Alex Harris – författare

Entranced by Edward O. Wilson’s mesmerizing evocation of his Southern childhood in The Naturalist and Anthill, Alex Harris approached the scientist about collaborating on a book about Wilson’s native world of Mobile, Alabama. Perceiving that Mobile was a city small enough to be captured through a lens yet old enough to have experienced a full epic cycle of tragedy and rebirth, the photographer and the naturalist joined forces to capture the rhythms of this storied Alabama Gulf region through a swirling tango of lyrical words and breathtaking images. With Wilson tracing his family’s history from the Civil War through the Depression—when mule-driven wagons still clogged the roads—to Mobile’s racial and environmental struggles to its cultural triumphs today, and with Harris stunningly capturing the mood of a radically transformed city that has adapted to the twenty-first century, the book becomes a universal story, one that tells us where we all come from and why we are here.

Discover the incredible combat machines that have graced the skies, land, and sea of the world's most famous conflicts. A fascinating account of the history and development of dozens of legendary military vehicles -- from the German Tiger tanks of the Second World War and the nuclear-powered submarine to the high-tech fighter jets of today and the military technology of the future -- Visual History of World Military Machines details the facts and figures of these incredible machines. Featuring complete breakdowns of the technology that makes these tanks, choppers, and battleships the best of the best, this guide spans the last 100 years of warfare and how it's evolved. Filled with informative and fascinating articles written by leading historians, scholars, and other military history experts, as well as high-quality photography and illustrations, this action-packed book is a must-have for any history buff!

New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo mountains are a place where two cultures -- Hispanic and Anglo -- meet. They're also the place where three men meet: William deBuys, a young writer; Alex Harris, a young photographer; and Jacobo Romero, an old farmer. When Harris and deBuys move to New Mexico in the 1970s, Romero is the neighbor who befriends them and becomes their teacher. With the tools of simple labor -- shovel and axe, irony and humor -- he shows them how to survive, even flourish, in their isolated village. A remarkable look at modern life in the mountains, River of Traps also magically evokes the now-vanished world in which Romero tended flocks on frontier ranges and absorbed the values of a society untouched by cash or Anglo America. His memories and wisdom, shared without sentimentality, permeate this absorbing story of three men and the place that forever shaped their lives.

A richly illustrated birding guide to the nation’s first official wildlife refuge."Beautifully illustrated and written, this is a must-have for anyone who wants to better understand and appreciate our neighbors." —Jenny Odell, author of How to Do NothingThis charming full-color field guide introduces us to fifteen waterbirds easily found in the urban wildlife refuge of Lake Merritt. In his introduction, author-illustrator Alex Harris includes a history of the lake, providing context for a place that is alluring to humans and shorebirds alike. Each species profile of the lake’s feathered residents is accompanied by a beautiful, detailed watercolor that captures the bird’s distinctive coloring and sinuous physicality. The black-crowned night heron, Oakland’s official city bird, stares with its startling orange eyes, while the American coot flexes its fancy, flared feet. Along with straightforward notes on the identification of each bird, Harris features the voices of Oakland community members, sharing moments of delight from the birds’ most dedicated observers. A celebration of avian life and the human pleasure of witnessing it, Birds of Lake Merritt is an essential guide to the natural world in the heart of the city.