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Lead for the Planet: Five Practices for Confronting Climate Change
by Rae AndreWith melting ice caps in the Arctic causing catastrophic environmental issues, it’s hard to believe that we’ve had to spend so much time convincing each other that climate change is real. Lead for the Planet shifts the focus to how we, the members of Team Humanity, are going to organize to solve the twin issues of climate change and energy evolution. The book channels a broad range of social science perspectives, from anthropology to psychology to economics, to help decision-makers explore how Team Humanity can get this thing done. Lead for the Planet outlines five practices that successful climate leaders will need to adopt, from getting the truth about the state of the planet, to assessing the risks and identifying the interests of key stakeholders, to implementing change within and between organizations and sectors on a global scale. Building on her experience as an organizational psychologist, Rae André shows how these practices comprise an effective model for climate leadership. Lead for the Planet is a guide for the kind of leadership that is necessary to help us all avoid the worst of global warming and to create a clean energy future for the generations to come.
Leaders and Laggards: Next-Generation Environmental Regulation
by Darren Sinclair Neil GunninghamConsensus is growing internationally that traditional command-and-control approaches to environmental regulation have borne much of their low-hanging fruit. Yet it is far from clear what should complement or replace them. Regulatory agencies and policy-makers are struggling with a lack of information about regulatory reform, about what works and what doesn't, and about how best to harness the resources of both government and non-government stakeholders. Progress is being impeded unnecessarily by a lack of shared knowledge of how similar agencies elsewhere are meeting similar challenges and by a lack of data on the success or otherwise of existing initiatives. Despite recent and valuable attempts to deal with such problems in the European Union and North America, these remain islands of wisdom in a sea of ignorance. For example, when it comes to dealing with small and medium-sized enterprises, very little is known, and what is known is not effectively distilled and disseminated. Much the same could be said about the roles of third parties, commercial and non-commercial, as surrogate regulators, and more broadly of many current initiatives to reconfigure the regulatory state. Based on the authors' work for the OECD, Victorian Environmental Protection Authority and the Western Australian Department of Environment Protection, Leaders and Laggards addresses these problems by identifying innovative regulatory best practice internationally in a number of specific contexts, evaluating empirically the effectiveness of regulatory reform and providing policy prescriptions that would better enable agencies to fulfil their regulatory missions. Focusing primarily on the differing requirements for both corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises in North America and Europe, the book aims to complement existing initiatives and to expand knowledge of regulatory reform by showing: how existing experience can best be put to practical use "on the ground"; by drawing lessons from experiments in innovative regulation internationally; by reporting and extrapolating on original case studies; and by advancing understanding on which instruments and strategies are likely to be of most value and why. The authors argue that the development of theory has outstripped its application. In essence, Leaders and Laggards aims to ground a myriad of theory on the reinvention of environmental regulation into practice. The book will be essential reading for environmental policy-makers, regulatory and other government officials responsible for policy design and implementation, academics and postgraduate students in environmental management, environmental law and environmental policy, and a more general readership within environmental policy and management studies. It will also be of interest to those in industry, such as environmental managers and corporate strategists, who are considering the use of more innovative environmental and regulatory strategies, and to environmental NGOs.
Leadership Lessons from a Global Health Crisis: From the Pandemic to the Climate Emergency (Routledge Focus on Environmental Health)
by Jo NurseThis book explores the key learning for global leadership in the face of modern international health crises and argues the need for fundamental reform to governance paradigms, within the global security sphere and policymaking circles. Beginning with an analysis of the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the book provides insights from evolution, history, and human behaviour to explain how our current leadership paradigms have contributed to today’s global health challenges, and draws lessons for the much larger crisis of climate change with the threat of massive biodiversity collapse. The second part of the book outlines tangible solutions to transform leadership and policy to enhance global security for both People and the Planet, with the aim of averting future Pandemics and our Planetary Emergency. This book: Will be among the first published works to examine the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and draws valuable lessons for our Climate Crisis. Directly addresses the nexus between scientific advice and policymaking, highlighting its need for remedial action in the wake of 2020 global health crises. Provides a bridge between public health, the environment and leadership. This book will prove an insightful resource for current and future world leaders, politicians and policymakers, as well as Environmental and Public Health professional bodies, think tanks and institutions shaping the next generation of leadership.
Leadership in Leisure Services: Making a Difference (Third Edition)
by Debra J. JordanLeadership is a process and an experience that impacts all of us in our roles as leaders and as followers. This text presents leadership as a personal journey that takes conscious effort to undertake and develop. Leadership is one of the keystones of successful parks, recreation and leisure services agencies, organizations and programs. How we deal with people,how we interact with fellow staff supervisors, participants, and the general public all make an incredible statement about who we are and what our profession is about. This book is designed to help students of leadership begin, or renew, their personal journey toward leadership.
Leading Out: Women Climbers Reaching for the Top
by Rachel Da SilvaLeading Out is a valuable collection of inspiring essays by the most prominent and impassioned women climbers in recent history. A real tribute to the efforts and dedication of the women who have struggled to pursue their passion for climbing.
Leaf Jumpers
by Carole GerberThis vibrant poem celebrates the beauty of autumn while inviting us all to go ahead and jump in that big, colorful, pile of fall leaves. Leslie Evan&’s bold artwork brings together gold, orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves into a literary pile creating the magic of autumn for young readers. The poetic text gives simple facts about different types of fall leaves making it easy for readers to identify leaves ranging from red maple to sycamore by color, shape, and other characteristics. Informative and fun, Carole Gerber brings us a wonderful introduction to seasons and science for the earliest of leaf jumpers.
Leaf Litter Critters
by Leslie BulionTake a poetic tour through the duff and get the dirt on the tiny, fascinating critters that live there.For all the kids who can't resist turning over a rock, science poetry maven Leslie Bulion presents nineteen lively ecological poems in a variety of verse forms about the "brown food web" and the creatures that live there—from bacteria and rove beetles to mushrooms and millipedes, and all of the other busy recyclers in between. Illustrator Robert Meganck adds to the fun with humorous and vivid, yet scientifically detailed, artwork. Science notes run throughout for added context, and thorough back matter includes a glossary, poetry notes, hands-on investigations, and other resources for cross-curricular learning.
Leaf Man
by Lois EhlertRide the wind and drift east with Leaf Man in this autumnal classic by Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, perfect for young readers returning to school in the fall. Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows. Ehlert crafts each illustration out of actual fall leaves on every spread to reveal gorgeous landscapes. This playful and whimsical book celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.
Leaning toward Light: Poems for Gardens & the Hands That Tend Them
by Edited by Tess TaylorThis beautiful poetry anthology offers a warm, inviting selection of poems from a wide range of voices that speak to the collective urge to grow, tend, and heal—an evocative celebration of our connection to the green world. Caring for plants (much like reading a good poem) brings comfort, solace, and joy to many—offering an outlet in difficult times to slow down and steward growth. In Leaning toward Light, acclaimed poet and avid gardener Tess Taylor brings together a diverse range of contemporary voices to offer poems that celebrate that joyful connection to the natural world. Several of the most well-known contemporary writers, as well as some of poetry&’s exciting rising stars, contribute to this collection including Ross Gay, Jericho Brown, Mark Doty, Jane Hirshfield, Ada Limón, Danusha Laméris, Naomi Shihab Nye, Garret Hongo, Ellen Bass, and James Crews. Select poems are paired with reflective pauses and personal recipes from the authors, and colorful illustrations are featured throughout. Plus, the gorgeous hardcover package with ribbon bookmark makes this anthology a distinctive gift. Gardening offers a rich and expansive subject, with poems moving thematically through the year from planting and weeding to harvesting and eating. Poets find purpose in browsing a seed catalog and comfort in picking green tomatoes despite California&’s wildfire season raging on—reminding us how gardening is a healing practice, both for ourselves and the spaces we tend. The range of experience reflected, from caring for a few houseplants to an expansive garden or farm, offers wide appeal and illuminating insights for gardeners, plant lovers, or anyone interested in connecting more deeply with the earth. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
Leaping Ahead
by Fabien Génin Russell Tuttle Marco Gamba Judith MastersLeaping Ahead: Advances in Prosimian Biology presents a summary of the state of prosimian biology as we move into the second decade of the 21st century. The book covers a wide range of topics, from assessments of diversity and evolutionary scenarios, through ecophysiology, cognition, behavioral and sensory ecology, to the conservation and survival prospects of this extraordinary and diverse group of mammals. The collection was inspired by an international conference in Ithala, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 2007, where prosimian biologists gathered from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The meeting reverberated with the passion prosimian researchers feel for their study subjects and with their deep concern for the future of prosimians in the face of ongoing habitat destruction and the burgeoning threat of bushmeat hunting. Chapters for this volume were contributed by researchers from across the globe; they attest to the diversity, vibrancy and rapid growth of prosimian biology, and to the intellectual advances that have revolutionized this field in recent years. Since its earliest beginnings, prosimian research and its resultant literature have had a strong francophone component, and researchers in many prosimian habitat countries are more comfortable reading and writing in French rather than English. French summaries of all chapters have been included. The volume is targeted at researchers, both those entering the field and established scientists, who have an interest in the biology of primates and small mammals. It is also aimed at conservation biologists seeking a deeper understanding of the faunas and conservation developments in Africa, Madagascar and Southeast Asia, and anyone who has an interest in discovering the true diversity of our order, the Primates.
Leaps and Bounce (Hyperion Picture Book (eBook))
by Susan HoodChange comes to all who grow. Even tiny tadpoles. Follow them as they start out as small, rounded eggs, and then sprout wiggly tails, before leaping their way into the big wide world!
Learn to Draw in a Weekend
by Richard TaylorUnleash your inner artist in just a couple of days with this hands-on beginner&’s guide to drawing full of techniques, projects, and inspiration.Learn to Draw in a Weekend leads the reader through basic techniques and skill-building exercises to a variety of fully developed projects. Developing artists go from indoor drawing on Saturday to a beautiful Sunday of drawing outside. Beginning with simple shapes and lines drawings, they soon learn to add texture, depth, and color. Each project is packed with encouraging advice and helpful tips for a variety of drawing media, including graphite pencils, colored pencils, Conte, pastel, charcoal and watercolor pencils. The volume also features inspirational artworks, and professional advice from the author and acclaimed artist Richard Taylor.
Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies
by Loren B. ByrneLearner-centered teaching is apedagogical approach that emphasizes the roles of students as participants inand drivers of their own learning. Learner-centered teaching activities gobeyond traditional lecturing by helping students construct their ownunderstanding of information, develop skills via hands-on engagement, andencourage personal reflection through metacognitive tasks. In addition,learner-centered classroom approaches may challenge students' preconceivednotions and expand their thinking by confronting them with thought-provokingstatements, tasks or scenarios that cause them to pay closer attention andcognitively "see" a topic from new perspectives. Many types of pedagogy fallunder the umbrella of learner-centered teaching including laboratory work,group discussions, service and project-based learning, and student-ledresearch, among others. Unfortunately, it is often not possible to use some ofthese valuable methods in all course situations given constraints of money,space, instructor expertise, class-meeting and instructor preparation time, andthe availability of prepared lesson plans and material. Thus, a major challengefor many instructors is how to integrate learner-centered activities widelyinto their courses. The broad goal of this volume is to helpadvance environmental education practices that help increase students'environmental literacy. Having a diverse collection of learner-centeredteaching activities is especially useful for helping students develop theirenvironmental literacy because such approaches can help them connect morepersonally with the material thus increasing the chances for altering theaffective and behavioral dimensions of their environmental literacy. Thisvolume differentiates itself from others by providing a unique and diversecollection of classroom activities that can help students develop theirknowledge, skills and personal views about many contemporary environmental andsustainability issues.
Learning Strategies for Sustainable Organisations (Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development)
by Bryan HopkinsLearning Strategies for Sustainable Organisations explores sustainability in the context of organisational practice and its implications for learning. Based on a systems thinking approach, it provides a thorough grounding in the principles of systems thinking and tools that can be used to help implement sustainability-focused learning strategies. Increasingly, organisations are recognising the importance of adapting their practices to become more sustainable. Drawing on the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework, new knowledge, skills and attitudes are required to help provide products and services that align with changing social and ecological environments and better serve the communities of which they are a part. This book is a practical guide showing how to facilitate sustainability learning and development within organisations, explaining how to identify gaps in current practice, take into account different contexts and perspectives about what sustainability means, and evaluate results following implementation. Learning resources include chapter summaries, illustrations, reflection points, mind maps and further reading. Written by an independent performance and learning consultant with extensive experience working with international organisations, this book provides a necessary toolkit for human resource development directors, training managers, chief sustainability officers and management consultants specialising in sustainable development.
Learning To Live Together: Promoting Social Harmony
by J. A. Scott KelsoThis book is devoted to the issue of how we can learn to live together in the face of division and conflict. It is dedicated to the life and work of a remarkable human being, Dr Epimenidis Haidemenakis, scientist, statesman, visionary leader, President Emeritus of the International S.T.E.P.S. Foundation and founding father of The Olympiads of the Mind (OM). The monograph consists of a collection of papers presented at the 8th and 9th Olympiads of the Mind held in Washington, DC and Chania, Crete respectively. Distinguished international scholars, government and corporate representatives, leading researchers and academics from multiple disciplines and Nobel Laureates Leon Lederman (Physics, 1988), Martin Perl (Physics, 1995) and Yuan T. Lee (Chemistry, 1986) address a broad range of issues all with the aim of improving the human condition and achieving cooperation among the people of the world. The topics include the environment, sustainability and security; diversity and how to achieve integration and peace among people in a fractured world; the important role of brain research; how to overcome poverty and inequality; how to enhance creativity and improve education at all levels; and how new technologies and tools can be used for common benefit. The culmination of the book is a call to action, to join what one might call the “OM Movement”—bringing the best minds in the world together to create solutions to world issues so that we can all live together in harmony.
Learning for Environmental Governance: Insights for a More Adaptive Future (Elements in Earth System Governance)
by Andrea K. Gerlak Tanya HeikkilaLearning is critical for our capacity to govern the environment and adapt proactively to complex and emerging environmental issues. Yet, underlying barriers can challenge our capacity for learning in environmental governance. As a result, we often fail to adequately understand pressing environmental problems or produce innovative and effective solutions. This Element synthesizes insights from extensive academic and applied research on learning around the world to inform both research and practice. We distill the social and structural features of governance to help researchers and practitioners better understand, diagnose, and support learning and more adaptive responses to environmental problems.
Learning from Catastrophes: Strategies for Reaction and Response
by Michael Useem Howard KunreutherBreakthrough, business-focused techniques for managing the growing risks of catastrophe, from world's leading experts--Indispensable 'extreme risks' guidance for decision-makers in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable. -Powerful assessment models, decision-making techniques, and best practices for building resilience into any organization, public or private. -Edited by the leading experts who recently introduced influential new techniques for managing extreme risks at the World Economic Forum. Events ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the global economic crisis have taught businesspeople an unforgettable lesson: if you don't plan for 'extreme risk,' you endanger your organization's very survival. But how can you plan for events that go far beyond anything that occurs in normal day-to-day business? In Learning from Catastrophes, two renowned experts present the first comprehensive strategic framework for assessing, responding to, and managing extreme risk. Howard Kunreuther and Michael Useem build on their own breakthrough work on mitigating natural disasters, extending it to the challenges faced by real-world enterprises. Along with the contributions of leading experts in risk management, heuristics, and disaster recovery, they identify the behavioral biases and faulty heuristics that mislead decision makers about the likelihood of catastrophe. They go on to identify the hidden links associated with extreme risks, and present techniques for systematically building greater resilience into the organization. The global best-seller The Black Swan told executives that 'once in a lifetime' events are far more common and dangerous than they ever realized. Learning from Catastrophe shows them exactly what to do about it.
Learning from Weather Modification Law for the Governance of Regional Solar Radiation Management
by Manon SimonThis book investigates the role of cloud seeding laws in governing regional solar radiation management (SRM) activities. It challenges the prevailing belief that cloud seeding laws are irrelevant to regional SRM governance and argues for their applicability. Through case studies in Australia, Canada, and the United States, the book highlights the need for legal frameworks that promote cross-scale interactions, stakeholder participation, flexible decision-making, and conflict resolution. It advocates for adopting adaptive governance principles to effectively manage the risks and uncertainties associated with regional SRM interventions. By filling a gap in the existing literature, this book offers valuable insights and recommendations for the governance of regional SRM, shedding light on the potential of cloud seeding laws to inform and shape SRM governance frameworks. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal and normative aspects, offering practical guidance for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders involved in regional SRM initiatives.
Learning in Governance: Climate Policy Integration in the European Union (Earth System Governance)
by Katharina RietigAn investigation of the role of learning and its impact on policy change, as exemplified in European Union climate policy integration. Although learning is often considered an important factor in effective environmental governance, it is not clear to what extent learning affects decision making and policy outcomes. In this book, Katharina Rietig examines the role of learning—understood as additional knowledge or experience that is taken into account by policymakers—in earth system governance and policy change. She does this by examining learning in European Union climate policy integration, looking in detail at the examples of the Renewable Energy Directive, its controversial biofuels component, and the greening measures in the Common Agricultural Policy. To examine how learning occurs in the policy process, how to differentiate aspects of learning, and under what conditions learning matters for policy outcomes, Rietig introduces the Learning in Governance Framework, applying it to analyze the EU examples. She finds that policy outcomes are affected through leadership of policy entrepreneurs, who use previously acquired knowledge and past experience to achieve outcomes aligned with their deeper beliefs and policy objectives. She concludes that learning does matter in governance as an intervening variable and can affect policy outcomes in combination with dedicated leadership by policy entrepreneurs who act as learning brokers. Bargaining dominates the policymaking process among actors who represent the interests of different organizations. Rietig&’s theoretical framework, empirical studies, and nuanced analysis offer a new perspective on the relevance of learning in earth system governance.
Learning the Birds: A Midlife Adventure
by Susan Fox Rogers"The thrill of quiet adventure. The constant hope of discovery. The reminder that the world is filled with wonder. When I bird, life is bigger, more vibrant." That is why Susan Fox Rogers is a birder. Learning the Birds is the story of how encounters with birds recharged her adventurous spirit. When the birds first called, Rogers was in a slack season of her life. The woods and rivers that enthralled her younger self had lost some of their luster. It was the song of a thrush that reawakened Rogers, sparking a long-held desire to know the birds that accompanied her as she rock climbed and paddled, to know the world around her with greater depth. Energized by her curiosity, she followed the birds as they drew her deeper into her authentic self, and ultimately into love. In Learning the Birds, we join Rogers as she becomes a birder and joins the community of passionate and quirky bird people. We meet her birding companions close to home in New York State's Hudson Valley as well as in the desert of Arizona and awash in the midnight sunlight of Alaska. Along on the journey are birders and estimable ornithologists of past generations—people like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Florence Merriam Bailey—whose writings inspire Rogers's adventures and discoveries. A ready, knowledgeable, and humble friend and explorer, Rogers is eager to share what she sees and learns. Learning the Birds will remind you of our passionate need for wonder and our connection to the wild creatures with whom we share the land.
Learning to Die in the Anthropocene
by Roy Scranton"In Learning to Die in the Anthropocene, Roy Scranton draws on his experiences in Iraq to confront the grim realities of climate change. The result is a fierce and provocative book."--Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History"Roy Scranton lucidly articulates the depth of the climate crisis with an honesty that is all too rare, then calls for a reimagined humanism that will help us meet our stormy future with as much decency as we can muster. While I don't share his conclusions about the potential for social movements to drive ambitious mitigation, this is a wise and important challenge from an elegant writer and original thinker. A critical intervention."--Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate Coming home from the war in Iraq, US Army private Roy Scranton thought he'd left the world of strife behind. Then he watched as new calamities struck America, heralding a threat far more dangerous than ISIS or Al Qaeda: Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, megadrought--the shock and awe of global warming.Our world is changing. Rising seas, spiking temperatures, and extreme weather imperil global infrastructure, crops, and water supplies. Conflict, famine, plagues, and riots menace from every quarter. From war-stricken Baghdad to the melting Arctic, human-caused climate change poses a danger not only to political and economic stability, but to civilization itself . . . and to what it means to be human. Our greatest enemy, it turns out, is ourselves. The warmer, wetter, more chaotic world we now live in--the Anthropocene--demands a radical new vision of human life.In this bracing response to climate change, Roy Scranton combines memoir, reportage, philosophy, and Zen wisdom to explore what it means to be human in a rapidly evolving world, taking readers on a journey through street protests, the latest findings of earth scientists, a historic UN summit, millennia of geological history, and the persistent vitality of ancient literature. Expanding on his influential New York Times essay (the #1 most-emailed article the day it appeared, and selected for Best American Science and Nature Writing 2014), Scranton responds to the existential problem of global warming by arguing that in order to survive, we must come to terms with our mortality.Plato argued that to philosophize is to learn to die. If that's true, says Scranton, then we have entered humanity's most philosophical age--for this is precisely the problem of the Anthropocene. The trouble now is that we must learn to die not as individuals, but as a civilization.A war veteran, journalist, author, and Princeton PhD candidate, Roy Scranton has published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Boston Review, and Theory and Event, and has been interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air, among other media.imes. This compressed, essential text offers both uncomfortable truths and unexpected joy."--McKenzie Wark, author of Molecular Red: Theory for the Anthropocene
Learning to Listen to the Land
by William B. WillersIn this inspired collection, some of America's most provocative thinkers and writers reflect on nature and enviornmetnal science--reaching compelling conclusions about humanity's relationship to the earth. Balanced by science and fact,Learning to Listen to the Landexplains the significance of our modern environmental crisis. The authors underscore the necessity forworking within, rather than counter to, our larger ecosystem. Learning to Listen to the Land represents the sounding of an alarm. It's authors call on us to recognize the consequences of our actions, and inactions, and to develop a sense of connection with the earth.
Learning to Live with Climate Change: From Anxiety to Transformation (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)
by Blanche VerlieThis imaginative and empowering book explores the ways that our emotions entangle us with climate change and offers strategies for engaging with climate anxiety that can contribute to social transformation. Climate educator Blanche Verlie draws on feminist, more-than-human and affect theories to argue that people in high-carbon societies need to learn to ‘live-with’ climate change: to appreciate that human lives are interconnected with the climate, and to cultivate the emotional capacities needed to respond to the climate crisis. Learning to Live with Climate Change explores the cultural, interpersonal and sociological dimensions of ecological distress. The book engages with Australia’s 2019/2020 ‘Black Summer’ of bushfires and smoke, undergraduate students’ experiences of climate change, and contemporary activist movements such as the youth strikes for climate. Verlie outlines how we can collectively attune to, live with, and respond to the unsettling realities of climate collapse while counteracting domineering ideals of ‘climate control.’ This impressive and timely work is both deeply philosophical and immediately practical. Its accessible style and real-world relevance ensure it will be valued by those researching, studying and working in diverse fields such as sustainability education, climate communication, human geography, cultural studies, environmental sociology and eco-psychology, as well as the broader public.
Learning to Manage Global Environmental Risks
by Social Learning GroupThis book examines how ideas, interests, and institutions affect management practice; how management capabilities in other areas affect the ability to deal with environmental issues; and how learning affects society's approach to the global environment.
Learning to Play With a Lion's Testicles
by Melissa HaynesThe cheeky title of Melissa Haynes's story of adventure in Africa, Learning to Play with a Lion's Testicles, earned the book some big publicity on NBC-TV/Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on September 4,2013 where it topped the show's list of "Titles Not to Read" for September 2013. Melissa's book was also a big smash on the March 11, 2014 Ellen Show, where Ellen and guest Ricky Gervais highlighted the book throughout the entire hour. Playing with a lion's testicles: An African saying that means to take foolhardy chances.Melissa, an exhausted executive from the city seeks meaning and purpose from her work, and volunteers for a Big Five conservation project in South Africa. Her boss, an over-zealous ranger, nicknamed the Drill Sergeant, has no patience for city folk, especially if they're women, and tries to send her packing on day one. But Melissa stands her ground with grit and determination, however shaky it may be.Conflict soon sets the pace with a cast filled with predatory cats, violent elephants, and an on-going battle of wits with the Drill Sergeant. Even Mother Nature pounds the reserve with the worst storm in a century. But the most enduring and profound conflict is the internal battle going on within Melissa, as she tries to come to terms with the guilt surrounding her mother's death. When death grips the game reserve, it is the very animals Melissa has come to save that end up saving her.For the reader who has ever dreamed of going to Africa or knows the pain of loss and guilt, LEARNING TO PLAY WITH A LION'S TESTICLES will fill your soul.