This rather hefty tome is a collection of some of the most important writings about the environment since Henry David Thoreau sat down and penned Walden.  American Earth clocks in at over 1,000 pages, and includes work from Henry David Thoreau (of course), Walt Whitman, John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt to R. Buckminster Fuller, Alice Walker, Paul Hawken and Al Gore.  In addition to poetry, essays, and even some excerpts from fiction, the book includes a wide range of illustrations, which serve to enhance this text. Ironically, the book isn’t printed on recycled paper, which is somewhat disappointing, especially considering its length, but it is still one of the most important environmental books to come out this year.  From The Library of America and available at your local, independent bookstore.  (Tell them you saw it on Elephant Journal.com!)