Natural History Books
Vintage Publishing A Less Boring History of the World
Book SynopsisRefreshes the parts other history books can't reach...A bit ropy on the Renaissance?In the dark about the Enlightenment?Or, in fact, do you need a revision course on the entire history of the world and want to read a witty, irreverent, definitely not boring romp through everything that has ever happened on planet earth from 15 billion years BC to the present day? Good.A Less Boring History of the World tells you everything you need to know from the Big Bang to Barack Obama, taking in the Byzantines, the Black Death, Bin Laden and the fall of bankers along the way, all boiled down to bite size chunks so that you can finally piece together all the different bits of history - and see how on earth we ended up in the mess we are today. A Less Boring History refreshes your memory and broadens your mind. And, if that's not enough, it will also make you laugh. A lot.
£17.09
The University of Chicago Press Wild Justice
Book SynopsisScientists have long counseled against interpreting animal behavior in terms of human emotions, warning that such anthropomorphizing limits our ability to understand animals as they really are. This book challenges this long-held view. It reveals that animals exhibit a range of moral behaviors, including fairness, empathy, trust, and reciprocity.Trade Review"This provocative and well-argued view of animal morality may surprise some readers as it challenges outdated assumptions about animals.... Written as much for other academics as for interested lay readers, this lucid book is highly recommended." - Library Journal "The authors contend that, in order to understand the moral compass by which animals live, we must first expand our definition of morality to include moral behavior unique to each species. Studies done by the authors, as well as experts in the fields of psychology, human social intelligence, zoology, and other branches of relevant science excellently bolster their claim." - Publishers Weekly "Wild Justice makes a compelling argument for open-mindedness regarding nonhuman animals." - New Scientist "Humans think of themselves as the only moral animals. But what about... the rat who refuses to shock another to earn a reward, and the magpie who grieves for her young? Cognitive animal behaviorist Bekoff and philosopher Pierce argue that nonhuman animals also are moral beings - with not just building blocks or precursors of morality but the real deal. The research gathered here makes a compelling case that it is time to reconsider yet another of the traits we have claimed as uniquely our own." - Discover"
£38.95
The University of Chicago Press Wild Justice
Book SynopsisScientists have long counseled against interpreting animal behavior in terms of human emotions, warning that such anthropomorphizing limits our ability to understand animals as they really are. This book challenges this long-held view. It reveals that animals exhibit a range of moral behaviors, including fairness, empathy, trust, and reciprocity.Trade Review"This provocative and well-argued view of animal morality may surprise some readers as it challenges outdated assumptions about animals.... Written as much for other academics as for interested lay readers, this lucid book is highly recommended." - Library Journal "The authors contend that, in order to understand the moral compass by which animals live, we must first expand our definition of morality to include moral behavior unique to each species. Studies done by the authors, as well as experts in the fields of psychology, human social intelligence, zoology, and other branches of relevant science excellently bolster their claim." - Publishers Weekly "Wild Justice makes a compelling argument for open-mindedness regarding nonhuman animals." - New Scientist "Humans think of themselves as the only moral animals. But what about... the rat who refuses to shock another to earn a reward, and the magpie who grieves for her young? Cognitive animal behaviorist Bekoff and philosopher Pierce argue that nonhuman animals also are moral beings - with not just building blocks or precursors of morality but the real deal. The research gathered here makes a compelling case that it is time to reconsider yet another of the traits we have claimed as uniquely our own." - Discover"
£17.00
The University of Chicago Press Infested How the Bed Bug Infiltrated Our
Book SynopsisIntroduces the biological histories of bed bugs, and the ways in which humans have responded to them. The author explores the history of bed bugs and their disappearance in the 1950s after the introduction of DDT, charting how current infestations have flourished in direct response to human chemical use as well as the ease of global travel.Trade Review"Our encounters with bed bugs used to be limited to wishes for a good night's sleep. But now they're everywhere - in hotels, apartments, and even subways. In her fascinating book Infested, Borel chronicles the renaissance of this frightful insect and leaves us marveling at their remarkable biology." -Carl Zimmer, author of A Planet of Viruses
£22.80
The University of Chicago Press The Naturalist in Nicaragua
Book Synopsis
£35.15
The University of Chicago Press The Better to Eat You With
Book SynopsisFrom Yellowstone's elk and wolves to rhinos living with African lions and moose coexisting with tigers and bears in Asia, this book tracks cultures of fear in animals across continents and climates, engaging readers with a stimulating combination of natural history, personal experience, and conservation.Trade Review"A very novel, important, and global view of the complex interrelationships between predators and prey. Science, culture, and practical issues meet head on, as they must, in a book that surely will change existing views about the role of fear in the evolution of behavior. Only world-renowned and indefatigable field biologist Joel Berger could pull off such a comprehensive analysis of how past and present must be studied as we try to figure out how all animals - nonhuman and human - will be able to share harmoniously our one and only planet in the future." - Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals"
£31.81
The University of Chicago Press The Book of Beetles
Book Synopsis
£52.25
The University of Chicago Press Catching Nature in the Act
Book SynopsisNatural history in the eighteenth century was many things to many people - diversion, obsession, medically or economically useful knowledge, spectacle, evidence for God's providence and wisdom, or even the foundation of all natural knowledge. This book reveals how eighteenth-century natural historians incorporated various experimental techniques.
£44.21
Royal Botanic Gardens Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World
Book SynopsisIn Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers the first fully illustrated, scientific guide to nearly all commercial herbs and spices in existence.
£47.40
The University of Chicago Press Practical Botany for Gardeners Over 3000
Book Synopsis
£22.50
The University of Chicago Press Sexy Orchids Make Lousy Lovers and Other Unusual
Book SynopsisThe natural world is full of unusual relationships, and negotiation between life-forms striving to survive is evolution at its most diverse and awe-inspiring. This title takes us on a voyage of discovery into the world of unusual natural histories, focusing on extraordinary interactions involving animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria.Trade Review"Marty Crump's book is a trawl through the whole gamut of weird animal behaviours. Watch out for spine-anointing, toad-chewing hedgehogs; tortoises that stomp the ground to draw up worms; and the mantids of the title that mate more effectively once the female has bitten off their heads. With Crump's thirty-plus years of experience in the field, this beautifully written and charmingly illustrated book combines acute observation with helpful explanation. Nature has never seemed so bizarre and splendid." - Adrian Barnett, New Scientist"
£22.00
The University of Chicago Press In Search of the Golden Frog
Book SynopsisMarty Crump has searched for salamanders along the Amazon River; surveyed amphibians and reptiles in hostile Huaorani Indian territory; and had run-ins with an electric eel, a boa constrictor and a bushmaster viper. This is a detailed chronicle of Marty Crump's adventures as a field biologist.
£22.80
The University of Chicago Press The Trilobite Book
Book SynopsisDistant relatives of modern lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders, trilobites swam the planet's prehistoric seas for 300 million years, from the Lower Cambrian to the end of the Permian eras - and they did so very capably. This is a revealing guide to these surreal arthropods of ancient Earth.Trade Review"Now at last we have a book that reveals in exquisite detail and admirable depth the nature of the most fascinating of ancient life: the trilobites.... This extraordinary group of primitive arthropods deserves wider appreciation, and I can think of no better way to find out more about them than to purchase a copy of this book, open it up, and just drink in page after page of pure trilobites." (Natural History)"
£38.00
The University of Chicago Press A History of the Garden in Fifty Tools
Book Synopsis
£25.65
The University of Chicago Press Dogs Best Friend Annals of the DogHuman
Book SynopsisIn 'Dog's Best Friend', Mark Derr provides an account of the close relationship between dogs and humans. His focus is on the cultural aspects of this relationship, in particular on the over breeding of dogs to satisfy the human ego, which he claims often undermines the mental and physical health of the dogs.
£21.85
The University of Chicago Press Natures Fabric
Book SynopsisLeaves are all around us in backyards, cascading from window boxes, even emerging from small cracks in city sidewalks given the slightest glint of sunlight. Perhaps because they are everywhere, it's easy to overlook the humble leaf, but a close look at them provides one of the most enjoyable ways to connect with the natural world. A lush, incredibly informative tribute to the leaf, Nature's Fabric offers an introduction to the science of leaves, weaving biology and chemistry with the history of the deep connection we feel with all things growing and green. Leaves come in a staggering variety of textures and shapes: they can be smooth or rough, their edges smooth, lobed, or with tiny teeth. They have adapted to their environments in remarkable, often stunningly beautiful ways from the leaves of carnivorous plants, which have tiny trigger hairs that signal the trap to close, to the impressive defense strategies some leaves have evolved to reduce their consumption. (Recent studies suggest
£31.00
The University of Chicago Press Plankton
Book SynopsisAsk anyone to picture a bird or a fish and a series of clear images will immediately come to mind. Ask the same person to picture plankton and most would have a hard time conjuring anything beyond a vague squiggle or a greyish fleck. This book explains the biological underpinnings of each species while connecting them to the larger living world.Trade Review"A stunningly beautiful work of art that is sure to draw the reader into this world typically missed by all but a few oceanographers and marine biologists." -Karen Osborn, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural HistoryTable of ContentsPrologue, by Mark Ohman Introduction. Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World What Are Plankton? Plankton and Man The Origins: Life Shapes the Planet Explosions, Extinctions, and Evolution of Life in the Ocean A Chronological History of the Planet and the Tree of Life Taxonomy and Phylogeny: Hierarchical Categorizations Organisms of All Sizes, with Different Roles and Behavior Collecting and Identifying Plankton, Then and Now Plankton of the World Villefranche-sur-Mer, France: A Bay Famous for Its Plankton Between Ecuador and Galapagos: Tara Oceans Expedition South Carolina, United States: Salt Marsh Estuaries Izu Peninsula and Shimoda, Japan: Autumn Plankton Unicellular Creatures: From the Origins of Life Bacteria, Archaea, and Viruses: Invisible but Omnipresent Unicellular Protists: Precursors of Plants and Animals Phytoplankton Coccolithophores and Foraminifera: Limestone Architects Diatoms and Dinoflagellates: Silicate or Cellulose Houses Radiolarians: Polycystines and Acantharians: Symbiosis at the Ocean Surface Ciliates, Tintinnids, and Choanoflagellates: Motility and Multicellularity Ctenophores and Cnidarians: Ancestral Forms Ctenophores: Carnivorous Comb Jellies Jellyfish: Equipped to Survive Siphonophores: The Longest Animals in the World Velella, Porpita, and Physalia: Planktonic Sailors Crustaceans and Mollusks: Champions of Diversity Crustacean Larvae: Molting and Metamorphosis Copepods to Amphipods: Variations on a Theme Phronima: Monster in a Barrel Pteropods and Heteropods: Mollusks That Swim with Their Feet Cephalopods and Nudibranchs: Beautiful Colors and Camouflage Worms and Tadpoles: Arrows, Tubes, and Nets Chaetognaths: Arrows in the Oceans Polychaete Annelids: Worms in the Sea Salps, Doliolids, and Pyrosomes: Highly Evolved Gelatinous Animals Larvaceans: Tadpoles That Live in a Net Embryos and Larvae Epilogue Acknowledgments Bibliography, Websites Credits Index
£32.30
The University of Chicago Press The Book of Barely Imagined Beings A 21st Century Bestiary
Trade Review"Book of the year."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Blackwell's Bookshop" (5/15/2013 12:00:00 AM) "Magnificent, bravura, beautiful and astoundingly interesting."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Sunday Times" (5/15/2013 12:00:00 AM) "Spell-binding, brilliantly executed, extraordinary."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Guardian" (5/15/2013 12:00:00 AM) "A rich mixture of science, mythology, and literature, whose plethora of entertaining digressions left me impressed."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "A sublime rumination on existence. In twenty-seven exquisitely crafted cameos, Caspar Henderson reveals the hidden wonders of life in all its exuberant strangeness, at the same time illuminating our own place in the world. Simply stunning."--Callum Roberts, author of Ocean of Life "A wonderful book! With the precision of a scientist, the elegance of an artist, and the minatory power of an Old Testament prophet, Caspar Henderson exhorts us to pay attention to the other species on our endangered planet and learn from them before it is too late."--Richard Holloway "An utterly extraordinary book: a glorious and genre-bending grimoire; a spell-book of species that entranced me from its first page. Wonderful in the richest senses of the word, as well as witty, moving, urgent, and beautiful."--Robert Macfarlane, author of The Wild Places and The Old Ways "Caspar Henderson is a zoological Borges, taking us on a fascinating and exhilarating journey through the labyrinth of natural history. This book is a brilliant and original meditation on what the animal world can teach us about who we are and who we want to be. It weaves an unforgettable spell."--Roman Krznaric, author of The Wonderbox "If you're interested, as I am, in weird details about weird animals, this is the book for you. Caspar Henderson takes us on an eye-opening tour of real animals that no sane human could ever have invented."--Frans de Waal, author of The Age of Empathy "Wondrous, capacious and strange."--Simon Critchley, author of The Book of Dead Philosophers "The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is one that Pliny would have envied, Darwin applauded, and Borges relished. It celebrates the playful imagination of the universe, capable of dreaming up the zebrafish and the yeti crab; it also celebrates our delight in reading in claws and feathers lessons about our own miraculous self. In these days of doom and gloom, I can think of nothing more rejoicing than Caspar Henderson's magical book."--Alberto Manguel, author of The Library at Night "With illumination-style flourishes, hand-drawn illustrations, and in-margin notes, from a purely aesthetic and bibliophilic point of view, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is as magical as its name suggests. . . . Both aesthetically pleasing and scientifically intriguing, it would make an inspiring addition to any natural history collection."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Evolve Magazine, Natural History Museum" (8/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) "When it comes to nature, the truth is often stranger and more wondrous than fiction, especially in Caspar Henderson's Book of Barely Imagined Beings. The book illustrates the weird and wild histories of unusual--but real--species, including human beings, offering the reader elaborate illustrations, annotations, and much lore. And lurking in the margins is Henderson's suggestion that just as a medieval bestiary's mythical monsters reveal the values of a bygone era, the creatures that fascinate us today reveal much about us."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Nature Conservancy" (6/1/2013 12:00:00 AM) "This readable volume will appeal to the serious reader with broad interests in science, mythology, folklore, and speculation on questions of the human condition." --Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Library Journal" (5/15/2013 12:00:00 AM) "Tangentially inspired by Jorge Luis Borges's Book of Imaginary Beings, and assembled like a cabinet of curiosities, journalist Caspar Henderson's first book highlights what nonhuman species reveal about being human. The disarmingly human face of the Axolotl salamander introduces a reflection on evolution, which wanders into the history of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, before landing on the question of what the Axolotl's ability to regenerate limbs can reveal about stem cells. It's an oddly anthropomorphic argument to abandon anthropomorphism, but as exotic salamanders and transparent octopi give way to miniscule water bears, whiskered owlets, and the honey badger, Henderson's contagious awe of life effortlessly advances his argument. The captivating habits of these beings are given significant scientific backbone, before digressing into a free-flowing discourse." --Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Publishers Weekly" "Present knowledge, together with environmental trouble, make it a natural time to update the bestiary in writing, and to tour nature's brilliance in light of honest science. That's exactly what the English author Caspar Henderson has done with his The Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary."--Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "New Yorker" (5/16/2013 12:00:00 AM) "As humanity begins to grapple with the likelihood of extraterrestrial life, we're also reaching a fuller understanding of just how alien organisms can be right here on Earth. It is against this backdrop that Caspar Henderson offers The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, an illustrated, alphabetical compendium of some of the weirdest, wildest forms of life on Earth. . . . Henderson approaches his material with a deep respect for evolutionary science and a sophisticated understanding of the ways humans have tried to make sense of the natural world and our place in it." --Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Bookforum" (7/15/2013 12:00:00 AM) "A beautiful work that celebrates Earth's extraordinary species, with the look and feel of a Victorian treatise." --Richard Fortey, author of Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms "Nature" (7/15/2013 12:00:00 AM)
£18.05
The University of Chicago Press Wonders of the Plant Kingdom
£29.00
The University of Chicago Press Thinking Like a Parrot Perspectives from the
Book SynopsisTrade Review"There is indeed something special about parrots. Bond and Diamond have captured beautifully the essence of both the extreme complexity and sophistication of the wild birds and our complex relationship with them. Thinking Like a Parrot nails the most difficult aspect by managing to explain, without getting bogged down, the high levels of cognition and intelligence of parrots, especially in context of their complex social lives. Totally original and engagingly written."--Robert Heinsohn, Australian National University
£29.45
The University of Chicago Press Great Plains Americas Lingering Wild
Book SynopsisThe Great Plains were once among the greatest grasslands on the planet. But as the United States and Canada grew westward, the Plains were plowed up, fenced in, overgrazed, and otherwise degraded. Through lyrical photographs, essays, historical images, and maps, this book discusses this part of the planet.Trade Review"The Great Plains of America are not for sissies, but those who respond to their haunting beauty will not be driven off. The photographer Michael Forsberg and three of his writing friends show why. Forsberg has spent a long time looking at the Great Plains and now he has shared what he saw." - Larry McMurtry "The prairie is a minimalist landscape, anything but flashy. Forsberg's discerning eye frames its sparse beauty in all its exquisite detail and lovely sweep. To spend time with this book is to understand why the Great Plains matter." - Chris Johns, editor-in-chief, National Geographic "The beauty and majesty of the Great Plains come alive in the pages of this magnificent book." - James V. Risser, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting"
£38.00
The University of Chicago Press Kindred Nature
Book SynopsisHighlighting the contributions of Victorian and Edwardian women to the study, protection, and writing of nature, this text recovers their works from the misrepresentation they often faced at the time of their composition.
£28.50
The University of Chicago Press The Book of Caterpillars A LifeSize Guide to Six
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£45.60
The University of Chicago Press Jellyfish
Book Synopsis
£36.55
The University of Chicago Press Theodore Roosevelt in the Field
Book SynopsisNever has there been a president less content to sit still behind a desk than Theodore Roosevelt. When we picture him, he's on horseback or standing at a cliff's edge or dressed for safari. And Roosevelt was more than just an adventurer-he was also a naturalist and campaigner for conservation. His love of the outdoor world began at an early age and was driven by a need to not simply observe nature but to be actively involved in the outdoors-to be in the field. As Michael R. Canfield reveals in Theodore Roosevelt in the Field, throughout his life Roosevelt consistently took to the field as a naturalist, hunter, writer, soldier, and conservationist, and it is in the field where his passion for science and nature, his belief in the manly, strenuous life, and his drive for empire all came together. Drawing extensively on Roosevelt's field notebooks, diaries, and letters, Canfield takes readers into the field on adventures alongside Roosevelt. From Roosevelt's early childhood observations
£29.45
The University of Chicago Press The Essential Naturalist
Book SynopsisLike nearly various areas of scholarly inquiry, the biological sciences are broken into increasingly narrow fields and subfields, their practitioners divided into ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and more. This title offers a ranging, eclectic collection of writings from more than eight centuries of observations of the natural world.
£134.00
The University of Chicago Press The Essential Naturalist Timeless Readings in
Book SynopsisLike nearly various area of scholarly inquiry, the biological sciences are broken into increasingly narrow fields and subfields, their practitioners divided into ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and more. This title offers a ranging, eclectic collection of writings from more than eight centuries of observations of the natural world.
£38.00
The University of Chicago Press A Natural History of the Chicago Region Center
Book SynopsisInterweaving historical anecdotes and modern-day scientific data, a definitive study of the natural history of Chicago describes the various forces that shaped the region's environment, from Ice Age glaciation to the human settlement of the Midwest, and discusses the various habitats of the region, environmental destruction,.
£30.00
The University of Chicago Press Cat Musculature A Photographic Atlas
Book SynopsisThis series of brilliant photographs shows the dissection of the cat musculature. It is designed for use in conjunction with the third edition of Hyman's Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, edited by Marvalee Wake, although it can be used with other textbooks. Every possible step has been taken to make the photographs easy to interpret and to follow. Reference indications to the Wake texts are included, and also concise data on the origin, insertion, and action of each muscle. The scale is such that in most cases no more than five muscles are shown per photograph, thus simplifying the task of visualizing the individual muscles. An invaluable aid for every student of cat anatomy.
£23.03
The University of Chicago Press The Difficulty of Being a Dog
Book SynopsisFrom Ulysses' Argo to Freud's Lun, these stories explore the mysterious and often intense relationship between human beings and dogs. Illustrating a broad knowledge of literary dog lovers, and elaborating on their insights, Grenier's volume abounds with humour and history.Trade Review"This slim volume is beautifully written, and the prose flows like poetry. The market has been flooded with a plethora of popularly written books attempting to explain canines and why people love them, yet this book... raises the subject to a higher plane. A gem." - Library Journal, starred review "[L]iterate, light and lighthearted....[A] kind of anthology of literary musings about dogs based on Mr. Grenier's extensive readings in everything from Faulkner to the Japanese novelist Junichiro Tanizaki." - Richard Bernstein, New York Times "[A] very superior commonplace book of canine characteristics, the mixture of Grenier's own anecdotes with quotations from other intellectuals making it far from the average gift-shop item - as if Roland Barthes had opted for domestic animals rather than for fashion or photography." - John Stokes, Times Literary Supplement "With whimsical humor and mordant wit, [Grenier] applies a broad and deep knowledge of literary dog lovers from Homer to Flaubert and Faulkner, elaborating not only on their insights into doglove and hate but also on what these writers' revelations tell us about ourselves....[A]n appealing gift item, this slim volume will make lovers both of literature and canines sit up and take notice." - Publishers Weekly
£15.00
The University of Chicago Press The Great Cat and Dog Massacre The Real Story of
Book SynopsisThe tragedies of World War II are well known. But at least one has been forgotten: in September 1939, four hundred thousand cats and dogs were massacred in Britain. The government, vets, and animal charities all advised against this killing. So why would thousands of British citizens line up to voluntarily euthanize household pets? In The Great Cat and Dog Massacre, Hilda Kean unearths the history, piecing together the compelling story of the life and death of Britain's wartime animal companions. She explains that fear of imminent Nazi bombing and the desire to do something to prepare for war led Britons to sew blackout curtains, dig up flower beds for vegetable patches, send their children away to the countryside and kill the family pet, in theory sparing them the suffering of a bombing raid. Kean's narrative is gripping, unfolding through stories of shared experiences of bombing, food restrictions, sheltering, and mutual support. Soon pets became key to the war effort, providing emot
£76.00
University of Chicago Press Seahorses A LifeSize Guide to Every Species
Book Synopsis
£25.65
The University of Chicago Press Critical Terms for Animal Studies
Book SynopsisA new critical terms volume addressing the growing, vigorously interdisciplinary field of animal studies.Trade Review"Lori Gruen has created an intellectual cafe in which leading scholars offer their insight and wisdom, in incisive and stimulating entries, on topics central to animal studies, all the while incorporating intersections with feminist, postcolonial, disability, environmental, and anti-racist scholarship. Richly textured, inviting and empowering, this is a dream book for students, academics, and activists alike."--Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat and Burger "Lori Gruen, who is herself at the forefront of animal studies, has rounded up the leading scholars in the field, and together they have produced a text that will define the field for the next generation."--Dale Jamieson, New York University "This book's standout feature is its analysis of animal studies terms across a wide array of disciplines and theoretical perspectives, ranging from anthropology and activism to biology and law. Although animal studies has been interdisciplinary from its beginnings, this volume considerably expands and deepens that interdisciplinary vision. Lori Gruen is a highly-recognized and well-respected scholar in the field and has brought together a superb mix of authors who represent the very best of the established discourse and the most exciting members of the new generation."--Matthew Calarco, California State University, Fullerton "This volume provides an overview of the some of the most central--and some of the most contested--concepts in the rapidly emerging inter-disciplinary area of animal studies. Unlike handbooks and readers, Critical Terms for Animal Studies is not focused on a selection of definitive texts but rather on setting the terms of the language used in the field. The subject of animal studies is at a crucial stage, still being mapped out and defining itself, and this volume is very useful, given its conciseness, its all-star cast of contributors, and its breadth in providing a guide to some of the key ideas. Taken along with the editor's introduction, which nicely situates the history of animal studies and lays out some vital strands and debates, I think many animal studies scholars will see this book as an anchor text."--Colin Jerolmack, New York University
£26.60
The University of Chicago Press Pollination Power
Book Synopsis
£47.27
The University of Chicago Press Moral Entanglements Conserving Birds in Britain
Book SynopsisAt the center of Stefan Bargheer's account of bird watching, field ornithology, and nature conservation in Britain and Germany stands the question of how values change over time and how individuals develop moral commitments. Using life history data derived from written narratives and oral histories, Moral Entanglements follows the development of conservation from the point in time at which the greatest declines in bird life took place to the current efforts in large-scale biodiversity conservation and environmental policy within the European Union. While often depicted as the outcome of an environmental revolution that has taken place since the 1960s, Bargheer demonstrates to the contrary that the relevant practices and institutions that shape contemporary conservation have evolved gradually since the early nineteenth century. Moral Entanglements further shows that the practices and institutions in which bird conservation is entangled differ between the two countries. In Britain, birds
£111.50
The University of Chicago Press Deep Thinkers Inside the Minds of Whales Dolphins
Book Synopsis
£34.20
The University of Chicago Press Canine Confidential
Book SynopsisA guide to dog behaviors of all kindsTrade Review"Marc Bekoff's vast experience, clear thinking, and unique philosophy come together to make this book a must-read for anyone wanting to know what makes dogs tick. A masterly work by the master."--Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, author of Pets on the Couch "This is a gem of a book, packed with information that answers the questions you have always pondered, and some that you may not have considered (such as 'Do dogs prefer to lift one leg more than the other?'). Canine Confidential deserves to become a primary resource for dog caretakers and those working professionally with dogs. Marc Bekoff, who is widely respected as a leading authority on ethology and animal emotions, shines the light of his immense experience and research on what makes our best friend tick. If you want to know why dogs do the things they do, this book is for you. Written with eloquence, insight and humor, peppered throughout with anecdotes and photographs, this wonderful book is a must-have for everyone who cares for, loves, studies, and wonders about our canine companions."--Lisa Tenzin-Dolma, principal of the International School for Canine Psychology and Behvaiour "Another thought provoking, insightful manifesto from one of the most brilliant scientists of our time. Canine Confidential is a revolutionary perspective into the minds of our best friends, answering the questions everyone asks, as well as the questions no one has thought to ask. Well written, funny, and fascinating--you will never look at dogs the same way again."--Brian Hare, author of The Genius of Dogs "One of the world's leading ethologists, Marc Bekoff has devoted his life to understanding non-human animals of all persuasions as sentient beings and to providing them the opportunity to live their lives to their fullest measure, according to their natures, and without being abused or slaughtered by humans. In Canine Confidential, Bekoff turns his considerable powers as an observer of canids wild and domestic to providing readers with the scientific knowledge and investigatory tools that will help them understand their dog companions. Mixing often humorous anecdotes with clear, concise reports from the cutting edge of canine science, Bekoff details what we know and outlines what we have yet to learn about our closest non-human friends. Canine Confidential is a must read for anyone who has an interest in dogs. Even readers who think they know all there is to know about dogs may find themselves looking at and interacting with their companions in ways that enrich their time together."--Mark Derr, author of How the Dog Became the Dog "Canine Confidential is an incredibly accessible, plain-spoken book about humankind's most loyal, most faithful companion. The many insights here will help you to earn all that loyalty and love that they so freely give. The stories and observations here will make you a much better human for your canine family members." --Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: How Animals Think and Feel
£21.85
The University of Chicago Press Wild Mammals in Captivity
Book SynopsisZoos, aquariums, and wildlife parks are vital centers of animal conservation and management. This book presents the thinking and practice in the care and management of wild mammals in zoos and other institutions. It offers information from studies of animal behavior; advances in captive breeding; and new thinking in animal management and welfare.Trade Review"Zoos should be staffed with those who have made Wild Mammals in Captivity their essential textbook." (Times Higher Education, on the first edition)"
£61.75
The University of Chicago Press Wildness Relations of People and Place Emersion
Book SynopsisWhether referring to a place, a nonhuman animal or plant, or a state of mind, wild indicates autonomy and agency, a will to be, a unique expression of life. Yet two contrasting ideas about wild nature permeate contemporary discussions: either that nature is most wild in the absence of a defiling human presence, or that nature is completely humanized and nothing is truly wild. This book charts a different path. Exploring how people can become attuned to the wild community of life and also contribute to the well-being of the wild places in which we live, work, and play, Wildness brings together esteemed authors from a variety of landscapes, cultures, and backgrounds to share their stories about the interdependence of everyday human lifeways and wildness. As they show, far from being an all or nothing proposition, wildness exists in variations and degrees that range from cultivated soils to multigenerational forests to sunflowers pushing through cracks in a city alley. Spanning diverse ge
£80.00
The University of Chicago Press Nightingales in Berlin
Book SynopsisRothenberg takes us to Berlin’s urban landscape to discover and engage with one of nature’s most beautiful and celebrated sounds, the nightingale’s song.
£21.85
The University of Chicago Press Love of Country A Journey Through the Hebrides
£28.50
University of Chicago Press Where the Buffalo Roam
Book SynopsisPummeled by a century of drought, depopulation, and soil erosion, America's Great Plains are in dire straits. Frank and Deborah Popper have a solution: create a Buffalo common by returning 139,000 acres in ten states to prairie and reintroducing the buffalo that once roamed there.Trade Review"An admirably crafted book, as poignant and entertaining as it is informative." - Seattle Times "Where the Buffalo Roam is very bright, active, effective journalism....An extremely savvy overlook of the dilemmas of the Great Plains." - Wallace Stegner
£21.85
The University of Chicago Press The Ark and Beyond
Book SynopsisA state-of-the art analysis of conservation as practiced by zoos and aquariums worldwide today.Trade Review"The role of zoos and aquariums is constantly evolving, particularly as there is pressure to increase their contribution to conservation. This collection ably shows that zoos and aquariums are not a flotilla of little arks that have to be self-sufficient. Rather, we should be better grounded in the social fabric of our communities, better networked, and better connected to the animals outside our walls."--Jenny Gray, CEO of Zoos Victoria, Australia, and president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums "In an age of extinction, 'wild' places are increasingly being managed like zoos. What role do actual zoos and aquariums have to play? The Ark and Beyond looks at this question from all angles; the result is both informative and thought-provoking."--Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History" "The Ark and Beyond is essential reading for anyone interested in our tangled and evolving relationship with zoos and aquariums. At the zoo we find ourselves at the shifting borderland between the wild and the walled. This book's editors and contributors explore that territory, bringing together decades of practical and theoretical expertise in conservation biology, history, and education. Their insights will deeply inform and benefit readers wrestling with the complex questions we find ourselves asking when we lock eyes with our kindred creatures."--Curt Meine, Aldo Leopold Foundation & Center for Humans and Nature
£29.45
The University of Chicago Press Moral Entanglements Conserving Birds in Britain
Book Synopsis
£29.45
The University of Chicago Press Sex on the Kitchen Table
Book SynopsisA light-hearted, accessible walk through botany and evolution with sex as an organizing principle: how, why, and with what results plants do it—and what role humans play as matchmakers.Trade Review"In a funny way, Ellstrand's book could be called the 'secret sex life of crop plants, ' because relatively few people know the ins and outs of avocadoes, bananas, beets, corn, or squash. Sex on the Kitchen Table will help readers understand how crop plants reproduce and why that is so significant when it comes to solving problems in agriculture. I haven't read anything quite like this before. Edifying and entertaining."--Raoul W. Adamchak, Market Gardens/CSA Coordinator, Student Farm, University of California, Davis "coauthor of "Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food" " "If the title of this book calls to mind the film encounter between Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange in The Postman Always Rings Twice, you should know that the scene had many botanical predecessors. Daily you may grace your kitchen table with the products of plant sex: avocados, tomatoes, and squash betray this origin in the seeds they contain, but a cabbage has a sex life too. Ellstrand shines a spotlight on plant sex, revealing how weird it can be, how promiscuous it often is, and just how mobile plant genes are. All our food plants have wild ancestors, and where wild and crop relatives grow near each other, sex happens. It takes engineering to move genes between unrelated species but, Ellstrand argues, it's sex all the same. His message is wise-up and enjoy plant sex. I love it!"--Jonathan Silvertown, University of Edinburgh "author of "Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution" "
£19.00
The University of Chicago Press Minor Creatures Persons Animals and the
Book SynopsisIn the nineteenth century, richly-drawn social fiction became one of England's major cultural exports. At the same time, a surprising companion came to stand alongside the novel as a key embodiment of British identity: the domesticated pet. In works by authors from the Brontës to Eliot, from Dickens to Hardy, animals appeared as markers of domestic coziness and familial kindness. Yet for all their supposed significance, the animals in nineteenth-century fiction were never granted the same fullness of character or consciousness as their human masters: they remain secondary figures.Minor Creatures re-examines a slew of literary classics to show how Victorian notions of domesticity, sympathy, and individuality were shaped in response to the burgeoning pet class. The presence of beloved animals in the home led to a number of welfare-minded political movements, inspired in part by the Darwinian thought that began to sprout at the time. Nineteenth-century animals may not have been the heroes
£76.00
The University of Chicago Press Animals Best Friends
Book SynopsisWarmly written and scientifically informed, Animals' Best Friends is the invitation we all need to improve the lives of nonhuman animals among usand thereby improve our own.Trade Review"Our relation with animals is fraught with conflicting emotions. We like to eat some, seek to eradicate others, yet adore and spoil our pets like family members. King describes her own moral dilemmas and the personal solutions she has found, always with love and respect shining through. This book will help its readers articulate their own attitudes."--Frans de Waal, author of Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves "A stunning and deeply beautiful accomplishment. Required reading for anyone who wants to better understand the complexities and contradictions of our interactions with animals. And for anyone who wants to have a deeper and more useful relationship with the natural world. I learned a lot reading it. An instant classic."--Jeff VanderMeer, author of the New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy "Even as we struggle to be compassionate, it's difficult to live in the world without hurting animals. What's an animal lover to do? This question is at the heart of this important book by King, whose writing, thinking, and teaching about the minds and feelings of animals, and our responsibilities to them, is justly celebrated. Happily, there are many ways to help, from the kitchen to the ballot box. And helping animals is not all-or-nothing. Crucially, King points out ways we can help with great compassion not only for the animals, but also for the people making sometimes difficult choices. Animals' Best Friends will be a guiding light not only to philosophers and ethicists, but also to caring people everywhere who hope to bring the power of human empathy to the choices we make that affect animals' lives."--Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness "Animals' Best Friends is a wonderful book: beautifully written, deeply moving, and fascinating throughout. The stories and research that King tells about the wonders of animal life enable the reader to share in her own enduring sense of hope: Not just for animals in captivity and in the wild, but through and with them, for our own species as well."--Stuart Shanker, author Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society and Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life
£22.80
The University of Chicago Press An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Although, as a biogeographer, I have taken an interest in Wallace for many years, I learned a great many new things about him and his times by reading these chapters, both in terms of details and of broad issues. He was quite a remarkable individual, and certainly deserves far more attention than he has received in recent decades. This book should do much to rectify that lack of attention. It will quickly come to represent a major milestone in what we know about Wallace and his contributions."--Lawrence R. Heaney, Negaunee Curator of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History "Given the disparate nature of its subject's intellectual pursuits, this collection of scholarship on Wallace is inevitably eclectic. Usefully synthetic, it provides the hugely significant service of bringing together many disparate strands of Wallaceana in a single location. Wallace has a special need for this kind of treatment because of the breadth of his interests. If you're interested in Darwin, you need only check out the history of biology literature; if, however, you're interested in Wallace, you are compelled to hunt up references in far-flung areas--in the history of biology, history of medicine, history of economics, and in political history. An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion brings all this together in one place."--Andrew Berry, Harvard University, editor of "Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Anthology" "An Alfred Russel Wallace Companion is a truly comprehensive examination of the ruminations and writings of one of the most remarkable men of the Victorian era, the co-discoverer of the theory of natural selection with Charles Darwin. This book is so thorough in its analysis of a protean mind that it is difficult to imagine that it will or can be surpassed. Anyone interested in the history of science, and in particular evolutionary theory and the foundations of biogeography, will find this collection of essays enlightening and thought-provoking. Even at his least convincing, his embrace of Spiritualism and anti-vaccinationism, Wallace the revolutionary is evident. The authors rightly argue that his concerns for social justice, the degradation of the planet, and humans' place in the universe make him relevant today, even if some of his ideas, based on the best data available to him at the time, may be outdated."--Ross A. Slotten, author of "The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace"
£46.80
