Ken Foster – författare

Now regarded as a classic in dog literature, Ken Foster's memoir chronicles his journey from first-time dog owner to rescuer--and all the lessons and mistakes he made along the way. Bookended by the tragedies of 9/11 and Katrina, Foster finds that dogs open his eyes to the benefits of compassion, selflessness, and the chaotic beauty of living each day in the moment.  But more than Foster's own story, readers remember the dogs. Among them are Duque, a Costa Rican stray; Brando, Foster's first adopted dog and a supposed pit bull mix who outgrew his Manhattan studio apartment; Rocco, a clownish red pit bull whose owner mistakenly gives him away to the wrong person; Zephyr, a cheerful Rottweiler mix who awakens Foster by sitting on his chest when his heart stops working; and Sula, the tiny lost pit bull who showed up at Foster's door one day and stayed.  Whether bearing witness to national tragedy, grieving the death of a friend, or dealing with his own mortality, Foster finds strength in his dogs, and in the reciprocal nature of rescue.

"Intelligent and witty . . . the writers clearly love dogs." -Dog World "A worthwhile treat." -Dog Fancy "Wonderful writing about the emotional geography between dogs and people." -Jon Katz DOG CULTURE showcases celebrated contemporary writers and the dogs in their lives. Here are best-selling authors Nicholas Dawidoff, on needing obedience school as much as his dog, and Chuck Palahniuk, on the otherworldly job of rescue dogs. Rene Steinke describes the shameful gluttony of her boyfriend's dog; Pearl Abraham writes of sneaking a dog into her life in defiance of the Chassidic community in which she was raised; and Chris Offutt reminisces about the Kentucky dog of his childhood, locked out of the house, injured with buckshot, but still deeply loved. Elissa Schappell gives us the other side of the coin in her hilarious treatise against dogs. Like the best writing on anything, each of these pieces are both about specific dogs and about all dogs, and, most importantly, about something bigger and more essential than dogs themselves: life, and how we choose to live it. With black-and-white images of the inscrutable canines that inhabit our landscape, this book will surprise and entrance, and make even the most skeptical dog observer see the world in a new way.

Ken Foster knows that a dog can change a person’s life. And that several dogs can change even more. For THE DOGS WHO FOUND ME, the author appeared in major media interviews such as NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, and received hundreds of letters and stories about other karmic canine rescues. Many of these heartwarming stories are now compiled in this all-new follow-up to the original bestseller. DOGS I HAVE MET introduces us to injured California pit bull Jimmy, among others, as well as to one woman who opened her house to 55 stray dogs. Ken Foster will once again travel the country for interviews and in-store events to promote dog rescue and this all-new national bestseller.

By 2050, we will have ten billion mouths to feed in a world profoundly altered by environmental change. How can we meet this challenge? In How to Feed the World, a diverse group of experts from Purdue University break down this crucial question by tackling big issues one-by-one. Covering population, water, land, climate change, technology, food systems, trade, food waste and loss, health, social buy-in, communication, and, lastly, the ultimate challenge of achieving equal access to food, the book reveals a complex web of factors that must be addressed in order to reach global food security.  How to Feed the World unites contributors from different perspectives and academic disciplines, ranging from agronomy and hydrology to agricultural economy and communication. Hailing from Germany, the Philippines, the U.S., Ecuador, and beyond, the contributors weave their own life experiences into their chapters, connecting global issues to our tangible, day-to-day existence. Across every chapter, a similar theme emerges: these are not simple problems, yet we can overcome them. Doing so will require cooperation between farmers, scientists, policy makers, consumers, and many others.  The resulting collection is an accessible but wide-ranging look at the modern food system. Readers will not only get a solid grounding in key issues, but be challenged to investigate further and contribute to the paramount effort to feed the world.