BEATRIX POTTER'S GARDENING LIFE: THE PLANTS AND PLACES THAT INSPIRED THE CLASSIC CHILDREN'S TALES by MARTA MCDOWELL

 BEATRIX POTTER'S GARDENING LIFE: THE PLANTS AND PLACES THAT INSPIRED THE CLASSIC CHILDREN'S TALES by MARTA MCDOWELL  (340 PAGES)

There aren’t many books more beloved than The Tale of Peter Rabbit and even fewer authors as iconic as Beatrix Potter. Her characters—Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck, and all the rest—exist in a charmed world filled with flowers and gardens. In Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life , bestselling author Marta McDowell explores the origins of Beatrix Potter’s love of gardening and plants and shows how this passion came to be reflected in her work.

The book begins with a gardener’s biography, highlighting the key moments and places throughout her life that helped define her. Next, follow Beatrix Potter through a year in her garden, with a season-by-season overview of what is blooming that truly brings her gardens alive. The book culminates in a traveler’s guide, with information on how and where to visit Potter’s gardens today.

Beautifully Illustrated! I enjoyed reading about the countryside where Beatrix Potter grew up, and all the struggles she encountered and overcame in her life. 

EMPTY PLANET: THE SHOCK OF GLOBAL POPULATION DECLINE

EMPTY PLANET: THE SHOCK OF GLOBAL POPULATION DECLINE
by DARRELL BRICKER  288 Pages

For half a century, statisticians, pundits, and politicians have warned that a burgeoning population will soon overwhelm the earth’s resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different alarm. Rather than continuing to increase exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline—and in many countries, that decline has already begun.
 
In Empty Planet, John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker find that a smaller global population will bring with it many benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women.
 
But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. We can already see the effects in Europe and parts of Asia, as aging populations and worker shortages weaken the economy and impose crippling demands on healthcare and social security. The United States and Canada are well-positioned to successfully navigate these coming demographic shifts–that is, unless growing isolationism leads us to close ourselves off just as openness becomes more critical to our survival than ever.
 
Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent–but one that we can shape, if we choose.