Don Phillips takes the reader on a broad tour of all the issues that are threatening the long-term survival of our coastal fisheries. Don's three years of research for this book have included dozens of interviews with fishery managers and biologists around the country in order to provide a balanced perspective on the health of our marine fish populations.

Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries Reviewer Comments:

Dan Blanton - Morgan Hill CA - Author and Fishing Consultant
"Whether you're an amateur conservationist or a hard-core degreed marine biologist, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries by Don Phillips is a must read. It details in 10 chapters- ranging from The Ocean Environment to The Road to Recovery - volumes of useful information on the state of our coastal fisheries; where they've been, where they are and what their future holds. The book is a wonderful resource of detailed charts and statistics regarding both recreational and commercial fishing and their impacts upon our coastal fisheries. This book will leave you enlightened, but also with an ominous feeling that we need to change the way we humans are doing things, if our wondrous ocean fisheries are to survive mankind."

Chico Fernandez - Miami FL - Author and Fishing Consultant
"Don Phillips' Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries exposes us to a huge amount of neat and interesting information on the multi-dimensional problems of our coastal marine fisheries. A must-read for the angler who is truly concerned, and hopefully an inspiration for all of us to lend a hand in any way we can, before it's too late."

Ken Hanley - Fremont, CA - Author & Environmental Educator
"Education is the key to making good decisions. Don's impressive effort has given the public a valuable tool, to better understand our collective impact on coastal habitat and fisheries. His book showcases the issues everyone needs to address if we're to be effective stewards. It's not about pointing fingers....but, rather about building alliances and taking personal responsibility to achieve a common goal."

Ken Hinman - Leesburg VA - Author and President, National Coalition For Marine Conservation
"Don Phillips' new book rewards the reader with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the coastal ecosystems that fish inhabit, and the profound ways in which man's activities affect them. It is a call for a broader approach to the way we manage our fisheries and for a deeper involvement from every one of us. Ultimately, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries is about how the ocean gives us life, and how we must return the favor."

Lefty Kreh - Hunt Valley, MD - Author & Fishing Consultant
"Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries" is not a quick read. This book is crammed with incredibly detailed information concerning our threatened coastal fisheries. Everyone who fishes the inshore waters should read this book. But, more important, this is an astonishing tool for anyone who wants to understand the distressed condition of our inshore fisheries --- and how to combat many of the problems. Don Phillips has performed a real service for this resource and those who use or enjoy it."

Dr. Carl Safina - Amagansett NY - Author and President of the Blue Ocean Institute
"This book is much more than its title suggests. It is really an almanac that puts fishing in big-picture perspective. Its wide-ranging, context-setting information will make anglers smarter - and the fishing experience richer."

Lou Tabory - Ridgefield, CT - Author and Fishing Consultant
"This book contains a tremendous amount of information pertaining to the condition of our troubled fisheries. Phillips covers all the various effects that have altered the quality of our fishing. The book is a must-read for anglers that want to learn how and why the quality of their fishing has diminished; and some good solutions on how to improve our fishing and the declining saltwater environment."

R. P. Van Gytenbeek - Seattle, WA - Publisher & Fisherman
"For over 50 years, I've read everything I could about my passion --- fishing and the ecosystems that support it. From dusty tomes to the popular media, nothing much of note has escaped my attention. Now comes Don Phillips' new book, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries. Good enough to be a college text, yet written in a clear concise style that would do credit to our best editors. Marine diversity, water quality, habitat, climate, commercial/recreational harvest and a hopeful discussion of the road to recovery; it's all here, along with excellent appendices. So read this one book, you gluttons for marine fisheries knowledge. You will find all that you seek, and enjoy the process."

Ted Williams - Grafton, MA - Conservation Editor & Fisherman
"It's not good enough to be passionate about marine fish; you also need to know what you're talking about. Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries provides you with all the data you'll need to back up your arguments. Phillips is a tireless, meticulous researcher, and he writes clearly and powerfully. This is a source that no serious advocate of the sea can afford to be without."

Bare Bones Geology is a user-friendly book for those who desire some acquaintance with geology: not a technical overload, but a pleasurable introduction to how our Earth works and a bit about its extended past. The book is well-illustrated with 56 photographs and 8 drawings.

Twenty-three chapters arrange within three parts: Eyeballing Landscapes, Practical Geology: Coping With Geologic Hazards, and Geology to Stir the Brain. Two chapters in the last part are Asking "Dumb" Questions in Geology and Answers, and Geological Puzzles: A Selection. The "Dumb" Questions chapter asks such questions as "Why are oceans salty" and "Did cave men ever slay a dinosaur?"

Copyright 2003 Alan M. Cvancara.

About the Book

A Lassen Vacation is an inspiring, educational, informational and directional family tour book that anyone can understand; about one of the southernmost Cascade Volcanoes in Northern California.

The descriptions are easy to understand, and even though some words may be strange to you, the glossary is a great help with your path to understanding unfamiliar terms. This vacational book is a treat the whole family can get involved in and enjoy, while they entertain a pre-vacation ideas on new experiences available to them, while in Northern California and the surrounding areas beyond.

Readers won't want to put this book down, once they get started. You will be challenged in the hunt for new ideas to faciliate your vacation enjoyment. Descriptions are easy to understand, and a bibliography for further reading is available. Thoughts and ideas on the vulcanology, history, rocks, camping and hiking options, areas of interest, programs available, and some little known facts on Lassen Volcanic National Park, are all here in one book. Hope you enjoy it.

Pat H

Although much has been written about birdwatching in Doñana, there has never been a fully comprehensive and in-depth book that has given visiting birders to the region the opportunity to explore the endless possibilities that exist here. The main purpose of this book is to make information available and to guide you to some of the finest and most productive birding sites in Europe. All of the information contained herein is based on my extensive knowledge and experience, gained after five years of living and working as an independent bird tour guide in this region, conducting hundreds of tours and guiding thousands of birders, with my own birding company "Doñana Bird Tours". I believe that my intimate knowledge of the region, the birds, their migration patterns, their breeding grounds and their feeding habits, together with t'he effects of local climatic condition changes, makes me suitably qualified to write the most comprehensive guide book to this region.

This book gives detailed information on almost 50 sites within the Doñana region, and although a few of these have been mentioned in other publications, some are new and are seldom found by visitores to the area. The precise directions and descriptions contained within will lead you into the heart of this birdwatching wonderland and open up a treasure chest of previously un-recorded sites and areas, where geese, ducks, flamingos, cranes, ibis, herons, egrets and waders gather to feed, roost and breed in their thousands. You will also find areas wth high raptor densities and the breeding grounds of some of Europe's scarcest and most endangered species, such as the Red-knobbed Coot, the Marbled Duck and the Spanish Imperial Eagle. You will be able to discover for yourself the sites that I refer to as "the hidden Doñana".

"The most wonderful plant in the world," "astonishing production," "faculties eminently superior to every other vegetable production," "the great wonder of the vegetable kingdom," "miraculum naturae" – just a few historic words used to describe Venus's flytrap, words not out of place today.

It was Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765), Governor of North Carolina, who first made the plant known to botanists. In a letter to the English cloth merchant and naturalist-collector Peter Collinson (1694-1768), dated 2 April 1759, Dobbs writes:

For the first time the story of this unique plant, its Culture, Natural History and early Botanical History, is told in a single book.

Set forth are the techniques used by the most experienced, seasoned and successful growers. Whether it's winter, spring, summer or autumn, you'll know what to do, when and how.

An informative explanation of the plant's taxonomy, morphology, distribution, habitat and vulnerability is given, with an in-depth look at the mechanisms behind trap closure.

An authoritative account of the plant's early botanical history is presented. Read about its arduous journey from North America to England, how it came to be called "Dionaea muscipula" or "Venus's flytrap," and the mischievous truth behind the peculiar name "tipitiwitchet" given to the plant by American naturalist John Bartram (1699-1777). A fascinating and intriguing story, it is augmented with biographical memoirs of the eighteenth century naturalists and botanists who shaped the plant's early history.

As raptors are great wanderers by natures, the Author includes in his observations from parts of southern England and Wales particularly as birds such as Red Kites for instance, reintroduced to carious parts of the UK, often turn up in the Cotswolds and Wales, recognized by identification tags fitted to their wings as nestlings.

Hawkwatch gives an insight into the fortunes of regional residents and rare visitors to the Author's patch, a valuable reference for researchers. There are plenty of tips for birdwatchers looking to improve their field craft conveyed through a portrayal of actual events, often with graphic details.

Illustrations are the Author's own. He is a self-taugh artist who strives to represent his subjects as realistically as possible.

A special thank you to "Wink" and "Bear" for being such good friends and to all the animals that have touched my life over the past 15 years.

Animal Care: A Guide for the Animal Welfare Officer

• The Animal Welfare Officer
  
• Request For Service
  
• Dogs
  
• Cats
  
• Shelter Animals
  
• Medical Considerations
  
• Authorities
  
• Vicious And Dangerous Dogs
  
• Equipment
  
• Disaster Preparedness For Companion Animals
  
• A Few Warm Stories

Don Phillips takes the reader on a broad tour of all the issues that are threatening the long-term survival of our coastal fisheries. Don's three years of research for this book have included dozens of interviews with fishery managers and biologists around the country in order to provide a balanced perspective on the health of our marine fish populations.

Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries Reviewer Comments:

Dan Blanton - Morgan Hill CA - Author and Fishing Consultant
"Whether you're an amateur conservationist or a hard-core degreed marine biologist, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries by Don Phillips is a must read. It details in 10 chapters- ranging from The Ocean Environment to The Road to Recovery - volumes of useful information on the state of our coastal fisheries; where they've been, where they are and what their future holds. The book is a wonderful resource of detailed charts and statistics regarding both recreational and commercial fishing and their impacts upon our coastal fisheries. This book will leave you enlightened, but also with an ominous feeling that we need to change the way we humans are doing things, if our wondrous ocean fisheries are to survive mankind."

Chico Fernandez - Miami FL - Author and Fishing Consultant
"Don Phillips' Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries exposes us to a huge amount of neat and interesting information on the multi-dimensional problems of our coastal marine fisheries. A must-read for the angler who is truly concerned, and hopefully an inspiration for all of us to lend a hand in any way we can, before it's too late."

Ken Hanley - Fremont, CA - Author & Environmental Educator
"Education is the key to making good decisions. Don's impressive effort has given the public a valuable tool, to better understand our collective impact on coastal habitat and fisheries. His book showcases the issues everyone needs to address if we're to be effective stewards. It's not about pointing fingers....but, rather about building alliances and taking personal responsibility to achieve a common goal."

Ken Hinman - Leesburg VA - Author and President, National Coalition For Marine Conservation
"Don Phillips' new book rewards the reader with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the coastal ecosystems that fish inhabit, and the profound ways in which man's activities affect them. It is a call for a broader approach to the way we manage our fisheries and for a deeper involvement from every one of us. Ultimately, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries is about how the ocean gives us life, and how we must return the favor."

Lefty Kreh - Hunt Valley, MD - Author & Fishing Consultant
"Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries" is not a quick read. This book is crammed with incredibly detailed information concerning our threatened coastal fisheries. Everyone who fishes the inshore waters should read this book. But, more important, this is an astonishing tool for anyone who wants to understand the distressed condition of our inshore fisheries --- and how to combat many of the problems. Don Phillips has performed a real service for this resource and those who use or enjoy it."

Dr. Carl Safina - Amagansett NY - Author and President of the Blue Ocean Institute
"This book is much more than its title suggests. It is really an almanac that puts fishing in big-picture perspective. Its wide-ranging, context-setting information will make anglers smarter - and the fishing experience richer."

Lou Tabory - Ridgefield, CT - Author and Fishing Consultant
"This book contains a tremendous amount of information pertaining to the condition of our troubled fisheries. Phillips covers all the various effects that have altered the quality of our fishing. The book is a must-read for anglers that want to learn how and why the quality of their fishing has diminished; and some good solutions on how to improve our fishing and the declining saltwater environment."

R. P. Van Gytenbeek - Seattle, WA - Publisher & Fisherman
"For over 50 years, I've read everything I could about my passion --- fishing and the ecosystems that support it. From dusty tomes to the popular media, nothing much of note has escaped my attention. Now comes Don Phillips' new book, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries. Good enough to be a college text, yet written in a clear concise style that would do credit to our best editors. Marine diversity, water quality, habitat, climate, commercial/recreational harvest and a hopeful discussion of the road to recovery; it's all here, along with excellent appendices. So read this one book, you gluttons for marine fisheries knowledge. You will find all that you seek, and enjoy the process."

Ted Williams - Grafton, MA - Conservation Editor & Fisherman
"It's not good enough to be passionate about marine fish; you also need to know what you're talking about. Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries provides you with all the data you'll need to back up your arguments. Phillips is a tireless, meticulous researcher, and he writes clearly and powerfully. This is a source that no serious advocate of the sea can afford to be without."

Bare Bones Geology is a user-friendly book for those who desire some acquaintance with geology: not a technical overload, but a pleasurable introduction to how our Earth works and a bit about its extended past. The book is well-illustrated with 56 photographs and 8 drawings.

Twenty-three chapters arrange within three parts: Eyeballing Landscapes, Practical Geology: Coping With Geologic Hazards, and Geology to Stir the Brain. Two chapters in the last part are Asking "Dumb" Questions in Geology and Answers, and Geological Puzzles: A Selection. The "Dumb" Questions chapter asks such questions as "Why are oceans salty" and "Did cave men ever slay a dinosaur?"

Copyright 2003 Alan M. Cvancara.