Three University of Kentucky authors will present recent books about mountaintop removal mining, and the treasured landscapes and Appalachian communities that lie in its midst, at a book talk and signing Thursday, Feb. 27.

English professor Erik Reece and Biology professor James Krupa recently released a book that brings to life the history and ecology of one of Kentucky's most important natural landscapes —the Robinson Forest in eastern Kentucky. "The Embattled Wilderness" depicts the fourteen thousand acres of diverse forest region-- a haven of biological richness-- as endangered by the ever-expanding desert created by mountaintop removal mining.