From tales of vegetarian piranha fish and voiceless dogs to the scientific search for the genes that threaten to destroy the cheetah, Quammen captures the natural world with precision. A distinguished natural science essayist, Quammen’s reporting is masterful and thought provoking and his curiosity and fascination with the world of living things is infectious.

    Based on a major conference sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution, Biodiversity creates a systematic framework for analyzing the problem and searching for possible solutions.

    Increased emphasis on gene activity, signal transduction and the emphasis on the roles of paracrine factors in development.

    The Birder's Handbook is the first of its kind: a portable library of fascinating information not included in your identification guide. For each of the 646 species of birds that breed in North America, The Birder's Handbook will tell you at a glance: * Where the bird nests, and which sex(es) build(s) the nest;* How many eggs the bird lays, what they look like, which patent incubates and for how long, and how the young are cared for;* Food preferences and foraging habits.You will also find information about displays and mating, wintering, conservation status, and much more. In addition, The Birder's Handbook contains some 250 short essays covering all aspects of avian natural history.

     This field guide features detailed descriptions of 455 species of trees native to eastern North America, including the Midwest and the South. The 48 color plates, 11 black-and-white plates, and 26 text drawings show distinctive details needed for identification. Color photographs and 266 color range maps accompany the species descriptions.

    Illustrated hardcover book with dust jacket, 120 pages, published by Salem House Publishing.

    The implications of their discoveries form tomorrow's headlines, yet Angier writes about the scientists themselves and not merely theri successes. 4-page photo insert.

    The Arctic wolf, a powerful and compelling predator, has been captured ever so gently in the pages of White Wolf.Share the adventure of living with a pack of wolves on Ellesmere Island, a pure wilderness in the High Arctic where man is only an infrequent visitor. Experience the drama of a musk ox hunt, the innocent joy of wolf pups playing at the den and the serenity of Ellesmere. The insightful text and the 160 stunning photographs will bring the inspiring world of the Arctic to anyone willing to turn these pages. It will be a memorable experience.

    The authors discuss the latest simulation techniques of molecular dynamics and the Monte Carlo methods as well as how to avoid common programming pitfalls. Theoretical concepts and practical programming advice are amply reinforced with examples of computer simulation in action and samples of Fortran code. The authors have also included a wide selection of programs and routines on microfiche to aid chemists, physicists, chemical engineers, and computer scientists, as well as graduate and advanced students in chemistry.

    Filled with new information from the forefront of paleontology and hundreds of evocative, precisely detailed drawings, Predatory Dinosaurs of the World is the first dinosaur book for every kind of reader. Gregory S. Paul provides an extensive species-by-species catalog of all the predatory dinosaurs known to have existed, from the weasel-sized Lagosuchus to the gigantic Tyranosaurus rex. Dispelling old myths, Paul reveals the surprising capacities of the dinosaurs, including their quickness, adaptability, and agility. And he shows the enormous power of these amazing beasts, bringing them to life once more as they hunt, roam, and pillage through their strange prehistoric worlds from tropical deserts to the polar snows.Predatory Dinosaurs of the World explains how the animals lived and how they interacted with each other and the life around them. Paul details the awesome hit-and-run hunting techniques of the dinosaurs. He explains the varying features of their anatomies and physiologies and compares the ways in which different species evolved through time. He also provides skeletal restorations for many species and thousands of little-known facts. Here is an engrossing exploration of the lost kingdom of the predatory dinosaurs. Rarely has science been so lively, so entertaining--or so much fun.

    This updated and expanded edition describes the basic types of marine aquarium systems, with an emphasis on the traditional under gravel filter. Tank construction and selection, saltwater collection and makeup, filters and filtration, physics and chemistry, setup and maintenance, disease and treatment, foods and feeding, captive breeding Everything you need to know to set up and maintain a successful saltwater aquarium.

    It describes how the human condition is the result of a conflict between our instinctive self struggling against our intellect's need to understand existence. It presents the understanding needed for our species psychological rehabilitation.Free: The End of the Human Condition (1988) received many reviews, reproduced below: 'Could you please send me an extra copy of your book? [Mine] is on loan because it was so appreciated.'The late Sir Laurens van der Post, who was a pre-eminent philosopher, author of 24 books and a close friend of Carl Jung________________________________________'Your [Jeremy Griffith's] work is a cool breeze in the furnace of human history. How badly the world needs such optimism and generosity.'Dr Bob Brown, Australian MP and founder of the Australian conservation movement________________________________________'Your work 'Free: The End of The Human Condition' will be very useful and certainly very appreciated by all the researchers of this laboratory.'Professor Henry de Lumley, National Museum of Natural History, Institute for Human Palaeontology, Paris________________________________________'I consider the book ['Free'] to be the work of a prophet and I expect the author to become recognised as a saint.'The late Dr Ronald Strahan, eminent Australian biologist, former director of Sydney's Taronga Park Zoo and former Executive Officer of the National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife at the Australian Museum________________________________________'I found the book ['Free'] stimulating. I shall gladly keep one copy and give the other one to our library.'Dr Barz, President of the C.G. Jung-Institute Zurich, Switzerland ________________________________________'Thank you for your letter and Griffith's book. I was trying to find the book and you saved me the trouble.'Dr David Suzuki, world renowned conservationist________________________________________'Jeremy Griffith spoke about his concepts [from 'Free'] on my radio program 'The Search For Meaning' and the interview received the second most enthusiastic public response in the program's [twice weekly for 8 years] history.' Caroline Jones, senior radio journalist who has been awarded the 
Order of Australia and the Media Peace Prize Gold Citation________________________________________‘Was Jeremy Griffith struck by lightning on the road to Damascus…Such was my cynicism reading the summary…Then whack! Wham! Reading on I was increasingly impressed and then converted by his erudite explanation for society’s competitive and self-destructive behaviour. His is not a band-aid cure for mankind’s sickness but a profound thinking through to the biological cause of the illness.’ Macushla O’Loan, Executive Woman’s Report magazine________________________________________‘Jeremy Griffith’s book Free: The End of The Human Condition…certainly represents a contribution to the modern comprehension of the behaviour patterns of the human species. Moreover, its insight into our past in a search for key references and explanations is enlightening.’Dasa Sasic, Yugoslavian Sociology Journal Facts and Tendencies________________________________________'The Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest on the Balkan Peninsula, established in 1869. Our publishing programme includes books, reports, monographs, periodicals, etc. from all spheres of pure and applied science...We will appreciate if there is a possibility to send us a copy of the Book [Free], as we would like to present it to an adviser with a view to translating and publishing it in Bulgaria.' The Publishing House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences________________________________________‘['Free'] raised in me a thousand questions of the variety: “how can he make such a categorical statement about such and such—where’s his evidence for it?” etc, etc. I suggest you persevere, “suspend your disbelief” for a few hours, and read this book—it could have much to say to many of us—especially those interested in the life sciences. No, Griffith makes no attempt to “explain away” altruism, love and integrated behaviour. On the contrary his aim is to champion these.’Patti Burke, Southern Crossings, alternative lifestyle magazine

    Dr Ian Stirling, the best known polar bear scientist in the world, compresses the major new discoveries of the last 40 years of research on this iconic mammal into a new easily readable and scientifically comprehensive book about the ecology and natural history of polar bears.  He explains how polar bears evolved, how they were researched, aspects of their behaviour and how the threat of global warming is jeopardizing the survival of this magnificent hunter.

    Now an international bestseller, these are the fascinating adventures of a leading wolf expert on a National Geographic expedition, as he tracks the rare white Arctic wolf to its den and lives with the wolf pack.

    The Second Edition provides a foundation upon which students can develop an understanding of our primate heritage. It features up-to-date information gained through academic training, laboratory experience and field research. This beautifully illustrated volume provides a comprehensive introductory text explaining the many aspects of primate biology and human evolution.

    Examines the ethical questions involved in prenatal screening, in vitro fertilization, artificial life forms, and medical care, and discusses the role of human beings in nature

    The public avidly consumes accounts of real-life homicide cases, and murder fiction is more popular still. Nevertheless, we have only the most rudimentary scientific understanding of who is likely to kill whom and why. Martin Daly and Margo Wilson apply contemporary evolutionary theory to analysis of human motives and perceptions of self-interest, considering where and why individual interests conflict, using well-documented murder cases. This book attempts to understand normal social motives in murder as products of the process of evolution by natural selection. They note that the implications for psychology are many and profound, touching on such matters as parental affection and rejection, sibling rivalry, sex differences in interests and inclinations, social comparison and achievement motives, our sense of justice, lifespan developmental changes in attitudes, and the phenomenology of the self. This is the first volume of its kind to analyze homicides in the light of a theory of interpersonal conflict. Before this study, no one had compared an observed distribution of victim-killer relationships to "expected" distribution, nor asked about the patterns of killer-victim age disparities in familial killings. This evolutionary psychological approach affords a deeper view and understanding of homicidal violence.

    Offering broad coverage and more than 620 outstanding illustrations, this new edition offers up-to-date coverage on all aspects of this specialized field, from illustrating molecules and 3D modeling to important material and advice on copyright and contractual concerns, as well as establishing a freelance business. With step-by-step instructions, in-depth coverage of illustrative techniques and related tools, and helpful advice on the day-to-day business of scientific illustrating, it is easy to see why scientific illustrators refer to this book as their bible.

    It describes the skeleton as not just a structure, but a working system in the living body. The opening chapter introduces basics of osteology, or the study of bones, the specialized and often confusing terminology of the field, and methods for dealing scientifically with bone specimens. The second chapter covers the biology of living bone: its structure, growth, interaction with the rest of the body, and response to disease and injury. The remainder of the book is a head-to-foot, structure-by-structure, bone-by-bone tour of the skeleton. More than 400 photographs and drawings and more than 80 tables illustrate and analyze features the text describes. In each chapter structures are discussed in detail so that not only can landmarks of bones be identified, but their functions can be understood and their anomalies identified as well. Each bone's articulating partners are listed, and the sequence of ossification of each bone is presented. Descriptive sections are followed by analyses of applications: how to use specific bones to estimate age, stature, gender, biological affinities, and state of health at the time of the individual's death. Anthropologists, archaeologists, and paleontologists as well as physicians, medical examiners, anatomists, and students of these disciplines will find this an invaluable reference and textbook.

    Here Am I--Where Are You?, all about geese, is ultimately a very human book and a fitting conclusion to a brilliant thinker's career.

    My immodest aim, says the author, is to change how you view your immediate surroundings. He asks us to wonder about the design of plants and animals around us: why a fish swims more rapidly than a duck can paddle, why healthy trees more commonly uproot than break, how a shark manages with such a flimsy skeleton, or how a mouse can easily survive a fall onto any surface from any height.The book will not only fascinate the general reader but will also serve as an introductory survey of biomechanics. On one hand, organisms cannot alter the earth's gravity, the properties of water, the compressibility of air, or the behavior of diffusing molecules. On the other, such physical factors form both constraints with which the evolutionary process must contend and opportunities upon which it might capitalize. Life's Devices includes examples from every major group of animals and plants, with references to recent work, with illustrative problems, and with suggestions of experiments that need only common household materials.

    The book, Ernst Mayr notes in the Foreword, is an attempt "to strengthen the bridge between biology and philosophy, and point to the new direction in which a new philosophy of biology will move."

    Illustrated in full-color, this book is full of fascinating facts about how the human body works and how humans go about repairing or replacing body parts.

    But the pursuit of the unusual sea creatures and the answers to puzzling biological questions take biologists Jack and Anne Rudloe elsewhere, too. They have travelled to Surinam to catch giant toadfish for the New York Aquarium, to the Florida Keys to study immature spiny lobsters, and to Port Canaveral's ship channel to rescue endangered sea turtles from the crushing jaws of the dredge. They have plumbed the depths of the Gulf of Mexico to find prehistoric-looking giant sea roaches, and explored the life histories--and mysteries--of electric rays, octopuses, horseshoe crabs, and other fascinating marine animals in the course of their daily business. Like any profession, specimen collecting has its attendant hazards: for instance, being slashed by a sawfish, zapped by an electric ray, nipped by a sawfish, zapped by an electric ray, nipped by an annoyed sea turtle, or attacked by an alligator. More perilous yet is being caught offshore in violent storm in a less-than-seaworthy boat. Jack Rudloe's knowledge of marine biology and ability to tell a good story have made this entertaining and informative book a natural history classic.

    Focuses on the basic conceptual background of clinically relevant biochemistry for medical students and other health professionals. Line drawings and Biochemistryland Map in envelope inside back cover. Previous edition: c1993. Softcover.

    It will surely be a standard work of reference for many years to come. The 47 superb colour plates form the backbone of the book, each plate being accompanied by an informative caption page summarising the criteria required to identify, and in many cases, to age and sex each species, along with colour world distribution maps and an easy-to-use cross reference system to the main body of text.

    It is a tour de force drawing upon the author's extensive work on the history of infection, as well upon evidence drawn from archaeology, history and demography.

    A new preface brings Trimble's critical commentary up to date.Contributors:Edward Abbey , Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Gretel Ehrlich. Robert Finch, Linda Hasselstrom, John Hay, Edward Hoagland, Sue Hubbell, Barry Lopez, John Madson, Peter Matthiessen, John McPhee, Gary Paul Nabhan, Richard Nelson, Robert Michael Pyle, David Quammen, Stephen Trimble, Terry Tempest Williams, and Ann Zwinger.

    A common objection is that the theory does not fit the hypothetical-deductive standard used in the physical sciences and is therefore not good science. In this study, Lloyd contends with the scientific and philosophical critics of evolutionary theory. Employing the same type of semantic analysis that has been applied to physical theory, she offers an alternative view of evolutionary theory that shows biological and physical theories to be structurally similar.The author begins by reviewing recent debates concerning the existence or non-existence of evolutionary laws and the possibility of axiomizing evolutionary theory. The central discussion of Lloyd's work revolves around several problems that have not been resolved by other methods. These are, first, the problem of which units or entities are selected in nature; second, the problem of reductionism in genetics; and third, the problem of confirmation. Developing a view of evolutionary theory based on mathematical models, she uses this framework to describe a wide variety of evolutionary subtheories. She tests her analysis by comparing it with other approaches and applying it to problematic cases. Finally, she presents a view of confirmation appropriate to a model-oriented conception of theories. This original study explores some significant connections between science and philosophy and adds to our understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge.

    Most amphibians can be found in or near water while lizards and snakes seek drier environments. This book helps you to recognize the most common species of both that you are likely to encounter.This user-friendly guide assumes no previous knowledge: an easy-to-follow system of color-coded bands (denoting type of animal) and habitat symbols leads quickly to the correct section of the book. Detailed full-color illustrations, concise informative text, and a distribution map allow you to make a positive identification. Symbols also warn you of aggressive, toxic or dangerous animals.

    . . this book will hold the attention of any curious birder. It should be required reading for all nature enthusiasts bound for Australia."--Birder's World"Fascinating natural history accounts of some of Australia's wildlife, illustrated with fine pen-and-ink drawings. Most Americans are unaware of the rich and unique diversity of Australian wildlife. This book helps to fill that information gap in a delightful way."--Wildlife Book Review"Those who admire the works of Stephen J. Gould will want to read this one."--Publishers Weekly

    The number of citations has nearly doubled to 900, reflecting more than a decade's worth of scientific inquiry and discovery. As with the original North American Owls, this second edition will become the standard work in the field.

    Includes 115 drawings and photos.

    This book proceeds from a meeting at the Santa Fe Institute where economists and physical and biological scientists came together to discuss a conceptual framework incorporating a more appropriate mathematics with a greatly strengthened capacity to deal simultaneously with multiple variables, nonlinearity, incomplete information and dynamical processes.

    This book is designed to help the interested amateur become better acquainted with the more common prairie plants; it describes mainly the wildflowers that are found on the remnant prairies of the Upper Midwest.

    The Focus of this text is how fractal geometry can be used to model real objects in the physical world. This edition of Fractals Everywhere is the most up-to-date fractal textbook available today.Fractals Everywhere may be supplemented by Michael F. Barnsley's Desktop Fractal Design System (version 2.0) with IBM for Macintosh software. The Desktop Fractal Design System 2.0 is a tool for designing Iterated Function Systems codes and fractal images, and makes an excellent supplement to a course on fractal geometry * A new chapter on recurrent iterated function systems, including vector recurrent iterated function systems.* Problems and tools emphasizing fractal applciations.* An all-new answer key to problems in the text, with solutions and hints.

    The author's straightforward approach promotes and reinforces learning on many levels through a wide variety of visual and written exercises. Along with its review of the human body from microscopic to macroscopic levels the workbook also includes practical, clinically oriented activities. KEY TOPICS: The Human Body: An Orientation, Basic Chemistry, Cells and Tissues, Skin and Body Membranes, The Skeletal System, The Muscular System, The Nervous System, Special Senses, The Endocrine System, Blood, The Cardiovascular System, The Lymphatic System and Body Defenses, The Respiratory System, The Digestive System and Body Metabolism, The Urinary System, The Reproductive System. MARKET: For all readers interested in learning the basics of anatomy and physiology.