by Sally Roth, 2010, Rodale

A prolific writer on nature and gardening, Sally Roth has another great book for bird lovers. Paperback makes it a very reasonable pick-up at just $21.99, but I worried that its A-to-Z format was just an update of my long-time favorite of hers, The Backyard Bird Feeder’s Bible (2000). However, a thorough comparison of the entries reveals little overlap and lots of new topics with plenty of valuable commentary.

It’s these personal observations that give energy to Roth’s books, such as her experience that cardinals relish cat food that starlings won’t touch. Her guide also stresses conservation with informative bits about issues such as migration and shade-grown coffee. Even the great confusion between common bird grains millet and milo—one loved and one ignored—is
simply clarified by Roth.

I had the pleasure of hearing Roth speak at a gardening conference in Indianapolis over a decade ago, and later found her Natural Landscaping: Gardening With Nature to Create a Backyard Paradise (1997) a cornerstone for wildlife gardening. A sometimes Hoosier from New Harmony, Roth encourages readers to observe nature from many angles; for example, she suggests we observe a forest’s multi-levels in order to understand how to lure woodland birds to our gardens.

Roth’s newest guide will become Volume 2 in my library of her birding A-to-Z guides. I see complementary information in both books, and am pleased to add more of her interesting commentary and valuable nature observations to my collection.

by Clara Silverstein, 2010, Red Rock Press.

In the spring of 2009, Michelle Obama broke ground on a section of White House lawn that hadn’t seen a garden since a dozen First Ladies earlier. The last time growing food was connected to a national ideal, Eleanor Roosevelt was promoting Victory Gardens during World War II. Mrs. Obama’s motivation was to help children see the connection between their food and their health, and, ultimately, reduce the high incidence of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease among Americans.

Her initiative has involved schoolchildren and community gardening groups across the country. As the White House garden is celebrating its second harvest, Clara Silverstein’s book chronicles the
history of First Family gardening, offers a season-by-season account of the Obama garden’s first year, and shares recipes that showcase White House favorites, from arugula to zucchini, and come from community gardens, children, and presidents past and present. President Obama even shares his chili recipe.

Silverstein will be speaking and signing books at the JCC as part of the Ann Katz Festival of Books (November 3 to 18). The event is Wednesday, November 10, at 7 pm. Bring your questions—I’m hoping to find out if the Obamas compost.

by Jeff Yeager, 2010, Broadway Books.

Anybody who’s vowed to do his or her part to save the planet knows that saving money can be a happy outcome of those efforts. As author Jeff Yeager points out midway through the book, “I’m cheap and I’m green. In fact, I would argue that you can’t be the former without also being the latter, even if unintentionally.”

What separates Yeager’s book from other coupon-clipping, outlet-shopping, off-season buying advice is his accent on the “reduce” and “reuse” parts of the three R’s. He—and the legions of frugal folk whose advice he shares—focuses more on the “do without” strategy and less on the “buy cheap” outlook, and emphasizes that owning less can actually lead to enjoying life more. In fact, the book subtitle is The Surprising Secrets of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means.

Yeager’s book is the result of a media tour for his previous title (The Ultimate Cheapskate Road
Map to True Riches), in which he biked his way across the country. At the end of the 3,000-mile-tour, he had collected priceless pointers from characters such as a former stripper-turneddumpster-diver and a backyard barbecue-meister who favors the more unconventional cuts of meat.

In addition to rants on rampant consumerism and raves for the public library, the pages are loaded with tidbits: if you don’t borrow movie DVDs from the library, rent them through Netflix;
it can be more water-wise to wash dishes by hand—if you dump the dirty dishwater into your thirsty garden.

One exercise is especially intriguing —Yeager recommends going on a fiscal fast, taking a week each year and not spending a penny. I’m still trying to figure out the logistics (does it count as “spending” if you have automatic bill-pay?), but I’m game.

If you’re eager to read more, head for your closest public library branch. And don’t feel bad about cheating a cheapskate out of his royalty fee. Yeager, himself, encourages the reader to borrow rather than buy his book.

edited by Dana L. Jackson and Laura L. Jackson,
forward by Nina Leopold Bradley,
2002, Island Press