Lucid Food: Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life
by Louise Shafia
With the ready availability of recipes on the internet, cookbooks may seem to be becoming something of an anachronism. Not so fast, home cook! What’s really happening is that many of the food prep books making it into print are now beautiful works that are not only useful, but a pleasure to use. Lucid Food is in this category. Lush, full-page color images seem to jump off the page in three-dimensions, and the use of color and design elements make the book a treat for the eyes, even on matte paper. The recipes—including such tantalizing delights as Crispy Yuba Rolls with Lime-Mustard Dipping Sauce and Poached Quince in Orange Blossom Water—look surprisingly simple, and emphasize sensuousness, simplicity and sensitivity to the earth. (Ten Speed Press)
The Barn Dance
By James F. Twyman
When we lose someone we love deeply, we often find ourselves looking for signs, connections . . . some kind of communication from the reality that lies beyond physical matter as we know it. Sometimes this comes upon us unexpectedly, as in a lucid dream that we know with certainty is not just a product of the imagination. At others, we seek it out, as James Twyman did after the brutal murder of his ex-wife and continued dearest friend, Linda. Twyman was drawn to a deserted barn deep in the Nevada wilderness, where he says, heaven and earth collided and changed his life. Formerly of Joshua Tree, Twyman has been a spiritual activist for many years and authored 13 books, but this one promises to be a deeply insightful glimpse into his personal spiritual life. (Hay House)
The World According to Monsanto: Pollution, Corruption and the Control of Our Food Supply
By Marie-Monique Robin
If we had to point fingers at one company that is single-handedly responsible for much of our environmental degradation, Monsanto would certainly be a contender. The manufacturer of the toxic herbicide Roundup has a decades-long history of producing nightmare products, such as dioxin and rBST. The corporate giant controls the majority of the world’s genetically modified corn and soy—genetically altered to resist weeds but also produces lower crop yield and seeds that cannot be used for the next year’s planting—that now proliferate in American markets but have been declined by a more prudent Europe. In North America, Monsanto doesn’t hesitate to prosecute individual farmers whose fields have unwittingly grown windblown Monsanto seeds. Robin is a serious investigative journalist, and like the movie of the same name, her book promises to be both illuminating and spine chilling. (The New Press)
Moonrise: The Power of Women Leading from the Heart
Edited by Nina Simons with Anneke Campbell
Fans of the annual Bioneers conference in San Rafael will be instantly drawn to this collection. Simons earthy warmth radiates throughout the solution-seeking eco-event, and her articulate presentations never fail to illuminate attendees, so it’s presumed she brings those talents to bear on this book of essays from more than 30 women leaders—movers and shakers all—including Alice Walker, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Anna and Frances Moore Lappé, and Jodie Evans, the Venice-based cofounder of Code Pink. The stories from these activists, biologists, doctors, writers and others offer glimpses into their leadership impulses, how they perceive and use their feminine strengths, and ways they are reinventing a more yin-based leadership model. Many of them have mentored dozens of younger women, so there are sure to be valuable mentoring gems in their stories. (Park Street Press/Inner Traditions)
