. . . Gould is the Stan Musial of essay writing. He can work himself into a corkscrew of ideas and improbable allusions paragraph after paragraph and then, uncoiling, hit it with such power that his fans know they are experiencing the game of essay writing at its best."--John Noble Wilford, New York Times Book Review

    In a rare blend of scientific fact and poetic truth, the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Senses explores the activities of whales, penguins, bats, and crocodilians, plunging headlong into nature and coming up with highly entertaining treasures.

    The first collection from the acclaimed Outside columnist.

    This book brings together the best of Leopold's essays.

    Bass and his friend Elizabeth discovered the Yaak valley in northwest Montana. It was remote -- with no electricity or phone service, only erratic radio reception, and reachable by a gravel-and-dirt road that required four-wheel drive. There was one saloon, a general store and a handful of year-round residents. The nearest town, Libby, was 40 miles away. As caretakers of a defunct hunting lodge, the couple settled into their winter idyll. Bass writes exuberantly about their season in the wilderness: blizzards, woodchopping, wildlife, the occasional social gatherings at the Dirty Shame Saloon. He speaks to the wildness and freedom of valley people, the slow-motion quality of life, and the the physical and psychological hardships of wilderness living. This charming celebration will give readers a fresh perception of winter.

    

    The fascinating story of how a harsh terrain that resembled modern Antarctica has been transformed gradually into the forests, grasslands, and wetlands we know today.

    It was hoped his research would help protect the many species that live in that fragile reserve, which was being slowly depleted by poachers, drug traffickers, and even the native tribes of the area. Chasing the Dragon's Tail is the remarkable story of Rabinowitz's life and adventures in the forest as well as the streets of Bangkok, as he works to protect Thailand's threatened wildlife.Based on Rabinowitz's field journals, the book offers an intimate and moving look at a modern zoologist's life in the field. As he fights floods, fire-ant infestations, elephant stampedes, and a request to marry the daughter of a tribal chief, the difficulties that come with the demanding job of species conservation are dramatically brought to life. First published in 1991, this edition of Chasing the Dragon's Tail includes a new afterword by the author that brings the story up to date, describing the surprising strides Thailand has made recently in conservation.Other titles by Alan Rabinowitz include Beyond the Last Village and Jaguar.

    Presents the fascinating life history of freshwater turtles, looking at their yearly cycle and the flora and fauna that share their habitat.

    . . Listen to the woods. In this elegant edition, Victoria Wirth and Scott Banfill reveal for us the secret lives of woodland trees. Wirth's sparse, honest text narrates the eternal cycle of nature--birth, growth, death, and joyous rebirth--through the events that occur to a generation of trees. Beautifully detailed and passionately dramatic, Banfill's breathtaking paintings imbue the trees with character and personality. Full color.

    Jordan opens our eyes to the natural laws that rule men as well as animals, and asks the illuminating question: What is our role in this fearfully beautifully world?

    An engaging overview of wolf behavior and biology. Nature Book Society Feature Selection; Outdoor Life Book Club Selection.

    This thoughtful and eloquent natural history of the Puget Sound region begins with a discussion of how the ice ages and vulcanism shaped the land and then examines the natural attributes of the region--flora and fauna, climate, special habitats, life histories of key organisms--as they pertain to the functioning ecosystem. Mankind's effects upon the natural environment are a pervasive theme of the book. Kruckeberg looks at both positive and negative aspects of human interaction with nature in the Puget basin. By probing the interconnectedness of all natural aspects of one region, Kruckeberg illustrates ecological principles at work and gives us a basis for wise decision-making.The Natural History of Puget Sound Country is a comprehensive reference, invaluable for all citizens of the Northwest, as well as for conservationists, biologists, foresters, fisheries and wildlife personnel, urban planners, and environmental consultants everywhere. Lavishly illustrated with over three hundred photographs and drawings, it is much more than a beautiful book. It is a guide to our future.

    This was a nation on the eve on independence, a land scorched by sun, by years of bitter war. In these perilous circumstances, Peter Capstick commences what is surely the most thrilling safari of his stories career. He takes the reader to the stark landscape that makes up the Bushmen's tribal territories. There, facing all kinds of risks, members of the chase pursue their quarry in a land of legend and myth. the result is an exciting big-game adventure whose underlying themes relate directly to the international headlines of today.In this first person adventure, Capstick spins riveting tales from his travels and reports on the Bushmen's culture, their political persecution, and the Stone Age life of Africa's original hunter-gatherers. In addition, the author explains the economic benefits of the sportsman's presence, and how ethical hunting is a tool for game protection and management on the continent.Not since Peter Capstick's Africa has the author taken the reader along on safari. In this superbly illustrated book, Capstick returns to the veld with an ace video cameraman and leading African wildlife photographer Dr. M. Philip Kahl. one hundred of Dr. Kahl's striking color photos capture perfectly life and death in the "land of thirst."

    An understanding of plant form-plant morphology-is essential to appreciating the wonders of the plant world and to the study of botany and horticulture at every level. In this ingeniously designed volume, the complex subject becomes both accessible and manageable. The first part of the book describes and clearly illustrates the major plant structures that can be seen with the naked eye or a hand lens: leaf, root, stem, reproductive organs, and seedlings; special sections focus on vegetative propagation, and the morphology of grasses, orchids, and cacti. However, plants are dynamic organisms, constantly growing, changing, and becoming more elaborate, and understanding the development of a plant or plant part is as important as describing its final form. Part II focuses on how plants grow: bud development, the growth of reproductive organs, leaf arrangement, branching patterns, and the accumulation and loss of structures. This classic book, now revised and expanded to include the latest information on plant morphology, more than 1000 exquisite line drawings including 119 that are new to this edition, and nearly twice as many photographs as the previous edition, is remarkable for its user-friendly organization, high-quality illustrations, and extensive cross-referencing. Aimed at students of botany and horticulture, enthusiastic gardeners and amateur naturalists, it functions as an illustrated dictionary, a basic course in plant morphology, and an intriguing and enlightening book to dip into.

    With no phone or running water, she and her research parmer immerse themselves in the study of a pair of endangered peregrine falcons that return to their ancestral nesting site on Chimney Rock.Coming to know these birds intimately while sharing their home, Houle develops an abiding devotion to them. She observes their breathtaking flight, their indomitable character, and their urgent will to survive.Before me a peregrine falcon emerged from the cliff with a fierce beauty; with utmost ease and perfect control it spun in a dizzying dive to the earth. Talons outstretched, it lightly grazed the object of its attention -- a trespassing prairie falcon who had slipped across the peregrine's invisible territorial line.... Its flight was a gust of pure energy.While conducting her research, Houle learns that Chimney Rock is the site of an Anasazi ruin slated for commercial development. She meets the unexpected resistance and hostility of townspeople who resent the obstacle the endangered birds pose to potential tourist dollars. Houle uncovers the depth and complexity of the issue that leads this community -- and so many others like it in today's growing world -- to an angry impasse. With compassion, insight, and fairness, Houle explores the dilemma between environmentalists and developers, both of whom value the land, but in different ways.Wings for My Flight is the story of one biologist who, through the help of another species, comes to a greater understanding of her own. As a Colorado press, Pruett Publishing is proud to reissue thisaward-winning book that addresses issues vital to Coloradans and Westerners.

    In the Mega Square Audubons Birds, 120 types of birds are presented with a description for each type. The plates chosen are the most well-known, thus people will easily find their favorite bird. The Mega Square's small and practical format is bound to make a perfect gift.

    the flying reptiles of the Mesozoic Era, were contemporaries of the dinosaurs, but whereas dinosaurs were the masters of the land, pterosaurs secured the air as their ecological niche. In this exciting new book Peter Wellnhofer provides a thoroughly up-to-date and comprehensive study of the appearance, lifestyle, and relationships of all known pterosaurs, the first vertebrates to develop the power of active flight in evolutionary history.Opening chapters explain what pterosaurs were, analyzing their origins and relationships, their place in the animal family tree, and reveal the narure of their body forms and the way in which their physiology was adapted to flight. The discovery of pterosaur fossils worldwide, from the time of the identification of the first pterosaur remains from Solnhofen by Cosimo Alessandro Collini in 1784 to the present day, is provided in a succinct history.The central chapters of the book describe all known pterosaurs from the three Periods of the Mesozoic Era: the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. These chapters are lavishly illustrated with color photographs of fossil specimens, black and white skeletal drawings, and most spectacularly, with 16 superb color artworks of the major genera painted by John Sibbick. These paintings may be recognized as some of the finest restorations of pterosaurs in their landscapes yet published. Additional color diagrams reveal the location of fossil finds, the length of time that each pterosaur flourished, and its size in relation to man.The conduding chapters treat the reader to a thorough exploration of the likely lifestyles of the pterosaurs and the possibie reasons for their extinction, a history of all the major pterosaur reconstructions and models that have been created around the world, and a comparative analysis of the other vertebrates that have mastered flight - birds and bats. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs combines autoritative text for the general reader with perhaps the finest selection of artworks and photographs assembled on these fascinating animals. This fabulous volume is sure to become an essential populär reference book for many years to come.

    This book, the third in the Cronin's Key Guide series, is packed with information about the behavior, development, food, and habitat of Australia's remarkable mammals. Each entry fully describes a species and its way of life; it even includes clues for finding certain obscure, often nocturnal, creatures by the telltale traces they leave behind. Colorfully illustrated throughout with detailed artwork and with maps showing where each animal occurs, this is a handy family reference or a perfectguide for the bushwalker or traveler.

    He is destined to be long remembered by whoever reads about his life. His is a great auk.The great auks were the only flightless species of North Atlantic bird. Their tiny wings were not capable of raising their large bodies into the air. Yet these ridiculous flipper-like appendages—pumping in perfect harmony with the vast splayed feet with their tough rubbery webbing—could propel the birds on or beneath the billowing ocean surface faster than six strong men could row a boat. When standing upright, the great auks resembled penguins.These noble birds have been extinct for more than one hundred years, but they live again in this amazing novel that follows them and their last leader from their North Atlantic summer mating grounds on Eldey Island south top the Carolinas. On the island and along three-thousand-mile migration route lurk many perils—storms, killer whales, fishhooks, scientists, and the "terrible tune of swishthump" that marks the onslaught of profiteering hunters with their murderous clubs. Before the story is finished, we witness the growth of the young great auk from the dramatic moment of hatching, into his adventures as a timorous fledgling, until the time when he himself becomes the monarch of hi dwindling flock. As the seven remaining birds begin their return to Eldey Island, the reader fears what he knows is inevitable, that these great auks are the last, that there will be no more. Such is the power of Allan Eckert's novel and its remarkable characters.

    But are these poisons really necessary? This book, appealing to the hunter in us all, shows how to triumph in combat with pests without losing the war to toxic chemicals. Tiny Game Hunting, written in a lively and entertaining style and illustrated with detailed drawings, gives more than two hundred tried-and-true ways to control or kill common household and garden pests without using toxic pesticides.

    The sense of awe and exhilaration so many of us feel in the presence of the Ocean, or the Pyramids, or the Great Wall of China comes to me when I find a broken shell that's a million years oldNothing in nature can seem more mute than the stone impression of an organism whose kind disappeared half a billion years ago-yet almost nothing can be more eloquent if we have the ears to hear.For most of his life Jasper Burns has been hearing the message of fossils. Drawn from this extensive experience, this book is both an introduction to the hobby of fossil collecting and a unique field guide to sites in the Mid-Atlantic region. The book is beautifully illustrated with the author's drawings of more than 450 fossil specimens and the sites where they can be found.In all, Fossil Collecting in the Mid-Atlantic States describes forty-six specific sites in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Each description includes:- Precise directions to the site and a description of the most productive areas- The name and geologic period of the rock formations containing fossils- What to look for and how to find it- Special hazards or problems- A complete list of fossils identified at the site- Detailed illustrations of the major specimens

    

    A beachcomber's handbook to common birds, crabs, shells, fish and other entities of the coastal environment.

    In this unique presentation he focuses on the uses of a variety of garden plants--flowering and nonflowering--with which to create enduring garden designs that rescue roses from the stiff formality of most ornamental gardens. Here, Mr. Thomas employs the lessons of the magnificent garden at Mottisfont Abbey, first created by him in 1972 and extended in the 1980s, to demonstrate thrilling design choices and methods of lengthening the flowering seasons open to any alert gardener. As Henry Mitchell, the Washington Post's distinguished horticulturist, puts it: "It was Thomas who launched the revival of interest in roses long out of commerce...He found many of the unheard-of nineteenth-century roses at Bobbink and Atkins Nursery in New Jersey and the old Lester and Tillotson Nursery in California. The authority of Graham Stuart Thomas is by no means limited to roses. He writes authoritatively on perennials, garden design, the grouping of plants, on groundcovers and much else...Few gardeners are so catholic or such connoisseurs." The present book is a glorious display--in words and color illustrations--of Mr. Thomas's gardens, providing an education for the reader in the design of his own garden.  Photographs show roses close up and in garden settings with complementary plants that extend the flowering season of the gardens into the late fall. The author explores the origins of the roses selected and explains how he has employed their particular qualities in his designs. He includes a checklist to assist gardeners who wish to re-create these sumptuous plant combinations.

    Enjoy a wide range of high quality drawings and beautiful color and black-and-white photographs of California's plants and landscapes. Learn the history of how California's vegetation has changed due to human activities over the past two centuries. Travel from seaside to the Eastern Sierra, observing the interaction of groups of plants species as they form communities. Discover how plants were used by native Californians in pre-European times. See three possible futures fo California's plant cover, including successful examples of plant restoration.

    Because of its central location, Kansas is a meeting ground for North American animals. Six hundred ten species of land animals—birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians—live in or pass through Kansas. Boreal animals from the colder northern climes traverse the state on their way south; western creatures migrate east from the Rockies or reside in our arid grasslands; southern wildlife pushes north into Kansas on its way back from winter quarters or settles permanently in our Red Hills; and eastern species invade our deciduous forests. In Kansas Wildlife four of the state's best wildlife photographers combine 130 photographs to create a colorful sampler of the state's biodiversity—from delicate Cricket Frogs to ponderous Bison, from stately Great Blue Herons to madcap Chickadees, from cautious Ornate Box Turtles to high-strung Prairie Rattlesnakes.

    Using this example as a springboard, David M. Raup leaps into an egaging discussion of the theories, assumptions, and difficulties associated with the science of species extinction. Woven is along the way are stories of the trilobite eye, tropical reefs, flying reptiles, and the fate of the heath hen on Martha's Vineyard, a very modern extinction.

    It relates the history of chemicals, from the earliest generation of the light elements in the Big Bang, to their transformation into heavier atoms and their subsequent molecular evolution intomyriad forms, including life on Earth. Spanning both organic and inorganic chemical combinations, the survey thus covers billions of years and involves evidence coming from the analysis of long-extinct as well as ongoing processes. The techniques used in this fascinating study are also described.They include the analysis of many sources: isotopes from ancient nuclear reactions and still-active radionuclides; molecules from space--frozen in meteorites or continuously generated in vast interstellar clouds; and the detritus of volcanic and geochemical activity. This is also the story of theorigin of life, which can be biochemically detected through the modern descendants of early microbial life-forms and from laboratory experiments in prebiotic chemistry. The author also describes the history of ideas in the study of chemistry and the development of modern theories on chemicalevolution. This is a highly readable account of central issues and ideas in modern science that will be read with absorbing interest by a wide range of students, researchers, and general readers.

    

    The sandhill, most often seen, is within easy reach of bird-watchers in the center of the continent. Less visible is the whooping crane, struggling back from near extinction. Paul Johnsgard follows these elegant birds through a year’s cycle, describing their seasonal migrations, natural habitats, breeding biology, call patterns—angelic to the bird-lover’s ear—and fascinating dancing.The largest and most spectacular migratory concentration of cranes happens each spring when the Platte River valley becomes the staging ground for an amazing gathering of four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand sandhills en route from the South to the Arctic tundra. Johnsgard describes this incredible event as well as memorable personal encounters with the cranes. His knowledge of them transcends natural history, covering their importance in religion and mythology.