| Press Release:
"Winners of 2009 National Outdoor Book Awards Announced" Also see the winners & reviews on our website
Art for Use by Media Sources: National Outdoor Book Award Medallion High Resolution Scans of the Covers of Winning Books (2009 Award Winners)
Other Media Information: 2009 Eligibility Requirements and Application Web Master Information: Website owners and developers are welcome to use our press releases, reviews and book scans. |
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Media Mailing List: Receive NOBA press releases. Only two press releases are sent out annually.
Media Contact Information: For more information, or to be placed on a media mailing list, contact: Ron Watters, 921 South 8th Ave, Stop 8128, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209. Phone: 208- 232-6857. Email: wattron@isu.edu. Past Press Releases & High Resolution Scans:
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A Note to Members of the Media and Web Site Developers We invite you to sign up for our media email list. Our email list is highly confidential and not shared with any other sources. We send out only two press releases per year. One release announces the opening of nominations for the new year's program—and the other announces the winners (in the fall immediately after the judge's decisions are finalized). To get on the mailing list, send an email to NOBA Chair Ron Watters at wattron@isu.edu.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ron Watters (208) 282-3912 (Valid until August 15, 2010) To download the following release (in Microsoft Word format), click here: NOBA10.doc
2010 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARDS NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 National Outdoor Book Awards. The program recognizes the work of outstanding writers and publishers of outdoor books. Books may be nominated for awards in one of nine categories including: History/Biography, Outdoor Literature, Instructional Texts, Outdoor Adventure Guides, Nature Guides, Children's Books, Design/Artistic Merit, Nature and the Environment, and Natural History Literature. Additionally, a special award, the Outdoor Classic Award, is given annually to books which over a period of time have proven to be exceptionally valuable works in the outdoor field. To be eligible for the 2010 National Outdoor Book Awards, nominated books must have been released (date of first shipment of books) after June 1, 2009 and before September 1, 2010, except for those titles which have been nominated for the Outdoor Classic Award. The Outdoor Classic Award is given annually to books of unusual and lasting significance in the outdoor field. Books nominated for the Classic Award must have been copyrighted prior to 2000 and still be in print. Application forms and eligibility requirements are available on the National Outdoor Book Awards web site (https://www.noba-web.org), or from Ron Watters, Chairman, National Outdoor Book Awards, Stop 8128, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho 83209. Phone: 208-282-3912. Email: wattron@isu.edu. The deadline for applications is August 26, 2010. # # #
PRESS RELEASE NOTE: High & low resolution cover scans of all books mention below are available for download.
The following release consists of three sections:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ron Watters (208) 282-3912 - wattron@isu.edu
2009 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED A new groundbreaking biography on Theodore Roosevelt is the winner of the history-biography category in this year's National Outdoor Book Awards (NOBA). Entitled "Wilderness Warrior," the book is by historian Douglas Brinkley. "No doubt about this one." said Ron Watters, Chairman of the National Outdoor Books Awards. "It's a winner. Not only is Brinkley's book well written and impeccably researched, it sheds new information on Roosevelt's work to protect our nation's outdoor heritage." "Wilderness Warrior" is one of several winners in the 2009 National Outdoor Book Awards. The winners of this annual award program represent some of the finest outdoor writing and artwork being published today. The awards program is sponsored by the National Outdoor Book Awards Foundation, Idaho State University and the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. Awards are given in ten individual categories. "The list of this year's winners is as varied as it is impressive," said Watters who is a professor emeritus at Idaho State University. "Brinkley's serious and rigorous historical work is balanced by a light and humorous book on climbing Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks." The Colorado book is called "Halfway to Heaven" and received top honors in the Literature Category. It is about author Mark Obmascik's dream to climb Colorado's highest peaks. While most people take years to reach all 54 summits, Obmascik decides to climb all of them in one summer. Obmascik, however, has a problem. He is overweight and utterly out of shape. Nonetheless, he heads out on a rollicking, non-stop adventure with an all-star cast of eccentrics and fanatics. The most adventurous story among this year's NOBA winners is "Rowboat in a Hurricane" by Canadian author Julie Angus. In this riveting, true life adventure, Angus and her fiancée set out on a 6,000 mile journey to row across the Atlantic. It is the same year as Hurricane Katrina and the Atlantic is seething with tropical storms. Their path takes them directly into the storms' midst. "This one will keep you on the edge of your seat," said Watters. "It's truly a book that you won't be able to put down." Bird watchers will find much to savor among this year winners. A stunning collection of bird paintings by the master artist and ornithologist Lars Jonsson won the Design and Artistic Merit Category. "Lars Jonsson's Birds" includes sketches, watercolors, oil paintings, lithographs, and commentary by the artist. A new edition of Roger Tory Peterson's classic field guide, the "Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America" won the Nature Guidebook Category. The book conveniently combines his eastern and western guidebooks into one volume. And finally little bird lovers, particularly those between the ages of five and nine, will enjoy the winner of the Children's Category "Whistling Wings." It's a sweet bedtime story about Marcel, a young tundra swan who is flying south for the winter. Complete reviews of these and the other 2009 winners may be found at the National Outdoor Book Award Web site at: www.noba-web.org. History/Biography. Winner. "Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America." By Douglas Brinkley. Harper, New York. ISBN 9780060565282 Outdoor Literature Category. Winner. "Halfway to Heaven." By Mark Obmascik. Free Press / Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 9781416566991 Outdoor Literature Category. Honorable Mention. "Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Ocean." By Julie Angus. Greystone Books, Vancouver. ISBN 9781553653370 Design & Artistic Merit Category. Winner. "Lars Jonsson's Birds." Illustrations by Lars Jonsson. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 9780691141510 Classic Award. Winner. "Kayak: The New Frontier." By William Nealy. Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham. ISBN 9780897325899 Classic Award. Honorable Mention. "Appalachian Odyssey: Walking the Trail from Georgia to Maine." By Steve Sherman and Julia Older. Author's Guild, New York. ISBN 9781440115301 Nature and the Environment Category. Winner. "Our Living Earth." By Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Abrams/Books for Young Readers, New York. ISBN 9780810971325 Nature and the Environment Category. Honorable Mention. "Sand: Tthe Never Ending Story." By Michael Welland. University of California Press. Berkeley. ISBN 9780520254374 Natural History Literature. Winner. "Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys." By Rob Dunn. Smithsonian Books. New York. ISBN 9780061430305 Children's Category. Winner. "Whistling Wings." By Laura Goering. Illustrated by Laura Jacques. Sylvan Dell Publishing, Mt Pleasant, SC. ISBN 9781934359303 Children's Category. Honorable Mention. "Operation Redwood." By S. Terrell French. Abrams/Amulet Books, New York. ISBN 9780810983540 Instructional Category. "Girl on the Rocks: A Woman's Guide to Climbing with Strength, Grace and Courage." By Katie Brown. Photos by Ben Moon. Globe Pequot Press/Falcon Guides, Guilford, CN. ISBN 9780762745180 Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks. Winner. "Guide to the Green and Yampa Rivers in Dinosaur National Monument." By Duwain Whitis and Barbara Vinson. RiverMaps, Buda, TX. ISBN 9870981935913 Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks. Honorable Mention. "The Guide to Baja Sea Kayaking." By Dave Eckardt. Paddle Publishing, Eagle, CO. ISBN 97809645839914 Nature Guidebook. Winner. "Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America." By Roger Tory Peterson. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston. ISBN 9780618966141 Nature Guidebooks. Honorable Mention. "Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West." By Dennis Paulson. Princeton University Press. Princeton. ISBN 9780691122816
History/Biography. Winner. Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. By Douglas Brinkley. Harper, New York. ISBN 9780060565282 Wilderness Warrior is an impeccably researched and thoroughly engrossing work on the one figure in history who set aside more of America's outdoor heritage than any other. Much has been written about Theodore Roosevelt, but in this ground-breaking, 940-page biography, Douglas Brinkley concentrates on Roosevelt the outdoorsman and conservationist, and in doing so, paints a vibrant portrait, as vibrant as the man himself. One word describes it all: bully!
Outdoor Literature Category. Winner. Halfway to Heaven. By Mark Obmascik. Free Press / Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 9781416566991 In this fun, humorous, and warm-hearted story, Mark Obmascik sets out to climb all of Colorado's 14,000-foot mountains. But Obmascik, the father of three sons, has a problem. He is overweight and utterly out of shape. To get ready, he joins a spin class of mostly perimenopausal women. When he begins to slack off, the women prod him into keeping at it. He reciprocates by adjusting the wall fans for them when hot flashes hit. Then summer comes, and off he goes, chasing his dream to climb all 54 summits. It's a rollicking, non-stop adventure with an all-star cast of eccentrics and fanatics. But…does he make it? You'll find out in this delightfully and devilishly clever book.
Outdoor Literature Category. Honorable Mention. Rowboat in a Hurricane: My Amazing Journey Across a Changing Ocean. By Julie Angus. Greystone Books, Vancouver. ISBN 9781553653370 In this riveting, true story, author Julie Angus, and her fiancée set out from Portugal in a 23-foot boat made from quarter inch plywood. Their goal: to row across the dangerous and capricious Atlantic ocean from Europe to Central America, a mere 6,000 miles. They row 16 hours a day, each rowing for 2-hour shifts. For 145 days they keep up this grueling routine. But there's more than interminable rowing. It's the same year as Hurricane Katrina and the Atlantic is seething with tropical storms. Their path takes them directly into the storms' midst.
Design & Artistic Merit Category. Winner. Lars Jonsson's Birds. Illustrations by Lars Jonsson. Princeton University Press, Princeton. ISBN 9780691141510 Avian lovers have always known that paintings bring out the true beauty of birds. One of the masters of this specialized art form is Lars Jonsson who lives on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea and is well known for his illustrated field guides to European birds. In this book Jonsson's prowess as a wildlife artist is in full display in the form of sketches, watercolors, oil paintings and lithographs. Explanatory text and commentary by Jonsson accompanies his captivating art.
Classic Award. Winner. Kayak: The New Frontier. By William Nealy. Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham. ISBN 9780897325899 It is unfortunate that William Nealy left us so early. When he died in 2001, he was still young, at the height of his creative genus, and well established as the outdoor world's most famous cartoonist. His work was as zany and outrageous as it was smart and insightful. His best known book is Kayak which sold over 300,000 copies and was translated into five languages. And now Kayak is back. Thanks to Menasha Ridge Press, Kayak lives on with the release of a newly updated edition, just in time to entertain a new generation of paddlers.
Classic Award. Honorable Mention. Appalachian Odyssey: Walking the Trail from Georgia to Maine. By Steve Sherman and Julia Older. Author's Guild, New York. ISBN 9781440115301 We'll let the words of the late Edward Abbey speak on behalf of Appalachian Odyssey, first published in the 1970's: "It's a good book" he wrote in the preface. "In it you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about hiking the Great Hike. Everything and then some--none of the misery has been left out, none of the tedium, none of the chiggers, snakes, mosquitoes or odd-ball hikers, and none of the glory, exaltation and satisfaction either."
Nature and the Environment Category. Winner. Our Living Earth. By Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Abrams/Books for Young Readers, New York. ISBN 9780810971325 Our Living Earth is a striking, large format book for readers of the teenage years. The book thoughtfully answers two questions: what does it mean to go green? And what can young people do to help protect life on earth? It's a world-wide look at environmental problems and potential solutions. Filled with Yann Arthus-Betrand's vivid photographs and supplemented with concise and instructive text, the book is sure to capture the attention of budding environmentalists and inspire them to do what they can to help the planet.
Nature and the Environment Category. Honorable Mention. Sand: The Never Ending Story. By Michael Welland. University of California Press. Berkeley. ISBN 9780520254374 Sand? Is it really possible to write a book about sand? Indeed it is, and geologist Michael Welland is the perfect one to do it. Welland combines his natural story telling talents with a scientific background to weave together a fascinating account of nature's most ubiquitous substance.
Natural History Literature. Winner. Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys. By Rob Dunn. Smithsonian Books. New York. ISBN 9780061430305 Fashioning a series of vivid portraits of driven, single-minded scientists, Dun traces the history of human discovery. Vignettes range from the establishment of a classification system, to a scientist's attempt to discover a rare ant, to another's quest to find every living thing in a jungle in Costa Rica. It's poetic, often humorous and filled with insight on the breakthroughs of the study of life.
Children's Category. Winner. Whistling Wings. By Laura Goering. Illustrated by Laura Jacques. Sylvan Dell Publishing, Mt Pleasant, SC. ISBN 9781934359303 Whistling Wings is an eye-catching book for the 5-9 age group. Laura Goering's warm and inviting story combined with Laura Jacques luminous illustrations make this a winner for parents and children alike. It's about Marcel, a tundra swan. Marcel is flying south and stops at an inviting lake for food and rest. Still tired, he hides in the rushes as his parents and the other swans take off, leaving him behind. At first he's fine, but soon the lake begins to freeze and he finds himself in trouble. Hungry and scared, he falls asleep only to be awakened by a big surprise.
Children's Category. Honorable Mention. Operation Redwood. By S. Terrell French. Abrams/Amulet Books, New York. ISBN 9780810983540 Boys and girls of the pre-teen years will love this fast-paced novel. Quiet and studious Julian Carter-Li suddenly finds himself caught up in a fight to save some of the oldest trees on earth - and guess who he's up against: his powerful and greedy uncle Sibley and his wicked Aunt Daphne. Julian comes to the aid of Robin, a girl about his age who lives near the Redwoods. As the story races along, the two discover important values of trust, honesty and commitment to a cause.
Instructional Category. Winner. Girl on the Rocks: A Woman's Guide to Climbing with Strength, Grace and Courage. By Katie Brown. Photos by Ben Moon. Globe Pequot Press/Falcon Guides, Guilford, CN. ISBN 9780762745180 Katie Brown is one of the foremost female climbers in the world and couldn't be better suited to write this book. It's a very well done "how-to"guide, embellished with a classy, contemporary design and crisp I-wanna-do-that photographs. What's so appealing about this book is that it speaks to women with a woman's voice. Climbing, as Brown says is empowering, and through her words and example, she inspires women to try new things, live a full life and climb away.
Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks. Winner. Guide to the Green and Yampa Rivers in Dinosaur National Monument. By Duwain Whitis and Barbara Vinson. RiverMaps, Buda, TX. ISBN 9870981935913 The Guide to the Green and Yampa Rivers is the newest member of an exceptional series of guidebooks published under the RiverMaps imprint. Everything about this guidebook is useful and practical from its tough, waterproof paper to its clear and thoughtful lay-out. Open it to any page, and on one side are concise and accurate descriptions of rapids, campsites and features of interest. On the facing page, positioned to match the text, are full-sized 7.5 minute topographic maps that you can read from the seat of your boat.
Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks. Honorable Mention. The Guide to Baja Sea Kayaking. By Dave Eckardt. Paddle Publishing, Eagle, CO. ISBN 97809645839914 Ah Baja! The sea kayaker's paradise. When the day comes and when you're ready to head out to paradise, this is the guidebook to take. It covers a total of 1,500 miles of Baja shoreline and describes the circumnavigation of 30 islands. All of the trips are neatly overlaid on crisp Landsat satellite photos.
Nature Guidebook. Winner. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America. By Roger Tory Peterson. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston. ISBN 9780618966141 The Peterson Field Guides have been around for some time, but this new edition, released in the centennial year of Peterson's birth, conveniently combines his eastern and western guidebooks into one volume. The book includes 40 new paintings, newly rendered maps and updated text. It's all bundled into a first class package and is most certainly the bird watcher's bible.
Nature Guidebooks. Honorable Mention. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West. By Dennis Paulson. Princeton University Press. Princeton. ISBN 9780691122816 This is the first guidebook to all 348 species of dragonflies and damselflies found in western North America. Nicely sized and fully illustrated, the guide is perfect for use in the field. Almost every species is illustrated with photographs of both male and female members. Accompanying text includes natural history tidbits, habitat, range, flight season, and the all-important structural identifiers. # # #
To download the above release (MS Word format), click here: PressNOBA09.doc
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(Note: if you need high resolution scans of the winning books from previous years, see Past Press Releases.) For your convenience, we have made high resolution scans of all NOBA winners. The covers were scanned with a graphic-quality scanner at 300 dpi, a resolution suitable for most print media work. All scans were saved in a TIFF file format. When downloading the following image files, we suggest using your browser's SAVE option. (If you need low resolution scans, see 2009 Winners.) High Resolution Scans: History/Biography Winner - Wilderness Warrior Outdoor Literature Winner - Halfway to Heaven Outdoor Literature Honorable Mention - Rowboat in a Hurricane Design & Artistic Merit Category Winner - Lars Jonsson's Birds Classic Award Winner - Kayak: The New Frontier Classic Award Honorable Mention - Appalachian Odyssey Nature and the Environment Winner - Our Living Earth Nature and the Environment Honorable Mention - Sand Natural History Literature Winner - Every Living Thing Children's Category Winner - Whistling Wings Children's Category Honorable Mention - Operation Redwood Instructional Category Winner - Girl on the Rocks Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks Winner - Guide to the Green and Yampa Rivers Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks Honorable Mention - Baja Sea Kayaking Nature Guidebooks Winner - Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America Nature Guidebooks Honorable Mention - Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West National Outdoor Book Awards Medallion
 NOBA Medallion
The following links will download a high resolution scan of the NOBA medallion. The medallion is copyrighted. However, media sources (such as newspapers, periodicals and other news outlets) may use it without permission to illustrate informational articles on the NOBA program. The scan was saved in a TIFF file format. When downloading the following TIFF image files, we suggest using your browser's SAVE option. On some browsers, you can do this by right clicking and selecting SAVE LINK AS. To download, click on the following: . Winner Medallion Winner Medallion TIFF format (300 dpi): MedalWin.tif (878 Kbytes) Winner Medallion TIFF format (600 dpi): MedalWin600.tif (4.8 MBytes) Note that versions of medallion for use on the web are available: here Honorable Mention Medallion Honorable Mention Medallion TIFF format (300 dpi): MedalHon.tif (744 Kbytes) |
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