2011 Noteworthy Books 387 Animal Invetigators: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species. Laurel A. Neme. 2010. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 256 pp. $19.95, softcover. ISBN 9780813035628. Accomplished environmental journalist Laurel Neme goes behind the scenes at the only wildlife forensics crime lab in the world to reveal how scientists and agents of the US. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to investigate wildlife crimes, protect endangered species, and stem illegal wildlife trafficking— the third largest illegal trade worldwide. William Bartram and the Ghost Plantations of British East Florida. Daniel L. Schafer. 2010. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 176 pp. $24.95, softcover. ISBN 9780813035277. In his famous and influential book Travels, the naturalist William Bartram described the St. Johns riverfront in east Florida as an idyllic, untouched paradise. Bartram’s account was based on a journey he took down the river in 1774. Or was it? Historians have relied upon the integrity of the information in William Bartram's Travels for centuries, often concluding from it that the British (the colonial power from 1763 to 1783) had not engaged in largescale land development in Florida. However, the well-documented truth is that the St. Johns riverfront was not in a state of unspoiled nature in 1774; it was instead the scene of drained wetlands and ambitious agricultural developments including numerous successful farms and plantations. Unsuccessful settlements could also be found, William Bartram’s own foundered venture among them. Evidence for the existence of these settlements can still be found in archives in the United Kingdom and in the family papers of the descendants of British East Florida settlers and absentee landowners. So why did Bartram choose to erase them from history? Was his insistence on a pristine paradise in Travels based on an early expedition that he and his father, the botanist John Bartram, conducted in 1764–65? Was his distaste for development a result of bitterness and shame over his own failed settlement? Daniel Schafer explores all of these questions in this intriguing book, reconstructing the sights and colorful stories of the St. Johns riverfront that Bartram rejected in favor of an illusory wilderness. At last, the full story of Wil- 387 liam Bartram's famous journey and the histories of the plantations he “ghosted” are uncovered in this eminently readable, highly informative, and extremely entertaining volume. Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography of Compositae. V.A. Funk, A. Susanna, T.F. Stuessy, and R.J. Bayer (Editors). 209. International Association of Plant Taxonomy, Vienna, Austria. 1000 pp. $110, hardcover. ISBN 9783950175431. The Compositae (Asteraceae) are the largest and most successful flowering plant family in the world, with ca. 1700 genera and 25,000 species. They grow everywhere but Antarctica, but they prefer open areas and are common garden plants (i.e., sunflowers, daisies, artichokes, thistles, lettuce). This volume is based on recent morphological and molecular data and has overview chapters that cover topics such as chromosome numbers and chemistry as well as a chapter on every clade in the family. Nearly every chapter has a color-coded biogeography tree and color photos of plants, and there is a summary chapter with a ca. 900-taxon tree (metatree) for the whole family. Appendices include an illustrated glossary and a combined literature cited (each chapter has a literature cited as well). This is the first family-wide molecular + morphology phylogenetic treatment for the Compositae; an ambitious undertaking that contains 44 Chapters and 1000 pages (ca. 200 in color) contributed by over 80 authors. Hope is an Imperative: The Essential David Orr. David Orr. 2010. Island Press, Washington, DC. 375 pp. $30, softcover. ISBN 9781597267007. For more than three decades, David Orr has been one of the leading voices of the environmental movement, championing the cause of ecological literacy in higher education, helping to establish and shape the field of ecological design, and working tirelessly to raise awareness of the threats to future generations posed by humanity's current unsustainable trajectory. Hope Is an Imperative brings together in a single volume Professor Orr’s most important works. These include classics such as “What Is Education For?”, one of the most widely reprinted essays in the environmental literature, “The Campus and the Biosphere”, which helped launch the green campus movement, and “Loving Children: A Design Problem”, which Noteworthy Books Received by the Southeastern Naturalist, Issue 10/2, 2011 388 Southeastern Naturalist Vol. 10, No. 2 renowned theologian and philosopher Thomas Berry called “the most remarkable essay I've read in my whole life.” The book features thirty-three essays, along with an introductory section that considers the evolution of environmentalism, section introductions that place the essays into a larger context, and a foreword by physicist and author Fritjof Capra. Hope Is an Imperative is a comprehensive collection of works by one of the most important thinkers and writers of our time. It off ers a complete introduction to the writings of David Orr for readers new to the field, and represents a welcome compendium of key essays for longtime fans. The book is a must-have volume for every environmentalist’s bookshelf. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, Thomas C. Peterson, and Susan J. Hassol (Editors). 2009. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 192 pp. $51.99, softcover. ISBN 9780521144070. This book is the most comprehensive report to date on the wide range of impacts of climate change in the United States. It is written in plain language to better inform members of the public and policymakers. The report finds that global warming is unequivocal, primarily human-induced, and its impacts are already apparent in transportation, agriculture, health, and water and energy supplies. These impacts are expected to grow with continued climate change—the higher the levels of greenhouse gas emissions, the greater the impacts. The report illustrates how these impacts can be kept to a minimum if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. The choices we make now will determine the severity of climate change impacts in the future. This book will help citizens, business leaders, and policymakers at all levels to make informed decisions about responding to climate change and its impacts. Sustainability: A Biological Perspective. Stephen Morse. 2009. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 274 pp. $45, softcover. ISBN 9780521543002. Encouraging students to engage in the challenges and complexity of sustainability, this text considers not only the theories underlying sustainability, but more importantly, how theories are translated into practice and the difficulties of achieving this in the world in which we live. This pragmatic focus gives students a greater understanding of the practice of sustainability and highlights the challenges involved. Models and theories are illustrated throughout with real-world examples to help students move away from the abstract and connect with genuine issues. The text begins by focusing on sustainable production and consumption and how they are related. The role of tools such as modelling and sustainability indicators are explored, and extended into the fields of stakeholder participation, livelihoods, and evidence-based policy. The final chapter explores the interconnections between apparently disparate subjects and the importance of taking an interdisciplinary perspective. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Volume 3. T.H. Nash III, C. Gries, and F. Bungartz (Editors). 2007. Lichens Unlimited, Tempe, AZ. 238 pp. $49.95, hardcover. ISBN 0971675910. This is the third and final volume of a complete lichen flora for the Greater Sonoran region covering over 500,000 square km of the southwestern Uniterd States and northwestern Mexico. The first volume of the Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region provided a substantial introduction to lichen terminology, included keys to most groups, and descriptions for almost 600 species for most of the pyrenolichens as well as squamulose species and the majority of macrolichens. Volume II extended coverage to over 700 lichen species in 111 genera, including many genera of macrolichens. It also covered the majority of lichenicolous fungi (species occurring on lichens) and included 64 full color photographs. Now, the third and final volume completes the treatment of all remaining genera currently known from the Sonoran Region. It includes 224 color photos (none repeated from Brodo et al., 2001) and covers 39 additional lichen genera, several large and less known groups such as Acarospora, Buellia, Caloplaca, and Usnea. It also treats four genera of lichenicolous fungi. Altogether, 1971 species are treated in the three volumes, of which over 25% have been described as new to science since 1990. The Southeastern Naturalist welcomes submissions of review copies of books that publishers or authors would like to recommend to the journal’s readership and are relevant to the journal’s mission of publishing information about the natural history of the southeastern US. Accompanying short, descriptive summaries of the text are also welcome.