These fascinating, enigmatic creatures are a key lynchpin in the working of our planet. Without them the landscape, as well as every aisle in our supermarkets would look radically different. And we're not just talking about honey bees. There are more than 20,000 species of bee worldwide and only a handful make honey. Some live in colonies and others are solitary. We can all help protect them - and they desperately need protecting - but you can't save what you don't love. And you can't love what you don't know. The Good Bee is a celebration of this most vital and mysterious of nature's wizards. Here you'll discover the complexities of bee behaviour - as well as the bits that still baffle us - the part they play in the natural world, their relationship with us throughout history, how they are coming under threat and what we can all do about it.Beautifully produced, with hand-made illustrations throughout, it is a story for our times and a book to treasure.

    The faculty of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, one of the most prestigious and pioneering veterinary schools in the world, now shares its accumulated knowledge and experience in this groundbreaking whole-dog approach to raising the healthiest, happiest, most well-behaved puppy possible.The authors of Puppy's First Steps are singularly qualified to look at a puppy from all angles, physical, emotional, and behavioral. In contrast to a single breeder's or trainer's theory about what is effective most of the time, the recommendations in this book are scientifically proven to work. This integrative body-and-mind approach stands out from the one-size-fits-all mentality that pervades the dog-training world. And the advice here delivers not just during the puppy's first year -- the most essential twelve months of a dog's development -- but throughout the dog's life, ensuring a strong, happy bond between you and your new best friend for years and years to come.Puppy's First Steps features:* How to test a puppy’s temperament before you decide which one to take home* The most nutritious, safest food for your puppy* To crate or not to crate?* Socializing your puppy with other people and dogs* Easy-to-implement training methods based on reward, not punishment* Housetraining in less than a week* Overcoming puppy’s fears and phobias* Keeping your puppy happy while you’re at work* What to do in a medical emergencyYou'll want to get your puppy off on the right foot, and now the best advice is in your hands. Comprehensive yet accessible, sensitive, and, above all, practical, Puppy’s First Steps is the only book a puppy owner will need.

    But now Stan knew he didn’t want to be the shallow bad boy Marilyn had described. He wanted to be the man Carrie Moon had loved. Loving him was all that had kept her alive. The emptiness of her marriage had made the ache of lost love burrow deeper into her heart and soul. Carrie stood transfixed between worlds: life, but emotional death if she left alone as he wanted, or death in all forms if she stayed, and the fires reached them. On a cool October evening in 1994, attorney Karen Moon enters an enchanting little jazz club, in San Diego and unexpectedly falls hopelessly in love with the star attraction, trumpeter Stan Benedict. Although Stan is a world class flirt, who has every woman in the audience longing to go home with him, Karen hears a deeper truth in his music. Behind the performer’s confident, shallow mask is a vulnerable, lonely man longing to be loved. Karen risks her chance of partnership at Warrick, Thompson by secretly crossing ethical boundaries to save the club from destruction by her client, Waterfront Development. She and Stan begin a tumultuous affair that culminates in an unplanned pregnancy and a hasty marriage. But their relationship is increasingly threatened by the demands of Karen’s job as a highly paid securities lawyer and by the rising crescendo of Stan’s frequent infidelities. Through mounting heartbreak, Karen struggles to hold on to Stan until they are swept apart by a tide of personal and professional loss. Thirteen years later, longing for forgiveness, Stan reappears in Karen’s life. Now a superior court judge and married to Warrick, Thompson partner Howard Morgan, Karen is faced with Howard’s threats to destroy her if she leaves their marriage. Ride Your Heart ‘Til It Breaks is an unforgettable, intricately woven tale of passion, loss, self-discovery, and redemption.

    Clyde Brooks gives us a first hand view of the life and times of a country veterinarian and insight into the miracle of medicine and compassion. the formula for the healing art. Tending Critters in the Ridges carries the reader from muck and manure of the pig pen to the sterility of a surgical room and all the places in between. It is a timeless story that lifts the spirits and let's you know why the people of this rural town consider the veterinarian as their family's other doctor.

    This beautiful book is as much an art book as it is a natural history, something readers have come to expect from Julie Zickefoose. More than 400 watercolor paintings show the breathtakingly swift development of seventeen different species of wild birds. Sixteen of those species nest on Julie's wildlife sanctuary, so she knows the birds intimately, and writes about them with authority. To create the bulk of this extraordinary work, Julie would borrow a wild nestling, draw it, then return it to its nest every day until it fledged. Some were orphans she raised by hand, giving the ultimate insider’s glimpse into their lives. In sparkling prose, Julie shares a lifetime of insight about bird breeding biology, growth, and cognition.   As an artist and wildlife rehabilitator, Julie possesses a unique skill set that includes sketching and painting rapidly from life as well as handling delicate hatchlings. She is uniquely positioned to create such an opus, and in fact, nothing like it has ever been attempted. Julie has many fans, and she will gain many more with this unparalleled work.

    This well presented book guides the reader through the ins and outs of clicker training with graphic step by step illustrations that are ideal for beginners and intermediate clicker trainers. These books will show you the clicker way to train your dog to: Sit to greet people instead of jumping up Walk on the lead without pulling Come when called - everytime Stay home alone quietly Find the right place to "go" Play hide and seek and other fun games and tricks

    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.

    . . these are great things. Every field should have a hare.’The hare, a night creature and country-dweller, is a rare sight for most people. We know them only from legends and stories. They are shape-shifters, witches’ familiars and symbols of fertility. They are arrogant, as in Aesop’s The Hare and the Tortoise, and absurd, as in Lewis Carroll’s Mad March Hare. In the absence of observed facts, speculation and fantasy have flourished. But real hares? What are they like?In The Private Life of the Hare, John Lewis-Stempel explores myths, history and the reality of the hare. And in vivid, elegant prose he celebrates how, in an age when television cameras have revealed so much in our landscape, the hare remains as elusive and magical as ever.

    As singular and strange as some of the weapons we encounter on these pages are, we learn that similar factors set their evolution in motion. Emlen uses these patterns to draw parallels to the way we humans develop and employ our own weapons, and have since battle began. He looks at everything from our armor and camouflage to the evolution of the rifle and the structures human populations have built across different regions and eras to protect their homes and communities. With stunning black and white drawings and gorgeous color illustrations of these concepts at work, Animal Weapons brings us the complete story of how weapons reach their most outsized, dramatic potential, and what the results we witness in the animal world can tell us about our own relationship with weapons of all kinds.

    Today, a few veterinarians still do. Duncan MacVean, DVM, is one such vet. His patients range from cats and dogs to pigs and lizards—each of them a unique personality. Every animal and every home is different, but every owner is the same in their affection for their companions. Without warning, MacVean finds himself in odd situations: stepping into a basement full of free-flying bats or struck speechless by a pig who loves opera so much that she falls into a trance.The hilarious and the heartbreaking come together in this collection of true tales, all gathered from his lifelong career. MacVean finds himself riding backwards atop a potbelly pig that bucks and kicks its way down the hall, knocking over a china cabinet in the process. One woman with terminal cancer earnestly wants to know where pets go when they pass away—will her beloved cat and dog join her in the afterlife? Navigating the finer elements of human and animal interaction isn’t easy. Here, MacVean provides a glimpse into his experience with such relationships, always looking for the humor and light of every situation.With never a dull moment, his dedication to the animals of this earth and compassion for their human caretakers drives MacVean onward, from house to house, from patient to patient. This heartwarming collection of stories brings readers along for the ride, getting to know the curious creatures he treats and their perhaps sometimes even more curious humans. My Patients Like Treats is the perfect book for animal lovers or those who simply appreciate a good story.

    Thus begins a five-year journey into the culture of one of the world’s oldest delicacies. Walsh’s through-the-looking-glass adventure takes him from oyster reefs to oyster bars and from corporate boardrooms to hotel bedrooms in a quest for the truth about the world’s most profitable aphrodisiac.On the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf coasts of the U.S., as well as the Canadian Maritimes, Ireland, England, and France, the author ingests thousands of oysters—raw, roasted, barbecued, and baked—all for the sake of making a fair comparison. He also considers the merits of a wide variety of accompanying libations, including tart white wines in Paris, Guinness in Galway, martinis in London, microbrews in the Pacific Northwest, and tequila in Texas.Sex, Death and Oysters is a record of a gastronomic adventure with illustrations and recipes—a fascinating collection of the most exciting, instructive, poignant, and just plain weird experiences on a trip into the world of the most beloved and feared of all seafoods.

    This friendly guide answers all your questions, from setting up your tank and selecting fish to the water, chemicals, plants, and much more. There's also expanded guidance on combining different species of fish, maintaining a tank, cleaning gravel, and dealing with common problems such as algae. Discover how to * Choose the right aquarium * Select the best fish * Get good deals on equipment * Maintain a clean, healthy environment * Handle tank pitfalls * Breed your fish

    Nesheim, Ph.D., a Cornell animal nutrition expert, to write Feed Your Pet Right, the first complete, research-based guide to selecting the best, most healthful foods for your cat or dog.Human nutrition expert and author of the critically acclaimed What to Eat, Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., has joined forces with Malden C. Nesheim, Ph.D., a Cornell animal nutrition expert, to write Feed Your Pet Right, the first complete, research-based guide to selecting the best, most healthful foods for your cat or dog. A comprehensive and objective look at the science behind pet food, it tells a fascinating story while evaluating the range of products available and examining the booming pet food industry and its marketing practices. Drs. Nestle and Nesheim also present the results of their unique research into this sometimes secretive industry. Through conversations with pet food manufacturers and firsthand observations, they reveal how some companies have refused to answer questions or permit visits. The authors also analyze food products, basic ingredients, sources of ingredients, and the optimal ways to feed companion animals. In this engaging narrative, they explain how ethical considerations affect pet food research and product development, how pet foods are regulated, and how companies influence veterinary training and advice. They conclude with specific recommendations for pet owners, the pet food industry, and regulators. A road map to the most nutritious diets for cats and dogs, Feed Your Pet Right is sure to be a reference classic to which all pet owners will turn for years to come.

    Army veterinarian Elliott Garber comes a thrilling short story that illustrates the unique role of canine warriors as they work side by side with elite Special Operations troops to keep us safe.This compelling tale of a military dog and his veterinarian is the perfect length for a lunchtime read or literary nightcap and will leave you begging for more.

    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.