The Best Books for the Outdoorsy Dad
For all those dads who spend their summers bird watching and gardening outside, as well as patiently waiting to watch sports again, these books are the perfect gifts to celebrate their hobbies.
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Add to BookshelfThe Masters
by Curt Sampson
The Masters golf tournament weaves a hypnotic spell. It is the toughest ticket in sports, with black-market tickets selling for $10,000 and more. Success at Augusta National breeds legends, while failure can overshadow even the most brilliant of careers. The Masters is an amazing slice of history, taking us inside the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Augusta’s most famous member. It is a look at how the new South coexists with the old South, with such characters as James Brown, the Godfather of Soul; the great boxer Beau Jack; and Frank Stranahan, the playboy golfer. The Masters is a spellbinding portrait of a tournament unlike any other.
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$20.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Genius of Birds
by Jennifer Ackerman
Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came about.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Sibley’s Birding Basics
by David Allen Sibley
In 200 beautifully rendered illustrations and 16 essays, this scientifically precise volume distills the essence of Sibley’s own experience and skills, providing a solid introduction to “naming” the birds. Birding Basics reviews how one can get started as a birder–the equipment necessary, where and when to go birding, and perhaps most important, the essential things to look for when birds appear in the field–as well as the basic concepts of bird identification and the variations that can change the appearance of a bird over time or in different settings.
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$16.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
by David Allen Sibley
From renowned birder, illustrator, and New York Times best selling author David Sibley, the most authoritative guide to the birds of the East, in a portable format that is perfect for the field.
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$25.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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American Grown
by Michelle Obama
In April 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama planted a kitchen garden on the White House’s South Lawn. As fresh vegetables, fruit, and herbs sprouted from the ground, this White House Kitchen Garden inspired a new conversation all across the country about the food we feed our families and the impact it has on the health and well-being of our children. In American Grown, Mrs. Obama invites you inside the White House Kitchen Garden and shares its inspiring story, from the first planting to the latest harvest.
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$30.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The New Seed-Starters Handbook
by Nancy Bubel and Jean Nick
For the most complete, up-to-date information on starting plants from seed, turn to The New Seed-Starter’s Handbook. Written by a gardener with 30 years of experience, this updated, easy-to-use reference explains everything you need to know to start seeds and raise healthy seedlings successfully.
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$21.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Who’s Your Caddy?
by Rick Reilly
Who knows a golfer best? Who’s with them every minute of every round, hears their muttering, knows whether they cheat? Their caddies, of course. So sportswriter Rick Reilly figured that he could learn a lot about the players and their game by caddying, even though he had absolutely no idea how to do it. Between his hilarious descriptions of his own ineptitude as a caddy and his insight into what makes the greats of golf so great, Reilly’s wicked wit and an expert’s eye provide readers with the next best thing to a great round of golf.
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$17.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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What It’s Like to Be a Bird
by David Allen Sibley
“Can birds smell?” “Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?” “Do robins ‘hear’ worms?” In What It’s Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author.
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$35.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Great Garden Companions
by Sally Jean Cunningham
Discover the secrets of a naturally pest-proof vegetable garden with Great Garden Companions. Let master gardener Sally Jean Cunningham show you how to keep pests and diseases at bay with her unique companion-gardening system. By planting special combinations of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, you can minimize pest and disease problems and create a high-yielding, beautiful garden!
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$21.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Thing with Feathers
by Noah Strycker
The Thing with Feathers explores the astonishing homing abilities of pigeons, the good deeds of fairy-wrens, the influential flocking abilities of starlings, the deft artistry of bowerbirds, the extraordinary memories of nutcrackers, the lifelong loves of albatrosses, and other mysteries—revealing why birds do what they do, and offering a glimpse into our own nature.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening
by Deborah L. Martin, Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis and Ellen Phillips
Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has been the go-to resource for gardeners for more than 50 years, and the best tool novices can buy to start applying organic methods to their fruit and vegetable crops, herbs, trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals, and lawns. This thoroughly revised and updated version highlights new organic pest controls, new fertilizer products, improved gardening techniques, the latest organic soil practices, and new trends in garden design.
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$44.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Bird Way
by Jennifer Ackerman
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds, a radical investigation into the bird way of being, and the recent scientific research that is dramatically shifting our understanding of birds — how they live and how they think.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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26 Marathons
by Meb Keflezighi and Scott Douglas
A world-class runner and four-time Olympian shares the life lessons he’s learned from each of the twenty-six marathons he’s run in his storied career.
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$17.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Perennial Combinations
by C. Colston Burrell
Perennial Combinations by C. Colston Burrell features plant medleys that bring color, texture, and excitement to the garden in every season. The book features 130 of the best perennial combinations with photographs of each grouping, along with a numbered photo key and plant list. Each grouping features just two to six plants; gardeners can plant the combinations as they appear for small garden spaces or they can repeat or mix the combinations for large beds and landscapes.
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$26.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Making the Most of Shade
by Larry Hodgson
A gorgeous celebration of the shade garden–featuring nearly 300 perennials, annuals, bulbs, ferns, ornamental grasses, and climbing plants that will thrive without direct sunlight.
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$27.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Zen Golf
by Joseph Parent
The best players know that golf is a game of confidence, and most important, concentration–the ability to focus and block out distraction. The goal of achieving clear thought is also at the heart of Buddhist teachings. In his highly original and groundbreaking book, noted PGA coach and Buddhist instructor, Dr. Joseph Parent, draws on this natural connection and teaches golfers how to clear their minds, achieve ultimate focus, and play in the moment for each shot.
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$28.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Square Foot Gardening
by Mel Bartholomew
When he created the “square foot gardening” method, Mel Bartholomew, a retired engineer and efficiency expert, found the solution to the frustrations of most gardeners. His revolutionary system is simple: it’s an ingenious planting method based on using square foot blocks of garden space instead of rows. Gardeners build up, not down, so there’s no digging and no tilling after the first year. And the method requires less thinning, less weeding, and less watering.
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$19.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Sibley Birder’s Life List and Field Diary
by David Allen Sibley
This indispensable birder’s companion includes both ample space for on-site notes and a life list to be filled in by the legions of passionate birders who have bought Sibley’s bestselling guides. Included are entries for the 923 species found in the United States and Canada, with space for recording where and when a bird was seen and for notes or memories about the sighting. At the back is a complete checklist of all the birds for building the life list.
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$22.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Inner Game of Golf
by W. Timothy Gallwey
W. Timothy Gallwey’s bestselling Inner Game books–with more than one million copies sold–have revolutionized the way we think about sports. As he did in his phenomenally successful The Inner Game of Tennis, Gallwey provides methods that can be applied to situations beyond the green. The Inner Game of Golf delivers strategies to achieve potential–both in the crucible of competition and in everyday life.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
