Book picks similar to
Collecting Rocks, Gems and Minerals: Identification, Values, Lapidary Uses by Patti Polk
non-fiction
science
geology
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Gardening All-In-One for Dummies
National Gardening AssociationBill Marken - 2003
From the balconies of Manhattan to the patios of Malibu to the backyards of Chicago, anybody with a few square feet of earth is doing their best to make their little corner of the world more gracious and beautiful. And the best thing is, you really don't have to be born with a green thumb to give life to a glorious garden. Anybody can do it with a little coaching. Which is where Gardening All-in-One For Dummies comes in.Puzzled by pruning? Baffled by bulbs? Can't tell a hosta from a hyacinth? Don't worry! This all-in-one reference delivers the know-how you need to transform your little patch of the outdoors into a blooming paradise. Drawing upon the expertise of the National Gardening Association, it gets you up to speed on:Basic gardening skills--from understanding your microclimate to using gardening tools to managing pests and common plant diseases How to design, plan and build a garden landscape that reflects your unique sense of style Selecting, planting and maintaining stunning roses Building a raised bed for your perennials and making them bloom in any climate Choose, grow and maintain annuals From amaryllis to spider dahlias to wood tulips--coaxing beauty from homely bulbs Enjoying nature's bounty by growing you own vegetables and herbs A veritable encyclopedia of gardening, this Gardening All-in-One For Dummies is an indispensable resource for novices and experienced gardeners alike. It brings together between the covers of a single volume seven great books covering:Gardening Basics Garden Design Roses Perennials Annuals Bulbs Vegetables and Herbs Your one-step guide to a beautiful garden, Gardening All-in-One For Dummies shows you how to experience the "purest of human pleasures" in your own backyard.
Air Fry Everything: Foolproof Recipes for Fried Favorites and Easy Fresh Ideas by Blue Jean Chef, Meredith Laurence (The Blue Jean Chef)
Meredith Laurence - 2017
Created by The Blue Jean Chef, Meredith Laurence, Air Fry Everything offers over 130 all new, flavor-bursting recipes, including restaurant makeovers, like Blooming Onions, Beer Battered Onion Rings, Chicken Wings, Shrimp Egg Rolls, and Skinny Fries, and turns them into healthy and crunchy, lower calorie alternatives. Additional recipes include Parmesan Chicken Fingers, Fish and "Chips," Cherry Chipotle Chicken Wings, Crab Cakes, Coconut Shrimp, Fried Cauliflower with Parmesan Lemon Dressing, homemade potato chips, Boston Cream Donut Holes, and much more.Your air fryer can create more than "fried" foods, and Air Fry Everything gives you recipes for that too including Marinated Rib-Eye Steak with Herb Roasted Mushrooms, Inside Out Cheeseburgers, Honey Mesquite Pork Chops, Maple Balsamic Salmon, Roasted Vegetable Stromboli and Mini Molten Chocolate Cake, just to name a few. Plus foolproof recipes for making perfect bacon, roasting garlic, toasting nuts and creating crispy tortilla chips.As always Meredith also provides tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your air fryer, plus how to cook your favorite frozen foods without all the added oil that goes along with deep-frying. Air Fry Everything is the must-have cookbook for anyone who owns an air fryer.
Time Traveler: In Search of Dinosaurs and Other Fossils from Montana to Mongolia
Michael Novacek - 2002
WilsonMichael Novacek, a renowned paleontologist who has discovered important fossils on virtually every continent, is an authority on patterns of evolution and on the relationships among extinct and extant organisms. Time Traveler is his captivating account of how his boyhood enthusiasm for dinosaurs became a lifelong commitment to vanguard science. Novacek writes of the alluring perils of fieldwork with affection and discernment, and he illuminates the most exciting issues in paleontology today.
Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field
John Lewis-Stempel - 2014
In exquisite prose, John Lewis-Stempel records the passage of the seasons from cowslips in spring to the hay-cutting of summer and grazing in autumn, and includes the biographies of the animals that inhabit the grass and the soil beneath: the badger clan, the fox family, the rabbit warren, the skylark brood and the curlew pair, among others. Their births, lives, and deaths are stories that thread through the book from first page to last.In Meadowland Lewis-Stempel does for meadows what Roger Deakin did for woodland and rivers in his bestselling books Wildwood and Waterlog.
Designing Clinical Research
Stephen B. Hulley - 1988
This edition incorporates current research methodology—including molecular and genetic clinical research—and offers an updated syllabus for conducting a clinical research workshop.Emphasis is on common sense as the main ingredient of good science. The book explains how to choose well-focused research questions and details the steps through all the elements of study design, data collection, quality assurance, and basic grant-writing. All chapters have been thoroughly revised, updated, and made more user-friendly.
Ancient Inventions
Peter James - 1994
But as the authors of this fascinating and eye-opening book reveal, some of humankind's most important and most amazing inventions actually date back thousands of years. Historian Peter James and archaeologist Nick Thorpe have pooled their expertise in amassing this compendium of human ingenuity through the ages. Together they conclusively prove that our ancestors, however long ago they lived and whatever part of the globe they occupied, were brilliant problem-solvers. Written with the pure joy of discovery, Ancient Inventions reveals that:* Medieval Baghdad had an efficient postal service, banks, and a paper mill.* Rudimentary calendars were being used in France as early as 13,000 B.C.* Apartment condominiums rose in deserts of the American Southwest a thousand years ago.* The ancient Greeks used an early form of computer.* Plastic surgery was being performed in India by the first century B.C.* The Egyptians knew about effective contraceptives.* Flamethrowers were used in battles waged in tenth-century China.Brimming with odd facts and entertaining curiosities, written with zest and humor, comprehensive and fun to read, Ancient Inventions is a wonderful celebration of the endless inventiveness of the human mind."This presentation of the discoveries and innovations of the ancients will fascinate."--Booklist"Thoroughly researched...It is doubtful that anyone could examine [this book] without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas."--Library JournalAN ALTERNATE SELECTION OF THE QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB AND THE NATURAL SCIENCE BOOK CLUB
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
Mary Roach - 2021
The answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and "danger tree" faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to "problem" wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.
Titan Unveiled: Saturn's Mysterious Moon Explored
Ralph Lorenz - 2002
Titan Unveiled is one of the first general interest books to reveal the startling new discoveries that have been made since the arrival of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan.Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton take readers behind the scenes of this mission. Launched in 1997, Cassini entered orbit around Saturn in summer 2004. Its formidable payload included the Huygens probe, which successfully parachuted down through Titan's atmosphere in early 2005, all the while transmitting images and data--and scientists were startled by what they saw. One of those researchers was Lorenz, who gives an insider's account of the scientific community's first close encounter with an alien landscape of liquid methane seas and turbulent orange skies. Amid the challenges and frayed nerves, new discoveries are made, including methane monsoons, equatorial sand seas, and Titan's polar hood. Lorenz and Mitton describe Titan as a world strikingly like Earth and tell how Titan may hold clues to the origins of life on our own planet and possibly to its presence on others.Generously illustrated with many stunning images, Titan Unveiled is essential reading for anyone interested in space exploration, planetary science, or astronomy.-- "Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin"
Bad Science
Ben Goldacre - 2008
When Dr Ben Goldacre saw someone on daytime TV dipping her feet in an 'Aqua Detox' footbath, releasing her toxins into the water, turning it brown, he thought he'd try the same at home. 'Like some kind of Johnny Ball cum Witchfinder General', using his girlfriend's Barbie doll, he gently passed an electrical current through the warm salt water. It turned brown. In his words: 'before my very eyes, the world's first Detox Barbie was sat, with her feet in a pool of brown sludge, purged of a weekend's immorality.' Dr Ben Goldacre is the author of the Bad Science column in the Guardian. His book is about all the 'bad science' we are constantly bombarded with in the media and in advertising. At a time when science is used to prove everything and nothing, everyone has their own 'bad science' moments from the useless pie-chart on the back of cereal packets to the use of the word 'visibly' in cosmetics ads.
Molecular Biotechnology: Principles & Applications of Recombinant DNA
Bernard R. Glick - 1994
The latest edition offers greatly expanded coverage of directed mutagenesis and protein engineering, therapeutic agents, and genetic engineering of plants. Updated chapters reflect recent developments in biotechnology and the societal issues related to it, such as cloning, gene therapy, and patenting and releasing genetically engineered organisms. Over 480 figures, including 200 that are new in this edition, illustrate all key concepts. "Milestones" summarize important research papers in the history of biotechnology and their effects on the field. As in previous editions, the authors clearly explain all concepts and techniques to provide maximum understanding of the subject, avoiding confusing scientific jargon and excessive detail wherever possible. Each chapter concludes with a summary, references, and review questions. Ideally suited as a text for third- and fourth-year undergraduates as well as graduate students, this book is also an excellent reference for health professionals, scientists, engineers, or attorneys interested in biotechnology.
Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
Clay Shirky - 2010
For decades, technology encouraged people to squander their time and intellect as passive consumers. Today, tech has finally caught up with human potential. In Cognitive Surplus, Internet guru Clay Shirky forecasts the thrilling changes we will all enjoy as new digital technology puts our untapped resources of talent and goodwill to use at last. Since we Americans were suburbanized and educated by the postwar boom, we've had a surfeit of intellect, energy, and time-what Shirky calls a cognitive surplus. But this abundance had little impact on the common good because television consumed the lion's share of it-and we consume TV passively, in isolation from one another. Now, for the first time, people are embracing new media that allow us to pool our efforts at vanishingly low cost. The results of this aggregated effort range from mind expanding-reference tools like Wikipedia-to lifesaving-such as Ushahidi.com, which has allowed Kenyans to sidestep government censorship and report on acts of violence in real time. Shirky argues persuasively that this cognitive surplus-rather than being some strange new departure from normal behavior-actually returns our society to forms of collaboration that were natural to us up through the early twentieth century. He also charts the vast effects that our cognitive surplus- aided by new technologies-will have on twenty-first-century society, and how we can best exploit those effects. Shirky envisions an era of lower creative quality on average but greater innovation, an increase in transparency in all areas of society, and a dramatic rise in productivity that will transform our civilization. The potential impact of cognitive surplus is enormous. As Shirky points out, Wikipedia was built out of roughly 1 percent of the man-hours that Americans spend watching TV every year. Wikipedia and other current products of cognitive surplus are only the iceberg's tip. Shirky shows how society and our daily lives will be improved dramatically as we learn to exploit our goodwill and free time like never before.
The Old Farmer's Almanac 2021
Old Farmer's Almanac - 2020
Always timely, topical, and distinctively “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor,” the Almanac is consulted daily by users from all walks of life, throughout the year. The 2021 edition contains the fun facts, predictions, and feature items that have made it a cultural icon: traditionally 80 percent–accurate weather forecasts; notable astronomical events and time-honored astrological dates; horticultural, culinary, fashion, and other trends; historical hallmarks; best fishing days; time- and money-saving garden advice; recipes for refreshment; facts on folklore, farmers, home remedies, and husbandry; amusements and contests, plus too much more to mention—all in the inimitable way that the Almanac has done since 1792. • Beloved by generations for being “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor,” The Old Farmer’s Almanac features everything under the Sun, including its much-in-demand long-range weather predictions, essential astronomical timetables, 2021 holidays, fascinating trends, best fishing days, valuable gardening information, tantalizing recipes, fun folklore, amusements, contests, and much more! • Exclusive: 32 reference pages, covering such popular topics as full Moon names, hurricane names, flowers that attract birds and butterflies, U.S./metric measurement conversions, and many more! • Easy-to-read edition, with crisp, white paper and larger type than the regular paperback version • Includes 112 full-color pages • Hard cover with dust jacket helps to protect the pages—a plus for those who collect the Almanac each year!
Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth
William Bryant Logan - 1995
Whether William Bryant Logan is traversing the far reaches of the cosmos or plowing through our planet’s crust, his delightful, elegant, and surprisingly soulful meditations greatly enrich our concept of "dirt," that substance from which we all arise and to which we all must return.
Container Gardening Season by Season (The Weekend Gardener Series)
Gloria Daniels - 2013
Whether you are growing plants in hanging baskets, tubs, window boxes or other containers this hobby is immensely gratifying. If you are new to container gardening and buy your containers pre-planted, you get a sense of instant gratification and fulfillment. It won't be long however, before you are hit with the gardening virus and you'll find yourself expanding to one more pot and then again, one more container. Before you know it, the urge to plant and nurture will take over. At this point, you need a garden plan for your container garden.
Use this monthly container gardening checklist to keep your containers at peak performance.
When do I plant spring bulbs in containers?
When do I perk up my annual plantings with some new varieties?
What do I do with container plants I want to save over winter?
These and many other questions are answered in this container gardening book. At the beginning of the month, check out the tasks and tips on the schedule. You may find items you never thought of and may also learn techniques used by professional gardeners and landscapers that will make your container gardens the envy of the neighborhood. Scroll up and pick up this book today and give your patio, pool, and porch just the pizzazz it needs to perk up your landscaping plans.