August 26, 2009

White Lipped Tree Frog. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Award-winning author Marty Essen will present his high-energy, digital slide show, "Around the World in 90 Minutes" at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15 in Heritage Hall Room 104, 1401 University Blvd. The free and open to the public event is sponsored by the UAB Office of Student Involvement. Call 205-975-9509 for more details.

Essen's show features interesting facts, humorous stories and the best of thousands of photos he took while traveling the world for his book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents.

Highlights from the show include amazing animal facts, charging elephants, howling wolves, deadly snakes, friendly penguins, bizarre creatures and endangered species. The audience can see what it's like to swim with piranhas, kayak in the rainforest, hike with the Porcupine caribou migration and go rafting with humpback whales.

Gentoo Penguins. Download image.

Essen has won multiple book awards for travel and essay writing. He won first place at the 2009 Green Book Festival, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents a "Top 10 Green Book."

About UAB

Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center and the state of Alabama's largest employer. For more information, please visit www.uab.edu.