Book picks similar to
The Great Big Book of Snakes & Reptiles by Barbara Taylor
animals
non-fiction
science
nature
Biology For Dummies
Rene Fester Kratz - 2010
Wouldn't it be great to have a single source of quick answers to all our questions about how living things work? Now there is.From molecules to animals, cells to ecosystems, Biology For Dummies, 2nd Edition answers all your questions about how living things work.Written in plain English and packed with dozens of illustrations, quick-reference Cheat Sheets, and helpful tables and diagrams, it cuts right to the chase with fast-paced, easy-to-absorb explanations of the life processes common to all organisms. More than 20% new and updated content, including a substantial overhaul to the organization of topics to make it a friendly classroom supplement Coverage of the most recent developments and discoveries in evolutionary, reproductive, and ecological biology Includes practical, up-to-date examples Whether you're currently enrolled in a biology class or just want to know more about this fascinating and ever-evolving field of study, this engaging guide will give you a grip on complex biology concepts and unlock the mysteries of how life works in no time.
Horses For Dummies
Audrey Pavia - 1999
Featuring updates on breeds, boarding, nutrition, equipment, training, and riding, as well as new information on various equine conditions, this resource shows you how to keep your horse happy - and take your riding skills to the next level. Discover how to * Select the right horse for you * Feed, groom, and handle your horse * Recognize common horse ailments * Have fun in the saddle * Get involved in equestrian competitions
Becoming Human: Our Past, Present and Future
Scientific American - 2013
My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian's Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope
Suzy Fincham-Gray - 2018
In 2000 she graduated, with honors, from the Royal Veterinary College in London, and her journey in veterinary medicine has taken her from the English-Welsh border to an inner-city Philadelphia ER to the West Coast of America, with thousands of stories collected along the way. In this unforgettable and profound literary debut we are taken into the heart of the relationship we share with the animals in our lives, and the decisions we must make when a loved one becomes sick. We meet Grayling, an Irish Wolfhound in need of intensive care; with Ned, a rescue dog from Mexico, we experience the joy of saving an animal from disease; and the story of Sweetie explores the lengths doctors will go to save a patient. Fincham-Gray is a rare breed--a clinician with an elegant literary style. She affords a view few can obtain and writes with the same tenderness she brings to her patients, whose needs she must meet with her mind, her hands and her heart. Rich in warmth and humor, My Patients and Other Animals is a memorable story of compassion, healing, and hope.
Wild Life: Adventures of an Evolutionary Biologist
Robert Trivers - 2015
His theories on the evolutionary tensions between parent and offspring, sibling and sibling, man and woman, friend and friend, and a person and himself or herself have not only revolutionized genetics and evolutionary biology but have influenced disciplines from medicine and the social sciences to history, economics, and literary studies. But unlike other renowned scientists, Trivers has spent time behind bars, drove a getaway car for Huey P. Newton, and founded an armed group in Jamaica to protect gay men from mob violence. Now, in the entertaining tradition of Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman, Trivers tell us in his inimitable voice about the inimitable life behind the revolutionary science. He comments with irreverent wit and penetrating insight on everything from American racism to the history of psychiatry to who killed Peter Tosh, musical heir to Bob Marley. Sprinkled with anecdotes about such luminaries as Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, and with photographs throughout, this volume is sure to enlighten and entertain anyone with an interest in science, the human condition, or the nature of creative genius. PRAISE FOR WILD LIFE"To call Robert Trivers an acclaimed biologist is an understatement akin to calling the late Richard Feynman a popular professor of physics." -- PSYCHOLOGY TODAY"Who would have guessed that arguably today’s most original thinker in evolutionary theory could possibly have led the extraordinary life Robert Trivers recounts in these pages. We are taken on a wild trip from inspired meditations on the biology of self deception, through a steamy Jamaican underworld, to Black Panthers in California, to frank appraisals of distinguished or over-rated scientists, the whole adding up to a disarmingly frank and utterly unique memoir of a rollercoaster of a life. -- RICHARD DAWKINS, bestselling author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion“Robert Trivers is not just a brilliant evolutionary thinker but a world-class raconteur, adventurer, kibitzer, people-watcher, jester, and provocateur. This memoir is filled with sharp and hilarious observations about the living world, not least a certain species of hairless primate, not least a certain member of that species named Robert Trivers.” – STEVEN PINKER,best-selling author of How the Mind Works and The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined“It would not be hyperbole to say that Robert Trivers is one of the most important evolutionary theorists since Charles Darwin. But contrary to the image most people have of theoretical scientists as stodgy intellectuals holed up in their offices buried in paper, Trivers' memoir reveals a man whose life has been wild in every sense of the word. A lust for life doesn’t begin to sum up a career devoted to truth, courage, and the audacity to think what no one else has thought, and to act in ways few others would dare (you’ll even learn how to defend yourself in a knife fight). If that were not enough, Trivers is witty, clever, and compassionate. This book is destined to become a classic in scientific autobiography." -- MICHAEL SHERMER, Editor in Chief, The SkepticABOUT THE AUTHORRobert Trivers is a professor of anthropology and biological sciences at Rutgers University.
Apex Predators: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present
Steve Jenkins - 2017
Using his signature art style, Jenkins illustrates how these animals dominate their different ecosystems using speed, strength, and even cooperation and cunning. Take a trip through history and discover apex predators both past and present, from the earliest sea creatures to the modern African lion and giant freshwater ray, which can grow to over fifteen feet.
Prehistoric Mammals (National Geographic)
Alan Turner - 2004
Written by one of the world's foremost paleontologists, Prehistoric Mammals gives children a rare glimpse at a world gone by in a stunningly illustrated, incredibly comprehensive reference book.
The Spiritual Physics of Light: How We See, Feel, and Know Truth
Aaron D. Franklin - 2021
Bee People and the Bugs They Love
Frank Mortimer - 2020
. .Who wants to keep bees? And why? For the answers, Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer invites readers on an eye-opening journey into the secret world of bees, and the singular world of his fellow bee-keepers. There's the Badger, who introduces Frank to the world of bees; Rusty, a one-eyed septuagenarian bee sting therapist certain that honey will be the currency of the future after the governments fail; Scooby the "dude" who gets a meditative high off the awesome vibes of his psychedelia-painted hives; and the Berserker, a honeybee hitman who teaches Frank a rafter-raising lesson in staving off the harmful influences of an evil queen: "Squash her, mash her, kill, kill, kill!"Frank also crosses paths with those he calls the Surgeons (precise and protected), the Cowboys (improvisational and unguarded) and the Poseurs, ex-corporate cogs, YouTube-informed and ill-prepared for the stinging reality of their new lives. In connecting with this club of disparate but kindred spirits, Frank discovers the centuries-old history of the trade; the practicality of maintaining it; what bees see, think, and feel (emotionless but sometimes a little defensive); how they talk to each other and socialize; and what can be done to combat their biggest threats, both human (anti-apiarist extremists) and mite (the Varroa Destructor).With a swarm of offbeat characters and fascinating facts (did that bee just waggle or festoon?), Frank the Bee Man delivers an informative, funny, and galvanizing book about the symbiotic relationship between flower and bee, and bee and the beekeepers who are determined to protect the existence of one of the most beguiling and invaluable creatures on earth.
Chasing Kangaroos: A Continent, a Scientist, and a Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Creature
Tim Flannery - 2004
Crisscrossing the continent, Flannery shows us how the destiny of this extraordinary creature is inseparable from the environment that created it. Along the way he uses encounters with ancient aboriginal cultures and eccentric fossil hunters, farmers and scientists, kangaroo advocates and kangaroo hunters, to explore how Australia’s deserts and rainforests have shaped human responses to the continent -- and how kangaroos have evolved to handle the resulting challenges. Ultimately, Chasing Kangaroos is a smart yet utterly readable synthesis of memoir, travel, natural history, and evolutionary science -- and further proof of Flannery’s “offhand interdisciplinary brilliance” ( Entertainment Weekly ).
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home & Other Unexplained Powers of Animals
Rupert Sheldrake - 1999
After five years of extensive research involving thousands of people who have pets and work with animals, Dr. Sheldrake proves conclusively what many pet owners already know: there is a strong connection between humans and animals that defies present-day scientific understanding. This remarkable book deserves a place next to the most beloved and valuable books on animals, including When Elephants Weep, Dogs Never Lie About Love, and The Hidden Life of Dogs.
Integrated Electronics: Analog And Digital Circuits And Systems
Jacob Millman - 1971
Guinness World Records 2019
Guinness World Records - 2018
Inside you'll find hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and countless facts, figures, stats and trivia waiting for you on every action-packed page. Guinness World Records 2019 is the ultimate snapshot of our world today.Plus, this year we celebrate the incredible "Maker" movement with a special feature devoted to the inventors, dreamers, crafters and creators who devote their lives to amazing record-breaking projects such as the largest water pistol, a jet-powered go-kart and an elephant-sized hamburger (think you could eat a whole one!?). We take a sneak peek into their workshops to explore these epically big builds, and ask them what inspires them to go really, really large!And if you like creating, and you like LEGO(R), then you'll love our "Making History" pages that use the world's most famous interlocking plastic bricks to illustrate and explain an important record-breaking object - such as the Statue of Liberty or the Apollo mission's Saturn V rocket. We examine their designs, structure and technical specifications in fully illustrated and colorful, poster-style pages.Finally, you can jump into both the making and record-breaking action with a "Do Try This At Home" section. Challenge yourself and your family with five fun record-breaking maker-inspired records you can attempt involving origami, balloon sculptures, ring pulls and rubber bands. Who knows, your creation might just make it into the record books!
Last Chance to See
Douglas Adams - 1990
Join author Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine as they take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures.
The New Noah
Gerald Durrell - 1955
Each animal in his menagerie exhibits such curious habits and eccentricities. There was Cholmondely the chimpanzee, for example, who was 'king' of the collection, liked a good cigarette and his tea not too hot, but had a horror of snakes! Cuthbert the curassow loved to collapse across people's feet when they weren't looking.Gerald Durrell describes not only the capture of these rare and exotic animals in Africa and South America, but also the problems of caging and feeding them. Footle, the moustached monkey, insisted on nose-diving into his milk, while the Kusimanses - nicknamed the Bandits - found Durrell's toes the most delectable thing in camp!