Kevin Hillstrom – författare

The Vietnam War was one of the most painful and divisive events in American history. The conflict, which ultimately took the lives of 58,000 Americans and more than three million Vietnamese, became a subject of bitter and impassioned debate. The most dramatic—and frequently the most enduring—efforts to define and articulate America's ill-fated involvement in Vietnam emerged from popular culture. American journalists, novelists, playwrights, poets, songwriters, and filmmakers—many of them eyewitnesses—have created powerful, heartfelt works documenting their thoughts and beliefs about the war. By examining those works, this book provides readers with a fascinating resource that explores America's ongoing struggle to assess the war and its legacies.This encyclopedia includes 44 essays, each providing detailed information on an important film, song, or literary work about Vietnam. Each essay provides insights into the Vietnam-era experiences and views of the work's primary creative force, historical background on issues or events addressed in the work, discussion of the circumstances surrounding the creation of the work, and sources for further information. This book also includes an appendix listing of more than 275 films, songs, and literary works dealing with the war.

Michigan offers a bounty of paddling destinations, and this book is the most complete and up-to-date guide available. Paddling Michigan includes more than 70 trips in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas for beginner and expert paddlers alike. Classic rivers such as the Au Sable, the Manistee, and the Wild and Scenic Jordan River are included, as well as popular sea-kayaking destinations like Isle Royal Nation Park, Grand Island, and the Keweenaw Water Trail. Whether you want whitewater or flatwater, this book has it all. Maps show access points and landmarks, and are complemented by detailed written descriptions. Additional information on fishing, camping and wildlife viewing is also included.Freelance writers and editors Kevin and Laurie Hillstrom have been paddling and adventuting around Michigan for many years. They operate their business, the Northern Lights Writers Group, from their home in Munith, Michigan.

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the vast and diverse continent that is North America.North America, tells the story of this environmental awakening and the continuing problems that the continent faces. It tackles the tough issues, the complex problems, and the political controversies of the North American environment.According to some estimates, one out of every nine barrels of oil used in the world every day is consumed by a North American motorist. In 1996, World Wildlife Fund Canada estimated that the country was losing wilderness to development at a rate of more than one acre every 15 seconds. Today, this pace of destruction has been faulted for eroding much of the continent's fabulous natural wealth, and new emphasis is being placed on finding a more appropriate balance between development and conservation.Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographsOverview maps of the continent and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the world's most densely populated continent—Europe.Europe, one of six titles in The World's Environments series, tackles the tough issues, the complex problems, and the political controversies surrounding the continent's environmental past, its complicated present, and its uncertain future. Europe looks at the catastrophes—in January 2000, a massive spill of cyanide and heavy metals from a gold mining operation in Romania destroyed all biological life in the Tisza, Hungary's second biggest river. The poisons traveled 1,000 kilometers through Hungary and Yugoslavia, where they wreaked havoc on the Danube. It also examines the progress—European society has shown a greater interest in renewable energy technologies than most other industrialized regions in the last 30 years. Serving as both a blueprint for the future, as well as a roadmap of the past, this book offers a gripping look at Europe's ecological history.Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographsOverview maps of the continent and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the world's largest and most populous continent—Asia.Asia tackles the tough issues, the complex problems, and the political controversies surrounding the environment of this vast landmass. This volume encompasses everything from economics, land use, energy and transportation, to air pollution, rivers and lakes, oceans, and species and habitat protection.In Malaysia, unchecked discharges of industrial waste and human sewage led the government to label 42 of its rivers officially "dead." According to some estimates, Southeast Asia alone accounts for more than half of the world's total transport of sediment to the oceans. In the Philippines, the Chico River dam project, which would have subjected 100,000 tribespeople to relocation, was canceled when the World Bank withdrew funding after fierce resistance from the indigenous people. This fascinating book offers a comprehensive look at how the most populated continent on earth contends with its complicated environment.Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographsOverview maps of the continent and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing Latin America and the Caribbean—from the tip of South America to the Windward Islands.Home to Earth's longest mountain range, largest river, and greatest rainforest, no region boasts greater geographic extremes, faces greater environmental dangers, and enjoys more economic potential from its biodiversity than Latin America and the Caribbean.What are the political and economic factors affecting the Amazon's rapidly disappearing rainforest? What is being done to harvest life-saving drugs from the plants of the Orinoco? And what lies behind the mysterious disappearance of Central America's frogs? The work includes essays, tables and figures, and an appendix titled International Environmental and Developmental Agencies, Organizations, and Programs on the World Wide Web. Latin America & the Caribbean examines a region waking up to its environmental problems and possibilities.Interesting sidebar articles, tables, and figuresPhotos illustrating environmental resources and threats

A concise yet thorough overview of the environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing the continent of Africa and the Middle East.Examining both the rich biological heritage of the world's second largest continent and the very serious human threats to it, Africa and the Middle East explores the impact global pollution and a burgeoning population are having on landscape and wildlife alike. How is global warming responsible for the rapidly expanding Sahara Desert? Can local populations be recruited to preserve threatened species?Over 80 percent of Madagascar's species are endemic, the highest percentage of any major ecological region in the world, such as the highly endangered aye-aye which resembles a cross between a monkey, a bat, and a woodpecker, and the giraffe-necked weevil, a red rainforest insect with a neck like a fire truck rescue ladder. Readers will learn all about these fascinating species and much more.

A concise yet thorough overview of environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica.They are vast, distant, and scarcely populated. Yet the environments of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica are facing the same threats confronting the rest of the planet, as well as some unique ones of their own. How have human-introduced species impacted Australia's natural order? What new global conventions are helping close Antarctica's ozone hole? And how is global climate change threatening the South Pacific's species-rich coral reefs?The region's governments are grappling with the spectre of global warming, which, if not meaningfullly addressed by industrialized nations half a world away, could produce rising sea levels capable of engulfing several states of Oceania and partially submerging portions of many other inhabited islands. Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica tackles the difficult issues, tough problems, and political controversies surrounding these lands of extremes.Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographsOverview maps of the area and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

As citizens address the issues of climate change, earth-friendly technologies, and jumpstarting a green economy, environmental politics has gained a prominent position on the American political landscape. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics: A Documentary History shows readers the many ways throughout American history in which environmental concerns have intersected with issues of energy production and consumption, government regulation, private property rights, economic growth, and lifestyle choices. The primary sources featured in the book illuminate essential events and environmental controversies that have roiled the waters of American politics and policymaking from the colonial era to the twenty-first century.The volume opens with a narrative overview which develops the major environmental themes discussed in the chapters and documents that follow. Each chapter leads witha comprehensive narrative that provides background information necessary for understanding the significance of the primary documents. The wide-ranging document collections include over 150 full and excerpted speeches, writings by conservationists, federal and state legislation, court opinions, testimonies, policy briefs, and more. The documents are preceded by context-setting headnotes which provide information on the key players and events. Some of the topics covered include: Population growth and territorial expansionToxins and waste disposalAir pollution and climate changeWilderness and species protectionEnergy productionConservation and environmental justiceLand and water useUrban development and public healthMining and loggingA timeline listing major events from the colonial era to the present provides an overview of U.S. environmental history, while illustrations and an index further supplement this title. U.S. Environmental Policy and Politics is well-suited for collections at academic, community college, and public libraries.Key Features Thematic, primary source documentsChronological chapters from colonial era to the presentAddresses current concerns about climate change and energy conservationTracks the rise of regulatory agencies