Arranged alphabetically and extensively cross-referenced, this fact-packed, definitive guide to Antarctica includes over 1,000 entries and 250 photographs covering climate, geology, natural history, exploration, science, tourism and conservation. An indispensable reference for the curious, the armchair traveler, the budding scientist and the environmentalist, Antarctica will fascinate and inform about the world's last true wilderness with answers to questions such as: How was Antarctica formed? The effects of Antarctica's weather on the world's climate The life of an iceberg Life on land be... View More...
As seen from Skylab a mere ten years ago, the Amazon Basin was a dense expanse of trees stretching from horizon to horizon. Broken only by winding rivers, it was a lush image of endless growth. More recent photographs, however, depict quite a different landscape: a blazing forest enshrouded in a vast cloud of smoke that thinned only at the foot of the Andes. Once it was difficult to comprehend the extent of rain forests; now it is hard to comprehend the extent of their destruction. In 1989 alone, more than 55,000 square miles of rain forests were lost around the world: burned for cattle ranchi... View More...
Using one engaging story after another, coupled with accessible scientific facts, world authority Richard B. Alley explores the fascinating history of energy use by humans over the centuries, gives a doubt-destroying proof that already-high levels of carbon dioxide are causing damaging global warming, and surveys the alternative energy options that are available to exploit right now. These new energy sources might well be the engines for economic growth in the twenty-first century. View More...
Using one engaging story after another, coupled with accessible scientific facts, world authority Richard B. Alley explores the fascinating history of energy use by humans over the centuries, gives a doubt-destroying proof that already-high levels of carbon dioxide are causing damaging global warming, and surveys the alternative energy options that are available to exploit right now. These new energy sources might well be the engines for economic growth in the twenty-first century. View More...
The natural history museum is a place where the line between "high" and "low" culture effectively vanishes--where our awe of nature, our taste for the bizarre, and our thirst for knowledge all blend happily together. But as Stephen Asma shows in Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads, there is more going on in these great institutions than just smart fun. Asma takes us on a wide-ranging tour of natural history museums in New York and Chicago, London and Paris, interviewing curators, scientists, and exhibit designers, and providing a wealth of fascinating observations. We learn how the first museums... View More...
"A thorough study and appraisal of the stuff trout feed on, from midges to mice, and a wealth of information on the best materials and methods of tying imitations". -- Field & Stream View More...
Find what you're looking for with Peterson Field Guides--their field-tested visual identification system is designed to help you differentiate thousands of unique species accurately every time. Detailed descriptions of insect orders, families, and many individual species are illustrated with 1,300 drawings and 142 superb color paintings. Illustrations - which use the unique Peterson Identification System to distinguish one insect from another - include size lines to show the actual length of each insect. A helpful glossary explains the technical terms of insect anatomy. View More...
In 2008 an extraordinary two-minute film clip appeared on YouTube and immediately became an international phenomenon. It captures the moving reunion of two young men and their pet lion Christian, after they had left him in Africa with Born Free's George Adamson to introduce him into his rightful home in the wild. A Lion Called Christian tells the remarkable story of how Anthony Ace Bourke and John Rendall, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought the boisterous lion cub in the pet department of Harrods. For several months, the three of them shared a flat above a furniture shop on Lond... View More...
Most of Jim Corbett's books contain collections of stories that recount adventures tracking and shooting man-eaters in the Indian Himalaya. This volume, however, consists of a single story, often considered the most exciting of all Corbett's jungle tales. He gives a carefully-detailed account of a notorious leopard that terrorized life in the hills of the colonial United Provinces. This story represents Corbett's most sustained and unique effort. View More...
Mama's Last Hug is a fascinating exploration of the rich emotional lives of animals, beginning with Mama, a chimpanzee matriarch who formed a deep bond with biologist Jan van Hooff. Her story and others like it--from dogs "adopting" the injuries of their companions, to rats helping fellow rats in distress, to elephants revisiting the bones of their loved ones--show that humans are not the only species with the capacity for love, hate, fear, shame, guilt, joy, disgust, and empathy. Frans de Waal opens our hearts and minds to the many ways in which humans and other animals are connected.... View More...
Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings. View More...
Drawing from his long experience as a naturalist, the author responds to the unexpected and symbolic aspects of a wide spectrum of phenomena throughout the universe. Scrupulous scholarship and magical prose are brought to bear on such diverse topics as seeds, the hieroglyphs on shells, lost tombs, the goddess Circe, city dumps, and Neanderthal man.
The Best American Series(R) First, Best, and Best-Selling The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kind. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 includes Atul Gawande, Jonathan Franzen, Deborah Blum, Malcolm Gla... View More...
It is now abundantly clear that we have at our fingertips all of the tools we need to solve the climate crisis. The only missing ingredient is collective will. Properly understood, the climate crisis is an unparalleled opportunity to finally and effectively address many persistent causes of suffering and misery that have long been neglected, and to transform the prospects of future generations, giving them a chance to live healthier, more prosperous lives as they continue their pursuit of happiness. Our Choice gathers in one place all of the most effective solutions that are available now and... View More...
Alan Precup disappeared while backpacking in the Alaskan wilderness. Days later, searchers found his campsite. In the bushes about 150 feet away, they found Precup's bare skeleton, one intact hand, and both feet, still booted. In his camera were the exposed frames of the bear that killed him. Chris Dunkley and three friends were hiking in Banff National Park. Suddenly a grizzly bear mother came galloping toward them. The first of three charges came so close that it broke a fishing rod in Dunkley's hand, yet none of the party was injured. Keith Ecklund and Larry Reimer were fishing in central S... View More...
Literary Nonfiction. Essays. GHOST TROUT is a series of narratives and essays that chronicle the search for the rare Humboldt cutthroat trout, and rivers and streams and their relationship to people and birds and dogs and the human condition. Pieces of the past are mingled with lives and deaths and a long-ago memory of a dance performed by the daughter of the California poet, Joaquin Miller. GHOST TROUT is more than a collection of essays--it's a glimpse into what makes us tick.--Green Apple Books, San Francisco Another marvelous collection, this one filled with tiny explosions of narration an... View More...
