(NAPSA)—A new publishing company is putting its money where its words are. Proceeds from the publisher’s first offering are going to support conservation of strategic wilderness lands in Alaska. The book, “Wild Animus” (Too Far, $19.95), is the provocative first novel of author Rich Shapero, a seasoned explorer of Alaska’s Mt. Wrangell and a man who has always followed his passions— whether dog sledding the Arctic, circumnavigating Chicaghof Island by sailboat, or exploring 400 miles of mountainousterrain in Alaska, solo. On the unforgiving ridges of Mt. Wrangell, alone with his reck- less ideas and a driving need to uncover his innermost self, protagonist Sam Altman, who has renamed himself Ransom, gradually transforms himself into a ram—prey to a pack of strangely familiar wolves. “Wild Animus” has been described as a search for the primordial, a test of human foundations, and a journey to the breaking point. Praised by the Library Journal as “a powerful and complex book,” “Wild Animus” evokes with stirring fidelity the quest for fundamentals that inspires youthful idealism. To help ensure that parts of our globe remain forever wild, the publisher, Too Far, is dedicating proceeds from this book to the conservation of strategic wilderness landsin Alaska. In partnership with The Conservation Fund, Too Far is work- ing to protect critical tracts of land, the stewardship of which will be assumed by conservation land managers such as the National Park Service. The pub- A publishing houseis dedicating proceeds from its first publica- tion to the conservation of strategic wilderness landsin Alaska. lisher’s specific focus is on preserving the wilderness areas in whichits stories take place. According to Shapero, “The wilderness is our touchstone. It’s our way of understanding who we are outside of the context of the hive wecall civilization. If we lose the wilderness, we run therisk of becoming drones and automatons.” Shapero claims that his primary focus has always been the exploration within. “People are like those nested dolls the Russians make. It’s easy to lose consciousness of what is important in an urban setting. The layers get confused. In the wilderness, they get stripped away. Especially when you’re alone. The parts of you that are superimposed by contact with others erode. You becomeconscious of what is essentially you.” To learn more, visit www.too far.com.
