiful! I love this song; I learned the lyrics a little while back and it’s such a pretty language to sing in. (I’ve kind of made a hobby out of learning songs in several different languages.)

I’m also a trained dancer, and I’ve been fascinated with hula for a long time. It’s so different from the kinds of dance I’m familiar with, and it’s so graceful and rhythmic! If I ever got the chance to learn about hula dance in a respectful and authentic way, I would definitely do it.

It’s funny that this post only just now got popular, nearly 15 years after being posted. A couple days ago, it had about 30,000 notes; a bit before that, only 20,000. Now it has more than 50,000. It looks like it’s getting 10,000 new notes every day.

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It’s two years to the day that I first published this list, and I’d like to add a few more books to it!

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan This series is amazing. The books are written in a style reminiscent to Victorian Era memoirs, in a world where dragons are real. The main character, Isabella, develops a fascination with dragons as a child, and goes on to face many trials as she becomes the first dragon naturalist. There is so much I love about these books, from the characters to the world to the relationships to the incisive commentary. If you read these, you won’t regret it.

Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez This book is extremely well-researched and super informative! There are a ton of concrete examples that show the conscious and unconscious biases against women in our society. I think that anyone who wants to have a better understanding of the struggles that modern feminism faces should read this book.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon The worldbuilding is lush, varied and vibrant, the prose is beautiful, and the main romantic pairing is between two women! Plus, there’s dragons. This book is a must-read for those who enjoy high fantasy.

The Forgotten Queens of Islam by Fatima Mernissi I’m just going to share the blurb because I can’t say how awesome this book is more concisely than this can: “When Benazir Bhutto became prime minister of Pakistan in 1988, many claimed that it was a blasphemous assault on Islamic tradition since no Muslim state, critics alleged, had ever been governed by a woman. But Fatima Mernissi examined fifteen centuries of Islamic history and discovered that the critics were wrong. Recovering the stories of fifteen Islamic queens, this remarkable exploration tells how they ascended the throne, how they governed and exercised their power, and how their forgotten reigns influence the ways in which politics is practiced in Islam today.”

Who Cooked the Last Supper?: The Women’s History of the World by Rosalind Miles I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. For centuries, for millennia, women have been erased from the narrative of history. We are half the population; we have always been here; but our stories are not told, our contributions are overlooked. This book insists on a fundamental shift in how we view history, and begins to flesh out the parts of the story that have long been missing. I think this is a good book to read for all feminists.

The Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer At this point, lots of people have probably seen the movie that came out this past fall based on this series. As someone who read the books first, I liked the movie, but I found it a bit disappointing. The books, however, are wonderful! The story is engaging, and peppered with moments of hilarity. 

The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club by Theodora Goss One of the best things about this series is the varying personalities of the main characters - all women! - and their interactions with each other. This is basically an adventure series with a found-family dynamic (and an interesting exploration of what it means to be a monster).

Life Lessons From Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill A book of poetry that is mostly about women and goddesses from the ancient Greek myths, with a focus on mothers and daughters. There are some striking lines in this book. If you like poetry, it’s worth a look.

The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc has traveled all over the world, capturing honest and compelling images of women from many different cultures and walks of life. In her book, each portrait is accompanied by a caption explaining where the woman is from and how she and Mihaela met. This book is a stunning celebration of the strength and beauty of women, in all the different forms it comes in. (Go to Mihaela’s instagram @the.atlas.of.beauty for more gorgeous portraits and stories!)

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi This may be a children’s fantasy book, but it’s still an enjoyable read. Aru is a wonderful character, and the Hindu myths explored are not something you often see in mainstream media.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman Irene is a Librarian. She spends her days finding rare and unusual books, which she then acquires (by payment or by theft) and spirits away to the massive interdimensional Library she works for. These books are so fun!

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson This book isn’t well-known, but it’s so good. It’s set in a solarpunk-themed sci-fi city in a sort-of dystopian future. The worldbuilding is super interesting. The main character, June, is an artist. The book explores a lot of themes revolving around art and the role art can play in politics and revolution. Alaya Dawn Johnson’s writing tends to be extraordinary in its originality.

The ‘just read everything by Tamora Pierce’ section

The Tortall Books: The Song of the Lioness Quartet A young woman disguises herself as a boy so that she can train as a knight. This series is pretty much a classic in the genre of young adult fiction for girls and women. If you haven’t read it already, you should! The Immortals Quartet Another young woman discovers that she has an unusual type of magic with animals. The Protector of the Small Quartet Set after the events of The Song of the Lioness, this series follows the first girl (Keladry of Mindelan) to openly train as a knight. Kel’s strength is an inspiration. Daughter of the Lioness Duology Some years later, the daughter of the Lioness takes the role of spymaster for a revolution in a faraway land, fighting to put a native-born queen on the throne and drive out the invader tyrants. Provost’s Dog Trilogy Two centuries earlier, Beka Cooper joins the Provost’s Guard, where she fights tirelessly to bring those who harm others in her city to justice.

The Circle of Magic Books (3 Quartets): Four young mages live and grow together and discover their magic. It’s hard to describe how lovely these books are. The magic is described in such and interesting way, but really the heart of the series is that found-family dynamic between the four main characters and their two foster mothers.

Happy International Women’s Day!

For International Women’s Day, several feminist book recommendations! By feminist, I mean both books about feminism, and books about strong, complex, nuanced female characters created by female authors. (This is a pretty long list. Took a while to put together.)

Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie can find her way right to the heart of the issues that confront women every day. This advice can apply to women in all cultural contexts, and in my opinion is a must-read for all feminists. There Are Girls Like Lions: Poems About Being a Woman by Cole Swensen   A short poetry anthology about the moments of growing up as a girl and a woman. Circe by Madeline Miller Madeline Miller’s Circe is a triumph of storytelling and a triumph for feminism. In the Odyssey, Circe is treated as the selfish witch that Odysseus subdues. Here, she is given agency, life. She feels real and her desires and her courage and her fears will become your own. Madeline Miller has a true talent for epic prose. The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish An aging historian in London growing close to retiring as her body begins to betray her is given a chance to discover significant truths when papers come to light that tell an unusual tale. That of a young Jewish woman far in the past who longs to study and learn, to question philosophy and faith, and does so in secret while dreading the prospect of marriage. This book takes an unerring view of courage, personal truth, faith, philosophy, and what it means to be a woman. Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon Emilie is not what she seems. And on the Hindenburg, it seems that everyone has something to hide. Suspenseful and enthralling, Ariel Lawhon’s imagining of the tale of the doomed airship flight is nothing less than a masterpiece.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Tomi Adeyemi has created a high fantasy book that draws its inspiration from African cultures and legends. Her characters and setting are refreshing and compelling, and the words will settle in your heart and blood. The people love fiercely and deeply, and the losses are wounding. The parallels drawn to racial violence in America are at once heart-breaking and enraging. A necessary read.

The Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian Her home was invaded. Her family murdered, and her paraded about as a trophy. Princess Theodosia struggles to reclaim who she is and what she stands for in a world that has beaten her and her people to the ground. If she is to free herself and her people, she must remember what she truly is. A queen. The Chosen Maiden by Eva Stachniak   In the early 20th century, the world of ballet experiences a revolution. Vaslav Njinsky, hailed as a prodigy, provokes confusion and outrage with choreography that is strange, halting, jarring – to many, ugly. This is the tale of his sister, Bronia, also an extraordinary ballet dancer. As revolution sparks in Russia and war begins in Europe, she learns to chart her own path and defy expectations. Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris Kate Harris loved to read. She wanted to explore. To see the frontiers of everything. So, she decided to become an astronaut. But exploration can come in many forms, and she chooses to bike the Silk Road on her own journey of exploration. Told with candor, wit, and sweeping prose, this is my favorite travel book. Sold by Patricia McCormick A young girl in Nepal believes she has the chance to have a job, to help provide for her family. But when she arrives, she finds that the ‘work’ is not what she expected. Trapped in a brothel, she is forced into sex slavery. This is a difficult and emotional read, but an important one. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley A retelling of the Arthurian legends from the point of view of Morgan Le Fey, Ygraine of Cornwall, Guinevere, Viviane, Morgause, and others. It’s a very good read with very human characters and a heart of tragedy. The women in this book are wholly women and wholly human, with flaws and love and fear and difficult choices. Though I have one important note: I discovered this after I read the book, but later in life the author was revealed to have sexually abused her daughter and other children. Because of this, I wasn’t sure whether to include this one. I decided to because of the book’s merits and its influence on feminism in the nineties. I leave it to your judgement. Women & Power: A Manifesto by Mary Beard Mary Beard is a historian with penetrating understanding of the place women occupy in society. Her manifesto addresses the power imbalances women have faced throughout history and in the present. My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg A collection of the writings of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Accessible, logical, and wryly amusing, she provides insight into the workings of the Supreme Court, law, women’s rights, and many other topics. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah During World War II, two sisters are separated in occupied France. They find their own ways to survive and rebel against the German presence in their land. A well-written tale of sisterly and familial love, loss, courage, and endurance. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson A fantasy story about a princess chosen by a prophecy. Her journey to find, understand, and accept the power within herself is as poetic as the book’s title. The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro Two women, separated by a generation, bonded by memory. This book is captivating – and makes you wish you had some perfume of your own! Memory and scent, love and resentment, mystery, and fearless choices twine together in this story. A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland Poems honoring black women who have been held back and trapped and chained throughout America’s history. This is not a comfortable read. But it is a worthwhile one. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai This one doesn’t really need any explanation. It’s definitely a must-read though. Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II The meticulously researched story of the girls who broke codes in World War II. While their husbands and brothers and sons went off to fight, they went to Washington and learned to do work that greatly impacted the course of the war. Since they were all sworn to secrecy, their stories were almost lost. But not anymore. The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict Mileva Maric was a brilliant physicist and mathematician from Serbia. She attended the University of Zurich and was the only woman in her classes. After university, she married her former classmate: Albert Einstein. Her husband’s shadow is very long, but this woman deserves to step into the light. This is a rich portrait of a woman who was far more than merely Albert Einstein’s wife. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky This one’s pretty self-explanatory too. It’s an awesome book with gorgeous illustrations and many awesome and brilliantly smart women. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo Well, Wonder Woman, obviously. In this novel, Diana is finding her place as an Amazon, a warrior, and a teenage girl. Her confidence, courage, and loyalty is extraordinarily compelling. The book tackles the difficult issues she must face, involving war, peace, and the true meaning of strength. A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan I always pay attention when I see the word “witch” on the cover of a book. In history, witches have been the women who were feared for their differences – for their knowledge, their beauty, their independence, etc. It’s a powerful word with a powerful meaning. In this book, witchcraft is real, and the women are too. It follows five generations of the same family of witches, examining and celebrating the bonds between mothers and daughters while telling a tale fraught with tension and courage. Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives by Autumn Whitefield-Madrano An examination of the perception of beauty and its effects in women’s lives today, touching upon insecurity, image, idealization, and numerous other things. The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar Another tale about two girls in different time periods (I love these). Here’s the blurb: “- a modern day Syrian refugee seeking safety and a medieval adventurer apprenticed to a legendary mapmaker – places today’s headlines in the sweep of history, where the pain of exile and the triumph of courage echo again and again.” The prose is lyrically beautiful and the story is richly crafted. An incredible read. Double Bind: Women on Ambition edited by Robin Romm Ambition can be a complicated thing for women. What we want to do can be altered by how we want to see ourselves – or more accurately, how we are socialized to see ourselves. An ambitious woman may seem aggressive and overconfident to others – while an ambitious man may seem dominant and just the right amount of confident. This book is worth a look. Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore A collection of her own writings tied together by the biographical work of Jill Lepore. In this portrait of Benjamin Franklin’s younger sister, Jane Franklin emerges as a shrewd, resilient, and confident woman. Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas by Laura Sook Duncombe This book is so awesome. It just is. Badass women from all over the world who wanted their freedom and took it. Need I say more? Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki ‘"Many say I was the best geisha of my generation,“ writes Mineko Iwasaki. "And yet, it was a life that I found too constricting to continue. And one that I ultimately had to leave.” Trained to become a geisha from the age of five, Iwasaki would live among the other “women of art” in Kyoto’s Gion Kobu district and practice the ancient customs of Japanese entertainment. She was loved by kings, princes, military heroes, and wealthy statesmen alike. But even though she became one of the most prized geishas in Japan’s history, Iwasaki wanted more: her own life. And by the time she retired at age twenty-nine, Iwasaki was finally on her way toward a new beginning.” A tale of courage. the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace A story told in four collections of poetry. The story of the princess in the tower, and the story of you. The Diplomat’s Daughter by Karin Tanabe After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Emi Kato is imprisoned in an American internment camp. Later, she and her family are sent home to Japan, where war threatens everything. This is a tale of love, sacrifice, resilience and hope in the middle of a war told in elegant and touching prose. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker A retelling of the Iliad (The Trojan War) from the point of view of the women – primarily Briseis. The wars of ancient times are often thought of as glorious. The picture this book paints of the siege on Troy shows the other side of war. It’s illuminating, intricately detailed and bluntly told. Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee A difficult story of family, mental illness, sisterhood, immigration, and fulfillment in life. Every word rings true, sometimes painfully. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo This one was a really difficult read for me. It’s heart-rending. The love, jealousy, commitment to family, completely different cultural context… A difficult read, but worth it in the end, for the exact reasons that made it hard. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff Another World War II spy story! But this one is less about code-breaking and more about the feet on the ground in Paris. A fictionalized version of a true story. Daughters of the Winter Queen: Four Remarkable Sisters, the Crown of Bohemia, and the Enduring Legacy of Mary, Queen of Scots by Nancy Bazelon Goldstone “Brilliantly researched and captivatingly written, filled with danger, treachery, and adventure but also love, courage, and humor, Daughters of the Winter Queen follows the lives of five remarkable women who, by refusing to surrender to adversity, changed the course of history.” Pretty self-explanatory. An awesome and engaging book. Daughter of a Daughter of a Queen by Sarah Bird Based loosely on a true story. Cathy Williams is a slave. But she is also the daughter of a daughter of a queen, and her mother never lets her forget it. In this daring tale, Cathy rebels against her constraints as a black person and a woman and joins the army disguised as a man during the Civil War. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly I’m sure a lot of you have seen the movie based on this book. The untold story of three of NASA’s brilliant black female scientists during the Space Race. The book came before the movie and is just as satisfying in print as on the big screen. There’s also more exposition and nuance to the story. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King Sherlock Holmes has retired to keep bees in Sussex. Then, he meets Mary Russell, a young woman with a mind to rival his own. What adventures shall they encounter? It stays true to the tone and spirit of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, but Mary provides a fresh perspective. Wonderfully done. She Explores by Gale Straub These stories are so inspiring. I want to go out there and travel the world and explore the wild and live on the road every time I read them. All Hail the Queen: Twenty Women Who Ruled by Jennifer Orkin Lewis Ruling throughout history has not been only the domain of men. There have been multiple women that have ruled with strength, cleverness, and sheer daring. These are the stories of twenty of them from all over the world. 

one of my favorite astronomy facts is that the earth would become a black hole if you crushed it down to the size of a marble

Traces of coca and nicotine found in Egyptian mummies - WTF fun facts

it’s not really a substitute for actually brushing your teeth but sometimes when I can’t brush my teeth one night/morning for whatever reason, I put some toothpaste in my mouth with some water and swish it around as best I can. I wouldn’t suggest doing it too often; always brush your teeth whenever you can!; but this is at least something.

“if you can’t brush your teeth that’s fine uwu one step at a time” posts are supportive and that’s great but I’m about to have a 4.4k$ dental bill because I wasn’t taking care of my teeth when I was super depressed so uhh brush your fuckin teeth

apparently there’s some sort of recipe involving feta that has gone viral on tiktok? and apparently it’s reason why my grocery store was nearly out of feta when I went to buy it? idk I’m not on tiktok

I managed to get the last package of feta there which is good because I always have feta around and it would be sad if I didn’t have any this week

Astronaut tweets

ecosystems → the open ocean

Many open ocean organisms live out their existence without ever coming into contact with the shore, the seafloor, or the water’s surface. They spend their entire lives surrounded by water on all sides and do not know that anything else even exists. 

This “wide view” photograph of Earth, taken on 23 May 2012 by NASA Astronaut Donald R. Pettit from the International Space Station, “shows a dramatic 1000 kilometer (600 mile) stretch of the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas.” [4288 x 2848] [OS] - Author: trot-trot on reddit

so my great-aunt (or whatever else one calls one’s grandmother’s brother’s wife’s sister) is trying to send me something in the mail, only she realized that she doesn’t have my address on hand. so she called me and I just spent about fifteen minutes trying to spell the name of the town I live in out to her over the phone. she doesn’t use text or email, so I couldn’t send it to her that way; and her hearing can be a bit troublesome and also English isn’t her first language. you can imagine that this phone call was a bit of a mess. I’m still not sure if she got the address down correctly or not, but I suppose I’ll find out eventually

if I were the kind of person who used tiktok I would arrange a video with a bunch of my cousins and friends and put together clips of us doing greek dances. I feel like we could make that look cool

Japanese Maple Tree at the Japanese Gardens in Portland, Oregon [OC] [3024x4032] - Author: ZombieNinjaRobotArt on reddit

when I was a kid and I heard the ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ question for the first time, I didn’t understand the big deal. the answer is obvious??

Already posted/talked about how excited I’ve been for the release of this newly-published book (Decolonizing “Prehistory”: Deep Time and Indigenous Knowledges in North America – 2021). But here are a few other cool-looking newly-published books (with publisher’s descriptions) from the same publisher, the University of Arizona Press. 

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From the publisher’s description: “Decolonizing “Prehistory” combines a critical investigation of the documentation of the American deep past with perspectives from Indigenous traditional knowledges and attention to ongoing systems of intellectual colonialism. Bringing together experts from American studies, archaeology, anthropology, legal studies, history, and literary studies, this interdisciplinary volume offers essential information about the complexity and ambivalence of colonial encounters […] and their impact on American scientific d!scourse. […] Constructions of America’s ancient past – or the invention of American “prehistory” – occur in national and international political frameworks, which are characterized by struggles over racial and ethnic identities, access to resources and environmental stewardship, the commodification of culture for touristic purposes, and the exploitation of Indigenous knowledges and histories by industries ranging from education to film and fashion. The past’s ongoing appeal reveals the relevance of these narratives to current-day concerns about individual and collective identities and pursuits of sovereignty and self-determination, as well as to questions of the origin – and destiny – of humanity. Decolonizing “Prehistory” critically examines and challenges the paradoxical role that modern scholarship plays in adding legitimacy to, but also delegitimizing, contemporary colonialist practices.”

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The Dine Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature – 2021.

This wide-ranging anthology brings together writers who offer perspectives that span generations and perspectives on life and Diné history. The collected works display a rich variety of and creativity in themes: home and history; contemporary concerns about identity, historical trauma, and loss of language; and economic and environmental inequalities. The Diné Reader developed as a way to demonstrate both the power of Diné literary artistry and the persistence of the Navajo people. The volume opens with a foreword by poet Sherwin Bitsui, who offers insight into the importance of writing to the Navajo people. The editors then introduce the volume by detailing the literary history of the Diné people, establishing the context for the tremendous diversity of the works that follow, which includes free verse, sestinas, limericks, haiku, prose poems, creative nonfiction, mixed genres, and oral traditions reshaped into the written word. This volume combines an array of literature with illuminating interviews, biographies, and photographs of the featured Diné writers and artists.

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Moral Ecology of a Forest: The Nature Industry and Maya Post-Conservation – Jose E. Martinez-Reyes, 2021

Forests are alive, filled with rich, biologically complex life forms and the interrelationships of multiple species and materials. Vulnerable to a host of changing conditions in this global era, forests are in peril as never before. New markets in carbon and environmental services attract speculators. In the name of conservation, such speculators attempt to undermine local land control in these desirable areas. Moral Ecology of a Forest provides an […] account of conservation politics, particularly the conflict between Western conservation and Mayan ontological ecology. The difficult interactions of the Maya of central Quintana Roo, Mexico, for example, or the Mayan communities of the Sain Ka’an Biosphere, demonstrate the clashing interests with Western biodiversity conservation initiatives. The conflicts within the forest of Quintana Roo represent the outcome of nature in this global era, where the forces of land grabbing, conservation promotion and organizations, and capitalism vie for control of forests and land. […] The Maya Forest of Quintana Roo is a historically disputed place in which these three questions come together.”

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Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert – Wendy C. Hodgson, 2015

“The seemingly inhospitable Sonoran Desert has provided sustenance to indigenous peoples for centuries. Although it is to all appearances a land bereft of useful plants, fully one-fifth of the desert’s flora are edible. This volume presents information on nearly 540 edible plants used by people of more than fifty traditional cultures of the Sonoran Desert and peripheral areas. […] Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert includes not only plants such as gourds and legumes but also unexpected food sources such as palms, lilies, and cattails, all of which provided nutrition to desert peoples. […]

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Moveable Gardens: Itineraries and Sanctuaries of Memory – 2021

“Moveable Gardens explores how biodiversity and food can counter the alienation caused by displacement. By offering in-depth studies on a variety of regions, this volume carefully considers various forms of sanctuary making within communities, and seeks to address how carrying seeds, plants, and other traveling companions is an ongoing response to the grave conditions of displacement […]. The destruction of homelands, fragmentation of habitats, and post-capitalist conditions of modernity are countered by thoughtful remembrance of tradition and the migration of seeds, which are embodied in gardening, cooking, and community building. Moveable Gardens highlights itineraries and sanctuaries in an era of massive dislocation, addressing concerns about finding comforting and familiar refuges in the Anthropocene. […]”

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La Raza Cosmetica: Beauty, Identity, and Settler Colonialism in Postrevolutionary Mexico – Natasha Varner, 2020

“In the decades following the Mexican Revolution, nation builders, artists, and intellectuals manufactured ideologies that continue to give shape to popular understandings of indigeneity and mestizaje today. Postrevolutionary identity tropes emerged as part of broader efforts to reunify the nation and solve pressing social concerns, including what was posited in the racist rhetoric of the time as the “Indian problem.” Through a complex alchemy of appropriation and erasure, indigeneity was idealized as a relic of the past while mestizaje was positioned as the race of the future. This period of identity formation coincided with a boom in technology that introduced a sudden proliferation of images on the streets and in homes: there were more photographs in newspapers, movie houses cropped up across the country, and printing houses mass-produced calendar art and postcards. La Raza Cosmética traces postrevolutionary identity ideals and debates as they were dispersed to the greater public through emerging visual culture. […]”

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No Species Is an Island: Bats, Cacti, and Secrets of the Sonoran Desert – Theodore H. Fleming, 2017

“In the darkness of the star-studded desert, bats and moths feed on the nectar of night-blooming cactus flowers. By day, birds and bees do the same, taking to blooms for their sweet sustenance. In return these special creatures pol­linate the equally intriguing plants in an ecological circle of sustainability. The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in the world. Four species of columnar cacti, including the iconic saguaro and organ pipe, are among its most conspicuous plants. No Species Is an Island describes Theodore H. Fleming’s eleven-year study of the pollination biology of these species at a site he named Tortilla Flats in Sonora […]. Among the novel findings are one of the world’s rarest plant-breeding sys­tems in a giant cactus; the ability of the organ pipe cactus to produce fruit with another species’ pollen; the highly specialized moth-cactus pollination system of the senita cactus; and the amazing lifestyle of the lesser long-nosed bat, the major nocturnal pollinator of three of these species. […]”

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Whale Snow: Inupiat, Climate Change, and Multispecies Resilience in Arctic Alaska – Chie Sakakibara, 2020

“Whale Snow explores how everyday the relatedness of the Iñupiat of Arctic Alaska and the bowhead whale forms and transforms “the human” through their encounters with modernity. Whale Snow shows how the people live in the world that intersects with other beings, how these connections came into being, and, most importantly, how such intimate and intense relations help humans survive the social challenges incurred by climate change […].”