But now, suddenly, the turtles are dying, ravaged by a mysterious plague that some biologists consider the most serious epidemic now raging in the natural world. Perhaps most important, sea turtles aren't the only marine creatures falling prey to deadly epidemics. Over the last few decades diseases have been burning through nearshore waters around the world with unprecedented lethality. What is happening to the sea turtle, and how can it be stopped? In this fascinating scientific detective story, Osha Gray Davidson tracks the fervent efforts of the extraordinary and often quirky scientists, marine biologists, veterinarians, and others racing against the clock to unravel a complicated biological and environmental puzzle and keep the turtles from extinction. He follows the fates of particular turtles, revealing their surprisingly distinct personalities and why they inspire an almost spiritual devotion in the humans who come to know them. He also explores through vivid historical anecdotes and examples the history of man's relationship to the sea, opening a window onto the role played by humans in the increasing number of marine die-offs and extinctions. Beautifully written, intellectually provocative, Fire in the Turtle House reveals how emerging diseases wreaking havoc in the global ocean pose an enormous, direct threat to humanity. This is science journalism at its best.

    Experienced birders use the most easily observed characteristics — size, structure, behavior, and general color patterns — to identify birds even before looking carefully at plumage details. Now birders at all levels can learn how to identify shorebirds quickly and simply. This guide includes more than 870 stunning color photographs, starting with a general impression of the species and progressing to more detailed images of the bird throughout its life cycle. Quiz questions in the captions will engage and challenge all birders and help them benefit from this simplified, commonsense approach to identification.

    Written by a team of experts and featuring more than 320 illustrations, 418 photographs, and 123 maps, this new guide offers more authoritative, up-to-date, and accessible information than any book previously published on the subject.Organized by the four major groups of marine mammals—marine fissipeds, pinnipeds, cetaceans, and sirenians—the species descriptions include:Full-color paintings, some depicting males and females, juveniles, subspecies, or special features. Color photographs showing appearance in the wild and illustrating typical behaviors. Life history data, including length and weight at various life stages, and life span. Range and habitat text and a full-color range map based on the most current information. Facts about social organization, surface behaviors, swimming, and diving. Information on mating behavior, breeding, and the rearing of young. Details about food items and foraging techniques. Estimates of population in the wild, plus current and historic threats.A general introduction outlines the evolution and taxonomy of marine mammals, distribution, migration, watching guidelines, identification techniques, organizations and laws that protect marine mammals, and more.Introductions to groups include comparative size illustrations, discussion of behaviors particular to the group, and other unique features.A useful illustrated glossary of terms and an index of species names complete the guide.Exquisitely detailed illustrations, stunning photographs, and clearly written text combine to make this an indispensible reference source for marine mammal watchers and anyone interested in the natural world.

    The book is also ideal for university and third-level physics or engineering courses on solar photovoltaics, with exercises to check students' understanding and reinforce learning. It is the perfect companion to the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Solar Energy (DelftX, ET.3034TU) presented by co-author Arno Smets. The course is available in English on the nonprofit open source edX.org platform, and in Arabic on edraak.org. Over 100,000 students have already registered for these MOOCs.

    With the help of a beguiling mix of illustrated optical illusions and puzzles, anecdotes, mathematics, and philosophy, Ings reveals age-old mysteries from how humans perceive color to Woody Allen's ability to raise the inner corners of his eyebrows." A Natural History of Seeing delves into both the evolution of sight and the evolution of our understanding of sight. It gives us the natural science - the physics of light and the biology of animals and humans alike - while also addressing Leonardo da Vinci's theories of perception in painting and Homer's confused and strangely limited sense of color. Panoramic in every sense, it reaches back to the first seers (and to ancient beliefs that vision is the product of mysterious optic rays) and forward to the promise of modern experiments in making robots that see.

    The book also provides a balanced presentation of time-varying and static fields, preparingstudents for employment in today's industrial and manufacturing sectors. Streamlined to facilitate student understanding, this edition features worked examples in every chapter that explain how to use the theory presented in the text to solve different kinds of problems. Numerical methods, including MATLAB and vector analysis, are also included to help students analyzesituations that they are likely to encounter in industry practice. Elements of Electromagnetics, Fifth Edition, is designed for introductory undergraduate courses in electromagnetics.

    Designed for divers, it makes it easy to identify the myriad fishes that inhabit the waters of Florida, the Caribbean, Bahamas and Brazil.

    Generating cataclysmic volcanic eruptions and large earthquakes, the hotspot helped lift the Yellowstone Plateau to more than 7,000 feet and pushed the northern Rockies to new heights, forming unusually large glaciers to carve the landscape. It also created the jewel of the U.S. national park system: Yellowstone. Meanwhile, forces stretching apart the western U.S. created the mountainous glory of Grand Teton National Park. These two parks, with their majestic mountains, dazzling geysers, and picturesque hot springs, are windows into the Earth's interior, revealing the violent power of the dynamic processes within. Smith and Siegel offer expert guidance through this awe-inspiring terrain, bringing to life the grandeur of these geologic phenomena as they reveal the forces that have shaped--and continue to shape--the greater Yellowstone-Teton region. Over seventy illustrations--including fifty-two in full color--illuminate the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, while two final chapters provide driving tours of the parks to help visitors enjoy and understand the regions wonders. Fascinating and informative, this book affords us a striking new perspective on Earth's creative forces.

    Wilson has scrutinized animals in their natural settings, tweezing out the dynamics of their social organization, their relationship with their environments, and their behavior, not only for what it tells us about the animals themselves, but for what it can tell us about human nature and our own behavior. He has brought the fascinating and sometimes surprising results of these studies to general readers through a remarkable collection of books, including The Diversity of Life, The Ants, On Human Nature, and Sociobiology. The grace and precision with which he writes of seemingly complex topics has earned him two Pulitzer prizes, and the admiration of scientists and general readers around the world.In Search of Nature presents for the first time a collection of the seminal short writings of Edward O. Wilson, addressing in brief and eminently readable form the themes that have actively engaged this remarkable intellect throughout his career.""The central theme of the essays is that wild nature and human nature are closely interwoven. I argue that the only way to make complete sense of either is by examining both closely and together as products of evolution.... Human behavior is seen not just as the product of recorded history, ten thousand years recent, but of deep history, the combined genetic and cultural changes that created humanity over hundreds of thousands of years. We need this longer view, I believe, not only to understand our species, but more firmly to secure its future.The book is composed of three sections. ""Animal Nature, Human Nature"" ranges from serpents to sharks to sociality in ants. It asks how and why the universal aversion to snakes might have evolved in humans and primates, marvels at the diversity of the world's 350 species of shark and how their adaptive success has affected our conception of the world, and admonishes us to ""be careful of little lives""-to see in the construction of insect social systems ""another grand experiment in evolution for our delectation.""The Patterns of Nature"" probes at the foundation of sociobiology, asking what is the underlying genetic basis of social behavior, and what that means for the future of the human species. Beginning with altruism and aggression, the two poles of behavior, these essays describe how science, like art, adds new information to the accumulated wisdom, establishing new patterns of explanation and inquiry. In ""The Bird of Paradise: The Hunter and the Poet,"" the analytic and synthetic impulses-exemplified in the sciences and the humanities-are called upon to give full definition to the human prospect.""Nature's Abundance"" celebrates biodiversity, explaining its fundamental importance to the continued existence of humanity. From ""The Little Things That Run the World""-invertebrate species that make life possible for everyone and everything else-to the emergent belief of many scientists in the human species' possible innate affinity for other living things, known as biophilia, Wilson sets forth clear and compelling reasons why humans should concern themselves with species loss. ""Is Humanity Suicidal?"" compares the environmentalist's view with that of the exemptionalist, who holds that since humankind is transcendent in intelligence and spirit, our species must have been released from the iron laws of ecology that bind all other species. Not without optimism, Wilson concludes that we are smart enough and have time enough to avoid an environmental catastrophe of civilization-threatening dimensions-if we are willing both to redirect our science and technology and to reconsider our self-image as a species.In Search of Nature is a lively and accessible introduction to the writings of one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century. Imaginatively illustrated by noted artist Laura Southworth, it is a book all readers will treasure."

    In Where There's a Will, Stephen M. Silverman shows just how different with a peek at the wills of the richest, most celebrated people of all time, and he provides the intimate scoop on what their heirs had to say about it. Discover what secret pact Clark Gable made in 1942 and took to his grave - only to be exposed when his will was read. Learn why it took more than a year for Liza Minnelli to raise the $37,500 needed to bury the ashes of her mother, Judy Garland, and what treasures were left to the heirs of Babe Ruth, James Dean, John Jacob Astor, Ernest Hemingway, and Ayn Rand once those wills cleared probate. From Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol to John Lennon, Jim Morrison, John Steinbeck, Rita Hayworth, and Jack Dempsey, Where There's a Will . . . is an utterly engrossing read sure to captivate tycoons and gossip addicts alike with its fascinating tales of how the other half bequeaths.

    Robin Moore has a passion for frogs and a fascination with finding new and "lost" species. In 2010, he spearheaded the worldwide "Search for Lost Frogs" campaign, which coordinated the efforts of 33 teams of scientists in 19 countries on five continents in a quest to find 100 species of amphibian not seen in over a decade."In Search of Lost Frogs" is a stunning record of Moore's journey and what he and his team did (or did not) find. The book is overflowing with exquisite close-up photographs by Moore that display the frogs' remarkable coloring and camouflage, and reveal their diminutive size -- many of the frogs are less than 5 cm long, if that. Moore's engaging text tells the story of the expedition, its highs and lows, discoveries and failures, and the campaign's ongoing work.The book's first half covers what frogs do for the health of the planet, the slippery slope of extinction, what is being done to monitor frog populations and find lost species, the Lazarus project (which aims to "revive" lost species) and the author's career-long resolve to find the Mesopotamia Beaked Toad.The second half of the book is about the searches. Moore describes the struggles, victories and dangers as well as the science. He takes readers along as his team trudge through rainforest, climb mountains and paddle rivers in search of the lost frogs, some not seen for more than a century. He tells a story of perseverance, disappointment, rediscovery, resilience, but ultimately of hope, written with passion and illustrated with superb photographs. And a surprise ending: they found 15 lost frogs.They include: In Ecuador, the Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad, not seen since 1995 In Haiti, six rediscoveries, including the Ventriloquial Frog and Mozart's Frog, both lost for 20 years In India, the Dehradun Stream Frog, last seen (and only once) in 1985; the Elegant Tree Frog (1937); the Chalazodes Bubble Nest Frog (1874); the Anamalai Dot-Frog (1938) In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Omaniundu Reed Frog (1979) In Ivory Coast, the Mount Nimba Reed Frog (1967).Naturalists, lovers of all things frog, schools and interested general readers will enjoy the stunning photographs, the science and the adventurous stories of discovery.

    But it was not reels of wool or bales of cotton that awaited him, but plants and seeds…Over the next forty years, Bartram would send hundreds of American species to England, where Collinson was one of a handful of men who would foster a national obsession and change the gardens of Britain forever, introducing lustrous evergreens, fiery autumn foliage and colourful shrubs. They were men of wealth and taste but also of knowledge and experience like Philip Miller, author of the bestselling Gardeners Dictionary, and the Swede Carl Linnaeus, whose standardised botanical nomenclature popularised botany as a genteel pastime for the middle-classes; and the botanist-adventurer Joseph Banks and his colleague Daniel Solander who both explored the strange flora of Tahiti and Australia on the greatest voyage of discovery of modern times, Captain Cook’s Endeavour.This is the story of these men – friends, rivals, enemies, united by a passion for plants – whose correspondence, collaborations and squabbles make for a riveting human tale which is set against the backdrop of the emerging empire, the uncharted world beyond and London as the capital of science. From the scent of the exotic blooms in Tahiti and Botany Bay to the gardens at Chelsea and Kew, and from the sounds and colours of the streets of the City to the staggering vistas of the Appalachian mountains, The Brother Gardeners tells the story of how Britain became a nation of gardeners.

    Despite its title, it's not wild ranting pseudo-science to be dismissed by those with brains. Rather, Amdahl maintains that one need not understand quantum physics to grasp how electricity works in practical applications. To understand your toaster or your fax machine, it doesn't really matter whether there are electrons or not, and it's a lot easier and more fun to start with the toaster than with quarks and calculus. The book is mildly weird, often funny, always clear and easy to understand. It assumes the reader doesn't know a volt from a hole in the ground and gently leads him or her through integrated circuits, radio, oscillators and the basics of the digital revolution using examples that include green buffalo, microscopic beer parties, break-dancing chickens and naked Norwegian girls in rowboats. OK, it's more than mildly weird.The book has been reprinted numerous times since 1991 and has achieved minor cult status. Reviewed and praised in dozens of electronics and educational magazines, it is used as a text by major corporations, colleges, high schools, military schools and trade schools. It has been studied by education programs at colleges across the United States. This book was making wise cracks in the corner before anyone thought of designing books for dummies and idiots; some say it helped to inspire that industry.It may be the only "introduction to electronics books" with back cover comments by Dave Barry, Ray Bradbury, Clive Cussler, and George Garrett, as well as recomendations from Robert Hazen, Bob Mostafapour, Dr. Roger Young, Dr. Wayne Green, Scott Rundle, Brian Battles, Michelle Guido, Herb Reichert and Emil Venere. As Monitoring Times said, "Perhaps the best electronics book ever. If you'd like to learn about basic electronics but haven't been able to pull it off, get There Are No Electrons. Just trust us. Get the book."

    With each step, the landscape he traversed became richer, suggesting deeper and deeper aspects of astronomy, history, biology, and literature, and making the path universal in scope. His insights inspire us to turn out local paths-- whether through cities, suburbs, or rural areas-- into portals to greater understanding of our interconnectedness with nature and history.

    The new edition offers a wealth of new information, especially in the areas of taxonomy, genomics, plant hormones, and Arabidopsis research.