Whether satirizing bird snobs or relating the traditions and taboos of the birding culture, each essay is as chock-full of helpful information as it is entertaining.

    Now the greatest angling explorer of his generation (Independent on Sunday) returns to delight readers with a book of an entirely different sort, the book he was always destined to write--the distillation of a life spent fishing. Thoughtful and funny, brimming with wisdom and above all, adventure, these are pitch-perfect reflections that anyone who has ever fished will identify with, for ultimately it touches on what fishing teaches us all about life.

    Herbalist and naturalist Gregory Tilford provides a thorough introduction to the world of herbal medicine for everyone interested in plants, personal well-being, and a healthy environment.

    By helping newcomers avoid the pitfalls of outdated, high-maintenance filtration techniques, the author offers an easy-to-follow route to long-term success with live rock, appropriate equipment, aquascaping, disease prevention, and essential husbandry techniques. Includes a photographic guide to selecting fishes, with dozens of hardy choices that are highly recommended for beginning hobbyists or others wanting beautiful, interesting, and long-lived marine species.

    Written by an international team of specialists, spectacularly adorned with a gallery of more than 2,000 color illustrations, and supplemented with distribution maps, detailed and beautifully rendered diagrams, and some of the world's finest wildlife photographs, this volume will become the standard by which all others are measured. Each page is expertly laid out to enhance either browsing or in-depth study. Readers will find detailed coverage of all sorts of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, and invertebrates. The Encyclopedia includes an introductory overview of animal evolution, biology, behavior, classification, habitats, and current conservation issues. An extensive encyclopedic survey of the animals follows, with special attention given to endangered and vulnerable species. All information is completely up-to-date, with the most recent scientific and conservation data. Elegant graphics put a broad selection of information at readers' fingertips, including classification information, scientific and common names, distribution maps for all animal groups, conservation panels that focus on threatened species, accurate and detailed anatomical drawings, and illustrations of multiple species. Each section is color coded for easy identification of animal groups. Feature pages explore topics of particular interest and provide insights into animal behavior. With its expansive scope, richly detailed information, and inviting design, this will be the ideal reference for a broad range of uses.* Completely up-to-date, with the most recent scientific information and conservation data * A gallery of more than 2,000 illustrations * Authoritative text contributed by a team of international specialists * Lavish color photographs from leading wildlife photographers * Distribution maps for all animal groups * Detailed explanatory scientific diagrams * Feature pages exploring topics of particular interest and providing insights into animal behavior

    edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

    Written and edited by ten climber-physicians who specialize in various fields of medicine, this fully updated edition offers expert information on preventing, diagnosing, and treating major and minor medical emergencies in the backcountry.

    Hoyt's elegant writing provides both the historical background for deep-sea exploration and an ecological perspective on life in the ocean's depths." -- American Scientist"A magnificent bestiary ... and a reminder of how little we actually know about the seas surrounding us." -- Popular ScienceWinner, Outstanding Nonfiction Book of the Year -- American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc., New YorkIn this updated and expanded edition of Creatures of the Deep, award-winning nature and science writer Erich Hoyt gives readers a glimpse of the amazing variety of creatures found in the deepest parts of the ocean. Weaving together details from the latest scientific research about sharks, giant squid, dragonfish, huge tube worms, clams and tiny microbes of the deep-sea vents, Hoyt embarks on a magical journey roaming across the abyssal plains and descending into deep-sea trenches more than 20,000 feet down.Hoyt unravels the complex predator-prey relationships, from "killer" copepods to battles between giant squid and sperm whales, presenting compelling portraits of animals that are superbly adapted denizens of a dark high-pressure world. There are life forms, independent of sunlight and photosynthesis, which flourish around the hot, sulfurous deep-sea vents in the magnificent rift valley of the mid-ocean ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Surviving in conditions that appear to be close to the very soup of primordial Earth, these microbes have become the basis for the latest research into Earth's origins. Fully illustrated with fantastic underwater imagery.

    With meticulous illustrations and detailed descriptions of plants and animals found in every corner of the continent, this newly updated and revised edition is the perfect companion in the field and a storehouse of information for the armchair naturalist or student.

    Visiting it almost daily for one year to trace nature’s path through the seasons, he brings the forest and its inhabitants to vivid life.Each of this book’s short chapters begins with a simple observation: a salamander scuttling across the leaf litter; the first blossom of spring wildflowers. From these, Haskell spins a brilliant web of biology and ecology, explaining the science that binds together the tiniest microbes and the largest mammals and describing the ecosystems that have cycled for thousands—sometimes millions—of years. Each visit to the forest presents a nature story in miniature as Haskell elegantly teases out the intricate relationships that order the creatures and plants that call it home.Written with remarkable grace and empathy, The Forest Unseen is a grand tour of nature in all its profundity. Haskell is a perfect guide into the world that exists beneath our feet and beyond our backyards.

    It describes their natural history, including where they live, how they gather food, their role as pollinators, and even how to attract them to your own backyard. Ideal for amateur naturalists and experts alike, it gives detailed accounts of every bee family and genus in North America, describing key identification features, distributions, diets, nesting habits, and more.Provides the most comprehensive and accessible guide to all bees in the United States and CanadaFeatures more than 900 full-color photosOffers helpful identification tips and pointers for studying beesIncludes a full chapter on how to attract bees to your backyard

    World-class photographs and text reviewed by leading coral biologists and coral keepers guides the reader through the selection and husbandry of hundreds of species.

    It's a step by step training book with no extraneous material. It covers everything from the day you get your puppy to the finished dog.The first book written about the retriever with new commands and using the Dummy-Launch, a new training device co-developed by the author, making training easier for you and your dog.The first book to show the complete training procedures step by step in picture sequence. It covers every facet of the training. It will show you not only what to expect of your dog but what your dog can expect of you. You will be able tosee how to do it. It's written with humor - fun for you and your dog.WATER DOG is A REVOLUTIONARY RAPID TRAINING METHOD.

    After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of an over $450 billion industry. With the emergence of craft brewing and homebrewing, beer is experiencing a renaissance that is expanding the reach of the beer culture even further, bringing the art of brewing into homes and widening the interest in beer as an important cultural item.The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first reference work to fully investigate the history and vast scope of beer, from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "spent grain" and "wort," but give fascinating details about how these and other ingredients affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries on such topics as drinking songs or beer gardens offer vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have shifted through history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries; the legacies they left behind, in the forms of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book. Collectively the Companion has over 1,100 entries--written by 150 of the world's most prominent beer experts--as well as a foreword by renowned chef Tom Colicchio (star of television's Top Chef), thorough appendices, conversion tables, images throughout, and an index. Flipping through the book, readers will discover everything from why beer was first taxed to how drinkers throughout history have overcome temperance movements and how an "ale conner" determined the quality of a beer in the thirteenth century. (It involved sitting in a puddle of beer.)The Companion is comprehensive, unprecedented, and of great value to anyone who has ever had a curiosity or appetite for beer.

    Thomas, and readers' expectations. Old Farmer's Almanac is packed with wit, wisdom, tips, advice, facts, fun, and recipes.