Tagged: Books

Human beings put a lot of stress on the natural world. Our environment is adversely impacted by the pollution that we create and the animal and plant species that we have pushed to the brink of extinction.

Fortunately there are still occasions to celebrate good news about our natural world. A new book, "The Death and Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival," is the story of how a pristine wonder of nature, Monterey Bay, California, was practically ruined by over-fishing and pollution and how that degradation has slowly been reversed,

Whenever I find a really good book to read I think of things that I would like to ask the author; what gave you the idea to write this? What life experiences inform your writing? How did you find a publisher? And so on.

Many of my questions are purely theoretical. OK, call them fantasy. Perhaps the author is no longer living. Or she doesn't speak English. Simply too famous to do any interviews? I can still imagine the questions I would like to ask....President Clinton, I know it is none of my business, but...

Bill Richardson was sent to Korea 60 years ago to fight in the Korean War. He was captured behind enemy lines and spent the next 34 months in a number of prisoner of war camps. Most of the men who were with him in those camps didn't live to talk about it.

After all this time Bill Richardson decided he was ready to write a book about his experiences in Korea. It is an amazing story of grit, determination, and endurance. The author is now 81 years old. The Korean War and that generation of soldiers who fought there are slowly fading from memory.