A visually dazzling and deeply informative collection that will linger with readers long after the last page.
A visual and textual look at the extraordinary conservation efforts being made by Indigenous populations around the world.
This visual essay book, featuring full-color photographs taken by National Geographic photojournalist Yüyan, documents conservation practices by Indigenous communities in nine different parts of the world: Alaska, Palau, Ecuador, Mongolia, Australia, Greenland, California, Alberta–Montana, and Vancouver Island. Each location corresponds with a specific conservation effort—such as the Iñupiats’ efforts to restore the bowhead whale population in Alaska or the Cofáns’ attempts to preserve the rainforest in Ecuador—and is addressed in an essay by one of a group of writers (including an activist, a politician, and a bestselling author) detailing the work being done. These brief essays introduce terms like “traditional ecological knowledge” (which is essentially “the fine-grained, practical understanding that comes from centuries of experience in a specific landscape”) and include quotes from the people directly involved in the conservation efforts. The majority of the book consists of Yüyan’s photographs, which reflect the experiences of those who tirelessly work to protect their corner of the Earth and celebrate the breathtaking places and animals that need protecting. The text brims with fascinating facts and insights, from the “lemony taste” of the green tree ants in Wujal Wujal, Queensland, to 500-year-old Siberian larch trees that show no signs of aging. Yüyan’s stunning photographs evoke the essences of his human and animal subjects with a sense of profound respect. Whether depicting a shaman with hands outstretched toward the sky, parents pushing baby strollers across sea ice, or spotted jellyfish dancing underwater, the photographs capture the wonder that exists in the natural world—if only we take a moment to stop and look. The perfectly balanced combination of photos and text makes for a breathtaking expression of awe for the beautiful planet we all call home.
A visually dazzling and deeply informative collection that will linger with readers long after the last page.Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781680518382
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Braided River
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A smart, rewarding consideration of football’s popularity—and eventual downfall.
A wide-ranging writer on his football fixation.
Is our biggest spectator sport “a practical means for understanding American life”? Klosterman thinks so, backing it up with funny, thought-provoking essays about TV coverage, ethical quandaries, and the rules themselves. Yet those who believe it’s a brutal relic of a less enlightened era need only wait, “because football is doomed.” Marshalling his customary blend of learned and low-culture references—Noam Chomsky, meet AC/DC—Klosterman offers an “expository obituary” of a game whose current “monocultural grip” will baffle future generations. He forecasts that economic and social forces—the NFL’s “cultivation of revenue,” changes in advertising, et al.—will end its cultural centrality. It’s hard to imagine a time when “football stops and no one cares,” but Klosterman cites an instructive precedent. Horse racing was broadly popular a century ago, when horses were more common in daily life. But that’s no longer true, and fandom has plummeted. With youth participation on a similar trajectory, Klosterman foresees a time when fewer people have a personal connection to football, rendering it a “niche” pursuit. Until then, the sport gives us much to consider, with Klosterman as our well-informed guide. Basketball is more “elegant,” but “football is the best television product ever,” its breaks between plays—“the intensity and the nothingness,” à la Sartre—provide thrills and space for reflection or conversation. For its part, the increasing “intellectual density” of the game, particularly for quarterbacks, mirrors a broader culture marked by an “ongoing escalation of corporate and technological control.” Klosterman also has compelling, counterintuitive takes on football gambling, GOAT debates, and how one major college football coach reminds him of “Laura Ingalls Wilder’s much‑loved Little House novels.” A beloved sport’s eventual death spiral has seldom been so entertaining.
A smart, rewarding consideration of football’s popularity—and eventual downfall.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9780593490648
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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