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In the same way that Michael Pollan’s slim best-seller Food Rules brought a gust of common sense to the everyday activity of eating, Just Ride is a revelation. Forget the ultralight, uncomfortable bikes, flashy jerseys, clunky shoes that clip onto tiny pedals, the grinding out of endless miles. Instead, ride like you did when you were a kid—just get on your bike and discover the pure joy of riding it.

A reformed racer who’s commuted by bike every day since 1980, Grant Petersen shares a lifetime of unexpected facts, controversial opinions, expert techniques and his own maverick philosophy. His company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, makes bikes for riders ready to opt out of a culture overrun by racing, and his writings and opinions have appeared in major bicycling and outdoor magazines.

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It's a tired turn of phrase, but the grass is always greener on the other side. And for gardeners, it's not just the grass — it's the flowers, the shrubs, and the trees.

No longer! Pining to grow lilac but lack the full sun? Try the fragrant pink and white flowers of Korean spice viburnum. Love the drama of canna but need something hardier? Try the bold foliage of variegated fleece flower. Why Grow That When You Can Grow This? offers hundreds of all-star alternatives that replace — and often outshine — popular problem plants.

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Has the threat of urban terrorism, debacles such as the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans or just the general hassle of city life got you thinking about moving to the country? Good idea, but before you pull up stakes, here's a chance to learn about some of the realities of rural living that you might never have faced in your city or suburban home. Ragnar Benson grew up on a farm and has lived in the sticks for decades, and he has helped dozens of transplants settle into their new homes in the country. Now he has gathered his advice into this handy familiarization manual to introduce you to some of the issues you need to know about life in rural communities. Get an informed head start on the adventure, independence and tranquility of a new life in rural America.

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As folks like Michael Pollan and Joel Salatin have been preaching for years, commercial meat production isn't good for the animals, our bodies or the planet. Yet the organic, sustainably raised pork, beef and lamb one finds at supermarkets and specialty stores are often pricey, and the marketing labels can be beyond confusing. What if you just want to eat meat as healthfully and enjoyably as possible, all while sticking to a budget?

Uncle Dave's Cow: And Other Whole Animals My Freezer Has Known shows you how to find and evaluate local farmers, form a buying group, plan out cuts and quantities, store and preserve your purchases, and dish up an entire animal one part at a time. Author Leslie Miller, a busy Seattle mother who hails from a long lineage of Central Washington farmers, shows readers how to go whole hog (or cow, or goat, or lamb, for that matter) as she takes the reader along on her own educational journey – from the moment she locates and buys her first pig, all the way to her last forkful of tender pulled pork. Miller explores local farmers markets and 4-H fairs, talks to dedicated farmers and butchers, and explains how even her children connect to the cow in the freezer. By sharing her whole-food experiences, she allows readers to connect to the source of their food, while her 45 original recipes show how to cook mouthwatering meals from the abundance of whole animals.

Written with urban charm and a knife-sharp sense of humor, Uncle Dave's Cow is a friendly and accessible guide to sourcing and eating local meat for parents, foodies, and everyone who wants to learn how to be a well-prepared consumer and cook through to the bone.

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Long a classic within the beekeeping community, this book is one of the greatest works on the ancient art and science of beekeeping. Accompanied by 111 illustrations, it offers advice, observations and information gleaned from a half-century of beekeeping. It’s a practical, yet endlessly charming handbook on all aspects of this romantic, arcane pursuit.

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In this book, Whole Foods Market co-founder John Mackey and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. co-founder and professor Raj Sisodia argue for the inherent good of both business and capitalism. Featuring some of today's best-known companies, they illustrate how these two forces can-and do-work most powerfully to create value for all stakeholders: including customers, employees, suppliers, investors, society and the environment.

These "Conscious Capitalism" companies include Whole Foods Market, Southwest Airlines, Costco, Google, Patagonia, The Container Store, UPS, and dozens of others. We know them; we buy their products or use their services. Now it's time to better understand how these organizations use four specific tenets -- higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and management -- to build strong businesses and help advance capitalism further toward realizing its highest potential.

As leaders of the Conscious Capitalism movement, Mackey and Sisodia argue that aspiring leaders and business builders need to continue on this path of transformation-for the good of both business and society as a whole.

At once a bold defense and reimagining of capitalism and a blueprint for a new system for doing business grounded in a more evolved ethical consciousness, this book provides a new lens for individuals and companies looking to build a more cooperative, humane and positive future.

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In April 2009, first lady Michelle Obama planted a kitchen garden on the White House’s South Lawn. As fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs sprouted from the ground, this White House kitchen garden inspired a new conversation all across the country about the food we feed our families and the impact it has on the health and well-being of our children.

Now, in her first book, Mrs. Obama invites you inside the White House kitchen garden and shares its inspiring story, from the first planting to the latest harvest. Hear about her worries as a novice gardener – would the new plants even grow? Learn about her struggles and her joys as lettuce, corn, tomatoes, collards and kale, sweet potatoes, and rhubarb flourished in the freshly tilled soil. American Grown provides an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at every season of the garden’s growth, with striking original photographs that bring its story to life. Try the unique recipes created by White House chefs and made with ingredients just picked from the White House garden. And learn from the White House garden team about how you can help plant your own backyard, school or community garden.

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Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between 'human' and 'wild'. Unlearn, Rewild boldly envisions such a world, probing deeply into the cultural constraints on our ability to lead truly sustainable lives and offering real, tangible tools to move toward another way of living, seeing and thinking.

Part philosophical treatise, part hard-core survival guide, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills, including:

• Harvesting and preparing unconventional proteins
• Feral food preservation
• Dealing responsibly with waste
• Gathering edible insects
• Tanning and processing animal skins.

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Sepp Holzer is known around the world for bringing deserted landscapes back to life using his unique methods of creating water-retention basins. In Desert or Paradise, he applies his core philosophy - for increasing food production, promoting the earth's health and reconnecting mankind with nature - to reforestation and water conservation across the world. He urges us to look beyond failed solutions to drought by learning from his lengthy catalog of successes in arid, rainfall-dependent regions such as Greece, Turkey, Spain and Portugal.

You'll find here a wealth of information for the gardener, homesteader, permaculture designer and sustainable farmer. Yet the book's greatest value lies in the attitudes it teaches - and in its demonstration that the simple principles found in nature and used to create Holzer's productive systems can be applied anywhere.

Holzer also outlines his 10 points of sustainable self-reliance and how these methods can help feed the world. They include recognizing the need to:

• Regulate water usage
• Eliminate factory livestock farming
• Bring more fallow or unused land into production
• Enlarge crop areas by using terracing and Holzer-style raised beds
• Engage in community building
• … And much more

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The sprawl of suburbia, destruction of wildlife areas, overregulation of game animals, and reduced popularity of hunting and fishing have resulted in more people coming into direct contact with wild animals on a regular basis. In this invaluable do-it-yourself guide, veteran outdoorsman Larry Grupp gives readers a comprehensive toolbox of specific devices and strategies to deal safely, legally and effectively with more than 30 common North American pests, including deer, bears, raccoons, rabbits, beavers, porcupines, skunks, foxes, coyotes, rats, squirrels, bats, birds, fish and reptiles.