. .From tiniest raindrop to deepest ocean, this breathtaking celebration of the water cycle captures the remarkable movement of water across the earth in all its majesty. A stunning new non-fiction picture book from Greenaway medal-winner, Grahame Baker-Smith.

    

    The theory is sound, but something goes wrong, and a highly contagious combination of virus and prion is unleashed, a middle-stage organism too dangerous to test. With emergency services overwhelmed, a small community hospital tries to combat the unthinkable--an illness that causes aggression, spreads through violence, and won’t allow the dead to rest.

    At the tender age of sixteen, a ruthless act leaves her shattered and struggling for survival. When all she has is her word, she makes a solemn vow to three small children. But circumstances drastically change, and the promise could take years to fulfill. She fears it might be better broken. When her past must be confronted, Erith finds herself facing unbearable choices that might cost her everything. Enduring self-doubt pushes Erith to her breaking point. Will she allow hope and kindness to guide her, or will it be safer to remain captive in the grip of her unfortunate past?

    The Oklahoma City Thunder forward has gone beyond those expectations. Kevin was named the 2007-2008 NBA Rookie of the Year, and he's only gotten better from there. In 2010 Kevin was named the Most Valuable Player at the FIBA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, where the United States won the gold medal. During his short time in pro basketball, Kevin has proven himself to be one of the best players in the world. Learn more about this amazing athlete's journey to the top.

    Dive below the surface and find out what happens under earth and under sea—from early submarines and deep-sea life to burrowing animals and man-made tunnels.

    Written by a passionate and professional geologist who has spent countless hours in the field exploring and photographing the state, In Search of Ancient Oregon is a book for all those interested in Oregon's landscapes and environments. It presents fine-art-quality color photographs of well-known features such as Mount Hood, Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Steens Mountain, the Columbia River Gorge, and Cannon Beach, and scenic, not so well known places such as Jordan Craters, Leslie Gulch, Abert Rim, Hells Canyon, Elkhorn Mountains, and Three Fingered Jack. Each of the more than 220 stunning photographs is accompanied by readable text, presenting the story of how Oregon's diverse landscapes evolved — and what we may expect in the future. Until now, no book has presented this dynamic story in a way that everyone interested in Oregon's natural history can easily understand. The combination of extraordinary photographs and the author's lucid explanations make this book both unique and essential for those curious about our own contemporary landscape.

    As the field of environmental science continues to evolve, this highly readable guide presents a full spectrum of views and information for students to evaluate issues and make informed decisions. An extensive resource package integrates text and digital media in an easy-to-use format designed to assist instructors in classroom preparation.

    The poem engages in flights of fancy - what about a husk being a house for an ear of corn, or a throat being a house for a hum? "And once you get started in thinking this way,/ It seems that whatever you see/ Is either a house or it lives in a house,/ And a house is a house for me!" whimsical drawings color the imaginative text.

    A tour of one of the most diverse ecosystems on planet earth: the rainforests of Central America.Discover the wonder that lies hidden among the roots, above the winding rivers, and under the emerald leaves of the rainforest.• Features animals like the slender parrot snake to the blue morpho butterfly• Explores the canopies, where toucans and pale-billed woodpeckers chatter and call• Other animals include capuchin monkeys who swing from vines and slow-moving sloths who wait out daily thunderstormsUnder the canopy of the rainforest hundreds of animals make their homes, but up in the leaves hides another world.This stunning read is perfect for kids who can't get enough of the rainforest and all the animals living in it.

    But they can also show us what we can’t see, what we can only imagine, or how to build something. In Joyce Hesselberth’s Mapping Sam, Sam the cat puts her family to bed, and then—when all is quiet—heads out to explore her neighborhood.As Sam follows her customary path, wandering farther and farther away from home, readers encounter different kinds of maps illuminating different points of view and the various spots Sam visits. Finally, when Sam reaches her favorite place and confirms that all is well, she heads back home, climbs onto a cozy bed, and falls asleep.

    It presents the important traditional content of mineralogy including crystallography, chemical bonding, controls on mineral structure, mineral stability, and crystal growth to provide a foundation that enables students to understand the nature and occurrence of minerals. Physical, optical, and X-ray powder diffraction techniques of mineral study are described in detail, and common chemical analytical methods are outlined as well. Detailed descriptions of over 100 common minerals are provided, and the geologic context within which these minerals occur is emphasized. Appendices provide tables and diagrams to help students with mineral identification, using both physical and optical properties. Numerous line drawings, photographs, and photomicrographs help make complex concepts understandable. Introduction to Mineralogy not only provides specific knowledge about minerals but also helps students develop the intellectual tools essential for a solid, scientific education. This comprehensive text is useful for undergraduate students in a wide range of mineralogy courses.

    A sensational disappearance that made headlines around the world. A quest for truth that leads to death, madness or disappearance for those who seek to solve it. The Lost City of Z is a blockbuster adventure narrative about what lies beneath the impenetrable jungle canopy of the Amazon.After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the 20th century": What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett & his quest for the Lost City of Z?In 1925, Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world's largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humans. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions inspired Conan Doyle's The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions round the globe, Fawcett embarked with his 21-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilisation--which he dubbed Z--existed. Then his expedition vanished. Fawcett's fate, & the tantalizing clues he left behind about Z, became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists & adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett's party & the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes or gone mad. As Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett's quest, & the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle's green hell. His quest for the truth & discoveries about Fawcett's fate & Z form the heart of this complexly enthralling narrative.

    Geological Survey, a lively and revealing history of the world's most disruptive natural disasters, their impact on our culture, and new ways of thinking about the ones to comeNatural disasters emerge from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes have provided us with natural springs. Volcanoes have given us fertile soil. A world without floods would be a world without rain. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together, these colossal events have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we reason, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves.The Big Ones is a look at some of the most devastating disasters in human history, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. It considers Pompeii, and how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged and reinforced prevailing views of religion for centuries to come. It explores the California floods of 1862, examining the failures of our collective memory. And it transports us to today, showing what Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami can tell us about governance and globalization. With global temperatures rising, natural disasters are striking with greater frequency. More than just history, The Big Ones is a call to action. Natural disasters are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and richly researched book, Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future.

    A starry night is one of nature's most magical wonders, yet in our artificially lit world, three-quarters of Americans' eyes never switch to night vision, and most no longer experience true darkness. In The End of Night, Paul Bogard restores awareness of the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky and how it has influenced the human experience across everything from science to art.From Las Vegas's Luxor Beam (the brightest single spot on this planet) to nights so starlit the sky looks like snow, Bogard blends personal narrative, natural history, science, and history to shed light on the importance of darkness--what we've lost, what we still have, and what we might regain--and the simple ways we can reduce the brightness of our nights tonight.