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Books

(Click on any title for more information)

Great Lakes Books

The Late, Great Lakes: An Environmental History

"The Late, Great Lakes is a powerful indictment of our carelessness, our apathy, our ignorance. It is also a passionately persuasive argument for awareness of the few solutions that may be left to us, and of just what it is we may be about to lose: some of North America's most spectacular coastline; acres of wetlands vital to spawning fish and nesting birds; the greatest reservoir of fresh water on earth; those majestic sweet seas, the Great Lakes." --from the original jacket.

Hardback publication by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1986
Paperback publication by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1987
Nature Book Club alternate selection
Citation "in recognition of a notable contribution to life in the United States of America" from The Colonial Dames of America, 1987

Great Lakes Journey: A New Look at America's Freshwater Coast

"This Book is easy to become immersed in and one that is often impossible to put down. I would strongly recommend [Great Lakes Journey] for anyone wanting to understand the Great Lakes and the environmental pressures that they are under." --David Klarer, Inland Seas

Hardback and paperback publication by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 2000

Other Environmental Writing

The Monterey List

"Preservationism is obsolete. Sustainability and reintegration with nature are no longer optional. The paradigm shift begins here." --from the jacket

 

Available as both a paperback and a Kindle e-book from Amazon.

The Left Hand of Eden: Meditations on Nature and Human Nature

"Willam Ashworth's prose is as poetic as it is informative and insightful, and like a good poet, Ashworth never once settles for the easy conclusion. This is as inviting and provocative a read as I have encountered in a long time." --Alan Reder, author of 75 Best Business Practices for Socially Responsible Companies

Paperback published by Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, 1999

Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the High Plains

"Ashworth deftly clarifies and personalizes the critical economic, environmental, and humanitarian issues at stake, forcefully connecting the geology of the planet's past with the ecology of the country's future." --Booklist

Hardback published by W. W. Norton, New York (2006)
Paperback published by The Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT (2006)

The Economy of Nature: Rethinking the Connections Between Ecology and Economics

"A Breakthrough book: It reconciles the previously unreconcilable. I learned something on every page." --Richard D. Lamm, former governor of Colorado

Hardback published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1995)
Korean translation published as a paperback by Bee Bong Publishing, Seoul (1998)

Nor Any Drop to Drink

"A comprehensive work on water conservation...addresses all aspects of water use and misuse and argues for conservation and development of new water sources." --Book Depository

Hardback published by Summit Books, New York (1982)

Under the Influence: Congress, Lobbies, and the American Pork-Barrel System

"Hooray! Ashworth is 100 percent right....This is a book that every voter and taxpayer should read and call as vividly as he knows how to the attention of his Congressman." --Senator William Proxmire

Paperback published by Hawthorn/Dutton, New York (1981). Forward by Congressman Jim Weaver.

The Carson Factor

"In the tradition of Silent Spring, the incredible true story of nature striking back at those who dare to tamper with the earth." - from the jacket

Hardback published by Hawthorn Books, New York (1979)

Hells Canyon: The Deepest Gorge on Earth

"Rarely has the struggle to save a portion of America's natural heritage been so well documented and excitingly written....Ashworth's narrative of that valiant fight reads like a suspense thriller." --Larry Williams, former Executive Director, Oregon Environmental Council

Hardback published by Hawthorn Books, New York (1977)

Memoir

The Wallowas: Coming of Age in the Wilderness

"An autobiography at once poetic, philosophical, and exciting....No one who reads [William Ashworth's] book can fail to understand what the wilderness means to all life. This is a work that prods the conscience, as well as superb entertainment." --Publisher's Weekly

Hardback published by Hawthorn Books, New York (1978)
20th Anniversary edition published as a paperback by Oregon State University Press, Corvallis (1998)

Coffee-Table Books (with photographer Art Wolfe)

Penguins, Puffins, and Auks: Their Life and Behavior

"William Ashworth's text glimmers....His essays on the biology, ecology and sociological quirks of penguins in the antarctic region and similar disquisitions on the auks and puffins of the arctic and subarctic region are graceful, marvelously informed and urgent." --T. H. Watkins in Book World

Large-format hardback published by Crown, New York (1993)

Bears: Their Life and Behavior

"What a wonderful book....every page glows with the magic of wildness as exemplified by the world's great bears." --David Petersen (author of On the Wild Edge: In Search of a Natural Life)

Large-format hardback published by Crown, New York (1992); French edition published by Editions Solar, Paris (1993)

Children's/YA

Katie and Richard: A Tale of Wizardry

"Over-the-top good!" --Zacharias O'Bryan,author of the YA fantasy novel Spirit Thorn

Kindle and paperback (2012).

Reference

The Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies

"A readable, informative source that is highly recommended for public and undergraduate academic libraries." --Choice

Hardback published by Facts on File, New York (1991); second edition in conjunction with Charles E. Little (2001)