https://www.annvileisis.com/about daily 0.75 2021-05-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1585592136091-RT4ZBEX9JZ3SKROXNBWC/ann_vileisis_authorphoto.jpg ABOUT ANN https://www.annvileisis.com/speaking daily 0.75 2023-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751896856-7SKSLI1CHMH6L53RPUWI/image-asset.jpeg SPEAKING - Ann Vileisis has spoken to groups, conferences, and students on campuses nationwide. https://www.annvileisis.com/home daily 1.0 2024-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751088415-NXZ2QCWC57NRZKS4F8P1/wetland-history-bookcover.jpg Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751033907-JUYU2CVBZVUY8K99JDSF/kitchen-literacy-bookcover.jpg Ann Vileisis ORDER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751000131-JFC74D1KNTSJC3VOMWNH/abalone-history-bookcover.jpg Ann Vileisis https://www.annvileisis.com/books daily 0.75 2021-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751000131-JFC74D1KNTSJC3VOMWNH/abalone-history-bookcover.jpg BOOKS - ABALONE: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish From rocky coves at Mendocino and Monterey to San Diego’s reefs, abalone have held a cherished place in California culture for millennia. Prized for iridescent shells and delectable meat, these unique shellfish inspired indigenous artisans, bohemian writers, California cuisine, and the popular sport of skin diving, but also became a highly coveted commercial commodity. Mistakenly regarded as an inexhaustible seafood, abalone ultimately became vulnerable to overfishing and early impacts of climate change. Read more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751033907-JUYU2CVBZVUY8K99JDSF/kitchen-literacy-bookcover.jpg BOOKS - KITCHEN LITERACY: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get It Back Ask children where food comes from, and they’ll probably answer, “the supermarket.” Ask most adults, and their replies may not be much different. Where our foods are raised and what happens to them between farm and supermarket shelf have become mysteries. How did we come to the modern-day situation of knowing so little about the foods that nourish us every day? Read more https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751088415-NXZ2QCWC57NRZKS4F8P1/wetland-history-bookcover.jpg BOOKS - DISCOVERING THE UNKNOWN LANDSCAPE: A History of America’s Wetlands The rapidly disappearing wetlands that once spread so abundantly across the American continent serve essential and irreplaceable ecological roles. Yet for centuries, Americans have viewed them with disdain. Beginning with the first European settlers, we have thought of them as “swamps” associated with sickness and landscapes worse than useless unless they could be drained, filled, paved or otherwise "improved." As neither dry land, which can be owned and controlled by individuals, nor bodies of water, which are considered a public resource, wetlands have in recent years been at the center of controversy over issues of environmental protection and property rights. The confusion and contention that surround wetland issues today are the products of a long and convoluted history. Read more https://www.annvileisis.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-01-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751942080-AA14VOWE1PPKF1HY2268/annatbeach.jpg CONTACT ANN https://www.annvileisis.com/abalone daily 0.75 2025-07-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751000131-JFC74D1KNTSJC3VOMWNH/abalone-history-bookcover.jpg Abalone: Remarkable History - Abalone: The Remarkable History and Uncertain Future of California’s Iconic Shellfish From rocky coves at Mendocino and Monterey to San Diego’s reefs, abalone have held a cherished place in California culture for millennia. Prized for iridescent shells and delectable meat, these unique shellfish inspired indigenous artisans, bohemian writers, California cuisine, and the popular sport of skin diving, but also became a highly coveted commercial commodity. Mistakenly regarded as an inexhaustible seafood, abalone ultimately became vulnerable to overfishing and early impacts of climate change. As the first and only comprehensive history of these once abundant but now tragically imperiled shellfish, Abalone guides the reader through eras of discovery, exploitation, scientific inquiry, fierce disputes between sport and commercial divers, near-extinction, and determined recovery efforts. Combining rich cultural and culinary history with hard-minded marine science, grassroots activism, and gritty politics, author Ann Vileisis chronicles the plight of California’s abalone species and the growing biological awareness that has become crucial to conserve these rare animals into the future. Abalone is an OREGON BOOK AWARD FINALIST REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS AND PRAISE “People say that if you put a sea shell to your ear you can hear the ocean. This never worked well with abalones until now. This well-informed, deeply felt, eloquently written book tells us, in a beautiful way, where abalones have been and where they—and the ocean—are headed.” — Carl Safina, Director of the Blue Ocean Institute and author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Becoming Wild ”Not many writers are good enough to make a story about snails gripping, but Ann Vileisis makes her history and natural history of abalone sing. This exquisite mollusk biography tells how human desire, greed, and incompetence led to an irreplaceable creature's undoing. A truly marvelous, unexpected joy of a book.” —Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation at University of York, and author of The Unnatural History of the Sea and The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea ”Ann Vileisis’s new book, Abalone, is a brilliant and compelling story of loss and recovery, despair, hope, and uncertainty—a galvanizing narrative in this disturbing moment. Like her earlier books, Kitchen Literacy and Discovering the Unknown Landscape, Abalone is deeply researched and imaginatively written; I cannot wait to teach it!” —Char Miller, W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis & History at Pomona College and author of Not So Golden State: Sustainability vs. the California Dream and Hetch Hetchy: A History in Documents ”Ann Vileisis’s chronicle of the charismatic California abalone is terrific! Thanks to exhaustive and thorough research, she masterfully weaves her story with history, ecology, conservation, public policy, commerce and epidemiology. This is a must read for all who want to understand this iconic marine snail.” —Mike Schaadt, Director Emeritus, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium ”Like the magical inside of an abalone shell, Ann Vileisis’s writing shimmers, and her book reflects a kaleidoscope of profound historical, biological, and cultural insights.” —Christine Keiner, Author of The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesapeake Bay since 1880 “A gracefully written, meticulously documented history” —Choice WHAT READERS HAVE SAID “It reads like a suspense novel. I can’t put it down. Finally, someone is telling me the story of one of the great tragedies and mysteries of my life time.” —B.L. “I thought I knew a lot about abalone. I have enjoyed searching for them most of my adult life. But this book taught me many things. The culture, history, and science. A very well written book. So happy I found it….The book was a great experience, also made all my own memories that much more special.”—D.P. “It is beautifully written and aesthetically pleasing. Vileisis is an evocative writer, and her words stir emotion even when the subject is public meetings or research methods.”—J.B. “I read the whole book in one sitting—I couldn’t put it down. I gasped. I cried.” —A.H. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1585592006522-DHWPO64GCAPCQFCC1TFY/ann_vileisis_authorphoto_811.jpg Abalone: Remarkable History - Q&A with author Ann Vileisis about Abalone Abalone, remarkable history —new book intro video https://www.annvileisis.com/wetlands daily 0.75 2021-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751088415-NXZ2QCWC57NRZKS4F8P1/wetland-history-bookcover.jpg Discovering the Unknown Landscape - Discovering the Unknown Landscape: A History of America’s Wetlands WINNER OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION’S HERBERT FEIS AWARD for the best book by an independent scholar or public historian WINNER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY’S GEORGE PERKINS MARSH PRIZE for the best book environmental history book The rapidly disappearing wetlands that once spread so abundantly across the American continent serve essential and irreplaceable ecological roles. Yet for centuries, Americans have viewed them with disdain. Beginning with the first European settlers, we have thought of them as “swamps” associated with sickness and landscapes worse than useless unless they could be drained, filled, paved or otherwise "improved." As neither dry land, which can be owned and controlled by individuals, nor bodies of water, which are considered a public resource, wetlands have in recent years been at the center of controversy over issues of environmental protection and property rights. The confusion and contention that surround wetland issues today are the products of a long and convoluted history. In Discovering the Unknown Landscape, author Ann Vileisis presents a fascinating look at that history, chronicling how Americans have thought about and used wetlands from Colonial times through the present day, exploring many factors—ideology, economics, law, perception, art—that influence how we regard and use our contemporary landscape. Beyond recounting the march of destruction, she considers our seemingly contradictory tradition of appreciating wetlands: artistic and literary representations, conservation during the Progressive Era, and recent legislation aimed at slowing or stopping losses. Discovering the Unknown Landscape is an intriguing synthesis of social and environmental history, and a valuable examination of how cultural attitudes shape the physical world that surrounds us. Vileisis's clear and engaging prose provides a new and compelling understanding of modern-day environmental conflicts. REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS and PRAISE “A major addition to the literature of American environmental history.” —Roderick Nash, author of Wilderness and the American Mind “Though I have focused my entire professional career on wetlands, this book provided me with new information, insight, and appreciation of our wetlands resource. There is no student of wetlands that cannot benefit from reading this book.” —Bill O. Wilen, Project Leader, National Wetlands Inventory “Vileisis gives us the cultural history of America’s wetlands in intricate detail, from Henry David Thoreau, neck deep in a cranberry bog, gaining ‘a sense of the richness of life,’ to senators’ jockeys over the Swamp Land Act in 1849.” —Smithsonian Magazine “A rare book that goes beyond description to contribute to our understanding of the land and of American culture.” —The Chicago Free Press “A simply first-rate piece of environmental history—comprehensive and careful in its research, well reasoned in its analysis, and exceptionally well-written. Vileisis has provided a model as to how environmental history can markedly enhance how we understand the environmental present and how we think about the future.” —Samuel P. Hays, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Pittsburgh “A fine survey of changing American attitudes towards wetlands, and of the struggles that have been fought for their protection. It will become a standard work on its subject.” —William Cronon, University of Wisconsin, author of Nature’s Metropolis “In this timely, well-documented work, environmental historian Vileisis explains the confusion and contention surrounding wetlands preservation in terms of the differing cultural values Americans have historically assigned to these problematic habitats. . . . From salt marshes of Colonial New England to the recent efforts to restore the Florida Everglades, Vileisis discusses not only the changes in common practices, laws, and regulations but also the shifts in cultural and social attitudes. Highly recommended. . . . “ —Library Journal https://www.annvileisis.com/kitchen-literacy daily 0.75 2021-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586301019211-KAXK4RXWAH9U4V18Q64M/AnnVileisis_author_2009.jpg Kitchen Literacy - Q&A with Ann Vileisis about Kitchen Literacy PRESENTATION about Kitchen Literacy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751033907-JUYU2CVBZVUY8K99JDSF/kitchen-literacy-bookcover.jpg Kitchen Literacy - Kitchen Literacy: How We Lost Knowledge of Where Food Comes From and Why We Need to Get it Back CONNECTICUT BOOK AWARD FINALIST REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE, ONE OF “50 BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE” Ask children where food comes from, and they’ll probably answer, “the supermarket.” Ask most adults, and their replies may not be much different. Where our foods are raised and what happens to them between farm and supermarket shelf have become mysteries. How did we come to the modern-day situation of knowing so little about the foods that nourish us every day? Ann Vileisis’s answer is a sensory-rich journey through the history of making dinner. Kitchen Literacy takes us from an eighteenth-century garden to today’s sleek supermarket aisles, and eventually to farmer’s markets that are now enjoying a resurgence. Vileisis chronicles profound changes in how American cooks have considered their foods over two centuries as the distance between farm and table grew and we went from knowing particular places and stories behind our foods’ origins to instead relying on advertisers’ claims. Although industrialized eating is undeniably convenient, it has also created hidden health and environmental problems, including food-borne pathogens, toxic pesticides, and pollution from factory farms. Vileisis shows that greater understanding can lead consumers to healthier and more sustainable choices. Revealing how knowledge of our food has been lost and how it might now be regained, Kitchen Literacy promises to make us think differently about what we eat. REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS and PRAISE “Her book performs a valuable service in reminding readers that we were not always so clueless when it came to making food choices.” —Washington Post “Kitchen Literacy brings home just how essential it is for eaters to cultivate knowledge of their food.” —American Scientist “This important and eye-opening book uncovers the machinery behind the modern food industry….Vileisis gathers it all in one place, weaving a clear, easy-to-read tapestry whose meaning is plain by the end of the book: you are what you eat, so think about what you've been eating.” —Library Journal “It’s a fascinating read and, in my opinion, should be on every nightstand in the country!” —Lake Oswego Review “A ‘must-read’ for modern-day consumers in the post-family farm era.” —Midwest Book Review “Vileisis' book provides an urgent historical overview on how distant foods rose to such prominence in the American marketplace and diet.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencier “Unless you are out to sea in a kayak hunting whales, or unless you are harvesting songbirds while aloft under a handglider, you will want to read this book.” —Kip Anderson, The Victory Garden “A clearly written, historically grounded, and impassioned discussion of how and why Americans became so ignorant about the food they buy, cook, and eat.” —Journal of American History “Vileisis offers well-crafted prose, deep and careful research, and a provocative argument. She reminds environmental historians that ‘knowing food isn’t solely the means to a meal; it also provides a fundamental means for making sense of our place in the world.’ Like a chef who prepares a great dinner, Vileisis leaves her reader sated, but also eager to see where the menu—or story—may lead next.” —Environmental History “This book is important to me because it lays out our nation’s skewed relationship with food and delves into history to do so…. It should speak to anyone who reads and eats, for it does go to the heart of the matter—the corruption of food and the need to bring it back to where it belongs.” —Deborah Madison, chef and author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and many other excellent books about food and cooking “It is no exaggeration to say that the single most vital connection any of us has to the natural world is the food we eat. And yet the paradox of modern life is that over the past century, most of us have become profoundly ignorant about where our food comes from and the myriad ways it affects us. In her wonderful new book Kitchen Literacy, Ann Vileisis explains how we came to forget so much about the food we eat...and how much we gain by remembering the journeys it makes to reach our tables.” —William Cronon, author of Changes in the Land and Nature’s Metropolis “Kitchen Literacy goes to the heart of our disconnection from one of the most vital and intimate aspects of our lives—how we feed ourselves and our families. Accessible, entertaining, and enlightening, Ann Vileisis’s new book has given us the historical context to understand what we have lost and how to bring food back to where it belongs—at the center of our families and communities.” —Michael Ableman, farmer, author of Fields of Plenty https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580752486726-J8ENNGVFF4GN4AW1XLDJ/kitchen-literacy-makes-wapost-books.jpg Kitchen Literacy - SELECT MEDIA The online TV show Cooking Up A Story featured Kitchen Literacy in a series of mini-documentary shorts: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 This podcast features an interview about Kitchen Literacy with Ann by bibliophile, radio producer, and NPR contributor Rick Kleffel: Part 1 Part 2 This podcast about the “new American meal” features a 3-way conversation with Ann and authors Michael Pollan and Molly Katzen, produced by Rick Kleffel: Part 1 Part 2 Read an article Ann wrote about Kitchen Literacy in Oregon Tilth magazine Watch a slide lecture that Ann recently gave about Kitchen Literacy at the Arlington Library https://www.annvileisis.com/kitchen-literacy-author-interview daily 0.75 2020-05-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586301019211-KAXK4RXWAH9U4V18Q64M/AnnVileisis_author_2009.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586301635641-QFBA6S4NT7FVUR82LEW8/bee+in+rosemary.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586302166013-2JXAJOILDFNYDOGNCV77/avingarden.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586303861132-PQRIWODIBOPIMADELQ6D/avatfarmstand.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1583273679567-SFPS1RDRRYM26J8L4DUP/beecherbutcherlinedrawing.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586301799660-M6X4GMPQV3C73PYQ2VVD/NYC_schoolgarden.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1586301472073-POSSYEF4JOJAE47P8CTR/Baked%252BBean%252BAd%252B250.jpg Kitchen Literacy Interview with author Ann Vileisis https://www.annvileisis.com/abalone_qa daily 0.75 2024-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587063064941-5ADPY5QLWSPBCG5NATMY/ann_vileisis_authorphoto_811.jpg Abalone_Q&A - Q&A with author Ann Vileisis about Abalone: the remarkable history and uncertain future of California’s iconic shellfish https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1588532621861-DVTWGAB8KUKXUGA51XVB/Abalone_Shells_Santa_Barbara_historic_postcard.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587074934940-V2ADTZDMSU81KGV5IPW4/White+abalone+recovery+team+2019.jpg Abalone_Q&A White abalone recovery team, 2019, Photo by Adam Obaza https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587073415709-TIT6GTU7BJ7QHK9TGI7J/From_Edwards_1913.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587073966639-Z2M3ZVS3YFODJ7SL54ZI/Abalone+microstructure.+Photo+by+Marc+Meyers.png Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587072877998-I5H5G57LEVHGV8CXJTOQ/conchology.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587063453821-08D1CAAZFOBVXUODPIF9/Abalone+shell+in+hand+small.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580448043420-CX4JA69FD9MK7Y3SMOWV/shell.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587074706847-IWEN59SHOLWCIHC6GOTY/pismo+beach+sign+with+abalone+shells.jpg Abalone_Q&A https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1587067516440-2R15HMS4M5KP2QR3QOCX/red-abalone-cdfw-image-photo-by-athena-maguire.jpg Abalone_Q&A Red abalone, Photo by Athena Maguire, California Department of Fish and Wildlife https://www.annvileisis.com/q-a-page daily 0.75 2021-03-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580448355256-XY3A5C56VKHR8PDF9HT5/abalone-history-bookcover.jpg Q&A - Q&A with author Ann Vileisis about Abalone: the remarkable history and uncertain future of California’s iconic shellfish https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5e333a38e40c084d39c47189/1580751033907-JUYU2CVBZVUY8K99JDSF/kitchen-literacy-bookcover.jpg Q&A - Q&A with author Ann Vileisis about Kitchen Literacy: how we lost knowledge of where food comes from and why we need to get it back