National Outdoor Book Award Winner for Outdoor Literature From the award-winning, bestselling author of Cod- the irresistible story of the science, history, art, and culture of the least efficient way to catch a fish. Fly fishing, historian Mark Kurlansky has found, is a battle of wits, fly fisher vs. fish-and the fly fisher does not always (or often) win. The targets-salmon, trout, and char; and for some, bass, tarpon, tuna, bonefish, and even marlin-are highly intelligent, athletic animals. The allure, Kurlansky learns, is that fly fishing makes catching a fish as difficult as possible. The flies can be beautiful and intricate, some made with over two dozen pieces of feather and fur; the cast is a matter of grace and rhythm, with different casts and rods yielding varying results. Kurlansky is known for his deep dives into specific subjects, from cod to oysters to salt. But he spent his boyhood days on the shore of a shallow pond. Here, where tiny fish weaved under a rocky waterfall, he first tied string to a branch, dangled a worm into the water, and unleashed his passion for fishing. Since then, his love of the sport has led him around the world's countries, coasts, and rivers-from the wilds of Alaska to Basque country, from Ireland and Norway to Russia and Japan. And, in true Kurlansky fashion, he absorbed every fact, detail, and anecdote along the way. The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing marries Kurlansky's signature wide-ranging reach with a subject that has captivated him for a lifetime-combining history, craft, and personal memoir to show readers, devotees of the sport or not, the necessity of experiencing nature's balm first-hand.

The Urban Climate aims to summarize analytical studies directed toward physical understanding of the rural-urban differences in the atmospheric boundary layer. Attempts to quantify conditions have met with some success. There is certainly a clear understanding of the physical relations that create the climatic differences of urbanized areas. Although some of the earlier classical studies are cited here, the emphasis is on the work done during the last decade and a half. This volume comprises 11 chapters, beginning with an introductory chapter discussing the literature surrounding the topic, its historical development, and the problem of local climate modification. The second chapter presents an assessment of the urban atmosphere on a synoptic and local scale, and examines the observational procedures involved. The following chapters then go on to discuss urban air composition; urban energy fluxes; the urban heat island; the urban wind field; models of urban temperature and wind fields; moisture, clouds, and hydrometeors; urban hydrology; special aspects of urban climate; and finally, urban planning. This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of meteorology, urban planning, and urban climatology.

El aumento de la actividad humana en general, ha provocado un incremento en la contaminacion. Este cambio en las caracteristicas fisicas, quimicas y biologicas, tanto del aire, como de la tierra y el agua va afectando cada vez de forma mas apremiante a las propias condiciones de la vida humana.