Earth Sciences, Geography & Environment Books

Book SynopsisA fascinating exploration of lakes around the world.Trade Review"'There is nothing like a lake to reflect and reveal the world.' So declares ecologist Curt Stager, whose lyrical evocation of ‘living waters’ offers geological and biological revelations." -- Nature

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Book Synopsis"Possibly the best book on racing tactics ever written." —Ted Jones, Dolphin Book Club News

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Book Synopsis"[An] extraordinary book. . . . Mr. Gould is an exceptional combination of scientist and science writer. . . . He is thus exceptionally well placed to tell these stories, and he tells them with fervor and intelligence."—James Gleick, New York Times Book ReviewTrade Review"There is no question about the historical importance of the Burgess Shale, and Gould is right when he says that it deserves a place in the public consciousness along with big bangs and black holes. . . . A compelling story, told with characteristic verve." -- Richard A. Fortey - Nature"Gould at his best. . . . The message of history is superbly conveyed. . . . Recommended reading for scientists and nonscientists of all persuasions." -- Walter C. Sweet - Science

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Book SynopsisThis is the first major book to present a comprehensive overview of the current state of extinction studies. At the end of the journey, Raup has put forward the best science of the day to answer the question posed by the title: Bad genes or bad luck?Trade Review"An eminently entertaining and informative read." -- Malcolm W. Browne - New York Times Book Review"A delightful little book about life on this planet and about extinctions, in particular. It is as much about the philosophy and methodology of science as about the downside of evolution." -- Clark R. Chapman, Planetary Science InstituteTable of ContentsPart 1 Almost all species are extinct: is extinction important? bad genes or bad luck? the nature of extinction; who studies extinction? a word about the word; species defined; the purpose of extinction, if any. Part 2 A brief history of life: origin of life; complex life; the quality of the fossil record; 600 million years of fussing; a stock market analogy; trilobite eyes; tropical reefs; flying reptiles; human evolution; living fossils. Part 3 Gambler's ruin and other problems: gambling; concepts of randomness; gambling for survival; differing extinction and speciation rates; skewed histograms; other models; a note on extinction of surnames. Part 4 Mass extinctions: the K-T mass extinction; measuring extinction; a note on killing; duration of mass extinctions; do mass extinctions differ from background; the kill curve. Part 5 Selectivity of extinction: Ice Age Blitzkrieg; selectivity of the Blitzkrieg; body size and the K-T extinction; other examples of bias; other examples of selectivity; the Trilobites' bad genes; some implications; summary. Part 6 The search for causes: the rarity of extinction; just so stories; beware of anthropomorphism!; the kill curve revisited. Part 7 Biological causes of extinction: are species and ecosystems fragile? the case of the heath hen; importance of the first strike; problems of small populations; competition; species-area effects; species-area and past extinctions; the great American interchange; the history of tropical rain forests. Part 8 Physical causes of extinction: traditional favourites; sea level and climate; species-area effects; testing sea level and climate; the Pleistocene experience; exotic physical causes; unheard-of volcanism; cosmic causes. Part 9 Rocks falling out of the sky: cratering rates; destructive power; Alvarez and the K-T extinction; periodicity of extinction and nemesis. Part 10 Could all the extinctions be caused by meteorite impact? plausibility arguments; arguments from observation; extinctions are linked to craters; extinctions are not linked to craters; assessment. Part 11 Perspectives on extinction: how to become extinct; wanton extinction; the role of extinction in evolution; bad genes or bad luck?; a note on extinctions today. Epilogue: did we choose a safe planet?.

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Book Synopsis"A River Lost is superbly reported and written with clarity, insight, and great skill."—Washington Post Book WorldTrade Review"Harden's bold and well-supported commentary is a welcome addition to the literature of the majestic river."

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Book SynopsisA vivid tour of the Earth's last frontier, a remote and mysterious realm that nonetheless lies close to the heart of even the most land-locked reader.Trade Review"Anyone who loves the sea should read this book." -- Sebastian Junger"Mapping the Deep immediately surfaces at the top of the list of journalistic treatments of oceanography…The book opened my eyes to numerous wonders." -- Richard Strickland - American Scientist"The best account of discovery in oceanography I've ever read." -- Laurence Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute"Robert Kunzig is a creator of what oceanographer Harry Hess once referred to as 'geopoetry.' He covers vast tracts of time and space and makes his subjects electrifying." -- Richard Ellis - The Times of London"When you head for the coast this summer, leave that trashy beach novel at home. Instead, pack Robert Kunzig's book. Because just beyond your rental cottage lies the restless sea, where three-mile-tall mountain ranges criss-cross the ocean floor, and deep trenches harbor mysterious creatures…The book is easy to read, and will bring you up to date on the startling discoveries oceanographers have made during the past few decades." -- Phillip Manning - The News and Observer"Most writing about the sea, even in the scientific literature, addresses only coastal or continental shelf phenomena, and I value this book for its almost exclusive attention to the neglected deep oceans." -- Alan Longhurst - Nature

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Book Synopsis"A good story and first-rate social science."—New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisA fascinating account of the early days of Antarctic exploration from an expert storyteller.

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Book Synopsis"A great treasure-trove of daunting human courage, frailty, and persistence in the face of the unknown."—Library JournalTrade Review"Points Unknown celebrates crampons, testosterone and the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. I was gripped." Sara Wheeler, The Daily Telegraph - "This is a great volume, perfect for the armchair adventurer." The Sunday Times

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Book SynopsisNail-biting true adventure.--Kirkus ReviewsTrade Review"Henderson gives an exciting account of the pair's adventures on various explorations in which high dangers, privation, starvation, scurvy and icy death all play a part." Roy Herbert, New Scientist"

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Book SynopsisThe ultimate weather book for the weather enthusiast or anyone interested in the oddities and extremes of nature.Trade Review"...this book virtually blows a gale in your face when you open it." Christopher Hirst, The Independent "Reach for Extreme Weather by Christopher Burt and you become mesmerised by the scale of hurricanes. League tables of the greatest, largest, fastest, deadliest and costliest storms across the US and the world all point to one conclusion-Katrina was no one-off event." The Times"

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Book SynopsisAn unprecedented union of scientific analysis and stunning photography illustrating the effects of climate change on the global ecosystem.Trade Review"A combination of arresting images and lucid explanations of the science of global warming and the pursuit of global cooperation in adopting new, sustainable ways of living….the coverage is clear and bracing....In the midst of sobering reportage, the authors manage to appeal to our fascination with epic challenges." -- Donna Seaman - Booklist"[A]n impressive, informative and surprisingly accessible work, leaps and bounds ahead of the half-baked analysis consumers have come to expect from the corporate media…compelling." -- Jason Zasky - Failure Magazine"Breathtaking images." -- Popular Science"A rich photographic record of a warming world." -- Peter Dizikes - Salon"[A] masterful account of the science of climate change…It will leave you both in awe of the Earth we inhabit and of the science itself, with all of its uncertainties and incomplete answers." -- Seed Magazine"[A]n inspired work… a compelling and captivating book." -- Leonard David - Space Coalition Blog"Gavin Schmidt, a NASA climatologist, has in many ways become the news media’s conscience on climate science, exposing exaggeration and opinion in climate coverage…[a] no-nonsense approach." -- Laura Shin - The New York Times

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Book Synopsis“Helen Caldicott has the rare ability to combine science with passion, logic with love, and urgency with humor.” —Naomi KleinTrade Review"Caldicott's role in the movement has always been to ring the alarm bell, and her charisma remains undimmed... The doctor is in." "God bless Helen Caldicott and her troops." "Helen Caldicott has been my inspiration to speak out." -- Meryl Streep "Caldicott is extraordinary."

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Book Synopsis[Brown's] ability to make a complicated subject accessible to the general reader is remarkable.Katherine Salant, Washington PostTrade Review"A great blueprint for combating climate change." -- Bryan Walsh - Time"Lester Brown is one of the pioneers and heroes of global environmentalism. If the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize had been extended to a third recipient, the logical candidate would have been Lester Brown." -- E. O. Wilson"Lester Brown tells us how to build a more just world and save the planet... in a practical, straightforward way. We should all heed his advice." -- Former President Bill Clinton"In this impressively researched manifesto for change, Brown bluntly sets out the challenges and offers an achievable road map for solving the climate change crisis." -- The Guardian"A great book which should wake up humankind!" -- Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum"Brown gives concise, but very informative, summaries of what he regards as the key issues facing civilization as a consequence of the stress we put on our environment.... a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate." -- The Ecologist

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Book Synopsis“Written for the sailor, not the scholar. Rousmaniere leaves out the chaff and gives us just the wheat. Astonishingly comprehensive and slender enough to carry aboard.” —Don Casey, author of This Old Boat

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Book Synopsis"Superbly reported and written with clarity, insight, and great skill." —Washington Post Book WorldTrade Review"A hard-nosed, clear-eyed, tough-minded dispatch on the sort of contentious subject that is almost always distorted by ideology or obscured by a fog of sentiment . . . . A precise and brave book." -- Hal Espen - New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisWith food supplies tightening, countries are competing for the land and water resources needed to feed their people.Trade Review"One of the world’s most influential thinkers." -- Washington Post"Lester Brown is one of the pioneers and heroes of global environmentalism." -- E. O. Wilson

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Book SynopsisIn a sublime exploration of the most unpredictable element of the earth, William Bryant Logan opens our eyes to the astonishing physics, chemistry, biology, history, art, and even music of the air.Trade Review" As with his earlier works . . . [Logan] celebrates the union of the inorganic and organic realms that nurture life. . . . Logan celebrates the atmosphere as a medium of communication—transmitting pheromones as well as sound, bird calls, music—and notes that the breath of life separates the living from the dead. " -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"[A] delightful Wunderkammer of a book. . . . Air is... a spore-world of essays, essaylets, mini-biographies, gossip, whispers, lists, prose-poems and asides. ...Cheery, chatty and compulsively curious, Mr. Logan is able to draw the reader into pretty much any subject... In this lovely book, Mr. Logan makes the air airy again." -- Robert Macfarlane - Wall Street Journal"Logan is an enjoyable companion with which to explore his subject. He is erudite and thoughtful, with an agreeable mix of the personal and scientific" -- David B. Williams - Seattle Times"Logan’s meticulously researched and engagingly presented treatise is a breath of, well, fresh air." -- Carol Haggas - Booklist (starred review)"Splendid. . . . Logan delivers vast amounts of science with brevity and elegance." -- Nature

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Book Synopsis"Randel is endlessly fascinating, and Holloway’s biography tells his life with great skill." —Steve Weinberg, USA TodayTrade Review"Marguerite Holloway has uncovered [in the life of John Randel Jr.] a quite marvelous tale, and has told it just magnificently." -- Simon Winchester, author of The Perfectionists and The Map That Changed the World"The Measure of Manhattan allows us to appreciate, for the first time, the extent to which the rationality of the grid plan can be attributed to the irrationally obsessive man who ‘affixe[d] the city to the island,’ in Holloway’s words." -- Richard Kreiner - Slate"A far more intimate experience than going to the museum…Holloway’s relationship to the city is personal, and she is aware that the city itself was made by people, for them to live in." -- Village Voice"This outstanding history of the Manhattan grid offers us a strange archaeology: part spatial adventure, part technical expedition into the heart of measurement itself, starring teams of nineteenth-century gentlemen striding across the island’s eroded mountains and wild streams, implementing a grid that would soon enough sprout skyscrapers and flatirons, Central Park and Fifth Avenue." -- Geoff Manaugh - BLDGBLOG"Marguerite Holloway brings to life the man who in a very real way made New York what it is today." -- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction"Marguerite Holloway’s portrait of the surveyor’s surveyor in his cartography-obsessed time shows us how much the physical city has changed and, most crucially, how much it hasn’t." -- Robert Sullivan, author of My American Revolution and Rats"As elegant as the maps it celebrates, Marguerite Holloway’s lively biography tells the story of the man who pinned a grid to Manhattan." -- Edward Dolnick, author of The Clockwork Universe"An enchanting web of biography and science, as magical as the grid that John Randel devised to give birth to modern Manhattan." -- Andro Linklater, author of Measuring America

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Book SynopsisAn engrossing history of the voyages of exploration that ignited curiosity about nature and gave birth to modern science.Trade Review"Ranges across 400 years of history with characters from Christopher Columbus to Charles Darwin. Shores of Knowledge explains how the curiosity of Old Europe broke free of church dogma, creating the world we inhabit today." "A unique perspective... Appleby tells it through the contributions of an array of characters-explorers, writers, collectors and early naturalists- giving the reader a sense of the progress over the centuries as seen through their eyes." -- Marcia Bartusiak "An ambitious book that covers the sweep of history from Columbus to Darwin-and finds unexpected kinship between explorers and scientists of those centuries... Fascinating!" -- Mark Anderson, author of The Day the World Discovered the Sun "An invigorating journey through time and space, shedding insight into the relationship between science and society." -- John Gribbin, author of Erwin Schrodinger and the Quantum Revolution "Like an exotic seed washed up from a distant land, Joyce Appleby's Shores of Knowledge blossoms in marvelous ways. This supple and sparkling chronicle of discovery shows why even Columbus was baffled by his myriad discoveries, and how Europeans gradually decoded the mysteries of the New World. A lucid account of cultural transmission." -- Laurence Bergreen, author of Columbus "Christopher Columbus's landing in the Western Hemisphere in 1492 marked a decisive moment in world history. But as Joyce Appleby argues in this lucid and economically written survey of scientific thought, its intellectual impact unfolded gradually. In riveting prose, she shows how American geography, peoples, flora, and fauna forced European scientists to alter their understanding of nature. Those interested in the intersection of exploration and scientific knowledge should book passage on Professor Appleby's charming, story-filled journey across the Atlantic and back again." -- Peter Mancall, author of The Fatal Journey

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Book SynopsisNatural disasters bedevil our planet, and each appears to be a unique event. Leading geologist Susan W. Kieffer shows how all disasters are connected.Trade Review"Anyone interested in the processes that underlie catastrophic events within Earth will welcome this book, part riveting and all informative." -- Nature"This book ought to be placed in the hands of politicians, engineers, insurance assessors and, frankly, anyone who sees sense in understanding the processes and systems that guide our planet." -- Geographical Magazine"...the clarity of Kieffer's writing, coupled with her careful choice of supporting graphics, makes the content engaging and accessible to a wide readership." -- Times Higher Education"...brisk and lucid presentation..." -- The Times Literary Supplement"Kieffer takes a novel approach that involves thinking about natural catastrophes in terms of changes to 'systems' that otherwise present no threat." -- BBC Focus"...Kieffer...uses her deep expertise in the physics of geological processes to give an unconventional and insightful treatment of natural hazards..." -- Physics World

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Book SynopsisSurvival narrative meets scientific, natural and social history in the riveting story of a volcanic disaster.Trade Review"With 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, this is an urgent reminder of the need for advances in the field." -- Nature"... Olson is a gifted science communicator…" -- Physics World"Steve Olson not only tells their personal stories, but also turns the tension between the science and the cultural assumptions at play on that day into a drama that reads like a tragic thriller." -- Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2016 Shortlist - UKClimbing.com"In Mr. Olson’s telling, [the survivors’] stories read like urgent fiction… These vignettes lend a human face to an event that has become associated largely with geology." -- The Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisA story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.Trade Review"Packed with fascinating details ... comprehensive and inviting." -- Wall Street Journal "Maurice Isserman is the hidden jewel of mountaineering historians. He brings a scholar's eye to the wonder and passion of the sport. Continental Divide is a sweeping chronicle of what America contributed to an adventure long dominated by the Swiss and the British, the French, Poles, Germans, Austrians, and Italians...This is a story of mountains as dreams, of land as destiny, of summits as the pinnacles of all human desire." -- Wade Davis, National Geographic "Explorer for the Millennium" and author of Into the Silence "Continental Divide represents over 300 years of American climbing history in one epic volume...Maurice Isserman takes us on this journey with equal amounts of meticulously researched facts and understated humor, critical historical context and heartbreaking human stories-all of which make for a fascinating read." -- Bernadette McDonald, author of Freedom Climbers and Brotherhood of the Rope "A thrilling and nuanced history that expands our view of exploration, revealing how mountain adventures have transformed America." -- Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan, authors of Buried in the Sky

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Book SynopsisA remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal and survival set in one of the world's most inhospitable places.Trade Review"Unravels the strange story of one of the world's greatest discoveries that never was." -- National Geographic"Polar historians will be grateful to have the Crocker Land expedition properly documented." -- . - The New York Times Book Review"The true story of the Crocker Land Expedition to find a new continent northwest of Greenland in the early 20th century." -- What We're Reading - The Independent

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Book SynopsisThe Nobel Prize–winning economist, in partnership with a leading progressive European think tank, presents a bold new economic platform to restore prosperity in Europe.Trade Review"Rewriting the Rules is a powerful statement from a group of influential writers from both sides of the Atlantic, led by one of the most eminent economists, a Nobel Prize winner and global activist. The ‘rules’ are in opposition to the once-dominant Washington Consensus, but what is most important is that they are gradually making their way into mainstream economics and policy-making. If this continues, then we can really hope to rewrite the rules both in Europe and maybe even in the USA." -- Marek Belka, former prime minister of Poland and former president of the Polish National Bank

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Book SynopsisA poignant, candid chronicle of a beloved nature writer’s fifty-year relationship with an iconic American landscape.Trade Review"Lovely and fortifying... Geologists estimate that Cape Cod will disappear in around 6,000 years... Until it goes, may there continue to be writers as good as Mr. Finch to commemorate it." -- Sam Sacks - The Wall Street Journal"[Finch] is a keen and passionate observer... [He] artfully conveys what is, at heart, so stirring about the beach: how its beauty and magisterial power cause us to ponder the larger things in life." -- The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisAn inspiring vision for restoring the soil that feeds us all and turns agriculture into a solution for environmental crises.Trade Review"How can humanity feed its burgeoning billions when one-third of agricultural soil is degraded? Pondering that question propelled geologist David Montgomery on a three-decade, six-continent survey of farmland. The insights gleaned add nuance to his pointed critiques of agrotechnology and organic farming, but it's the findings on rapid soil restoration that compel." -- Nature"Brilliant, well researched, eloquent, and deeply hopeful." -- Denis Hayes, founder of Earth Day"David Montgomery... is one of our most eloquent and precise earth science communicators... [He] has a knack for opening our minds to large, critically important questions." -- New Scientist"A wise and grounded book — restored soils are the solution." -- Jules N. Pretty, Professor of Environment and Society, University of Essex, UK"Growing a Revolution presents a clear-eyed examination of a solution to the challenges we face in feeding the world. A joy to read with the bounce and flow of a great biography. I couldn’t recommend it more." -- Jerry Harrison, keyboardist and guitarist, Talking Heads"Montgomery has written another classic. Growing a Revolution is one of the most important books ever written—an engaging and revealing service to human society and our planet." -- Amir Kassam, professor of agriculture, policy and development, University of Reading, UK"This is a such an important book... thanks to those who told me to read it... Everyone interested in what we should eat and how we should farm should read it." -- James Rebanks

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Book SynopsisA celebrated mountaineer and author searches for meaning in great adventures and explorations, past and present.Trade Review"[G]ripping ... uplifting." -- The Wall Street Journal"This encapsulating narrative pinpoints human spirit and the limitations of the human body in the world of thrilling adventure." -- Adventure Travel"... his tales are thoughtful and insightful... A thoroughly enjoyable and readable book which manages to provide food for thought as well as a healthy dose of vicarious adrenalin." -- The Scottish Mountaineer"Limits of the Known takes the reader on magnificent journeys with some of the greatest explorers of their generations. The book is meticulously researched and skilfully written." -- Climber"What will almost certainly be the last of Roberts's many books is powerful and honest testimony to a life rich in both action and self-examination." -- Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Profound in every sense of the word." -- Richard Powers, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory"An excellent book—fearless and subtle, empathic and strange." -- Dwight Garner - New York Times"Reading Macfarlane connects us to dazzling new worlds. It’s a connection that brings, more than anything else, joy." -- Barbara J. King - NPR"Remarkable…Underland may be [Macfarlane’s] masterpiece." -- Colin Thubron - New York Review of Books"One of the most ambitious works of narrative non-fiction of our age." -- William Dalrymple - Guardian"[Robert Macfarlane’s] writing is luminous, intense.…[B]rilliant notes from the underground." -- Huw Lewis-Jones - Nature"[Macfarlane] seems to metabolize landscape into lyrics as he walks." -- Rachel Riederer - Outside"Through this series of haunting descents, Macfarlane plumbs the strange and alarming ways we’ve changed the world and resurfaces with revelations about how to orient us to the future, weaving landscape and language together." -- Kate Yoder - Grist"The most impressive exercise of imagination and scholarship I’ve come across lately.…A reader never will forget this journey through geologic time." -- Tony Norman - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"With Underland Macfarlane gives us a work of nature writing for the age—and for the ages. Its eloquent but urgent prose reveals our complex relationship with nature while pushing us to think more deeply about earth’s sublime underneath." -- Amy Brady - Gizmodo

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Book SynopsisA beautifully written (The New Yorker) journey through the hidden world of elephants and their riders.Trade Review"... thought-provoking study…" -- Nature"Never truly domesticated, many elephants in South East Asia worked for humans during the day yet were let go at night to forage in the forest. Jacob Shell discusses this age-old pact between two brainy species. Even if our view of the human-animal relation is changing, the awe in which we hold elephants is amply fed by the stories and history in this fascinating book, especially those in which elephants appear to use their own judgment to solve problems in the field." -- Frans de Waal"Giants of the Monsoon Forest makes a powerfully, though subtly, persuasive case for elephants to continue as working animals. Highly readable, it should appeal to a wide audience, just as the writing of did in an earlier generation." -- Times Literary Supplement"In the end, Giants of the Monsoon Forest offers an absorbing look at the dual world of semicaptive Asian elephants and convincingly argues for the interdependence of elephants and forest protection." -- Science

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Book Synopsis“[Dan Albert] has a way of bringing automotive history to life.” —Jason Fogelson, ForbesTrade Review"From the ‘in honor and in loving memory of’ dedication at the beginning to the final car crash at the end, [Dan] Albert never loses his clever, addictively readable voice." -- Jeva Lange - Week"The classic title hints at this witty take on the history, and future, of the American automobile." -- Jane Henderson - St. Louis Post-Dispatch"No matter what the future holds, you’ll be better prepared to understand, engage with and even shape it after you read Are We There Yet?" -- Edward Niedermeyer - Drive"Dan Albert is a unique voice in American letters—a historian of the car and its culture with a driver’s passion and a sense of the absurd. His wise, funny, erudite tour of the American car and road is part memoir, part history, part polemic. All of it is necessary. It’s like taking a long drive through the twentieth century with someone who can actually identify the sights." -- Keith Gessen, author of A Terrible Country"Written in a witty and infectious style, Are We There Yet? is a briskly paced guided tour of the economic, political, geographic, environmental, and aspirational influences cars have had on Americans, and vice versa. Dan Albert makes this history interesting and relevant in its own right while showing how it bears directly on the most recent automotive frontier: the much-anticipated driverless car. He reminds us how fundamentally intertwined the automobile, the built environment, and human nature have been, and that they will remain so for the foreseeable future." -- Kevin L. Borg, author of Auto Mechanics: Technology and Expertise in Twentieth-Century America"From Henry Ford to Elon Musk, from seat belts to self-driving cars, Dan Albert takes us on a kaleidoscopic tour of the automobile’s evolution, showing us how the future of transportation cannot be understood without investigating the past." -- Nathan Bomey, author of Detroit Resurrected: To Bankruptcy and Back"[Albert’s] prose is witty and smart, self-effacing and erudite.… An extremely engaging work of narrative nonfiction for those who enjoy popular historical and technology reads." -- Library Journal (starred review)"This is a perfect narrative for gearheads, but those who spend time behind the wheel will also surely enjoy the ride." -- Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisA vibrant introduction to the science and societal impacts of disasters.

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Book SynopsisA short, fun, fierce manifesto for a fairer, more effective environmentalism (with a lot less shopping!).Trade Review"We just love Jenny Price’s new book… With robust humour, she asks how we choose the changes we make. The answers might just make a difference to all our futures." -- The People's Friend

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Book SynopsisAn exhilarating, time-travelling journey to the solar system’s strangest and most awe-inspiring volcanoes.Trade Review"Super Volcanoes sculpt the sea, land and sky, and alter the machinery of life. Join science writer Robin George Andrews on a journey from Yellowstone, Tanzania and the ocean floor on Earth to the moon, Venus and Mars. " -- New Scientist"“In Super Volcanoes, Robin George Andrews takes readers on a Cook’s tour of volcanoes near and far, fuelling a broader curiosity about our planet and its place in the solar system... Andrews’s descriptions are breezy, readily engaging the reader… He is at his best when discussing those who live in the shadow of volcanoes and, especially, the scientists who study them.”" -- Andrew H. Knoll - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe harrowing story of the most destructive American wildfire in a century.Trade Review"[Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano's] account, based on interviews with residents, firefighters and academics, is horrendous, especially the section ‘Hell’, describing the fire minute by searing minute. It confirms how humans, not nature, are responsible for disasters..." -- Andrew Robinson: Five of the Week's Best Science Picks - Nature

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Book SynopsisNew York Times Bestseller Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Library Journal Best Science and Technology Book of the Year An exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration.Trade Review"[A] gripping journey alongside the world’s feathered wanderers and the people who study them.... Brims with spectacle.... As the birds flit through these pages, but with ever less frequency through our lives, we can only hope that birders and non-birders alike take inspiration and a call to action from A World on the Wing. This is the kind of book we’ve been waiting for." -- Christian Cooper - New York Times"A World on the Wing is a paean to the beauty of data, viewed in masses, and to citizen science taking ornithology by storm.... Mr. Weidensaul offers the astonishment of birds’ travels, deep concern for their populations and hope for their future in well-measured, beautifully realized doses." -- Julie Zickefoose - Wall Street Journal"I’m not a birder, but Weidensaul persuades me that I could be, and that a greater appreciation of the movement and behaviour of migratory birds might bring me into closer contact with what it means to be a living thing on Earth.... [Weidensaul is] a master storyteller.... What emerges is an emphatic statement of confidence in nature’s resilience—a vision of nature as a force that we and our science are irrefutably a part of." -- Ashish Ghadiali - The Guardian"In vivid prose that conjures up the rich spell of each landscape, Scott Weidensaul takes us on exhilarating expeditions that crisscross the globe and travel deep into the heart of nature. For lifelong experts and backyard birders alike, he’s a superb guide to the winged marvels that share our planet and our lives." -- Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife"Scott Weidensaul, one of our finest nature writers, has produced another instant classic. In A World on the Wing he takes a pair of highly complex subjects—global patterns of bird migration, and the research into those patterns—and brings them to life with his own amazing adventures around the world. Here is proof that a book of solid science can also be a page-turner. Highly recommended for anyone curious about the natural world." -- Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guides"Weidensaul’s dispatches are fascinating. Chapter by chapter, my jaw dropped and my eyes widened. The science of bird migration has reached a golden age, and we’re lucky to have such a graceful guide. This book is instantly among my all-time favorites, and one I’ll keep to reread." -- Noah Strycker, author of Birding Without Borders"The miracle of birds meets the miracle of technology in Scott Weidensaul’s wondrous new book, A World on the Wing. While there are huge gaps in our knowledge of migration and there is despair in our race to save species, advances in technology from microscopic transmitters to agile drones are changing the equation and making the future look hopeful. This is a book you won’t want to put down." -- Jane Alexander, actress, writer and wildlife conservationist"Weidensaul addresses migratory birds’ changing reality and the scientists who work tirelessly to learn more about them and advocate on their behalf.... The plight and toughness of both birds and their human defenders will move you in lasting ways." -- BookPage, starred review"Weidensaul is a peerless guide, sharing his intoxicating passion and decadeslong experience with countless bird species all over the world.... Another winner from Weidensaul that belongs in every birder’s library." -- Kirkus, starred review"Many mysteries of bird life and migration are revealed in this compelling and illuminating in-the-field narrative complete with maps and photographs." -- Booklist, starred review

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Book SynopsisArborist William Bryant Logan recovers the lost tradition that sustained human life and culture for ten millennia.Trade Review"William Bryant Logan’s vision of a world in which humans and trees work together to mutual benefit—a world that has existed in the past and can exist again in the future—is cause for deep joy, for celebration and hope." -- Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees"... this vividly insightful exploration of tree regeneration." -- Nature

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Book SynopsisA celebrated mountaineer and author searches for meaning in great adventures and explorations, past and present.Trade Review"[G]ripping ... uplifting." -- The Wall Street Journal"This encapsulating narrative pinpoints human spirit and the limitations of the human body in the world of thrilling adventure." -- Adventure Travel"... his tales are thoughtful and insightful... A thoroughly enjoyable and readable book which manages to provide food for thought as well as a healthy dose of vicarious adrenalin." -- The Scottish Mountaineer"Limits of the Known takes the reader on magnificent journeys with some of the greatest explorers of their generations. The book is meticulously researched and skilfully written." -- Climber

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Book SynopsisBiology's great discoveries and the people who make them.

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