New Releases by John Lutz

"The boreal forest of North America is especially liable to destruction by fires. It is a region in which forest fires have been extremely common and wide spreading. Lightning is certainly one of the causes of fires but man, both aboriginal and white, has been an even more prolific source. The general attitude of aboriginal man toward fire was that of carelessness. Campfires were in general use and the evidence is that they were not carefully extinguished but frequently started forest fires. Use of fire in signaling was widespread and must have been a major source of forest fires. Wherever the birch bark canoe was used, frequent gumming of sewn seams was necessary along with repairs of cracks or tears in the bark. This necessitated making a fire for heating and applying the gum; the evidence is that this use of fire at least occasionally lead to fires in the forest. Fires were at times used in hunting but this practice probably was not an important source of forest burning. On some occasions, at least, aboriginal man seems to have employed fire in warfare but evidence on this use is scanty. In his efforts to combat mosquitoes and gnats, aboriginal man generally employed fire and smoke and this led to frequent forest fires. Of the miscellaneous uses of fire by aboriginal man that occasionally must have led to forest burning the following seem most worthy oi mention: clearing away of forest growth, cutting down trees, cutting up of trunks of fallen, or felled trees and killing trees for a supply of dry fuel. It seems certain that even prior to contact with white man, aboriginal man was responsible for frequent and widespread fires in the boreal forest. White man was, without doubt, the cause of even more fires in the boreal forest than was aboriginal man. He was generally careless and possessed easier means of striking fire. Campfires left without being extinguished resulted in a tremendous amount of forest burning. The frequent practice of setting fires to provide a supply of dry fuelwood likewise led to much forest destruction. Fires set to combat the mosquito pest were so frequently a cause of forest burning that it was commonly said that "mosquitoes cause more fires than any other one thing." Use of fire in signaling was not confined to the natives; the practice was also employed by white man and is known to have resulted in extensive forest fires. White man also adopted, at least occasionally, the practice of using fire in hunting. He burned off the forest to promote the growth of grass for his livestock, and he employed fire in clearing land. Prospectors were known to burn the forest to remove the vegetation mantle and expose the surface rock. Incredible as it may be, white man is also known to have set the forest afire just to see it burn or "for fun." In the boreal forest there were many fires whose causes are unknown. Some of these must have resulted from lightning but it is likely that most of them were caused by man, either aboriginal or white. It is probable that there have been fires in the northern forests ever since there were forests to burn. Destruction of timber and other values has been enormous but the boreal forest has generally shown a remarkable capacity to recover, to rise again, phoenix-like, from its own ashes."--Summary

Guide to interpretation of aerial photographs in order to recognize land capable of producing industrial wood.

Soil-forming minerals. Soil-forming rocks. Desintegration and decomposition of minerals and rocks. Forest-soil organisms. The organic matter of forest soils. Nature and properties of soil colloids. General physical properties of forest soils. The water relations of soils, particularlt forest soils. General chemical properties of forest soils. Soil formation. Forest soil classification. Soil erosion and forest-soil deterioration.

A Short Story by John Lutz Excerpt EDDIE HAYES SLOWED ALMOST TO A STOP AFTER THE FOOTBALL WAS SNAPPED, THEN SPRINTED DOWN THE SIDELINES, WHIRLED AT the fifty-yard line, and there was the ball. Willard, the quarterback, had made a perfect pass, and all Eddie had to do was reach out and pluck the ball from the air as if he were picking fruit. He tucked the football beneath his arm as he spun back toward the opposing team's goal line and broke into a run. The defensive end hadn't been entirely fooled, and Eddie glimpsed him in the corner of his vision, closing in fast for the tackle. That was when Eddie executed his favorite football maneuver, the stutter step. Maybe he liked it because he stuttered himself when he talked, and this was almost like making his halting speech physical in a way that could win football games and acceptance with his classmates. The stutter step was kind of like taking a quick stride and a half without speeding up, keeping your feet going faster than you were, so that on videotape it looked a little like a momentary fast-forward. Eddie was good at it. He broke stride just enough to throw off the defensive end's timing, changed direction, and felt arms slip around his right thigh, then slide down and away. He pulled free and was running full tilt again toward the goal line.

Helen Crane, a beauty "men build dreams around," hires private eye Alo Nudger to find out what's troubling her lover Jake Dancer. Middle-aging, old-shoe Nudger tails Dancer and manages to save him from a couple of strong-arm men. Dancer, handsome, feckless, an alcoholic and compulsive gambler is vague about the money he owes, and Nudger learns that Helen, working for an "escort service," plans to move "up" to prostitution to help pay Dancer's debts. Then Dancer vanishes, Nudger's lover Claudia is abducted, and the story ends with the uncovering of a grisly, sadistic snuff-film operation. "Lutz's plotting here has a stark, unusual, genuinely disturbing curve to it—making this another Nudgeresque blend of strong action, lean atmosphere, and downbeat personality."—Kirkus "...[Lutz] deserves high marks for another intriguing glimpse into the unusual world of Alo Nudger, a uniquely warm and thoroughly disheveled detective."—Booklist

NUDGER IS ONE OF THE COOLEST, MOST ACCESSIBLE DETECTIVES IN HISTORY! This collection of 13 previously published stories starring Nudger, Lutz's worrywart St. Louis detective, provides an entertaining introduction to one of the genre's most distinctive private eyes. Nudger, whose ever-present antacids protect a stomach that turns at the mere hint of danger, somehow manages to do his job without resorting to fists or handguns. The well-turned phrase is his most lethal weapon, whether he's seeking justice for an executed man proved innocent after the fact or coming to the aid of his friend Danny, proprietor of Danny's Donuts, who believes that his fellow shipmates from Vietnam are being killed one by one. Lutz, winner of both the Shamus and the Edgar, also holds a lifetime achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Lutz's work includes political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. He is the author of more than forty novels and over 200 short stories and articles. His novels and short fiction have been translated into almost every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar, the PWA Shamus, The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the author of two private eye series, the Nudger series, set in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Carver series, set in Florida, as well as many non-series novels. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.