Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. Featuring a remarkable array of specially commissioned photographs, Natural History looks at thousands of specimens and species displayed in visual galleries that take the reader on an incredible journey from the most fundamental building blocks of the world's landscapes, through the simplest of life forms, to plants, fungi, and animals.

    With a text suitable for both a lay and a scientific audience, the book provides an unforgettable tour of Earth's most evolved animal societies. Each colony of leafcutters contains as many as five million workers, all the daughters of a single queen that can live over a decade. A gigantic nest can stretch thirty feet across, rise five feet or more above the ground, and consist of hundreds of chambers that reach twenty-five feet below the ground surface. Indeed, the leafcutters have parlayed their instinctive civilization into a virtual domination of forest, grassland, and cropland—from Louisiana to Patagonia. Inspired by a section of the authors' acclaimed The Superorganism, this brilliantly illustrated work provides the ultimate explanation of what a social order with a half-billion years of animal evolution has achieved.

    Swan, her twentieth volume, shows us that, though we may be “made out of the dust of stars,” we are of the world she captures here so vividly: the acorn that hides within it an entire tree; the wings of the swan like the stretching light of the river; the frogs singing in the shallows; the mockingbird dancing in air. Swan is Oliver’s tribute to “the mortal way” of desiring and living in the world, to which the poet is renowned for having always been “totally loyal.”   As the Los Angeles Times noted, innumerable readers go to Oliver’s poetry “for solace, regeneration and inspiration.” Few poets express the immense complexities of human experience as skillfully, or capture so memorably the smallest nuances. Speaking, for example, of stones, she writes, “the little ones you can / hold in your hands, their heartbeats / so secret, so hidden it may take years / before, finally, you hear them.” It is no wonder Oliver ranks, according to the Weekly Standard, “among the finest poets the English language has ever produced.”

    The author follows the trail of the early plant explorers and shows how the exotic specimens they brought home with them were depicted in botanical illustrations, anthologies, and decorative designs.The main part of the book examines the structure of plants, with visually stunning chapters on roots and stems, shoots and leaves, buds and flowers, and seeds and fruit, mosses and lichens, and trees. As in Anatomy for the Artist, beautiful, specially commissioned photographs complement Sarah's drawings, illustrating how an understanding of botany really helps you to draw plants. Drawing classes provide a wealth of practical advice on how to draw, and pages from Sarah's sketchbooks show how she records her favorite plants throughout the seasons. Inspirational master classes in each chapter focus on how other artists, from 17th century masters to contemporary botanical illustrators, have portrayed plants.This lavishly illustrated book will not only be the definitive guide for those wishing to master the art of drawing plants, but a sumptuous gift book for all those passionate about plants and how they are portrayed in art.

    

    John Kallas makes it fun and easy to learn about foods you've unknowingly passed by all your life. Through gorgeous photographs, playful, but authoritative text, and ground-breaking design he gives you the knowledge and confidence to finally begin eating and enjoying edible wild plants. Edible Wild Plants divides plants into four flavor categories -- foundation, tart, pungent, and bitter. Categorizing by flavor helps readers use these greens in pleasing and predictable ways. According to the author, combining elements from these different categories makes the best salads.

    'Go to Lochinver and ask for a man named Norman MacAskill - if he likes you he may tell you where it is. If you catch a fish, I shall be delighted. If you fail, then looking down from a place in which I do not believe, I shall be most amused.' The quest sounds simple and irresistible, but the loch is as demanding as it is beautiful. In the course of days of outdoor living, meetings, and fishing with friends in the remote hill lochs of far North-West Scotland, the search broadens. The waters of the Green Corrie finally reflect personal memoir, joy and loss, poetry, geology, land ownership in the Highlands, the ambiguous roles of whisky, love and friendship. At the Loch of the Green Corrie is a richly atmospheric narrative, a celebration of losing and recovering oneself in a unique landscape, the consideration of a particular culture, and a homage to a remarkable poet and his world.

    Award-winning photographer Annie Griffiths culled the images to reflect the many variations on the universal theme of beauty. Chapters are organized around the aesthetic concepts that create beauty in a photograph: Light, Composition, Moment (Gesture and Emotion), Motion, Palette, and Wonder.Beyond the introduction and brief essays about each featured concept, the text is light. The photographs speak for themselves, enhanced by lyrical quotes from scholars and poets. In the chapter on Light, for example, we read these words of whimsical wisdom from songwriter Leonard Cohen: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the lights get in." And then the images flow, of light entering scenes via windows, clouds, and spotlights, from above, alongside, and behind, casting radiance upon young ballerinas and weathered men, into groves of autumn trees and island-dotted seas, revealing everything it touches to be beautiful beyond expectation.To illuminate the theme of Wonder, Griffiths chose a wish from Andre Bazin: "If I had influence with the good fairy...I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life." This thought is juxtaposed with an exquisite vision in white, a frame filled with the snowy-pure dots and rays of a bird's fan tail. And on it goes, picture after tantalizing picture, alive with wondrous beauty.When she created National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs, Annie Griffiths set two goals: to maximize visual delight, and to create a book unique in the world of publishing--one in which many of the photographs could be purchased as prints. She has succeeded on both counts. Many of these stunning images are available for order, and there can be no doubt as to the visual delight. You must open this book for yourself, and take in its radiant beauty.

    Now, in Rare, Joel Sartore and National Geographic present 80 iconic images, representing a lifelong commitment to the natural world and a three-year investigation into the Endangered Species Act and the creatures it exists to protect.This book will give readers not only a broader understanding of the history and purpose of the Endangered Species Act, but also an intimate look at the very species it seeks to preserve. With stunning up-close portraits on every page, this important volume evokes sympathetic wonder at the vast and amazing array of plants and animals still in need of protection.Itself a creation of particular beauty, Rare offers eloquent proof that a picture really is worth a thousand words as it shows us, one after another, scores of uniquely remarkable and seriously threatened life-forms. It is a compelling story and a many-faceted, brilliant jewel of a book.

    Most recently, endeavors at the Gombe field site have included landmark research related to AIDS progression; establishing programs to improve sanitation, health care, and education in neighboring Tanzanian communities; and partnering with local people to pursue reforestation initiatives. The accomplishments of the past 10 years alone have given the Jane Goodall Institute a great deal to celebrate. In honor of the field site’s 50th anniversary, STC is proud to release Jane Goodall: 50 Years at Gombe, a compelling pictorial tribute to Dr. Goodall’s life, her studies of chimpanzee behavior, and her unflagging efforts to motivate people to make this world a better place. With a new format, a modern design, more than a dozen new pho­tographs, and updated text throughout, this revised edition retraces five decades of compassion and discovery.

     The guide features 853 North American bird species and more than 3,400 stunning color photographs. And yet it's portable enough to fit in your pocket! The photographs cover all significant plumages, including male, female, summer, winter, immature, morphs, important subspecies, and birds in flight. Also included: The newest scientific and common names and phylogenetic order Special help for identifying birds in flight through important clues of behavior, plumage, and shape Detailed descriptions of songs and calls Important behavioral information Key habitat preferences of each species The newest range maps, detailing species' winter, summer, year-round ranges, and migration routes A special downloadable CD with more than 600 bird sounds (from Lang Elliott and Kevin Colver) and 150 photographs of common North American species.

    While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own confined place in the world. Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and mysterious courtship activities, Bailey becomes an astute and amused observer, providing a candid and engaging look into the curious life of this underappreciated small animal.  Told with wit and grace, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a remarkable journey of survival and resilience, showing us how a small part of the natural world illuminates our own human existence and provides an appreciation of what it means to be fully alive.

    Moffett, “the Indiana Jones of entomology,” takes us around the globe on a strange and colorful journey in search of the hidden world of ants. In tales from Nigeria, Indonesia, the Amazon, Australia, California, and elsewhere, Moffett recounts his entomological exploits and provides fascinating details on how ants live and how they dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors, yet at a different scale and a faster tempo. Moffett’s spectacular close-up photographs shrink us down to size, so that we can observe ants in familiar roles; warriors, builders, big-game hunters, and slave owners. We find them creating marketplaces and assembly lines and dealing with issues we think of as uniquely human—including hygiene, recycling, and warfare. Adventures among Ants introduces some of the world’s most awe-inspiring species and offers a startling new perspective on the limits of our own perception.• Ants are world-class road builders, handling traffic problems on thoroughfares that dwarf our highway systems in their complexity• Ants with the largest societies often deploy complicated military tactics• Some ants have evolved from hunter-gatherers into farmers, domesticating other insects and growing crops for food

    Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honeybees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, as world-renowned animal behaviorist Thomas Seeley reveals, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision making. A remarkable and richly illustrated account of scientific discovery, Honeybee Democracy brings together, for the first time, decades of Seeley's pioneering research to tell the amazing story of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees.In the late spring and early summer, as a bee colony becomes overcrowded, a third of the hive stays behind and rears a new queen, while a swarm of thousands departs with the old queen to produce a daughter colony. Seeley describes how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together--as a swirling cloud of bees--to their new home. Seeley investigates how evolution has honed the decision-making methods of honeybees over millions of years, and he considers similarities between the ways that bee swarms and primate brains process information. He concludes that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority should be counted on for a dependable resolution.An impressive exploration of animal behavior, Honeybee Democracy shows that decision-making groups, whether honeybee or human, can be smarter than even the smartest individuals in them.

    It chronicles the unique Harnas Wildlife Foundation in Namibia, where Marieta van der Merwe and her family, former wealthy cattle farmers, have sold land to buy and care for embattled wildlife. We meet Sam, the "AIDS" lion infected by mistake at a vet clinic. Boerjke, a baboon with epilepsy and Down syndrome. Savanna, the one-eyed lioness. And Marieta van der Merwe herself, the inspiring proprietor of Harnas who shares her home with needy wild animals. Survivor of an early life fraught with personal tragedy in the African Bush, she now devotes herself as care-giver and ambassador for wildlife and wildland. Told with insight, humor, and thrilling immediacy by author and Harnas volunteer Barbara Bennett, this story will captivate readers of all ages.

    In these pages you’ll also meet Maya and Zuni, two orphaned baby hummingbirds who hatched from eggs the size of navy beans, and who are little more than air bubbles fringed with feathers. Their lives hang precariously in the balance—but with human help, they may one day conquer the sky. Snowball is a cockatoo whose dance video went viral on YouTube and who’s now teaching schoolchildren how to dance. You’ll meet Harris’s hawks named Fire and Smoke. And you’ll come to know and love a host of other avian characters who will change your mind forever about who birds really are. Each of these birds shows a different and utterly surprising aspect of what makes a bird a bird—and these are the lessons of Birdology: that birds are far stranger, more wondrous, and at the same time more like us than we might have dared to imagine. In Birdology, beloved author of The Good Good Pig Sy Montgomery explores the essence of the otherworldly creatures we see every day. By way of her adventures with seven birds—wild, tame, exotic, and common—she weaves new scientific insights and narrative to reveal seven kernels of bird wisdom. The first lesson of Birdology is that, no matter how common they are, Birds Are Individuals, as each of Montgomery’s distinctive Ladies clearly shows. In the leech-infested rain forest of Queensland, you’ll come face to face with a cassowary—a 150-pound, man-tall, flightless bird with a helmet of bone on its head and a slashing razor-like toenail with which it (occasionally) eviscerates people—proof that Birds Are Dinosaurs. You’ll learn from hawks that Birds Are Fierce; from pigeons, how Birds Find Their Way Home; from parrots, what it means that Birds Can Talk; and from 50,000 crows who moved into a small city’s downtown, that Birds Are Everywhere. They are the winged aliens who surround us. Birdology explains just how very "other" birds are: Their hearts look like those of crocodiles. They are covered with modified scales, which are called feathers. Their bones are hollow. Their bodies are permeated with extensive air sacs. They have no hands. They give birth to eggs. Yet despite birds’ and humans’ disparate evolutionary paths, we share emotional and intellectual abilities that allow us to communicate and even form deep bonds. When we begin to comprehend who birds really are, we deepen our capacity to approach, understand, and love these otherworldly creatures. And this, ultimately, is the priceless lesson of Birdology: it communicates a heartfelt fascination and awe for birds and restores our connection to these complex, mysterious fellow creatures.

    This is the beautiful, full-color story of that journey, step by step, from a single snowflake’s creation in the clouds, through its fall to earth, to its brief and sparkling appearance on a child’s mitten. Told by a scientist who knows snowflakes better than almost anyone, the story features his brilliant photographs of real snowflakes, snowflakes forming (in the author’s lab), water evaporating, clouds developing, ice crystals, rain, dew, and frost--all the elements of the world and weather that add up, flake by flake, to the white landscape of winter. Aimed at readers from 6 to 12, The Secret Life of a Snowflake gets to the heart of one of nature’s most magical phenomena while making the wonder of the snowflake all the more real.

    But even residents on this idyllic California coast may not realize its full history. Monterey began as a natural paradise, but became the poster child for industrial devastation in John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row,and is now one of the most celebrated shorelines in the world.   It is a remarkable story of life, death, and revival—told here for the first time in all its stunning color and bleak grays. The Death and Life of Monterey Bay begins in the eighteenth century when Spanish and French explorers encountered a rocky shoreline brimming with life—raucous sea birds, abundant sea otters, barking sea lions, halibut the size of wagon wheels,waters thick with whales. A century and a half later, many of the sea creatures had disappeared, replaced by sardine canneries that sickened residents with their stench but kept the money flowing. When the fish ran out and the climate turned,the factories emptied and the community crumbled. But today,both Monterey’s economy and wildlife are resplendent. How did it happen?   The answer is deceptively simple: through the extraordinary acts of ordinary people. The Death and Life of Monterey Bay is the biography of a place, but also of the residents who reclaimed it. Monterey is thriving because of an eccentric mayor who wasn’t afraid to use pistols, axes, or the force of law to protect her coasts. It is because of fishermen who love their livelihood, scientists who are fascinated by the sea’s mysteries, and philanthropists and community leaders willing to invest in a world-class aquarium. The shores of Monterey Bay revived because of human passion—passion that enlivens every page of this hopeful book.

    Newbery Honor-winning poet Joyce Sidman presents another unusual blend of fine poetry and fascinating science illustrated in exquisite hand-colored linocuts by Caldecott Honor artist Beckie Prange.Ubiquitous (yoo-bik-wi-tuhs): Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time.Why is the beetle, born 265 million years ago, still with us today? (Because its wings mutated and hardened). How did the gecko survive 160 million years? (By becoming nocturnal and developing sticky toe pads.) How did the shark and the crow and the tiny ant survive millions and millions of years? When 99 percent of all life forms on earth have become extinct, why do some survive? And survive not just in one place, but in many places: in deserts, in ice, in lakes and puddles, inside houses and forest and farmland? Just how do they become ubiquitous?

    Quirky full-color illustrations portray dozens of birds chatting about their distinctive characteristics, including color, shape, plumage, and beak and foot types, while tongue-in-cheek cartoons feature banter between birds, characters, and the reader ("Here I am, the noble spruce grouse. In a spruce grove. Eatin’ some spruce. Yep."). Interactive and enjoyable tips bring an age-old hobby to new life for the next generation of bird-watchers.

    Some bask unseen at the top of trees in London parks; others lurk at the bottom of damp bogs in Scotland. Several are virtually extinct. This book charts the author's quest to find all 59, from the Adonis Blue to the Dingy Skipper.

    Now Abram returns with a startling exploration of our human entanglement with the rest of nature.As the climate veers toward catastrophe, the innumerable losses cascading through the biosphere make vividly evident the need for a metamorphosis in our relation to the living land. For too long we’ve inured ourselves to the wild intelligence of our muscled flesh, taking our primary truths from technologies that hold the living world at a distance. This book subverts that distance, drawing readers ever deeper into their animal senses in order to explore, from within, the elemental kinship between the body and the breathing Earth.The shapeshifting of ravens, the erotic nature of gravity, the eloquence of thunder, the pleasures of being edible: all have their place in Abram’s investigation. He shows that from the awakened perspective of the human animal, awareness (or mind) is not an exclusive possession of our species but a lucid quality of the biosphere itself—a quality in which we, along with the oaks and the spiders, steadily participate.With the audacity of its vision and the luminosity of its prose, Becoming Animal sets a new benchmark for the human appraisal of our place in the whole.

    Holland leads you through the New England seasons out-of-doors—through the sun, rain, and snow; along roadsides and wetlands; above underground burrows and under treetop nesting sites. With just a turn of the page you'll suddenly know more about the creatures that frequent your backyard or the pond you visit every summer than you ever thought possible. Naturally Curious perfectly melds practical field guide with informal nature literature, providing you the remarkable opportunity to sit back, relax, and learn something fascinating about the natural world around you.

    Nationally recognized naturalist and artist Clare Walker Leslie has been igniting kids curiosity about nature for more than 30 years. Her unique approach combines directed observational activities with journaling and field-note prompts that are designed to nurture the next generation of nature lovers and environmentalists.The Nature Connection is an interactive workbook chockfull of creative exercises for kids ages 8 to 13. Leslie begins simply by encouraging children to look out the window and record what they observe: What color is the sky? What shapes are the clouds? Are there any birds? What kind? Are there signs of what season it is?Once outdoors, kids are prompted to record the sounds they hear, the ground plants they see, the direction of the wind, the shape and direction of their own shadows, and how each of these change from day to day, season to season.The Nature Connection offers dozens of fun things to do during every season: write a poem; make a sketch; tell a story; record the daily sunrise and sunset times for the next month; draw a local map and mark the spots where trees, rocks, animals, and other nature sights reside (and identify each one); keep a moon journal; learn the constellations; or collect leaves and bring them home to sketch and identify.Sure to engage the whole family in outdoor fun and year-round nature activities, The Nature Connection will also stand as a permanent record of a child's unique sightings and experience with nature.

    Each world region includes a "spotlight" on animals in the area. Thematic spreads deliver the facts about habitats, endangered species, and more. Careful research and all-around kid appeal make this a must-have children’s atlas for home and school.

    In his own lifetime, Suzuki has witnessed an explosion of scientific knowledge as well as a huge change in our relationship with the planet-a tripling of the world's population, a greatly increased ecological footprint through the global economy, and a huge growth in technological capacity. These changes have had a dire effect on Earth's ecosystems and consequently on our own well-being. To deal with this crisis, we must realize that the laws of nature have priority over the forces of economics and that the planet simply cannot sustain unfettered growth. We must also recognize the limits of scientific reductionism and the need to adopt a more holistic point of view. Perhaps most important, we must join together as a single species to respond to the problems we face. Suzuki ends by saying that change begins with each of us; all it takes is imagination and a faith in the inherent generosity of Mother Earth.Published in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation. Also available in hardcover.

    Gathering edible wild food is a lovely way to forge a connection to the earth. Mushrooms are the ultimate local food source; they grow literally everywhere, from mountains and woodlands to urban and suburban parks to your own backyard.The Complete Mushroom Hunter, Revised is a new edition of Quarry's successful Complete Mushroom Hunter. It will enrich your understanding of the natural world and build an appreciation for an ancient, critically relevant, and useful body of knowledge. Amateur mycologists and mushroom enthusiasts will find this is a guidebook for their passion. Mushroom guru Gary Lincoff escorts you from the mushroom's earliest culinary awakening, through getting equipped for mushroom forays, to preparing and serving the fruits of the foray, wherever you live. Inside you'll find: A brief, but colorful history of mushroom hunting worldwide; how to get equipped for a mushroom foray; a completely illustrated guide to the common wild edible mushrooms and their poisonous look-alikes -- where to find them, how to identify them, and more; how to prepare and serve the fruits of your foray, plus more than 30 delicious recipes; plus, dozens of colorful, priceless anecdotes from living the mushroom lifestyle.

    Proudly dubbed “an entirely synthetic fish” by fisheries managers, the rainbow trout has been introduced into every state and province in the United States and Canada and to every continent except Antarctica, often with devastating effects on the native fauna. Halverson examines the paradoxes and reveals a range of characters, from nineteenth-century boosters who believed rainbows could be the saviors of democracy to twenty-first-century biologists who now seek to eradicate them from waters around the globe. Ultimately, the story of the rainbow trout is the story of our relationship with the natural world—how it has changed and how it startlingly has not.

    Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace articulates the deep longings for peace that unite these great spiritual traditions. For each morning and evening of the week, John Philip Newell provides strikingly beautiful and profound prayers that call us to be the people Jesus named blessed: “those who know their need,” “those who weep,” “the humble,” “those who hunger for earth’s oneness,” “the forgiving,” “the clear in heart,” and “the peacemakers.” Whether prayed alone or with others, these richly illustrated, simple liturgies invite and inspire us to live as those whose hearts yearn for peace.

    However, there are a number of plants that manage to grow spontaneously in sidewalk cracks and roadside meridians, flourish along chain-link fences and railroad tracks, line the banks of streams and rivers, and emerge in the midst of landscape plantings and trampled lawns. On their own and free of charge, these plants provide ecological services including temperature reduction, oxygen production, carbon storage, food and habitat for wildlife, pollution mitigation, and erosion control on slopes. Around the world, wild plants help to make urban environments more habitable for people.Peter Del Tredici's lushly illustrated field guide to wild urban plants of the northeastern United States is the first of its kind. While it covers the area bounded by Montreal, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Detroit, it is broadly applicable to temperate urban environments across North America. The book covers 222 species that flourish without human assistance or approval. Rather than vilifying such plants as weeds, Del Tredici stresses that it is important to notice, recognize, and appreciate their contribution to the quality of urban life. Indeed their very toughness in the face of heat islands, elevated levels of carbon dioxide and ubiquitous contamination is indicative of the important role they have to play in helping humans adapt to the challenges presented by urbanization, globalization and climate change.The species accounts--158 main entries plus 64 secondary species-feature descriptive information including scientific name and taxonomic authority, common names, botanical family, life form, place of origin, and identification features. Del Tredici focuses especially on their habitat preferences, environmental functions, and cultural significance. Each entry is accompanied by original full-color photographs by the author which show the plants' characteristics and growth forms in their typical habitats. Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast will help readers learn to see these plants-the natural vegetation of the urban environment-with fresh appreciation and understanding.

    There are garden projects, both for the outdoors—grow a container snacking garden, a pumpkin patch in a pot—and the indoors, i.e., how to use something called "indoor garbage gardens" to grow pineapple tops, sweet potato vines, peanuts, and more. Cooking projects, both in the sunshine—baking in a solar oven—and in the kitchen—what child will ever forget the time the two of you made Potato Volcanoes with Lava? And lots of rainy-day activities for times when nature's in a cranky mood. Created by Sharon Lovejoy—a grandmother of four and the author of two classic books of garden activities for grown-ups and kids, Sunflower Houses and Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots—Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars is an ecologically inspired guide that combines more than 130 green activities with timeless grandparenting advice. Illustrated with Lovejoy's distinctive, delicate watercolors, it's an inventive resource for grandmother and grandchild to connect with each other through nature. It is the book to make sure an afternoon, a day, or a weekend turns into a memory that lasts forever.

    This book is a must-have for nature lovers of all ages and skill levels.Covers Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, northern California, Idaho, and western MontanaMore than 180 species described in detailMore than 460 color photographs shot in the wildSilhouettes and track keys for quick identificationMore than 200 original scale drawings of tracks and track patterns92 range mapsClear color-coded layout

    This book is the record of her experiences. It’s a stunning collection of carefully observed accounts of her life—tracking otters on the beach, cooking breakfast in the desert, canoeing in a snow squall, wading among migrating salmon in the dark—but it is also a profound meditation on the healing power of nature.

    There would be no honey, no beeswax for candles, and, worst of all, barely a fruit, nut, or vegetable to eat. So imagine beekeeper Dave Hackenburg’s horror when he discovered twenty million of his charges had vanished. Those missing bees became the first casualties of a mysterious scourge that continues to plague honey bee populations today. In The Hive Detectives, Loree Griffin Burns profiles bee wranglers and bee scientists who have been working to understand colony collapse disorder, or CCD. In this dramatic and enlightening story, readers explore the lives of the fuzzy, buzzy insects and learn what might happen to us if they were gone.

    His own corner of the world, the desert borderlands between the United States and Mexico, is Bowden’s prime focus, and through books, magazine articles, and newspaper journalism he has written eloquently about key issues roiling the border—drug-related violence that is shredding civil society, illegal immigration and its toll on human lives and the environment, destruction of fragile ecosystems as cities sprawl across the desert and suck up the limited supplies of water. This anthology gathers the best and most representative writing from Charles Bowden’s entire career. It includes excerpts from his major books—Killing the Hidden Waters, Blue Desert, Desierto: Memories of the Future, Blood Orchid, Blues for Cannibals, A Shadow in the City, Inferno, Exodus, and Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing—as well as articles that appeared in Esquire, Harper’s, Mother Jones, and other publications. Imbued with Bowden’s distinctive rhythm and lyrical prose, these pieces also document his journey of exploration—a journey guided, in large part, by the question posed in Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing: “How do we live a moral life in a culture of death?” This is no metaphor; Bowden is referring to the people, history, animals, and ecosystems that are being extinguished in the onslaught of twenty-first-century culture. The perfect introduction to his work, The Charles Bowden Reader is also essential for those who know him well and want to see the whole panorama of his passionate, intense writing.

    Animal lovers and readers fascinated by the spiritual ties between animals and humans will not soon forget this beautiful, inspiring true tale of an extraordinary friendship.

    A. Baker’s extraordinary classic of British nature writing.Despite the association of peregrines with the wild, outer reaches of the British Isles, The Peregrine is set on the flat marshes of the Essex coast, where J A Baker spent a long winter looking and writing about the visitors from the uplands – peregrines that spend the winter hunting the huge flocks of pigeons and waders that share the desolate landscape with them.Including original diaries from which The Peregrine was written and its companion volume The Hill of Summer, this is a beautiful compendium of lyrical nature writing at its absolute best.Such luminaries as Richard Mabey, Robert Macfarlane, Ted Hughes and Andrew Motion have cited this as one of the most important books in 20th Century nature writing, and the bestselling author Mark Cocker has provided an introduction on the importance of Baker, his writings and the diaries – creating the essential volume of Baker's writings.Since the hardback was published in 2010, papers, maps, and letters have come to light which in turn provide a little more background into J A Baker’s history. Contemporaries – particularly from while he was at school in Chelmsford – have kindly provided insights, remembering a school friend who clearly made an impact on his generation. In the longer term, there is hope of an archive of these papers being established, but in the meantime, and with the arrival of this paperback edition, there is a chance to reveal a little more of what has been learned.Among fragments of letters to Baker was one from a reader who praised a piece that Baker had written in RSPB Birds magazine in 1971. Apart from a paper on peregrines which Baker wrote for the Essex Bird Report, this article – entitled On the Essex Coast – appears to be his only other published piece of writing, and, with the kind agreement of the RSPB, it has been included in this updated new paperback edition of Baker’s astounding work.

    . .· The almost inconceivable number of creatures in the marine world. From the bounty of microbes in one drop of seawater, we can calculate that there are more individuals in the oceans than stars in the universe.· The sophisticated sensory abilities that help these animals survive. For many, the standard five senses are just not enough.· The incredible distances that seabirds and other species cover. Some will feed in both Arctic and Antarctic waters within a single year.· The odd relationships common in the marine world. From a dental hygienist for fish to a walrus's one-night stand, you'll find beauty, practicality, and plenty of eccentricity in sea-life socialization.Brilliantly photographed and written in an easygoing style, Citizens of the Sea will inform and enchant you with close-up documentation of the fascinating facts of life in the ocean realm.

    Francis of Assisi, "Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire" is the first book to consider the ways in which praying with the natural elements can enliven Christian spiritual life. Paintner offers concrete suggestions and guided contemplative exercises; for instance, Paintner suggests that readers take time to "watch the sunrise or sunset and breathe in the beauty of the fiery sky. Contemplate what those beginnings and endings have to say in your own life." Readers benefit from Paintner's extensive training in theology and Benedictine spirituality, as well as her unique work in bringing the expressive arts to spiritual direction.

    500-page reference detailing 1,600 animals with 2,000 photographs and descriptive text is not only the most comprehensive visual field guide to marine invertebrate life inhabiting the waters from Thailand to Tahiti

    In the feather identification section, more than 400 color photographs show feather samples from 379 bird species from all over North America. Along with the wing type of the species and a map showing its range, several types of feathers are included for each bird; each feather is labeled with its type and its size.

    Through the use of historical ecology, Laura Cunningham walks through these forgotten landscapes to uncover secrets about the past, explore what our future will hold, and experience the ever-changing landscape of California. Combining the skill of an accomplished artist with a passion for landscapes and training as a naturalist, Cunningham has spent over two decades pouring over historical accounts, paleontology findings, and archaeological data. Traveling with paintbox in hand, she tracked the remaining vestiges of semi-pristine landscape like a detective, seeking clues that revealed the California of past centuries. She traveled to other regions as well, to sketch grizzly bears, wolves, and other magnificent creatures that are gone from California landscapes. In her studio, Cunningham created paintings of vast landscapes and wildlife from the raw data she had collected, observations in the wild, and knowledge of ecological laws and processes.Through A State of Change, readers are given the pure pleasure of wandering through these wondrous and seemingly exotic scenes of Old California and understanding the possibilities for both change and conservation in our present-day landscape. A State of Change is as vital as it is visionary.

    Drawing on new translations of Mutis's nearly forgotten writings, this fascinating story of scientific adventure in eighteenth-century South America retrieves Mutis's contributions from obscurity.In 1760, the 28-year-old Mutis—newly appointed as the personal physician of the Viceroy of the New Kingdom of Granada—embarked on a 48-year exploration of the natural world of northern South America. His thirst for knowledge led Mutis to study the region's flora, become a professor of mathematics, construct the first astronomical observatory in the Western Hemisphere, and amass one of the largest scientific libraries in the world. He translated Newton's writings and penned essays about Copernicus; lectured extensively on astronomy, geography, and meteorology; and eventually became a priest. But, as two-time Pulitzer Prize–winner Edward O. Wilson and Spanish natural history scholar José M. Gómez Durán reveal in this enjoyable and illustrative account, one of Mutis's most magnificent accomplishments involved ants.Acting at the urging of Carl Linnaeus—the father of taxonomy—shortly after he arrived in the New Kingdom of Granada, Mutis began studying the ants that swarmed everywhere. Though he lacked any entomological training, Mutis built his own classification for the species he found and named at a time when New World entomology was largely nonexistent. His unorthodox catalog of army ants, leafcutters, and other six-legged creatures found along the banks of the Magdalena provided a starting point for future study.Wilson and Durán weave a compelling, fast-paced story of ants on the march and the eighteenth-century scientist who followed them. A unique glance into the early world of science exploration, Kingdom of Ants is a delight to read and filled with intriguing information.

    At stake is the future of old-growth forests. Loggers and police face off with protesters deep in the forest, while savage political games are played in the courts and parliaments. In Into the Woods, Anna Krien, armed with a notebook, a sleeping bag and a rusty sedan, ventures behind the battlelines to see what it is like to risk everything for a cause. She speaks to ferals and premiers, sawmillers and whistle-blowers. She investigates personalities and convictions, methods and motives. This is a book about a company that wanted its way and the resistance that eventually forced it to change. Into the Woods is intimate, intrepid reporting by a fearless new voice.

    From coconut palms and bristlecone pines to baobabs and banyans, Douglas Florian explores the arboreal world with his signature wit and whimsy. Featuring a dynamic vertical format that illustrates the incredible heights and shapes of the trees, this book illuminates the natural history of these majestic beings as well as their unique and quirky characteristics.

    But events conspired to fling Carter Niemeyer westward and straight into the jaws of wolves. From his early years wrangling ornery federal trappers, eagles and grizzlies, to winning a skinning contest that paved the way for wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies, Carter Niemeyer reveals the wild and bumpy ride that turned a trapper - a killer - into a champion of wolves.

    The prize was seven months of “unparalleled solitude” as the caretaker of a ninety-two-acre backcountry homestead along the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River in southwestern Oregon. Young, recently divorced, and humbled by the prospect of so much time alone, he left behind his job as a college English teacher in Indiana and headed west for a remote but comfortable cabin in the rugged Klamath Mountains. Well aware of what could go wrong living two hours from town with no electricity and no neighbors, Edwards was surprised by what could go right. In prose that is by turns lyrical, introspective, and funny, Breaking into the Backcountry is the story of what he discovered: that alone, in a wild place, each day is a challenge and a gift. Whether chronicling the pleasures of a day-long fishing trip, his first encounter with a black bear, a lightning storm and the threat of fire, the beauty of a steelhead, the attacks of 9/11, or a silence so profound that a black-tailed deer chewing grass outside his window could wake him from sleep, Edwards’s careful evocation of the river canyon and its effect on him testifies to the enduring power of wilderness to transform a life.

    First Life travels the world, from Canada to Australia, Morocco to Scotland, to unearth the secrets hidden in prehistoric fossils and meet the palaeontologists who have harnessed new techniques to enhance greatly our understanding of the origins of life.With an introduction by David Attenborough, and insights captured during the making of the television series, this book is a journey of discovery, showing us what these early animals would have looked like and how they would have lived, bringing them to life with the help of modern computer technology. First Life shows us how evolutionary features of the first creatures have been passed down to modern animals, including humans, giving us amazing insight into the remarkable evolutionary journey that has brought us here today.

    First published in German in 1979, the book is now in its third edition, and has establisheditself as the supreme authority on these fascinating creatures.Containing five hundred new references, this book incorporates the latest research while dispelling many oft-heard myths and misconceptions that surround spiders. Of special interest are chapters on the structure and function of spider webs and silk, as well as those on spider venom. A newsubchapter on tarantulas will appeal especially to tarantula keepers and breeders.The highly accessible text is supplemented by exceptional, high-quality photographs, many of them originals, and detailed diagrams. It will be of interest to arachnologists, entomologists, and zoologists, as well as to academics, students of biology, and the general reader curious about spiders.

    More accessible than ever to birdwatchers and other ecotourists, the country has become a premier neotropical birding and nature tourism destination in recent years. The Birds of Panama will be an essential tool for the new generation of birders traveling in search of Panama's spectacular avifauna. This user-friendly, portable, and affordable identification guide features#58;bull; large color illustrations of more than 900 species.bull; the first range maps published to show the distribution of Panama's birds.bull; concise text that describes field marks for identification, as well as habitat, behavior, and vocalizations.bull; range maps and species accounts face illustration pages for quick, easy reference. bull; the inclusion of North American migrants and seabirds, as well as female and juvenile plumage variations.bull; an up-to-date species list for the country that reflects recent additions, taxonomic splits, and other changes in classification. Panama's unique geography, small size, and varied habitats make it possible to see a vast diversity of birds within a short time. Its western and central areas harbor representatives of species found in Central America; species characteristic of South America may be found in the east. In the winter, birds from northern climes are commonly found in Panama as migrants. This is the one field guide the novice or experienced birder needs to identify birds in the field in Panama's diverse habitats.

    More than 200 gorgeous photographs highlight the explanations of the essentials: what color is, ornithologically speaking; how it is produced and measured; how birds use color to attract mates and deter competitors; how birds perceive color; and how coloration varies across species by sex, season, and age.Geoff Hill guides his readers along an engaging but authoritative narrative illustrated with vivid photographs and fact-packed captions. A book conceived in the same spirit as National Geographic’s more traditional bird guides, it’s sure to appeal to serious ornithologists, recreational bird watchers, and natural history buffs alike.

    Author Pam Peirce explains strategies for growing common favorite vegetables and herbs, plus unusual ones that bring variety to the garden. She includes information on organizing a garden, dealing with pests, assessing a microclimate, cultivating fruit trees, gardening on a rooftop, harvesting the crop, and creating delicious gardener's dishes. This third edition also contains new or updated information on resources for specific seeds, tomato planting, organic gardening, and vegetables not included in previous editions, including amaranth, shell beans, Chinese broccoli, broccoli raab, Florence fennel, oca, okra, and quinoa. Charts, sidebars, maps, and online resources help make the vegetable gardening experience easier and more fun.

    Along with her illustrations are her own amusing stories about the conduct of each of her subjects as they posed for her. Her charming reminiscences interpret the character and mood of each dog, and make us friends at once with each and every one in this gallery of endearing portraits. Dogs As I See Them is a remarkable collection dog lovers of all generations will take to their hearts.

    Everyone either has or knows someone who has been given a coin folder as a child and gone on to fill it with cents, nickels, dimes, or quarters.The state quarter program has been one of the most successful in the U.S. Mint's history. It has brought collecting to the mainstream. Riding on the coat tails of the state quarter program, the America the Beautiful series comes at a time when the public is familiar with searching and saving quarters from circulation. A total of 56 quarters honoring a national site from each U.S. state and territory will be issued from 2010 to 2021.

    Packed with information on the anatomy, habitat, lifecycle and diet of each animal, and with special fact boxes and maps.

    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 Gladwell, Oliver Sacks, Jon Mooallem, Jon Cohen, Luke Dittrich, and others

    He describes what it feels like to portage a canoe for fifteen miles with an eighty pound pack on your back, what dormant muscles spring to life as you paddle against the wind, exhausted but determined to reach the craggy shore, how to fish for the wary trout on light tackle without losing your mind, and how to hold your breath as you sneak by an eagle perched fifty feet away. Through Naked in the Stream we travel along with Vic and Ken, observing nature, the people they encounter, and the absolute laws of Mother Nature.

    Identification is made to the family level, sometimes to the genus or species. It's an invaluable guide for wildlife professionals, naturalists, students, and insect specialists.Beetles, spiders, ants, flies, butterflies, mayflies, dragonflies, earwigs, crickets, grasshoppers, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, snails, earthworms, lacewings, wasps, damselflies, slugs, and alderflies

    Was this forest once farmland? Was it logged in the past? Was there ever a major catastrophe like a fire or a wind storm that brought trees down?Now Wessels takes that wonderful ability to discern much of the history of the forest from visual clues and boils it all down to a manageable field guide that you can take out to the woods and use to start playing forest detective yourself. Wessels has created a key—a fascinating series of either/or questions—to guide you through the process of analyzing what you see. You’ll feel like a woodland Sherlock Holmes. No walk in the woods will ever be the same.

    Her own garden, Glebe Cottage in Devon, as seen on Gardeners' World, is almost grown entirely from cuttings and seeds and in this book she's on a mission to share her joy in working with nature to cultivate the plants she loves. Too often gardeners are intimidated by propagation, assume it's not for them and go for ready-grown plants from the garden centre. But Carol, a gifted communicator with her infectious enthusiasm, boundless horticultural expertise and easy practical explanations, shows just how simple and satisfying it is to grow your own plants, not to mention sustainable and cheap. She demonstrates, step-by-step, how to divide herbaceous perennials, nurture seedlings or grow new stock from root cuttings, stems or leaves, showing how there is no mystique involved and anybody can do it.In Grow Your Own Garden Carol offers a refreshing new approach to propagation, and, just as she did with Grow Your Own Veg, she brings her own unique style to an inspirational, accessible and practical gardening guide that will have great appeal to novices and more experienced gardeners alike.

             Born Wild is the memoir of Fitzjohn’s extraordinary life. It shows how a man driven by an impossibly restless spirit can do almost anything, from being a bouncer in a brothel, to surviving a vicious lion attack, to fighting with the Tanzanian government, to being appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen.         A notorious hell-raiser given to scrapes with bandits, evil policemen, and wicked politicians, who has been shot at by poachers and chewed up by lions, Fitzjohn is also a wonderful raconteur. Shenanigans aside, he belongs to that rare species of humans who have sought refuge and meaning in a life truly dedicated to the restoration of the animal kingdom. Many times Tony Fitzjohn has put his life on the line for the cause in which he believes. Born Wild is the story of that passion.

    Gulick's stunning photographs -- together with essays and audio from noted authors including Carl Safina, Douglas Chadwick, and Richard Nelson -- tell a hopeful story of Alaska's Tongass rain forest, where trees grow salmon, and salmon grow trees. "...what if I told you that the trees are here, in part, because of the salmon? That the trees that shelter and feed the fish, that help build the fish, are themselves built by the fish?" ~ Carl Safina, essayist for Salmon in the TreesTitle: Salmon in the TreesAuthor: Gulick, Amy (PHT)/ Troll, Ray (ILT)Publisher: Mountaineers BooksPublication Date: 2010/04/01Number of Pages: 176Binding Type: HARDCOVERLibrary of Congress: 2009040250SalmonInTheTrees.org

    Set amidst the natural beauty of the Santa Lucia Mountains, their conversations—harnessing their ideas of all that is wild, sacred and intimate in this world—move from the admission that Snyder’s mother was a devout atheist to his personal accounts of his initiation into Zen Buddhist culture, being literally dangled by the ankles over a cliff. After years of living in Japan, Snyder returns to the States to build a farmhouse in the remote foothills of the Sierras, a homestead he calls Kitkitdizze.For all of the depth in these conversations, Jim Harrison and Gary Snyder are humorous and friendly, and with the artfully interspersed dialogue from old friends and loves like Scott Slovic, Michael McClure, Jack Shoemaker, and Joanne Kyger, the discussion reaches a level of not only the personal, but the global, redefining our idea of the Beat Generation and challenging the future directions of the environmental movement and its association with “Deep Ecology.”The Etiquette of Freedom is an all-encompassing companion to the film The Practice of the Wild. A DVD is included which contains the film together with more than an hour of out-takes and expanded interviews, as well as an extended reading by Gary Snyder. The whole offers a rare glimpse of their extended discussion of life and what it means to be wild and alive.

    In the Falkland Islands, the albatross--king of migrations--journeys thousands of miles to nest despite the deadly cara cara, a predatory raptor. For countless animals species, migration is a dramatic, dangerous, and crucial undertaking...one that is portrayed in vivid color and unflinching candor in this magnificent book, companion to the 7-hour HD epic television event from National Geographic which airs beginning on Sunday, November 7th, 2010. The book follows the sequence of the film, with each section highlighting a factor that makes these epic journeys essential. "The Need for Speed" documents migration as a race against time, in which freezing temperatures or scorching heat usher in a crisis. Incredible photographs document activity along the Mississippi Flyway, which teems with long-distance travelers: red-winged blackbirds, white pelicans, tundra swans, and the birds of prey that patrol the skies. In "The Need to Feed," the annual search for greener pastures means life must go on the march as hungry predators lie in wait. Dramatic stills show as many as 40,000 walrus trying to evade 200 polar bears...and a jungle terrorized by nature's perfect killer: millions of voracious ants that work as one to overwhelm other species. "The Need to Lead" explains that migrations need generals, admirals and pioneers. How well the leaders keep their charges in line and on track will determine a species' fate. And in "The Need to Breed," the drive to renew the species forces every generation to risk it all. We experience the Falkland Islands, where aggressive, multi-ton elephant seals battle for the right to breed, and the lush rain forest canopy, where primates gather to feed and mate while smaller creatures glide from tree to tree.In every instance, both the migrating herds and the predators they sustain are faced with a new threat: global climate shift. Safe havens are vanishing, and migrating animals must stay one step ahead of a changing planet. Their struggle to survive despite mounting odds, set against the incomparable beauty of the natural world, fills this magnificently photographed book with drama, fascination, and beauty.

    . . . Who knew morning glory could look so interesting!" -- Chicago Sun-Times Microcosmos is a remarkable photo-journey into everyday life through spectacular microscopic images. This new edition lifts the book to breathtaking realms. The extraordinary images, produced with the latest microphotography technologies, are displayed on more reader-friendly larger page layouts. Most of the 205 full-color photographs were taken using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allows us to see our world as never before.Each page features a single image, a remarkable close-up that reveals form, shape and color in incredible detail. The book is divided into six chapters that cover:Microorganisms Botany The human body Zoology Minerals TechnologyEvery photograph is accompanied by an informative caption that describes the image, how it was captured and the number of magnifications.With the stunning production values of its full-color photographs and its clearly written text, Microcosmos provides a fascinating journey of discovery for every reader.

    And the National Geographic Society has been involved with this forward-looking, environmentally-minded department from the very beginning.This extensive travel planner covers not just the 58 official National Parks but also the nearly 350 additional properties in the Park Service's domain. The premier Parks are described in detail, but equal attention is given to the National Monuments, Memorials, Preserves, Historic Sites, Battlefields, Cemeteries, and Seashores, not to mention a network of "National Trails" and even the intriguingly referred to "Affiliated Areas." From Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, from the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park to the Pacific waters shrouding Hawaii's USS Arizona Memorial, this catalog spans American history and territory both, with practical advice on how to reach each park, when to go, and what to do there.

    It tells the stories of each of the fifteen raptors and five owls as British breeding species - their past, present and future.

    This stirring picture book tells the dramatic story, following bison from the Plains Indians to the cowboys, Teddy Roosevelt to the Dust Bowl, and from the brink of extinction to the majestic herds that now roam our national parks. Paired with gorgeous paintings by landscape artist Wendell Minor, Jean Craighead George’s engaging text will inspire a new generation to understand and protect nature’s delicate balance.

    Kids are invited to find out where worms live, see how they move, and understand why gardeners consider them friends with the help of this humorous and informative look at an unappreciated — and fascinating — creature.

    One day, Dr. George Washington Carver shows up to help the grownups with their farms and the children with their school garden.He teaches them how to restore the soil and respect the balance of nature. He even prepares a delicious lunch made of plants, including "chicken" made from peanuts. And Sally never forgets the lessons this wise man leaves in her heart and mind. Susan Grigsby's warm story shines new light on an African American scientist who was ahead of his time.

    North America alone is home to thousands of species—and the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide celebrates that wide diversity in grand fashion. From Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceaei, this beautiful, portable volume provides the common and scientific names for each flower family; information on the flowering season; leaf, stalk, and blossom descriptions, with measurements; and color range maps of more than 700 species for both native and introduced types. There’s no better guide to take along while camping, hiking, or enjoying a nature walk.- More than 2,200 species of- More than 2,200 species of wildflowers in a single, portable volume- 4,019 stunning color photographs by leading nature photographers- Wildflowers arranged by genus and include genus descriptions and range maps- Captions highlight important field marks- Information on season and habitat for each species- Fruit illustrations included for several plant families- Range map shows U.S. distribution- Separate section on species introduced into North America- Quick-identification key arranged by color and shape- Detailed, illustrated visual glossary of flower parts and leaf types- Essays on wildflower habitats and conservation- Waterproof cover for use in the field

    Author Jan Klement recounts his experinces with a bigfoot type creature in the mid 1970s. The story was first published in 1976 and was reprinted in 2006 on the 30th anniversary of the publication. Whether or not you believe the account of author Klement you will enjoy the book.

    The tiger isn’t just killing people, it’s annihilating them, and a team of men and their dogs must hunt it on foot through the forest in the brutal cold. As the trackers sift through the gruesome remains of the victims, they discover that these attacks aren’t random: the tiger is apparently engaged in a vendetta. Injured, starving, and extremely dangerous, the tiger must be found before it strikes again.As he re-creates these extraordinary events, John Vaillant gives us an unforgettable portrait of this spectacularly beautiful and mysterious region. We meet the native tribes who for centuries have worshipped and lived alongside tigers, even sharing their kills with them. We witness the arrival of Russian settlers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, soldiers and hunters who greatly diminished the tiger populations. And we come to know their descendants, who, crushed by poverty, have turned to poaching and further upset the natural balance of the region.This ancient, tenuous relationship between man and predator is at the very heart of this remarkable book. Throughout we encounter surprising theories of how humans and tigers may have evolved to coexist, how we may have developed as scavengers rather than hunters, and how early Homo sapiens may have fit seamlessly into the tiger’s ecosystem. Above all, we come to understand the endangered Siberian tiger, a highly intelligent super-predator that can grow to ten feet long, weigh more than six hundred pounds, and range daily over vast territories of forest and mountain.Beautifully written and deeply informative, The Tiger circles around three main characters: Vladimir Markov, a poacher killed by the tiger; Yuri Trush, the lead tracker; and the tiger himself. It is an absolutely gripping tale of man and nature that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the taiga.

    We meet Barbie, the broiler hen found hiding under a blue Honda in Brooklyn who falls for the animal ambassador Rambo, a ram with an uncanny sense of what others need. Then there s Norma Rae, the turkey rescued from a turkey bowl just before Thanksgiving. There s also Noah, a twenty-one-year-old stallion, starved and locked in a dark stall for his entire life until he came to the safety and plenty of CAS. Claude, the giant pink free-range pig, is but another of the underfoot family, those who roam the barnyard, free and with dignity, interacting with their own and other species in startling and profound ways.The love Stevens has for these animals, and the amount of love they give her in return, is stunning and will make any reader more thoughtful of how we treat a whole class of animals in this country. Pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys, horses, goats, sheep, and more, march into CAS and into our hearts as we learn about their quirks and personalities and what makes us human.

    She is drawn to the Appalachian Trail, a 2175-mile footpath that stretches from Georgia to Maine. Though her friends and family think she's crazy, she sets out alone to hike the trail, hoping it will give her time to think about what she wants to do next. The next four months are the most physically and emotionally challenging of her life. She quickly discovers that thru-hiking is harder than she had imagined: coping with blisters and aching shoulders from the 30-pound pack she carries; sleeping on the hard wooden floors of trail shelters; hiking through endless torrents of rain and even a blizzard. With every step she takes, Jennifer transitions from an over-confident college graduate to a student of the trail, braving situations she never imagined before her thru-hike. The trail is full of unexpected kindness, generosity, and humor. And when tragedy strikes, she learns that she can depend on other people to help her in times of need.

    Featuring all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods that one is likely to see on a trip to the rainforest (as well as those secretive creatures such as the jaguar that are difficult to glimpse), The Wildlife of Costa Rica is the guide to have when encountering trogons, tapirs, and tarantulas.In addition to providing details for identifying animals along with interesting facts about their natural history, this guide offers tips for seeing them in the wild. Costa Rica, a peaceful nation with many and diverse animal species, is one of the best places in the world for wildlife watching and nature study. It has an excellent system of national parks and reserves, a wide choice of ecolodges, and many professionally trained tourist guides. It is possible to leave the capital city of San Jos� and, just a few hours later, visit a high-elevation cloud forest, dense rainforest, savanna-like plain, or coastal habitat, each with a unique collection of animal species.This new lightweight field guide provides nature enthusiasts visiting Costa Rica with the best introduction to the country's amazing diversity of wildlife. It is the first general field guide to Costa Rica to combine the most sought-after features: -treatment of all major phyla in the country;-coverage of the animals most likely and most desirable to be seen;-more than 600 detailed illustrations integrated with the text (the preferred method of animal identification in the wild);-full species accounts including ID points, range and habitat, size, and behaviors;-a wealth of natural history information, including more than 20 photographic natural history features; and-tips for seeing animals.

    Bill at Rainbow Bridge fulfills these wishes.

    From our suburban streets that still trace out the boundaries of long vanished farms to the Norfolk Broads, formed when medieval peat pits flooded, from the ceremonial landscapes of Stonehenge to the spread of the railways - evidence of how man's effect on Britain is everywhere. In "The Making of the British Landscape", eminent historian, archaeologist and farmer, Francis Pryor explains how to read these clues to understand the fascinating history of our land and of how people have lived on it throughout time. Covering both the urban and rural and packed with pictures, maps and drawings showing everything from how we can still pick out Bronze Age fields on Bodmin Moor to how the Industrial Revolution really changed our landscape, this book makes us look afresh at our surroundings and really see them for the first time.

    Here is Hubble's great visual legacy to humanity in stunning images that are benchmarks of astronomy and photography. Of the more than 100 classic Hubble images that were selected by NASA's experts, the 20 most significant are accompanied by commentaries by notable scientists. Veteran astronauts from NASA's five remarkable manned missions to maintain the telescope also contribute to this volume, making it an authoritative account of a magnificent scientific achievement. Beyond its scientific contributions, twenty years of Hubble research and imagery--ranging from our planetary neighbors to the edge of time and space--have had a profound impact on the world's imagination and spiritual growth, as documented in this inspiring book.

    Contributors from a wide range of disciplines present a focused engagement with the critical, philosophical, and political dimensions of sex and nature. These discussions are particularly relevant to current debates in many disciplines, including environmental studies, queer theory, critical race theory, philosophy, literary criticism, and politics. As a whole, Queer Ecologies stands as a powerful corrective to views that equate "natural" with "straight" while "queer" is held to be against nature.

    The book is structured along a roughly evolving path, from simple cell life-forms - amoeba, worms, crustaceans (proof, say the authors, of 'just how far you can go on very little') - to bugs we all might recognise - spiders, butterflies, bees - and back into the water to meet molluscs and 'almost-fish'... The book works so triumphantly because author Peter Marren has examined bugs in the dusty corners of our houses and gardens as well as traversing mountains, lakes and fields. In addition to the fascinating habits of the bug world, he also includes the eccentric behaviour of the bug obsessives themselves.But of course, the true heroes of the book are the bugs themselves: the nimble-dicks, clock ladies and coffin-cutters. From the Boring Sponge (its official name!) to the Mermaid's Glove and Penis Worm, via the glamourous Dark Crimson Underwing and Ruby-Tailed Wasp - this rich compendium of bugs is a must not only for naturalists but for anyone who cares about the crawling, buzzing swarms at our feet.

    Some have even dived to the depths of the ocean. But most of us are not familiar with the biological origin of shells, their role in explaining evolutionary history, and the incredible variety of forms in which they come.Shells are the external skeletons of mollusks, an ancient and diverse phylum of invertebrates that are in the earliest fossil record of multicellular life over 500 million years ago. There are over 100,000 kinds of recorded mollusks, and some estimate that there are over a million more that have yet to be discovered. Some breathe air, others live in fresh water, but most live in the ocean. They range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball and in weight from a few grams to several hundred pounds. And in this lavishly illustrated volume, they finally get their full due.The Book of Shells offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing mollusk shells, each chosen to convey the range of shapes and sizes that occur across a range of species. Each shell is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the shell’s range, distribution, abundance, habitat, and operculum—the piece that protects the mollusk when it’s in the shell. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each shell and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait.The Matchless Cone, for instance, or Conus cedonulli, was one of the rarest shells collected during the eighteenth century. So much so, in fact, that a specimen in 1796 was sold for more than six times as much as a painting by Vermeer at the same auction. But since the advent of scuba diving, this shell has become far more accessible to collectors—though not without certain risks. Some species of Conus produce venom that has caused more than thirty known human deaths.The Zebra Nerite, the Heart Cockle, the Indian Babylon, the Junonia, the Atlantic Thorny Oyster—shells from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to the ocean’s deepest recesses, are all on display in this definitive work.

    While studying for a Distance Learning Diploma from the Society of Botanical Arts, Mary Ann Scott began an extraordinary correspondence with Margaret Stevens, the society’s President, who offered advice and critique.Including firsthand accounts of the joys and challenges Mary Ann faced as she progressed through the course, Botanical Sketchbook is sure to inspire artists of all skill levels. It is beautifully illustrated and packed with practical advice on all aspects of botanical painting in watercolor.

    Many of the features that visitors find most tantalizing about Yosemite have unique and compelling geologic stories — tales that continue to unfold today in vivid, often destructive ways. While visiting more than twenty-seven amazing sites, you’ll discover why many of Yosemite’s domes shed rock shells like onion layers, what happens when a volcano erupts under a glacial lake, and why rocks seem to be almost continually tumbling from the region’s cliffs. With a multitude of colorful photos and illustrations, and prose tooled for the lay reader, Geology Underfoot in Yosemite National Park will help you read the landscape the way a geologist does.The Geology Underfoot series encourages you to get out of your car for an up-close look at rocks and landforms. These books inform and enlighten, no matter how much — or how little — geology you already know. What’s more, they’re simply good reading, on-site or at home.

    They drive for hours from all across Texas and beyond, sometimes for just a short weekend of wilderness. They bring everything needed for camping, boating, hiking, birding, and backpacking stuffed into or strapped to their vehicles. Most importantly, this loyal group of visitors brings a strong sense of caring and respect for the park.Most visitors to Big Bend National Park enjoy a wonderful, incident-free vacation and return home with great photos, thrilling memories, and stories of excitement and adventure. But accidents, even catastrophes, can happen. For a rare few Park visitors, a simple mistake, a lack of adequate preparation, or just plain hard luck has lead to deadly or near deadly outcomes. Heat stroke, dehydration, hypothermia, drowning, falls, lightning, and even murder have claimed victims at Big Bend. This book chronicles selected serious injuries, dramatic rescues, and tragic fatalities that have occurred in the Park since the early 1980s.Death In Big Bend contains useful information that could one day save your life.

    Full-color images illustrate the more than 25 citrus, fruits and berries featured, plus more than 35 vegetable recommendations. Helpful icons, charts and maps assist gardeners in planting the right edibles for where they live in Florida.

    It also contains a wealth of information about the culinary, medicinal, cosmetic and domestic uses of honey, beeswax and pollen.So much more than just a practical handbook, this beautiful almanac is also a fascinating read, overflowing with charming bee trivia, fascinating folklore, an engaging history of beekeeping and much more besides. Discover bees in literature, learn how to craft beeswax candles, preserve fine wood with your own home-made furniture polish, or indulge your skin with lavender and beeswax hand cream. Enjoy over 100 glorious honey recipes for cakes and breads, sauces and marinades, drinks and even flavoured spirits!Fully illustrated with practical photography, stunning illustrations and unique etchings, this is an invaluable handbook as well as a beautiful addition to your coffee table, whether you're an active beekeeper with buzzing hives, or an armchair enthusiast who daydreams about harvesting your own honey.The plight of the honeybee has been widely reported, as numbers fall at an alarming rate. But its vital role in crop pollination and global agricultural means that the survival of the honeybee is essential; if it is to endure into the next century, we must take it seriously now. The Collins Beekeeper's Bible does just that, bestowing readers with all there is to know about bees, in the hope that it will help secure the future of this fascinating insect.CONTENTS INCLUDEo History of honey and beekeepingo Building a beehive staying safeo Caring for your bees - pests diseaseso Growing flowers for beeso Collecting your honeyo Household uses for honey and beeswaxo Homeopathic, medicinal and cosmetic uses for honey and polleno Home craftso Recipes for home-made food and drinks featuring honey

    

    Her interesting perspectives on animal intellect and unique insights into nature take the reader on a thought provoking, entertaining and often hilarious ride. The star of the book, Pickles, takes his adventures in stride with wit and charm. Pickles is an intelligent parrot who constantly challenges Georgi to keep up with him, both physically and intellectually. His demanding, outspoken yet fun loving attitude places both himself and his owner in some very amusing, and sometimes embarrassing, situations. Georgi touches a bit on nature, as it pertains to Pickles when he is outside in his aviary - their beautiful yard, trout pond and wild birdlife. She speaks of the trials and tribulations of owning a parrot - diet, behaviour and bird intelligence - but for the most part, this book is about the antics of a parrot who thrives on attention and mischief. Follow Pickles on Face Book: https: //www.facebook.com/georgiabbotts.pickle... http: //www.picklestheparrot.c

    It's a true story detailing the lengths to which a man will go to escape his midlife crisis. A travelogue with a difference, it follows a journey from the suburban straitjacket of High Wycombe to the steamy, leech-infested rainforests of remotest Asia, Africa, and Australia.Dangerous situations, personal traumas, and logistical nightmares threaten The Jewel Hunter's progress. Will venomous snakes or razor-clawed bears intervene? Or will running out of fuel mid-Pacific ultimately sink the mission? The race is on. . . .If you've ever yearned to escape your day job, wondered what makes men tick, or simply puzzled over how to make a truly world-class cup of tea, this is a book for you.

    He has successfully carved out his own category of artwork using colorful pen and ink to create drawings about fish, fish worship, evolution, and dinosaurs, all humorously captioned and technically accurate. Over a three-decade career, he has exhibited in all major scientific museums in America and managed to sell over 2 million t-shirts along the way. This collection of the artist's most popular t-shirt art features captions such as "Spawn Till You Die," "Cowasockeye," "The Baitful Dead," "Fish Worship: Is It Wrong," and "Tortured Sole," Ray Troll's appeal is both funky and funny.

    The poetry and essays by more than fifty contributors offer the reader glimpses into places as diverse as a forest in West Africa, the moors of Ireland, the canyons of the Sonoran desert mountains, and the fields of New England, and they reflect the varied perspectives of field biologists, hunters, farmers, environmental educators, wilderness guides, academics, writers, and artists. The collection is an intimate portrait of the natural world drawn through the wisdom, ecological consciousness, and open hearts of these exceptional contributors. The Wildbranch Writing Workshop, cosponsored by Orion magazine and Sterling College, has encouraged thoughtful natural history, outdoor, and environmental writing for more than twenty years. The Wildbranch faculty has included its founder E. Anne Proulx, the essayists Edward Hoagland, Janisse Ray, and Scott Russell Sanders, the poet Alison Hawthorne Deming, and many other notable authors. Many have work included in the anthology. Winner of the New Mexico Book Association's Southwest Book Design & Production Awards for Excellence in the category Trade Books: Non-illustrated.

    Organized by Staffan Widstrand, Florian Möllers, and Peter Cairns, award-winning nature journalists in their own right, this remarkable book reveals the wildlife and landscapes of all 48 European countries. From dramatic views of spectacular landscapes to intimate moments with strange and rarely seen creatures, 68 photographers capture the full range of animal and plant life throughout the continent. The accompanying essays focus on conservation and reintroducing vulnerable species to their natural habitats, expressing hope for the future of European biodiversity.Praise for Wild Wonders of Europe: "The book is a jaw-dropping, 48-country catalog of natural masterpieces overlooked on most travel agendas." -Virtuoso Life

    - Second edition, completely updated in full color - Covers every water type--riffles, runs, pools, flats, pocket water, bank water - Learn how to find trout by studying currents, temperatures, oxygen levels, and food sources - 140 color photos pinpoint trout locations in specific water types

    Scampering up the rough trunk, spying on the world from the cool green shelter of the canopy, lying on a limb and looking up through the leaves at the summer sun almost made it seem as if we were made for trees, and trees for us.Even in adulthood, trees retain their power, from the refreshing way their waves of green break the monotony of a cityscape to the way their autumn transformations take our breath away. In this lavishly illustrated volume, the trees that have enriched our lives finally get their full due, through a focus on the humble leaves that serve, in a sense, as their public face. The Book of Leaves offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most impressive and beautiful leaves from around the world. Each leaf is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the range, distribution, abundance, and habitat of the tree on which it’s found. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each tree and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait. The Henry’s Maple, for instance, found in China and named for an Irish doctor who collected leaves there, bears little initial resemblance to the statuesque maples of North America, from its diminutive stature to its unusual trifoliolate leaves. Or the Mediterranean Olive, which has been known to live for more than 1,500 years and whose short, narrow leaves only fall after two or three years, pushed out in stages by the emergence of younger leaves.From the familiar friends of our backyards to the giants of deep woods, The Book of Leaves brings the forest to life—and to our living rooms—as never before.

    Is it simply about compliance to green accreditation systems (such as LEED or BREEAM)? Currently these rating systems apply only to buildings, and though it is true that a large part of climate change is attributable to buildings and their use, is it sufficient that our buildings and masterplans achieve the highest possible scores in these rating systems? Surely we need to go beyond these systems to look at the more complete picture of sustainable design. The question of how we do this forms the basis of this book. Leading architects have joined forces to discuss this important and timely subject.Presented here are a series of essays, each by experts in their fields, on the current state of Green Design covering the spectrum from theory to practice. Contributing writers include Bill Dunster, Stefan Behnisch, Lam Khee Poh, Nadav Malin, Tom Hicks, Bob Berkbile, Thomas Herzog and Stefan Behnisch. The contributors each bring their own thoughts and questions on how to improve sustainable design, how important it is and how it can be enforced. Their writings express concerns regarding the built environment, its affect on physical well-being, how we live in cities and how this could change in the future. These discussions are given a contemporary relevance through inclusion of the work of contemporary architects, artists, writers and commentators.Green Design provides a thought provoking look at the built environment and how it can improve or effect our lives, making this an interesting read for architects, town planners and anyone with an interest in the environment.

    Yet each spring the Arctic becomes a land of unforgettable beauty, when a profusion of life explodes across the entire landscape.The Arctic is so different from the more temperate regions of Earth that author and photographer Wayne Lynch presents this region as though it were a different planet. In Planet Arctic , the reader can experience this land through the lens of a master photographer who has spent 30 years exploring and photographing this vast region. Lynch fully understands and appreciates Arctic birds, plants and animals in all their mystery. Here is the world of the polar bear, the arctic fox, the seal, the walrus and the musk ox, as well as a vast array of seabirds and exquisite, hardy wildflowers and ancient lichens.Lynch's enthusiasm is contagious, and the photos, testament to his unerring eye for beauty, will captivate readers. Complex natural history concepts are decoded as Lynch describes the magnificent life-forms that inhabit this distant and frigid yet spectacular world -- one that is under increasing stress from global warming and climate change.

    Have you ever wondered how fish breathe underwater, how caterpillars transform into butterflies, why deer grow cumbersome antlers every year, or how snakes slither? How Animals Work explains the structures and systems of animal bodies, using photographs and diagrams to show how animals use their anatomy to move, communicate, hunt, and feed, and how their bodies enhance their chances in the struggle for survival.

    All the winning and commended photographs are here, selected by an international panel of expert judges and beautifully reproduced in this portfolio.

    Bateman shares his wisdom on nature, environmentalism, education, and the role of art in the preservation of wilderness, as well as black-and-white sketches and commentary on specific works. Bateman: New Works is an essential addition to every Bateman collection, or a satisfying introduction to the work of this revered and iconic artist.