As a subtropical city and the southernmost metropolitan area in the United States, Miami has always lured both visitors and migrants from throughout the Americas. During its first half-century they came primarily from the American North, then from the Latin South, and eventually from across the hemisphere and beyond. But if Miami's seductive appeal is one half of the story, the other half is that few people have ever ended up staying there. Today, by many measures, Miami is one of the most transient of all major metropolitan areas in America.

Miami: Mistress of the Americas tells the story of an urban transformation, perfectly timed to coincide with the surging forces of globalization. Author Jan Nijman connects different historical episodes and geographical regions to illustrate how transience has shaped the city to the present day, from the migrant labor camps in south Miami-Dade to the affluent gated communities along Biscayne Bay. Transience offers opportunities, connecting business flows and creating an ethnically hybrid workforce, and also poses challenges: high mobility and population turnover impede identification of Miami as home.

According to Nijman, Miami is "mistress of the Americas" because of its cultural influence and economic dominance at the nexus of north and south. Nijman likens the city itself to a hotel; people check in, go about their business or pleasure, then check out. Locals, born and raised in the area, make up only one-fifth of the population. Exiles, those who have come to Miami as a temporary haven due to political or economic necessity, are typically yearning to return to their homeland. Mobiles, the affluent and well educated, who reside in Miami's most prized neighborhoods, are constantly on the move.

As a social laboratory in urban change and human relationships in a high-speed, high-mobility era, Miami raises important questions about identity, citizenship, place-attachment, transnationalism, and cosmopolitanism. As such, it offers an intriguing window onto our global urban future.

As societies around the world are challenged to respond to ever growing environmental crises, it has become increasingly important for activists, policy makers, and environmental practitioners to understand the dynamic relationship between environmental movements and the state. In communist Eastern Europe, environmental activism fueled the rise of democratic movements and the overthrow of totalitarianism. Yet, as this study of environmentalism in Slovakia shows, concern for the environment declined during the post-communist period, an ironic victim of its own earlier success.

Because Oregon sits on the leading edge of a moving crustal plate, a striking diversity of geologic events have molded its topography. Over a century of study, a deeper understanding of the region’s tectonic overprint has emerged. In this timely update to the 2000 edition, Elizabeth and William Orr incorporate that new knowledge, addressing current environmental problems and detailing tectonic hazards. “Caught between converging crustal plates,” the Orrs write, “the Pacific Northwest faces a future of massive earthquakes and tsunamis.”

A comprehensive treatment of the state’s geologic history, Oregon Geology moves through Oregon’s regions to closely examine the unique geologic features of each, from the Blue Mountains to the Willamette Valley, from the high lava Plains to the Coast Range.

The book includes biographical sketches of notable geologists. It is lavishly illustrated and includes an extensive bibliography.

Time Magazine named Atwater one of the 100 most significant people of 2005 for the tsunami research that culminated in this book. He joins American and Japanese scholars to trace a massive earthquake off the Northwest Coast that spawned a tsunami recorded in Japan. A rich array of graphic detail and narrative explains the creation, action, and lasting effects of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Comment penser la diversité des territoires aujourd’hui ? Quel effet la mondialisation et l’économie du savoir ont-elles sur l’organisation territoriale ? Comment rendre compte de la dynamique interne des régions ? Où en sont les réflexions sur les pôles de compétitivité et autres districts industriels ? Les mêmes solutions s’appliquent-elles aux zones rurales et urbaines ? Analysant les plus récentes évolutions qui touchent les territoires, des géographes, sociologues, économistes et historiens de l’Amérique et de l’Europe traitent de ces questions qui animaient le regretté Georges Benko (1953-2009). Les auteurs rendent ainsi un hommage tout particulier à celui qui a contribué à la mise en place d’une nouvelle géographie socioéconomique attentive à la construction sociale de l’espace, notamment par son œuvre phare Les régions qui gagnent (1992), qu’il avait coordonnée avec Alain Lipietz.

A compact and comprehensive history of Portland from first European contact to the twenty-first century, Portland in Three Centuries/ introduces the women and men who have shaped Oregon’s largest city.

The expected politicians and business leaders appear in Portland in Three Centuries—William Ladd and Edgar Kaiser, George Baker and Vera Katz. But Carl Abbott also highlights workers and immigrants, union members and dissenters, women at work and in the public realm, artists and activists, and other movers and shakers.

Incorporating social history and contemporary scholarship in his narrative, Abbott examines current metropolitan character and issues, giving close attention to historical background. He explores the context of opportunities and problems that have helped to shape the rich mosaic that is Portland.

A highly readable character study of a city, and enhanced by more than sixty historic and contemporary images, Portland in Three Centuries will appeal to readers interested in Portland, in Oregon, and in Pacific Northwest history.