Most Popular Books by Marq de Villiers

This book provides an eye-opening account of how we are using, misusing and abusing our planet''s most vital resource.

Examines the dramatic impact on Earth of the wind, describing how it controls the weather and planet environment, shaped the landscape, and transformed human civilization, and explores humankind''s long struggle to understand and control wind and weather. Reprint.

The first book for general readers about the storied past of one of the world’s most fabled cities. Timbuktu — the name still evokes an exotic, faraway place, even though the city’s glory days are long gone. Unspooling its history and legends, resolving myth with reality, Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle have captured the splendour and decay of one of humankind’s treasures. Founded in the early 1100s by Tuareg nomads who called their camp “Tin Buktu,” it became, within two centuries, a wealthy metropolis and a nexus of the trans-Saharan trade. Salt from the deep Sahara, gold from Ghana, and money from slave markets made it rich. In part because of its wealth, Timbuktu also became a centre of Islamic learning and religion, boasting impressive schools and libraries that attracted scholars from Alexandria, Baghdad, Mecca, and Marrakech. The arts flourished, and Timbuktu gained near-mythic stature around the world, capturing the imagination of outsiders and ultimately attracting the attention of hostile sovereigns who sacked the city three times and plundered it half a dozen more. The ancient city was invaded by a Moroccan army in 1600, beginning its long decline; since then, it has been seized by Tuareg nomads and a variety of jihadists, in addition to enduring a terrible earthquake, several epidemics, and numerous famines. Perhaps no other city in the world has been as golden — and as deeply tarnished — as Timbuktu. Using sources dating deep into Timbuktu’s fabled past, alongside interviews with Tuareg nomads and city residents and officials today, de Villiers and Hirtle have produced a spectacular portrait that brings the city back to life.

Global warming, energy shortages, overpopulation — it''s no wonder that as a society, we''re in an apocalyptic mood. Out of an endless stream of gloomy prognoses for humanity''s future, we have emerged with little inspiration and few concrete ideas for change. Our Way Out is the first time that our most urgent global challenges have been treated as aspects of a single, larger crisis — and the first to acknowledge that while crises reinforce each other, solutions enable each other. The transformation to sustainability is already happening, in many small ways, in many parts of the world. Our Way Out shows us how we can scale up these efforts to create meaningful and lasting change. This is not a book on climate change, energy, or any other single issue — it is the story of how within the solutions to the global crises we face, lie the seeds of something greater. It is a handbook for immense and exciting worldwide change. And, not least of all, it offers us robust hope that we can make things better.

Tsunami, earthquake, hurricane, pandemic—are these and other natural calamities more probable, and more frequent, than they were? Are things getting worse? De Villiers examines these questions in a time when we truly need to understand the dangers ahead and how to act in such a way that we''re preparing for the inevitable and not making things worse.

Presents the story of Sable Island, an island adrift in the North Atlantic, tracing its history and topology from its probable origins in glacial times to its fate at the mercy of the continental shelf and North Atlantic currents. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

In sparkling, insightful prose, the author explains how to understand natural calamities, prepare for their inevitable occurrence, and cope with the mass destruction they leave behind in their wake.

In the parched and seemingly lifeless heart of the Sahara desert, earthworms find enough moisture to survive. Four major mountain ranges interrupt the flow of dunes and gravel plains, and at certain times waterfalls cascade from their peaks. Even the sand amazes: massive dunes can appear almost overnight, and be gone just as quickly. We think we know the Sahara, the largest and most austere desert on Earth--yet it is full of surprises, as Marq de Villiers reveals in his brilliant and evocative biography of the land and its people. "If you traveled across the United States from Boston to San Diego, you still wouldn''t have crossed the Sahara," writes de Villiers, painting a vivid picture of this most extraordinary place. He charts the course of Atlantic hurricanes, many of which are born in the Tibesti Mountains of northern Chad, and offers a fascinating disquisition on the physics of windblown sand and the formation of dunes. He chronicles the formation of the massive aquifers that lie beneath the desert, some filled with water that pre-dates the appearance of modern man on Earth. He marvels at the jagged mountains and at ancient cave paintings deep in the desert, which reveal that the Sahara was a verdant grassland 10,000 years ago--a cycle that has been repeated several times. Woven through de Villiers''s story is a chronicle of the desert''s nations and people: the Berbers and Arabs of the north; its black African south, whose ancestors peopled the greatest empires of Old Africa; and the extraordinary nomads--the Moors, the Tuareg (the famous "blue men"), and the Tubu--who call the desert home today. Illuminated by the eloquent written testimonies of past travelers, Sahara is a glittering geographic tour conveying the majesty, mystery, and abundance of life in what the outside world thinks of as the Great Emptiness.

De Villiers takes readers deep into the heart of Canadian maritime history, giving new life to the long-standing legend of the magnificent Bluenose.

A good basic book for those who want insight into Africa''s complex civilization. Highly recommended by reviewer.

Sable Island lies off Canada’s Nova Scotian coast. A shape-shifting ghost of an island, it is in fact more a sandbar, adrift in the Atlantic, wandering to the east or west with the storms that so frequently batter it – but somehow never tipping over the nearby Continental Shelf. The bane of sailors for many generations, it declines to stay exactly where it is on the sea charts, and is so low that it can often not be seen until an unfortunate ship is almost in its clutches. As a result, its beaches have been littered over the years by hundreds of shipwrecks. These have attracted both the notorious “wreckers,” who scavenged for whatever they could “salvage,” and were suspected of occasionally doing away with any witnesses who had the temerity to survive, and the employees of the Humane Establishment, set up for the rescue of shipwreck victims. Anchored roughly by tough vegetation, surprisingly supplied with fresh water in the middle of salt, inhabited by hardy wild horses descended from Acadian ponies left on the island in 1756, Sable is an amazing place, and the authors have done it justice in this engaging and often lyrical book.

Uno de esos espacios míticos es la legendaria Tombuctú, la capital fundada en las primeras décadas del siglo XI, por nómadas de desierto. Cruce de caminos, importante metrópoli africana, Tombuctú fue escenario de grandes negocios, discusiones teológicas y políticas en el seno del Islam y eje principal de las rutas comerciales del oro -proveniente de Ghana-, la apreciada sal del sur del Sahara y el tráfico de esclavos. Los mercaderes de desierto describían esta urbe como una de las más ricas y atractivas del continente. Una ciudad viva donde las escuelas y las librerías competían con los mercados de especies y arte.Biografía histórica de la ciudad, este libro de Marq de Villiers y Sheila Hirtle es un recorrido por el esplendor y decadencia de una de las más bellas ciudades del mundo. Una capital cuya evolución, a lo largo de varios siglos, fascinará a cualquiera que desee soñar.

DeVilliers'' quest for the ''heartbreak grape'' begins with one sip of the superlative Calera Jensen ''87. Behind the scenes of one of the world''s most fascinating and romantic industries, the author celebrates the tenacity and invention of individuals who devote their lives to the magnificent obesession of wine-making in this completely revised and updated edition.

"Water is a renewable resource, but what are its limits? Between drawing down our resources of fresh water at ever-increasing rates and continuing to pollute water that should have been cleaned up decades ago, are we entering upon a global crisis? Is water a human right? Who owns water? Who is responsible for keeping it clean and ensuring it gets to the people who need it most? Is privatization of ownership and supply networks an unmitigated evil? Marq de Villiers tackles these questions and more in Back to the Well, the refreshing follow-up to his Governor General''s Award winning book, Water (1999). De Villiers''s clear-eyed analysis assesses the state of water on Earth today and looks at the ways its use and abuse encompasses intersections between our daily personal water use, agriculture, energy policy, climate change, national security, and global conflicts. Back to the Well examines these issues and the ways they impact each other and how political ideologies and competing priorities often obscure underlying issues or make the best solutions unpalatable to vocal and influential, but ideologically blinkered, actors. De Villiers urges us to cut through the hype to see not a global crisis, but myriad local and regional problems that can be solved in different ways through local actions."--

A historical deep dive into the depths of hell In Hell and Damnation, bestselling author Marq de Villiers takes readers on a journey into the strange richness of the human imaginings of hell, deep into time and across many faiths, back into early Egypt and the 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh. This urbane, funny, and deeply researched guide ventures well beyond the Nine Circles of Dante''s Hell and the many medieval Christian visions into the hellish descriptions in Islam, Buddhism, Jewish legend, Japanese traditions, and more.

Water is as vital as air but it can no longer be taken for granted. More than one billion people currently live in conditions of extreme water stress. Why are deserts spreading? What effects will climate change have on rainfall and water tables? How is pollution affecting the global water supply?

Wood has been an essential companion to human development, taking us from hunter to industrialist. Three of our most profound inventions are a testament to how wood has been used as both an indispensable tool and as the raw material for the pinnacle of human craftsmanship: the English and Welsh longbow, the Atlantic schooner, and the violin are artifacts of remarkable sophistication and complexity. With these three creations as his starting point, award-winning author Marq de Villiers tells the epic story of our relationship with wood over thousands of years and illuminates how it has been key to our innovation, creativity, and potential.

National Geographic continues its nature travel series with four spectacular new guidebooks on national parks, wildlife refuges and conservation areas. This guide focuses on Eastern Canada. 150 photos. 25 maps.

The Russians call the longer river in Europe "Mother Volga" & view it as the lifeblood of their country. Marq de Villiers traveled in its 2,000-mile entirety to escape the chatter of the official Soviet media & to hear the emotional, unadorned voices of the real Russian people. His book combines genuine adventure with history & folklore as it offers a telling look at the paradoxical heart of modern Russia. It reveals the heart & soul of Russia with extraordinary sympathy, humor, & emotional richness. This book is a snapshot of a moment in time, a time of great anguish & wild hopefulness. Maps.

The State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, Russia, is one of the world1s most important museums. This book offers a dazzling introduction to this collection and the splendid palaces that house it. The collection was begun by Catherine the Great in 1764 to decorate the Czar1s Winter Palace. Over the centuries it has grown to include some 3 million works in nearly 400 rooms, all displayed in surroundings that represent the zenith of 18th and 19th century architecture and decoration. Includes an Introduction; a brief history of the collection; 160 color reproductions of the treasures in this collection; and a floor plan of the museum1s buildings.

Indispensable et précieuse pour tous, l''eau est une ressource fort mal répartie. Aucune commune mesure entre les 59 M3 annuels à la disposition d''un habitant de Gaza et les 630 000 M3 d''un Islandais. Bien sûr, de tout temps les hommes ont essayé de maîtriser l''eau : canalisations, aqueducs, puits, éoliennes, réservoirs, barrages... Et aujourd''hui, devant l''urgence, les projets les plus fous se multiplient : convoyage d''icebergs du Nord au Sud, poche d''eau de la taille d''un zeppelin tirée par bateau... sans oublier les usines de dessalement de plus en plus performantes ou les fleuves artificiels comme celui récemment créé en Libye. Alors que la Terre va compter 9 milliards d''êtres humains au milieu du siècle, de nombreux pays d''Afrique et d''Asie vont prochainement rejoindre les régions qui souffrent de la rareté de l''eau. Ainsi la Chine et l''Inde, qui utilisent plus d''eau que les Etats-Unis, l''Union européenne, le Japon et la Russie réunis, seront bientôt en situation de " stress hydrique ". S''appuyant sur de nombreuses disciplines, l''auteur s''attache aussi à mettre en lumière les aspects géopolitiques des ressources hydrauliques. Il suffit de voir à quel point la question de l''eau est maintenant au centre des négociations israélo-arabes ou des tensions entre la Turquie et ses voisins. Résultat d''une enquête menée à l''échelle mondiale, de rencontres avec les meilleurs experts, cet ouvrage milite pour une prise de conscience. L''ère des travaux pharaoniques est révolue, il s''agit de mettre en œuvre une approche patrimoniale donnant la priorité à des solutions écologiques. L''alternative est simple : il faut soit utiliser moins d''eau et arrêter le gaspillage, soit en importer ou en "fabriquer". Tel cet homme qui, il y a cent ans en Crimée, recueillait et canalisait l''eau de la rosée !