Natural History Books

Book SynopsisPresents the most up-to-date information available on the medical management of all taxa of Australian native mammals.

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Book SynopsisThe first publication to describe all reptiles known to occur within Victoria. It contains keys and illustrated descriptions to allow identification of all 123 native, introduced and vagrant reptile species and describes their biology, ecology, distributions and the habitats in which they live.Trade Review"[...] one of the best reptile field guides in recent memory. It has everything a person needs to identify that little brown skink in their garden, or the big snake they saw on their last bushwalk, and will serve as a useful reference to scientist and layperson alike. It is also engagingly well written." -- James Van Dyke * Ecological Management & Restoration Vol 20 (3) *

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Book SynopsisMosquitoes are annoying (and can be deadly) but they can also be beautiful. This book provides a pictorial guide to almost 100 mosquito species and includes notes on their biology, habitats and association with disease. The book also provides information on how to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne disease through tips on keeping your home free of mosquitoes and reducing their bites.Trade ReviewThis 216-page book, packed full of high quality photographs, explores the biodiversity of this group of insects. It provides a pictorial guide to almost 100 mosquito species and includes notes on their biology, habitats and association with disease. The book also provides information on how to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne disease."Pest Magazine, February & March 2016

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Book SynopsisThis definitive guide, written by experts in the field, offers a window into a fascinating world. Notorious species such as the Redback and the Sydney Funnel-web sit alongside less well known but equally intriguing spiders such as the ant-mimics and net-casting spiders. Each is illustrated with beautiful photographs of the subjects.Trade ReviewOnce seduced by the charm of spiders, you'll find yourself entranced by their ways and amused by the authors' entertaining style." —Owen Seeman, Wildlife Australia

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Book SynopsisPresents some of the most extraordinary creatures the world has ever seen - all unique to Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand and their surrounding islands. Over 100 painted panoramas by Peter Schouten are accompanied by descriptions of the environments and features of these animals, written by four of Australia's foremost palaeontologists.Trade Review"More than 500 million years of evolution across the continent has come alive through the artwork of Australian palaeo artist Peter Schouten." * Cosmos *

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Book SynopsisThe Official Spider Test.What do you do when you see a spider?a. Lay on a BIG spidey smoocheroo.b. Smile, but back away slowly.c. Grab the closest object, wind up, and let it fly.d. Run away screaming. If you chose b, c, or d, then this book is for you! (If you chose a, you might be crazy.) I’m Trying to Love Spiders will help you see these amazing arachnids in a whole new light, from their awesomely excessive eight eyes, to the seventy-five pounds of bugs a spider can eat in a single year! And you’re sure to feel better knowing you have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being fatally bit by a spider. Comforting, right? No? Either way, there’s heaps more information in here to help you forget your fears . . . or at least laugh a lot!

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Book SynopsisFilled with inspiring stories and photographs, this heartfelt tribute to the pit bull celebrates one of America’s most popular yet misunderstood dogs.Perhaps more than any other breed, the pit bull has been dogged by negative stereotypes. In truth, pit bulls are innately wonderful family pets, as capable of love and good deeds as any other type of dog. Setting the record straight, Ken Foster sings the praises of pit bulls in I’m a Good Dog, a gorgeously illustrated, tenderly written tribute to this most misunderstood of canines.Founder of the Sula Foundation, which promotes responsible pit bull ownership in New Orleans, and the author of two acclaimed books about abandoned dogs, Foster has made it his mission to bring overlooked canines into the limelight. I’m a Good Dog traces the fascinating history of this particularly maligned breed. A century ago, the pit bull was considered a family dog, featured in family photos and trusted Trade Review“A beautiful book about some of the most beautiful and big-hearted dogs in the world—dogs who've been misunderstood and discriminated against for far too long. Ken Foster and his rescue work are a gift to animals and people alike. Everyone should read I'm a Good Dog to learn the truth about pit bulls, and celebrate them.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks“Pit bulls have a true champion in Ken Foster, whose devotion to these unjustly maligned dogs has already saved many of them. I admire his knowledgeable campaign on behalf of these dogs, and as someone whose life has been improved by knowing pit bulls, I recommend this insightful, loving and compelling book about the magnificent dogs whose loyalty and forgiving natures are an inspiration.”—Amy Hempel, author of The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel“Ken Foster's I'm a Good Dog is the definitive book on the dog that's been so hard to define, the misunderstood pit bull. Visually stunning images are surrounded by Ken's magical dog stories; this book is a gift, and one I'll be giving many times.”—Julie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof

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Book SynopsisA leading animal psychiatrist reviews the physical, behavioral and temperamental qualities for 123 breeds and outlines a step-by-tep procedure for selecting a dog that matches the potential owner's personality and lifestyle.

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Book SynopsisThe author of the award-winning Taking the Quantum Leap explains how the new physics predicts the existence of universes that are similar to and perhaps even duplicates of our own universe. Illustrated.

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Book SynopsisA veteran entomologist and accomplished birdwatcher presents this introduction to the intricate interplay of insects and birds, with a beguiling blend of anecdote, ornithology, and entomology. Profusely illustrated with drawings and color photographs, this book offers a cornucopia of facts about the life history and behavior of insects and birds.Trade ReviewTwo of the basic tenets of modern evolutionary biology are that, within an ecosystem, each species fulfills a critical role and that when a species is perturbed or an addition is made to an ecosystem, the ecological ramifications will often be noticed rippling throughout the entire community...Exploring and expanding on these nested relationships are two of the things that Gilbert Waldbauer does so well in his engaging natural history...Waldbauer takes some of the least appreciated species in most ecosystems--insects--and eloquently discusses many of the roles they play...His book is accessible to anyone interested in natural history...What Waldbauer does best is transmit his respect and admiration--perhaps awe is not too strong a word--for the insects he has spent his life studying. -- Michael Zimmerman * Philadelphia Inquirer *Some insects mimic bird droppings to protect themselves from attack. Certain songbirds rub acid-filled ants over their feathers to deter external parasites. Such examples of the bird/bug relationship sprinkle Waldbauer's text as he describes the ways that each group adjusts and evolves through mutual exploitation. The final third of the book addresses the bugs that eat the birders and how humans combat such assaults. * Science News *The Birder's Bug Book provides a lot of information about bugs and about birds...The book has a small section of high-quality color plates, a good bibliography, and many fine black-and-white illustrations...[Waldbauer] presents a lot of information organized in a successful format that should appeal to birders of many persuasions. -- David Benson * Wisconsin Bluebird *This book is an interesting introduction to the many fascinating relationships between birds and insects. As past eons have come and gone, birds and insects have become increasingly enmeshed in a complex web of interrelationships: birds eating insects, bloodsucking insects feeding on birds, parasitic insects infesting birds, ad birds struggling to rid themselves of the parasites. In this book, the author describes these and many other interactions between birds an insects. * Entomological News *[The Birder's Bug Book] aims to establish that birds are best understood in the light of their ecological contact and consequent association with plants, insects and other organisms...The whole book is well written and a fascinating read with charming illustrations. The last chapter especially could well be recommended as compulsory reading in all educational establishments. -- K. G. V. Smith * Entomologist's Monthly *This unique title focuses on the relationships and impact among birds, 'bugs,' and people. Drawing on a rich array of scientific resources, including his own career, and on anecdotes, Waldbauer gives an entertaining summary of these complex interactions, which dynamically affect human and ecological health...Some chapters portray 'Bugs That Birds Eat,' 'Bugs That Eat Birds,' 'Bugs That Eat People,' etc.; others offer lively essays on flying insects, a brief guide to insects, and an excellent discourse, 'Disappearing Diversity' which should be required reading for anyone interested in extinction, rain forests, or biodiversity. Highly recommended. -- Henry T. Arminstead * Library Journal *[Waldbauer] introduces readers to the complex interplay of birds and insects, striving to be scientifically accurate yet using a variety of delightful anecdotes to make his points...The book is a must-read for anyone interested in natural history. -- George Cohen * Booklist *Waldbauer gives a lucid, engaging account of mutual exploitation in a complex ecosystem while evincing a sneaking admiration for bugs. He describes birds whose 'profession' is to eat insects; 'choosy' blood-sucking insects that feed on only certain birds; parasites living on birds; and the birds' efforts to get rid of them. Also detailed are species of ants and spiders that eat nestlings. Birds attack parasitic insects by anting (rubbing ants over their bodies), dust-bathing and preening; some species even bring aromatic leaves to their nest. Others enlist the support of bees and wasps by building their nests near those insects' habitats for protection against predators...This informative work is not just for birders; any student of natural history will find it illuminating. * Publishers Weekly *Birds and insects are involved in a complex web of relationships, and here veteran entomologist Waldbauer describes these relationships and interactions, blending ornithology, entomology and folktales in a lively style which will appeal to scientist and general readers alike. Any interested in natural history will find it appealing and involving. * Bookwatch *One of our 'favorite book-writing naturalists.' * Discover *Anyone interested in insects and birds will enjoy this book and learn a great deal from it. * Bird Watcher's Digest *Highly readable. Waldbauer is the ideal author for this sort of book: An accomplished entomologist, a fine writer, and a fanatical birder. -- Scott K. Robinson * Illinois Natural History Survey *In this well-written book, Waldbauer...melds his vocational interest in insects with his avocational interest in birds...Besides the highly readable prose, there are dozens of detailed three-toned drawings and 16 pages of color plates...This book can be enjoyed by high school students and adult laypersons, as well as professional and amateur naturalists. -- H. N. Cunningham * Choice *It would never have occurred to me to look at a book about bugs, whether they are associated with birds or not, but I've got to tell you, this book is fascinating. -- Pete Dunne, New Jersey Audubon SocietyThis fascinating account of the long interrelationship between insects and birds and the short destructive intervention of man makes compelling reading. * Entomologist's Monthly Magazine *The Birder’s Bug Book is an unusual yet highly engaging thinkpiece devoted to selected topics in natural history… Few readers are likely to come away from [Waldbauer’s] book without acquiring significant new facts and perspectives. Natural history books designed for non-professionals often repeat a familiar nucleus of established lore, while many scientific books are so narrowly focused as to be inaccessible to non-expert readers. The Birder’s Bug Book demonstrates that there is still much to be learned from the traditional naturalist’s approach and that there is still a place for wide-ranging, articulately written, and thoughtful nature writing. -- Rich Cech * Birding *

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Book SynopsisTwenty years ago Pepperberg set out to discover whether large-brained, highly social parrots were capable of mastering complex cognitive concepts and the rudiments of referential speech. This book represents the long-awaited synthesis of the studies constituting one of the landmark experiments in modern comparative psychology.Trade ReviewAlex's spectacular abilities were sensationalized in the news media, as though it were a talking parrot act. That obscured the significance of the studies, which is why The Alex Studies is important...[Irene Pepperberg has] done groundbreaking experiments, and bringing them together in a panoramic view is a great service...She describes simply what she did, and why and how her results compare with equivalent language-use and comprehension studies on chimps, marine mammals and children...She proves that animals have abilities greater than we are led to expect, but these can be revealed only by appropriate research tools. She succeeds where many others failed, and she convinces us that the details of investigative methods are what matter. The purpose is not to reveal Alex as a winged Einstein. Instead, she shows that complex mental operations are revealed only be precise methods that match the capabilities investigated. And she demonstrates remarkable parallels between parrots and humans. The core importance of social interaction in both learning and testing is crucial for her results. In that, her studies have relevance far beyond parrots. -- Bernd Heinrich * New York Times Book Review *Alex's abilities are extraordinary, and Pepperberg's investigation of them makes The Alex Studies essential for anyone interested in the wider issues it raises...As with other pioneering works from Darwin's to E. O. Wilson's, its influence will be felt throughout the field of animal ethology for years to come. -- Caroline Fraser * Los Angeles Times *Pepperberg's work is admirably rigorous. Earlier work with language-trained animals was notorious for poor design and overly charitable interpretations of data. Pepperberg, by contrast, takes careful precautions against inadvertent cueing. She uses conservative estimates of chance when assessing the statistical reliability of Alex's responses, and she shows restraint when interpreting her results...Pepperberg has organized her book in a quasi-historical fashion, framing each phase of her research in terms of the contemporary work that inspired or informed it. Each chapter is devoted to a particular capacity or competence, such as numerical cognition, categorization, or the comprehension of words...From those who wish to read selectively (or for instructors who wish to assign only one or two chapters) it should be quite welcome because each chapter can stand on its own reasonably well...The book should be accessible to a wide range of audiences, from researchers studying animal behavior to advanced undergraduates in a course that covers relevant material such as animal cognition or the capacities of language-trained animals. -- Edward Kako * Science *Pepperberg has elegantly summarized her 20 years of success showing that an African Grey Parrot can match the cognitive and communicative competence of great apes. Her training paradigm involving reference, functionality and social interaction permits the expression of abilities hitherto unexpected in birds and challenges traditional views of the evolution of intelligence. -- Charles T. Snowdon, University of Wisconsin, MadisonIrene Pepperberg's studies of Alex are some of the most remarkable and significant in the whole field of animal cognition. Her evidence stands up to the closest scrutiny, and Alex the parrot turns out to have cognitive abilities that were not even suspected before Pepperberg began her work. -- Marian Dawkins, University of OxfordFor researchers in the field of animal cognition, Pepperberg brings together in a well organized form 20 years of her work with Grey parrots. In detailing the training and remarkable achievements of Alex and the other birds in Pepperberg's lab, The Alex Studies makes it clear that parrots are capable of much more than "parroting" or mechanically mimicking what they hear. But this book makes a much greater contribution. It provides a general integrative framework for the larger field of animal cognition, providing much needed links between important natural behavior selected for by evolutionary processes and theories and data from human cognitive development. -- Thomas R. Zentall, University of KentuckyWhat distinguishes the work of Pepperberg from that of the majority of researchers working with language- trained apes is that she is truly interested in the underlying cognitive processes involved in her subject's behaviour. She thus asks questions…and then designs experiments to test the possibilities…this book represents a scholarly reporting of a scientist's quest to understand the mind of another species in as honest and rigorous a manner as is possible, under the circumstances of being both "parent" and investigator. -- Michael Tomasello and Josep Call * Animal Behaviour *Table of ContentsPreface 1. Introduction: In Search of King Solomon's Ring 2. Can We Really Communicate with a Bird? 3. Can a Parrot Learn Referential Use of English Speech? 4. Does a Parrot Have Categorical Concepts? 5. Can a Parrot Learn the Concept of Same/Different? 6. Can a Parrot Respond to the Absence of Information? 7. To What Extent Can a Parrot Understand and Use Numerical Concepts? 8. How Can We Be Sure That Alex Understands the Labels in His Repertoire? 9. Can a Parrot Understand Relative Concepts? 10. What Is the Extent of a Parrot's Concept of Object Permanence? 11. Can Any Part of a Parrot's Vocal Behavior Be Classified as "Intentional"? 12. Can a Parrot's Sound Play Assist Its Learning? 13. Can a Parrot's Sound Play Be Transformed into Meaningful Vocalizations? 14. What Input Is Needed to Teach a Parrot a Human-based Communication Code? 15. How Similar to Human Speech Is That Produced by a Parrot? 16. How Does a Grey Parrot Produce Human Speech Sounds? 17. Conclusion: What Are the Implications of Alex's Data? Notes References Glossary Credits Index

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Book SynopsisWaldbauer introduces us to the aquatic insects that have colonized ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers, especially those in North America. Along the way we learn about the diverse forms these arthropods take, as well as their remarkable modes of life—and more than a little about the scientists who study them.Trade ReviewWith breathtaking wonders on every page, A Walk around the Pond will change forever how we think of some of our commonest insects--and indeed, how we think about the almost unimaginably strange and thrilling planet we also, too often, take for granted. This book belongs on every naturalist's bookshelf. -- Sy Montgomery, columnist and author of The Curious NaturalistThis book is a good deal more than just 'a walk around the pond.' Even readers who have studied aquatic insects for many years will find much that is new and interesting in these pages. The book is a total immersion in the lives of these amazing insects and the creatures, including ourselves, who interact with them. -- Sidney W. Dunkle, author of Dragonflies through BinocularsAquatic and semiaquatic insects far outnumber the other organisms that share their freshwater habitat, yet most of us are unaware of them. Waldbauer, a retired professor of entomology, hopes to rectify this ignorance as he explores the always interesting lives of aquatic insects. In the same conversational style that he has used in previous works, he presents the fascinating array of adaptations, the diverse forms, and the myriad ways of life of these water dwellers...While telling of the hidden lives of these insects, Waldbauer also reveals evolutionary and ecological details, moving the book beyond the 'gee whiz' level. Readers will be inspired to take a closer look at their favorite pond or stream. -- Nancy Bent * Booklist *An entertaining yet highly accurate and informative account of the lives of aquatic insects. Familiar as they are, their lives take bizarre turns unknown to most laypeople. In 11 engaging chapters, Waldbauer conducts a broad survey of aquatic insects, from giant water bugs that lay their eggs on their mates' backs to minute parasitic wasps that swim with their wings and lay their eggs on other aquatic insects...This book is sure to fascinate not only interested lay readers but also entomologists. -- Annette Aiello * Library Journal *In North America alone, there are more than 10,000 aquatic and semiaquatic insect species that live parts of their lives in fresh water. How did they evolve to survive both on land and in water? Waldbauer, professor emeritus of entomology at the University of lllinois, attempts to explain the feat while providing a who's who of these remarkable insects, including mayflies, dragonflies, true bugs, beetles, and mosquitoes. * Science News *Well balanced and well written...A good read for the committed naturalist anywhere in the world. It also provides excellent source material for life-science students wishing to enrich their entomological knowledge, and contains an extensive bibliography and excellent index...A Walk around the Pond is a masterly treatise from the hand of an enthusiast. -- Gaden S. Robinson * Times Literary Supplement *Almost a story, A Walk Around the Pond: Insects in and over the Water is an easy read with many interesting facts about the interaction of insects with the aquatic environment interspersed with anecdotes from the author's professional and personal experiences. For readers wanting a bit more, the book ends with a bibliography broken up into the chapter headings for easy reference. -- Dr. Garry Levot * General and Applied Entomology *In his latest book, Gilbert Waldbauer deals in his usual easy-to-read, informative style with my favorite group of insects, those that spend at least part of their lives in water...He clearly has a special interest and immense knowledge of this varied group. -- Rex Kenner * Discovery *Table of ContentsA First Look 1. Who's Who in the Water 2. Where They Live 3. The Breath of Life 4. Finding Food and Eating 5. Going Places 6. The Next Generation 7. On Being Eaten 8. How Not to be Eaten 9. Coping with the Climate 10. Our Friends and Enemies Selected Readings Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisAlongside Rosamond Purcell's stunning photographs, Linnea Hall and René Corado offer an engaging history of egg collecting, the provenance of the specimens in the photographs, and the biology, conservation, and ecology of the birds that produced them.Trade ReviewWhat kind of genius is Rosamond Purcell? Is she an artist? A scholar? A documentarian? A living cabinet of wonders? Her originality defies category, as does her newest triumph, Egg & Nest. Crack its shell. -- Jonathan Safran FoerRosamond Purcell is one of the great photographers. She has captured the history of objects by photographing them in romantic decline-- books scourged by worms, petrified food-stuffs, biological specimens gone wrong, the inexorable entropic winding down of everything. Egg & Nest is yet another example of her ability to make the ordinary extraordinary: Collecting people, collecting things, collecting people collecting things and creating something new and wonderful. In this collection of eggs and nests made of random bric-a-brac, cassette tape, and wire, we're invited to meditate on oology as ontology, ontology as oology, and the paradox of museums as a lifeless record of life. Rosamond Purcell has magnificently returned to her most fascinating obsession, the repurposing of life as the purpose of life. -- Errol Morris[Purcell's] work is concerned with the magic in ordinary objects, but also the aesthetics of conservation and collection, as many of her images of objects from natural-history museums demonstrate. Purcell's latest project, a collection of photographs taken at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, in California, is a more serene and stately work, showcasing the variety of the avian world. -- Andrea Walker * New Yorker blog *[A] fascinating book...While this volume is not an art book per se, it is a lively history of egg collecting, or oology...The photographs, both those taken under laboratory conditions and those taken in the wild, are extraordinary, showing the variety of egg sizes, shapes, patterns, and textures: Mottled blue-gray Emu eggs look like fine-grained granite, while the vigorous dark brown markings of the glossy, tawny-colored eggs of the Northern Jacana of Mexico suggest Easter eggs decorated by Jackson Pollock. Equally compelling are Purcell's photographs of birds' nests, beautifully lit and formed of all sorts of materials: A raven's nest of twigs is lined with cotton batting for comfort. A Guatemalan nest of the Banded Wren looks like a crown of thorns--those thorns offering defense from predators. The miniscule vegetable-down nest of an Anna's Hummingbird collected in Santa Monica, California, in 1903 is ingeniously woven around the glass insulator of a telegraph line. All in all, there is considerable beauty and wonderment in this book. * The Magazine Antiques *Photographer Rosamond Purcell has made a career out of creating intriguing images of decaying objects... Her new book, Egg and Nest, focuses on one of the world's premier collections of bird eggs and nests, located at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, near Los Angeles. Nests are held together with whatever materials the birds could find: spider webs, fishing line, mud, and condensed saliva. Eggs, too, are varied: green, blue, speckled, covered by a swirl of markings. -- Jan Gardner * Boston Globe *Purcell uses her camera to transform the everyday ordinary into something extraordinary. She captures the diverse beauty, quirkiness and allure of eggs and the remarkable resourcefulness of birds, focusing on the intricacy of nests and the aesthetic perfection of bird eggs. The rich colors, lighting and textures make her photographs of eggs, nests and birds look three dimensional, as though the eggs could easily fall out of one of the photographs, as if falling from a nest. -- Kurt Shaw * Pittsburgh Tribune Review *If you are wondering why anyone would spend a life in a pursuit as eccentric as collecting eggs and nests, Ms. Purcell's work will tell you. She selected a range of specimens, eggs brightly colored and plain, and nests made conventionally of twigs or of materials as bizarre as nails. Then she photographed them in natural light. Her luminous results explain without words why people have been collecting eggs and nests for centuries. -- Cornelia Dean * New York Times *[Purcell's] work is concerned with the magic in ordinary objects, but also the aesthetics of conservation and collection, as many of her images of objects from natural-history museums demonstrate. Purcell's latest project, a collection of photographs taken at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, in California, is a more serene and stately work, showcasing the variety of the avian world. -- Andrea Walker * New Yorker blog *[A] fascinating book...While this volume is not an art book per se, it is a lively history of egg collecting, or oology...The photographs, both those taken under laboratory conditions and those taken in the wild, are extraordinary, showing the variety of egg sizes, shapes, patterns, and textures: Mottled blue-gray Emu eggs look like fine-grained granite, while the vigorous dark brown markings of the glossy, tawny-colored eggs of the Northern Jacana of Mexico suggest Easter eggs decorated by Jackson Pollock. Equally compelling are Purcell's photographs of birds' nests, beautifully lit and formed of all sorts of materials: A raven's nest of twigs is lined with cotton batting for comfort. A Guatemalan nest of the Banded Wren looks like a crown of thorns--those thorns offering defense from predators. The miniscule vegetable-down nest of an Anna's Hummingbird collected in Santa Monica, California, in 1903 is ingeniously woven around the glass insulator of a telegraph line. All in all, there is considerable beauty and wonderment in this book. * The Magazine Antiques *Photographer Rosamond Purcell has made a career out of creating intriguing images of decaying objects... Her new book, Egg and Nest, focuses on one of the world's premier collections of bird eggs and nests, located at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, near Los Angeles. Nests are held together with whatever materials the birds could find: spider webs, fishing line, mud, and condensed saliva. Eggs, too, are varied: green, blue, speckled, covered by a swirl of markings. -- Jan Gardner * Boston Globe *Purcell uses her camera to transform the everyday ordinary into something extraordinary. She captures the diverse beauty, quirkiness and allure of eggs and the remarkable resourcefulness of birds, focusing on the intricacy of nests and the aesthetic perfection of bird eggs. The rich colors, lighting and textures make her photographs of eggs, nests and birds look three dimensional, as though the eggs could easily fall out of one of the photographs, as if falling from a nest. -- Kurt Shaw * Pittsburgh Tribune Review *If you are wondering why anyone would spend a life in a pursuit as eccentric as collecting eggs and nests, Ms. Purcell's work will tell you. She selected a range of specimens, eggs brightly colored and plain, and nests made conventionally of twigs or of materials as bizarre as nails. Then she photographed them in natural light. Her luminous results explain without words why people have been collecting eggs and nests for centuries. -- Cornelia Dean * New York Times *Beautiful...Egg & Nest reminds the reader of the civilized, tactile, sensual and emotive pleasures of holding a book in hand as opposed to reading from a glowing light box. Printed in Italy, it combines fabulous image reproduction--each page a magic revelation--with informative and insightful text, Purcell being as adept with words as with a lens. -- Mary Thomas * Pittsburgh-Post Gazette *Spend some time with Rosamond Purcell's enthralling photographs in Egg & Nest, and you might be tempted to become an oologist. Oology is not the science of oohs and ahs but the practice, frowned on in the civilized world, of collecting rare eggs and nests. Most of the photographs were taken at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Camarillo, Calif., which combines the collections of many Victorian bird enthusiasts. There's a woodpecker's nest in the shape of a wooden shoe, a grackle's nest woven of lace and audiotape, and a nest from Wasilla, Alaska, lined with feathers and fur. Unbearably poignant is a photograph of Martha, the last passenger pigeon, who died in the Cincinnati Zoo on Sept. 1, 1914. You'll even find a definitive answer to the age-old conundrum about the chicken or the egg. Hint: Ex ovo omnia. -- Christopher Benfey * Slate *Purcell doesn't just delve into the history of egg obsession. She captures the variety and beauty of eggs and nests in beautiful photographs. Unless you're an ornithologist, you probably don't have a wide frame of reference for the sheer diversity of eggs. From the ultra glossy, Easter eggs of the Tinamou to the brown, blue and purple mottled eggs of the Chuck-Will's-Widow to the pyriform eggs of the Common Murres, pear-shaped to help prevent the eggs from rolling down the cliffs on which their nest perch, the assortment from page to page is stunning. * Curious Expeditions *Anyone who loves birds, nature, or simply exquisite colors and shapes will find this compendium a revelation. Rosamond Purcell's sumptuous photographs are accompanied by a fascinating history of man's obsession with ornithology. * Martha Stewart Living *Transcendent in their beauty, mysterious, softly luminous, fragile yet potent, birds' eggs are highlighted in numerous photos in this thoughtfully assembled volume...This reviewer is grateful for this book and for the generations of work that have gone into building collections like this one. -- S. Hammer * Choice *This magnificently illustrated volume provides readers with a fascinating glimpse into the hidden world of wild bird eggs and nests...The book is alternately enlightening and uplifting, and sobering and alarming, as one reviews the preserved remains of what was and what quite literally might have been. One thing is clear upon turning the final page of Egg & Nest: Only eternal vigilance will protect what little of nature's splendor remains in this world. -- John A. Murray * Bloomsbury *The book consists of 10 groups of photographs, rendered in natural light in simple, striking settings...In [one] image, red-winged blackbird eggs rest on squares of cotton wool, their many shades of sky blue recalling the diversity possible within one species. Egg and Nest subtly suggests that such variety deserves our care: for the artifacts and, crucially, for their present-day relatives. -- Anna Lena Phillips * American Scientist *

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Book SynopsisIn the Middle Ages, enormously popular bestiaries presented people with descriptions of rare and unusual animals, typically paired with a moral or religious lesson. Entomologist May Berenbaum and illustrator Jay Hosler draw on the powerful cultural symbols of these antiquated books to create a beautiful and witty bestiary of the insect world.Trade ReviewThroughout The Earwig's Tail, Berenbaum squashes urban myths about bugs, explaining along the way why you should not wear your dog's flea and tick collar even if you have fleas, as she once did. For 20 years she has taught an entomology course called "Insects and people," and this book provides a wry look at their interactions. It is scientifically accurate, studded with Latin names and journal references, and consistently funny. -- Jonathan Beard * New Scientist *[Berenbaum's] chatty and highly readable new book, The Earwig's Tail: A Modern Bestiary of Multi-legged Legends, unites her scholarship with her interest in the fantasies insects inspire in humans. It's a modern equivalent of the bestiaries that excited medieval readers with accounts of the world's animals, among which the authors frequently included unicorns and mermaids. Berenbaum also includes many an unfounded myth but crisply refutes delusions with scientific truth. -- Robert Fulford * National Post *The Earwig's Tail is a compelling exploration of arthropod-related urban legends. Berenbaum explores the stories' origins--occasionally scientific but more often not--from the etymological issues of how the earwigs got their name through to the plausibility of cockroaches growing inside one's tongue. It is a fascinating collection of short, sharp chapters, each starting with a common myth that Berenbaum investigates through the popular media and more reputable scientific research. She looks for the origin of the legends, and assesses the scientific credibility behind the claims. Written in an entertaining and engaging style, this is a light-hearted and enjoyable critique of some of the public perceptions and misconceptions surrounding our six-legged friends...Do drunk ants really always fall down on their left sides? Is it true that the cockroach would be the only organism to survive a nuclear holocaust? Can a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil really cause a tornado in Texas? If you have ever wondered about any of these issues, or received a warning about an insect and questioned its veracity, Berenbaum has the answers. She leaves the reader with some interesting questions, some entertaining anecdotes, and some possibilities that even an entomologist might not want to consider. A must-read for the entomologist, the entomophobic and anyone who has ever wondered whether mutant insects with six-foot wingspans could take over the Earth. -- Michelle Harvey * Times Higher Education *[It] debunks stories about spiders laying their eggs in people's mouths or the survival of the human race being dependent on the survival of bees...In its way this book is a perfect example of its kind: Berenbaum has an easy, witty style, but writing for fellow scientists keeps her from being annoyingly facetious. -- Owen Richardson * The Age *Myth and misinformation about insects abound, and entomologist May Berenbaum is here to set us straight. In The Earwig's Tail she reveals that a bumblebee's flight doesn't defy physics, cockroaches aren't immune to radiation, and earwigs, despite their name, don't inhabit human ears. Fair enough--but Berenbaum doesn't simply kill untruths dead like a can of Raid. She uses these topics as jumping-off points for enlightening discussions about the insect world, which is so vast and incredible that it requires no exaggeration. * Utne Reader *Clever and humorous, this is a book for the layperson that even scientists will enjoy reading. -- J. M. Gonzalez * Choice *Table of ContentsThe Beasts * The Aerodynamically Unsound Bumble Bee * The Brain-Boring Earwig * The California Tongue Cockroach * The Domesticated Crab Louse * The Extinction-Prevention Bee * The Filter-Lens Fly * The Genetically Modified Frankenbug * The Headless Cockroach * The Iraqi Camel Spider * The Jumping Face Bug * The Kissing Bug * The "Locust" * The Mate-Eating Mantis * The Nuclear Cockroach * The Olympian Flea * The Prognosticating Woollyworm * The Queen Bee * The Right-Handed Ant * The Sex-Enhancing Spanishfly * The Toilet Spider * The Unslakable Mosquito * The Venomous Daddylonglegs * The Wing-Flapping Chaos Butterfly * The X-ray Induced Giant Insect * The Yogurt Beetle * The Zapper Bug

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Book SynopsisIn 2005 Jackson ventured into the remote swamp forests of the Congo to collect reptiles and amphibians. This book is an account of her research on the front lines of the biodiversity crisis—coping with endless delays in obtaining permits, learning to outrun army ants, subsisting on Spam and manioc, and ultimately falling in love with the forest.Trade ReviewIndiana Jones, step aside! Kate Jackson is an intrepid adventurer and explorer, and her passion for research, discovery, and snakes resonates from every page of this gripping account of a woman in science. -- Meg Lowman, author of Life in the Treetops and It's a Jungle Up ThereThis is the sort of book that makes hardcore field biologists cry out, "take me to the rainforest." For the rest of you, enjoying the sanity and comforts of the armchair adventurer, I suggest you hang on and enjoy the ride. -- Mark W. Moffett, Research Scientist, Smithsonian Institution and recipient of the Lowell Thomas Medal of the Explorer's ClubKate Jackson's field memoir detailing her experiences in the Republic of Congo is a delight that thrills and informs the reader. In relating her adventures conducting a herpetological survey and collecting venomous snakes, she brings to vivid life the harsh realities of fieldwork with its frustrations and disappointments. We're with her as she battles loneliness, parasites, and uncertainties and adapts to a foreign culture. And we share her personal highs and the swamp forest's allure. Bravo to this intrepid herpetologist! -- Marty Crump, author of Headless Males Make Great Lovers and Other Unusual Natural HistoriesThis is what exploratory natural history in a remote place, embedded in a very different culture, is really like--frustrating, confusing, scary, and fraught with prospects for failure. Jackson tells the truth even when it doesn't necessarily reflect well on her, and did I mention she's a small woman working in places where, I'm not kidding, most male herpetologists wouldn't dare to go? Mean and Lowly Things is genuine adventure, without the swashbuckling! -- Harry W. Greene, Cornell University Professor and author of Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in NatureIt is always exciting to read about remote, natural places in the world and even more so when the story is told by a field researcher. In the tradition of Jane Goodall...Jackson has written a fascinating, adventure-filled memoir, describing how her love of snakes led her to become a herpetologist. She was eventually able to raise money for a survey of reptiles and amphibians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically in the flooded forest habitat around Lac Télé. Drawing from her journal entries, Jackson takes us through the planning, permits, and travel, as well as her actual time in the field catching animals. Jackson learns to work with her native field staff during her two collecting trips and shows appreciation for all the local people she meets and employs. -- Margaret Henderson * Library Journal *Herpetologist Jackson is candid, funny, and precise as she chronicles her demanding and illuminating experiences collecting snakes, frogs, and toads in the flooded forests of the Congo... Sharply observant, considerate, and rough, Jackson is immensely entertaining in her exuberantly detailed descriptions of swarms of termites, ants, and mosquitoes; unpalatable food; and painfully rugged campsites. Add to that nearly surreal negotiations with officials, confounding relationships with guides and assistants, medical misadventures, and moments ludicrous and dramatic as she chases down poisonous snakes, handles animal remains, and snuggles to preserve and identify priceless specimens and forge cross-cultural scientific partnerships. Jackson is a dynamo, and her riveting, amusing, and revealing tales from the biodiversity front line awaken fresh appreciation for hands-on scientific inquiry and the wonders of nature. -- Donna Seaman * Booklist *In our age of Google Maps, it's comforting to learn that a few places remain relatively impenetrable to the outside world. Nowhere is this more true than the Congo, which has long held a fascination for explorers and scientists and continues to guard its secrets...Descriptions of ant invasions, maggots under the skin, sleepless nights, bad food and even the odd venomous snake bite all keep the pages turning. Against the odds, Jackson's efforts in the Congo eventually pay off--not only does she discover a new species, she also finds romance. This intriguing blend of science and human interest, related in a matter-of-fact style, brings to life a little-known part of the world. -- Dan Eatherley * BBC Wildlife *This book will serve as an inspiration to future field biologists. It is also an exciting adventure story for those who would rather avoid the ants, termites, wasps, and the fly maggots that burrow into the biologists' skin and grow larger there. -- M. P. Gustafson * Choice *Fieldwork is very important but unsung. Jackson deserves respect for her drive, ability to organize and manage her fieldwork alone, train local students, and to learn the local language without losing sight of the scientific aims...She is refreshingly honest about the failures, mistakes and difficulties of her fieldwork as well as the successes...Mean and Lowly Things is full of incident and cultural as well as scientific insight that should carry non-scientific readers right to the end. -- David J. Gower * Times Literary Supplement *As a travel book, Kate Jackson's account of snake collecting in the tropics is both humorous and dramatic...As an account of biological fieldwork under trying conditions, however, Jackson's book is both elegant and appealing...There are probably only a few specialists who can fully appreciate the professional journal articles on the biodiversity of the Congo forest that resulted from Jackson's expeditions. And only a few adventurous readers may share her "irrational longing to return" to the Lac Télé forest, which, judging from her online blog, she did in the summer of 2008. But we can all hope that she will continue writing, and that we won't have to wait too long for the next installment of Kate Jackson's Excellent Adventures, wherever they may lead. -- Laurence A. Marschall * Natural History *Table of Contents* Prologue * How It All Started * Back to the Congo * In Limbo * The Flooded Forest * Neighbors, Nets, and Nothing * The Red Snake * A Bottle of Snakes * A Day of Monsters * Time to Go * Red Tape Revisited * Planning My Return * Back to the Likouala * This Is Impongui * Snake Medicine * Making Herpetologists * The Home Stretch * A Stressful Day * Kende Malamu * Epilogue * Acknowledgments * Index

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Book SynopsisSara B. Pritchard traces the Rhône’s remaking since 1945, showing how state officials, technical elites, and citizens connected the environment and technology to political identities and state-building, and demonstrating the importance of environmental management and technological development to the culture and politics of modern France.Trade ReviewOriginal in its contribution, persuasive in its argument, and elegant in its design, this is a highly impressive work. Pritchard outlines the interconnections among technology, environment, and society in a systematic and coherent way. Her innovative treatment of the Rhone develops the 'envirotechnical' approach into a mature, sophisticated, and powerfully compelling analytical tool. A superb piece of scholarship and a remarkable accomplishment. -- Michael D. Bess, author of The Light-Green Society: Ecology and Technological Modernity in France, 1960-2000Pritchard has written an outstanding interdisciplinary study of the efforts to manage the Rhône River since 1945. In so doing, she provides the reader with a perceptive model of the 'envirotech' approach toward understanding complex phenomena involving technology and society. -- Joel Tarr, Carnegie Mellon UniversityPritchard has recovered the fascinating story of France's massive, half-century mobilization of state-of-the-art technological and ecological know-how in transforming the nation's largest river – the unruly Rhone – into a futuristic valley of economic productivity and recreational pleasure. -- Leo Marx, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPritchard examines how the development of the Rhône River has been integral to the modernization of post-WW II France...Expertly linking ecology and technology to the political and cultural history of France, Pritchard illustrates how the Rhône is emblematic of the processes through which "technologies and strategies of environmental management materialized France as a nation in the territorial space declared within its borders." To this end, the importance of the river's value in areas such as hydroelectricity, agriculture, nuclear energy, and industrialism went well beyond the economic realm. Instead, these uses were derived from discursive and material visions at the very core of national identity and the project of nation building. -- A. C. Stanley * Choice *

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Book SynopsisThough we might not be able to see microbes, the consequences of their activities are readily apparent to our unaided senses. This book shows us how to examine, study, and appreciate microbes in the manner of a birdwatcher, by making sightings of microbial activities and thereby identifying particular microbes and understanding their behavior.Trade ReviewMarch of the Microbes is an impressive, entertaining tour of life's invisible realm. Combining history with new scientific discoveries, John Ingraham shows how microbes make their presence felt everywhere. You just have to know how to look for it. After reading this book, you will. -- Carl Zimmer, author of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of LifeTraverse the eclectic landscapes of soil, champagne, a Yellowstone spring, Italian salad dressing, and even the human stomach with microbiologist John L. Ingraham as your guide. This remarkable tour will transform novices into keen microbe-watchers in a mere 300 pages--which sounds like a lot, until you realize how much ground there is to cover in humanity's relationship with our most minuscule "friends." For instance, it was microbes that transformed the entire face of our planet, via the "Oxygen Revolution" some 3 billion years ago. We have them to thank for literally every breath we take. This is but one example. With the Earth estimated to have a nonillion (that's one followed by 30 zeros) microbes in and around it, we might as well get to know our tiny neighbors. * Seed *From the mundane (a smelly fish, a child with earache) to the exotic (hydrothermal vents), Ingraham presents the microbes behind so much of the world around us. He drives home the point that without these overlooked life forms we wouldn't be here at all...Ingraham's fresh perspective makes it an engaging read. -- Jo Marchant * New Scientist *Though most people are only familiar with microbes that cause disease (germs, etc.), those "felonious" microbes actually constitute a tiny percent of all microbes, and just a single chapter in this fascinating survey of single-celled organisms and their role in shaping life on Earth...Among other processes, Ingraham explains how vaccines have been developed, frequently with the aid of other microbes; the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles which make life possible; and how microbes give us cheese, wine, and other foodstuffs (though some, like xanthan gum, readers may not want to know about). Ingraham also discusses recently-discovered microbes inhabiting extreme environments (hot, cold, salty, etc.) that promise to tell us much about the evolution of life on Earth and what life on other planets might look like. Ingraham's entertaining, breezy style makes even difficult topics accessible, and every chapter contains intriguing anecdotes about microbes in history (did the CIA try to poison Castro's cigars with botulinum toxin?). Highly readable, engrossing, and endlessly informative, this is a standout example of science writing for general audiences. * Publishers Weekly online (starred review) *In this engaging treatment, the microbiologist shows readers the invisible world through observations about its macroscopic manifestations in a range of environments, from the kitchen to the abyss of the sea...Ingraham describes some of their malicious cousins who blight crops, kill trees, and sicken humans. Ingraham's clarity, plus touches of humor, augments the appeal of this fine contribution to popularizing science. -- Gilbert Taylor * Booklist *John Ingraham has written the definitive field guide for microbe watching, a branch of natural history that, to the uninitiated, might seem oxymoronic. Microorganisms being, by definition, creatures too small to be seen by the unaided eye, one might wonder...why anyone would need a guide to seeing the unseeable. Read just a few pages, however, and the puzzle is solved. Sure, microbes are tiny, but they are so prolific that their effects on the world are both profound and highly visible--from the black mold on bathroom walls to the red tide that sporadically discolors and poisons long expanses of shoreline...He blends the deep knowledge of an academic with the passion of a microbe watcher extraordinaire--which makes this guide as entertaining as it is informative. -- Laurence A. Marschall * Natural History *Table of Contents* Foreword * The Microbial Landscape * Just Acquiring Metabolic Energy * Food and Drink * Living Together * Cycling Nitrogen * Cycling Sulfur * Cycling Carbon * Hostile Environments * Fungi, Hostile and Benign * Viruses * Felonious Bacteria * Shapers of Weather, Geology, and the Environment * Closer to Us * Survivors * Notes * Glossary * Index

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Book SynopsisIn The Fire Ants, Walter Tschinkel provides not just an encyclopedic overview of Solenopsis invicta but a lively account of how research is done, how science establishes facts, and the pleasures and problems of a scientific career. The reader learns much about ants, the practice of science, and humans' role in the fire ant's North American success.Trade ReviewThis is a wonderful book, comprehensive in its coverage of fire ant social biology, extraordinarily lucid in its description of complex topics, and beautifully synthetic in tying together the many disparate threads of evidence relevant to the discussion of each topic. The prose is concise and compact, but the wit and humor of the author penetrate even the most tedious technical parts to lighten up the text and make it a pleasure to read. The book is laced with insightful and humorous interludes that detail the tools and personalities involved in fire ant research, and covers the major topics likely to be of interest to evolutionary biologists and ecologists who study social animals, especially social insects. The Fire Ants is certain to be widely read. -- Kenneth Ross, Professor of Entomology, University of GeorgiaThis book is without parallel as a thorough description of the biology of an important social insect. There are books on particular problems of social insect biology, and of course the landmark volume by Hölldobler and Wilson treats all ant biology. The Fire Ants stands out for its focus on a single species, covering the entire range of an enormous literature. It will therefore be of interest to specialists and to a more general audience who wish to learn about what is important in the ant world. -- Joan Herbers, Dean of Biological Sciences, Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State UniversityI have been reading bits and pieces of the book, dipping in here and there like a chimpanzee with a twig, fishing for ants, and each time I have come up with something tasty and nutritious...My favorite ["Interlude"], an economical two-page essay called "The Porter Wedge Micrometer: Mental Health for Myrmecologists," ought to be required reading for any scientist who wants to write for the public...This brief essay is entertaining and significant, a real glimpse of what science is and how it is done by human beings, rational and un-, grappling with technique, nature and the gathering of information. This is what the public needs to know about science, not just the results presented in the driest form possible. -- James Gorman * New York Times *This book is a masterly and detailed account of some of nature's greatest opportunists, the fire ants. It deals with their phylogeny, biogeography, social organization, parasites, and foraging behavior, together with their impacts on natural ecosystems and agriculture. Walter Tschinkel's holistic approach embraces topics at the molecular level and relates them to the colony and its organization. Tschinkel has researched these ants for thirty-five years at Florida State University, Tallahassee. He and several generations of his postgraduate students have been one of the major driving forces in fire-ant studies. This body of work required the mastery of finely tuned laboratory techniques in analytical chemistry, a detailed understanding of the natural history of the ants, extended periods of uncomfortable fieldwork and getting badly stung...Tschinkel's love of and fascination with the ants shines through the often highly technical aspects of The Fire Ants. He writes with great clarity and his book should appeal to the general reader, as much as the specialist. It is well illustrated with graphs, tables, and excellent photographs. -- Christopher O'Toole * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisThe unique relationship between dogs and humans has had huge evolutionary consequences, changing the physical, behavioral, genetic, and emotional characteristics of both species. Pat Shipman looks to fossil records and new evidence to trace how the process of domestication worked and discovers how much of ourselves we owe to our canine companions.Trade ReviewThis book is a great read for anyone interested in dogs but is overall of a high enough quality for scholars to enjoy. Shipman explores the genetic, behavioral, and archaeological studies revealing the development of the companion relationship between people and dogs, and brings the human and canid settlement of the Australian region into a global context. -- Susan O’Connor, author of Transcending the Culture–Nature Divide in Cultural HeritageWhen, where, and how did the partnership between dogs and humans begin? Was it an accident? Was it inevitable? Where would we human beings be without our canine colleagues? Pat Shipman’s Our Oldest Companions is a must-read, a tour de force drawing together under one proverbial roof what science can tell us to date. A follow-up to her provocative and intriguing The Invaders, Dr. Shipman examines the anthropology and archeology of the dog’s transition from wolf to house pet all over the world, from the Australian Outback to north of the Arctic Circle. You’ll want to read this book three, four, even five times in order to absorb the abundance of research and ideas presented here. -- Wendy Williams, author of The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble CompanionThe latest in a string of authoritative and readable books by Pat Shipman benefits from her well-known scientific knowledge and her great storytelling ability. One of the first times anyone has told how the evidence from archaeology and DNA of Sahul, with its late-appearing dingoes and singing dogs, adds to the human story rather than seeming anomalous. It is the perfect complement to other accounts written with a bias towards Africa, Asia, or Europe. This book, like the dogs that are at its center, covers all the continents where modern people have lived with them. Read it. You will enjoy it. -- Iain Davidson, author of Making Scenes: Global Perspectives on Scenes in Rock Art[A] lively tale of dog domestication and migration. -- Josie Glausiusz * Nature *The erudite Our Oldest Companions makes a remarkable story out of the long partnership between humans and dogs. * Foreword Reviews *A fascinating and often surprising exploration of human and canine evolution…[Shipman’s] captivating prose will enchant all readers seeking to learn more about humans, dogs, and our long history together. -- Adrienne Krone * Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture *

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Book SynopsisThe unparalleled success of insects is the story told in this highly entertaining book. How do these often tiny but indefatigable creatures do it? Gilbert Waldbauer pursues this question from hot springs and Himalayan slopes to roadsides and forests, scrutinizing insect life in its many manifestations.Trade Review[Waldbauer's] style is lively and light, and he manages to explain scientific evidence behind the ideas he presents without lapsing into jargon. His passages describing insect life can be poetic...The book delivers a sophisticated view of ecology, evolution and animal behavior...Sure, Insects through the Seasons has more sex and violence than prime-time TV, but this is the real birds and the bees, and Waldbauer tells it like it is. -- Faye Flam * Philadelphia Inquirer *Insects through the Seasons...is a joyous romp through amazing-but-true natural history stories of what makes insects tick...Waldbauer's clear prose is full of fascinating detail, and it is a pleasure to read. His enthusiasm for his subject comes through loud and clear, a vital ingredient for interesting readers in what he has to say...Even for the professional entomologist, there is plenty that may well be new. There are vignettes here to delight any reader, including a great deal from Waldbauer's research naturally. -- Francis Gilbert * New Scientist *Insects through the Seasons is chock-a-block with insect facts, anecdotes and good, old-fashioned natural history...There are chapters on courtship, caring for offspring and finding food, which Waldbauer manages to keep fresh by resisting the use of well-trodden examples. There are also more unusual chapters on, for example, insects' use of silk and the problems faced (and solved) by parasitic insects. Throughout, Waldbauer places his insects in the wider context of the natural world as a whole...[An] inspirational book. -- Stuart Blackman * BBC Wildlife *Mr. Waldbauer...knows his bugs and is a masterful storyteller as well. His protagonist is the cecropia moth, common nocturnal insect of the Midwest. He follows it through its life cycle, digressing frequently...The many stories of the `most successful animals on earth' are fascinating...Mr. Waldbauer's entertaining tales of insect behavior gracefully illustrate contemporary evolutionary biology theory...Without insects or with a drastic decrease in their activity, the world as we know it would cease. Mr. Waldbauer's story of the gentle cecropia moth goes far toward explaining why. * Washington Times *A natural-history treasury, this elegantly illustrated volume traces the life cycles of numerous insect species by describing their methods of courtship, mating, raising young, self-defense, recognizing and eating food, and surviving seasonal changes. * Booklist *[A] thoroughly gratifying survey of that most successful animal group...Starting with the optimistic swarm of spring, Waldbauer paints the landscape of each season, filling it with every manner of creature (though insects take center stage) and describing their evolutionary talents...He never has to stretch for the fantastic or sensational example, for the insect world is one long, strange parade of curiosities: critters with ears on their legs, teeth on their genitals, the smell of carbona on their breath. Waldbauer gives the scoop on the tricks of a dead leaf butterfly, cracks the code of the cricket's chirp, tends bar for a boozing moth, shares the satin bowerbird's obsession with the color blue. In the process, he puts the entire ecological picture in context...Waldbauer's wisdom is served up like a tantalizing tray of hors d'oeuvres, none of which will likely be declined. * Kirkus Reviews *Gilbert Waldbauer is one of those few lucky people paid to pursue their hobby. Reading Insects Through the Seasons, one discovers why he finds entomology endlessly fascinating...And as if his words, a blend of science and sentiment, were not enough to bring the subject to life, a cecropia moth flies across the bottom corner of the book as one flicks the pages. Here readers will discover strange stories and fantastic facts about the lives of insects and the many ways in which millions of years of evolution have equipped these organisms, arguably the most successful on our planet. -- George C. McGavin * Nature *These excellent books [Gilbert Waldbauer's Insects through the Seasons and Bernd Heinrich's Thermal Warriors] are best read fully and carefully, and in the order just listed. Each summarizes a wealth of intriguing information about a group often and justifiably characterized as the most successful of living creatures. Waldbauer, in the more general of the two books, has hit on the clever scheme of following insect life through the changing demands of seasonal changes, thus giving structure to a wealth of information. Heinrich, by contrast, provides a dazzling account of a particular and little-known aspect of insect life--thermoregulation. -- Russell Stevens, Phi Beta Kappa * Key Reporter *Tracing an animal's life through the seasons is a common strategy for the single-species monograph, but it is a mere marker for this book. Waldbauer uses the yearly cycle of the cecropia moth as a base to which he periodically returns while presenting an impressive array of the tactics the moth's fellow insects and arthropod relatives use to live and thrive. Those methods...are phenomenally various and gratifyingly intriguing...A real natural history treasury, this is an elegant volume, too, thanks to the many excellent line drawings that entertainingly include a flip-book of a cecropia in flight on the lower right-hand-page corners. -- Ray Olson * Booklist *A lively, well-written introduction to an endlessly fascinating side of natural history. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisSmall farms once occupied the heights that Elder calls home, but now only a few cellar holes and tumbled stone walls remain among the dense stands of maple, beech, and hemlocks on these Vermont hills. This book is a journey into these verdant reaches where in the last century humans tried their hand and where bear and moose now find shelter.Trade ReviewStarting with a few lines of Frost's poem on the human and natural histories of this enclave, each chapter examines the exquisite detail of nearby nature in conjunction with close analysis of Frost's expansive meanings...Readers may question whether this is primarily a book of literary criticism, environmental appreciation or simply a minute vivisection of a poem, but in the end Elder persuades us of the vastly encompassing theme Frost addressed and the eventual self-discovery of being lost in this land. Elder has written a tour de force of insight and interpretive skill. * Publishers Weekly *It is deeply personal and profoundly moving--and an eloquent challenge to some of the principal assumptions that guide the environmental movement in this country. Reading the Mountains of Home may be at once one of the more accessible yet complex nature books ever published. It is accessible because Elder is an immensely gifted writer, whether he's describing the way a glacier halved a mountain 20,000 years ago or explaining why, in his opinion, Frost was one of New England's great naturalists. It is complex because the book has three distinct threads: First, there is a nature writer's scrutiny of the world; second, there is an English professor's precise discussion of literature and one long Frost poem; and, third, there is one man's self-examination at midlife...Though John Elder's book is suffused with loss...[it] is uplifting. In part, this is due to Elder's contention that man and nature are not incompatible and that wilderness may be renewable after all. But it is due also to Elder himself: It is not hard for Elder to find beauty and pleasure in the world, and this comes across on almost every page. -- Chris Bohjalian * Boston Globe Magazine *[This] is the most intelligent book about Vermont that I've read in several years. New Vermont books often fall into a very few predictable categories...John Elder's book, Reading the Mountains of Home, fits into none of those categories. It transcends them all, brilliantly, and emerges as that rare find: a new and fascinating look at this complex place we call home...A book of considerable subtlety and complexity that reads easily and spins a story as compelling as any good novel. But that's only one of [its] accomplishments. For what Elder has also done here, I believe, is the very important task of pointing a new, coherent direction for the national environmental movement, a movement now struggling with an outmoded script, and very much in need of revitalization...Perhaps the best description of Reading the Mountains of Home is to call it an exploration--a deep exploration of what a particular place can mean to a particular human being--and thereby to all of us. It's a book I hope every Vermonter will read. -- Tom Shayton * Vermont Public Radio *John Elder turned to Frost's last great poem and has written a beautiful study of its complicated narrative...More than literary criticism, Reading the Mountains of Home is an extended homage, a memoir and meditation. Elder succeeds in the most difficult of ways: As his focus expands, his concentration grows more acute...His analysis is attuned to both the language of the poem and to its concentric rings, the stories that illuminate this landscape and prove the vitality and relevance of poetry. -- Thomas Curwen * Los Angeles Times *John Elder has plumbed deeply the wisdom of the likes of Parker and Frost, examining with the skill of both a poet and a naturalist the history of the modern Vermont landscape...[He] has written a book that manages at once to blend precise nature writing, profound literary criticism, and a moving examination of his own personal world at midlife...Reading the Mountains of Home is a truly rare joy: It is a book that will not merely help a reader to navigate the world in the woods; it will also help one to understand that all too complex geography of the human soul. -- Chris Bohjalian * Free Press (Burlington) *Elder's extended essay achieves what little criticism does: it brings poetry, literally, down to earth...Part meditation, part ecological history of [the Bristol] woods, and part literary criticism, the work is also a quiet testimonial to the uses of reading--reading either a mountain or a poem...This is the opposite of most academic writing--although Elder is a professor of English and environmental studies at Middlebury College--and also averse to the critical writing of most poets today, since...[his] language avoids the lyrical and mystical steadfastly for the plain and true. As a provocative alternative to customary criticism, it is also an example well worth following by other writers--a 'directive' of its own. * Poetry Calendar *Elder hikes through the [Bristol] region as he muses on its sociology and biology and how its hardwood forests were lost to small farms, themselves now replaced by blazing maples. In an unusual and insightful book, Elder argues that not all ecological destruction this century was intrinsically wrong, while showing that, just because a landscape pleases the eye, there is nothing to say that it must be natural. -- Adrian Barnett * New Scientist [UK] *I'm not sure what impressed me more about John Elder's writing in Reading the Mountains of Home: his eloquent use of language or the ambitiousness of what he accomplishes. First, the book functions as a literary exercise...Second, it examines the complicated cycles of loss and recovery within Vermont's natural and human communities. Finally, Reading the Mountains of Home is an engaging familial narrative, as Elder processes several personal losses--the death of his father and dog, the slow recovery of his mother from surgery, and the social withdrawal of his son...This book is for the optimist as well as the amateur historian. Elder celebrates change by describing how loss soon leads to recovery; 'sometimes we must go down before we find our second chance.' Citing [Frost's] 'Directive,' Elder espouses the value of being 'lost enough to find yourself.' Delightfully, Elder's journey becomes the reader's. -- Kelly Ault * Vermont Woodlands *Reading the Mountains of Home is an exquisite literary map that orients us toward an empathetic response to wilderness. Using Robert Frost's poem, 'Directive' as his compass, John Elder charts an utterly original course as he explores the terrain of his own natural autobiography and what it means to live in place. This book is a smart, moving, and intricate path through the wildlands of Vermont. John Elder has created a beautiful, enduringly wise topography of his own, where language and landscape create a confluence of native rapport. -- Terry Tempest Williams, author of RefugeWhat a grand book this is! It's too full of life to be confined to a genre--it's memoir, natural history, and literary criticism, but it's also much more than the sum of its parts. Reading the Mountains of Home is one of the great classics of the American East. -- Bill McKibbenElder mixes his experiences on the land with wide ranging reflections. Ashe observes his external world, he also looks inward, examining how thelandscape has become meaningful to himself, his family, and his neighbors. John Elder is a fine writer, a knowledgeable and insightful guide, a livelyand engaging companion, a man of remarkable depth, sensitivity, andgentleness. What a pleasure, to share in this man's loving, thoughtfulexploration of Bristol and the surrounding mountain country. -- Richard Nelson, author of The Island WithinJohn Elder's Reading the Mountains of Home blends mountain hiking, Robert Frost, Vermont history and lore, and meditations on family into a thoughtful depiction of living with nature in the late twentieth century. Lovers of Frost's poetry, of New England's landscapes, and of the rich tradition of American nature writing, of which Elder is a leading authority, will be drawn to this engaging volume. -- David M. Robinson, Oregon State UniversityJohn Elder has interwoven a dazzling series of odysseys, of heart and head, place and people, composed them in the framework of Robert Frost's 'Directive,' and produced one of the most beautiful books of natural history I've ever read. It is seldom that the elegance of one writer's soul, mind, and style have combined to give us such insights into the relationship of people with place and with each other, and the epiphany of riding your own fragile handmade canoe through whitewater rapids. -- Ann H. ZwingerHere is a very unusual piece of nature writing. John Elder makes his way simultaneously through Robert Frost's greatest poem and through one of Vermont's wildest places. His double journey produces a whole book of illuminations. -- Noel Perrin, Dartmouth CollegeElder begins each chapter with several lines from the poem, an effective technique that creates a convergence of literary criticism and nature writing. The reader learns much about the natural history of the Vermont landscape, from prehistory to the settling and clear-cutting by Europeans to current recovery and return to wilderness. Elder is an able guide, sprinkling his text with anecdotes, statistics, and self-revelation. -- Randy Dykhuis * Library Journal *A sure sign that the Northern Forest region is in the early stages of cultural renewal is the development of a Northern Forest literature, 'a dialogue between wilderness and culture.' John Elder's...book Reading the Mountains of Home is a wonderful contribution to this dialogue...[The book] is a deep, lyrical, celebration of living very locally. Yet, its focus on such a small plot of land leads the writer and reader to ponder universal questions of living lightly on Earth. -- Jamie Sayen * Wild Earth *Table of Contents"Directive" by Robert Frost Introduction South Mountain A Wilderness of Scars Hiking by Flashlight Bristol Cliffs The Plane on South Mountain Succession Someone's Road Home Interval In the Village North Mountain North Mountain Gyres The Ledges Coltsfoot, Mourning Cloak The Stolen Goblet A Confusion of Waters Notes Selected Readings Acknowledgments Index

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Book SynopsisNeutron stars, the ultra-dense remnants of exploded stellar giants, are among the most fascinating objects in the cosmos. Katia Moskvitch introduces readers to their astonishing qualities and follows the scientists who are discovering what neutron stars can tell us about the mysteries of dark matter, black holes, and general relativity.Trade ReviewTaking us behind the scenes of scientific exploration, Katia Moskvitch introduces the people responsible for advancing our understanding of neutron stars and communicates the feeling of amazement that accompanies unexpected discovery. -- Jocelyn Bell Burnell, codiscoverer of pulsarsNeutron stars, super-dense balls of nuclear matter at the end-points of stellar evolution, are detectable from Earth through their emission of radio and gravitational waves. Katia Moskvitch provides a fascinating tour of the world’s most sensitive detectors for such radiation, the prediction and discovery of neutron stars, their place in the grand cosmic scheme, and up-close views of many of the gifted astrophysicists behind these discoveries. -- Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., winner of the Nobel Prize in PhysicsMoskvitch offers riveting explanations of what astronomers have learned so far using radio telescopes, starting with Jocelyn Bell’s discovery in 1967 of the first pulsar, and what puzzles remain in the tantrums as well as quiet murmur of neutron stars. -- Priyamvada Natarajan * New York Review of Books *Enthralling…Moskvitch skillfully explicates these bizarre celestial objects, memorably dubbing them ‘cosmic zombies’ for the way they send radio waves, gamma rays, and x-rays after the ‘death’ of the stars from which they originate…Carl Sagan devotees will relish this portrayal of a new frontier in science. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *Fantastic…Not only are there great insights into the physics that underpin these zombie stars, but they are often explained using anecdotes from scientists all over the globe…Moskvitch has written a beautiful book of personal stories, entwined with an exploration of these exotic stellar objects. -- Amber Hornsby * BBC Sky at Night *For astronomers, neutron stars are the gift that keeps on giving. For more than fifty years, a crescendo of discoveries has amazed us and led us to probe the laws of physics to the breaking point. Katia Moskvitch recounts the key advances and clearly explains the underlying science. And she has the journalistic skills to offer readers a real feel for what it's like to be part of the international community of astronomers—experiencing triumphs and disappointments in the quest to discover exotic cosmic phenomena. -- Martin Rees, author of On the FutureIf watching Tom Cruise in Top Gun made some want to be navy pilots, this book will make many young scientists want to become detectives of the universe. Katia Moskvitch takes us through the history of our understanding of the enigmatic neutron stars in a book that is punctuated with human stories, crazy ideas, novel instrumentation, and profound discoveries. This rich tale is an inspiring account of the process of science. -- France A. Córdova, former Director of the National Science FoundationA remarkable encounter with remote radio observatories, mind-boggling theories, and the most bizarre objects in the universe. Packed with information but accessible throughout, this fast-paced book is a wonderful introduction to the most exciting topics in current astronomy. -- Govert Schilling, author of Ripples in SpacetimeAn extraordinary blending of scales and disciplines, from astrophysics to particle physics, Neutron Stars faithfully describes one of the most active frontiers of science today, and introduces the exciting new field of multi-messenger astronomy. -- Stavros Katsanevas, Director of the European Gravitational ObservatoryKatia Moskvitch takes the reader on a breakneck tour of the last century of thought and observation into neutron stars. Her research is impeccable, with complicated concepts presented in an easily understood manner. I highly recommend Neutron Stars to anyone who wants to learn not only about the history of neutron star research, but also the current race to understand fast radio bursts, magnetars, and colliding neutron stars. -- Stephen R. Taylor, Vanderbilt UniversityWith journalistic flair, unlimited enthusiasm, and enviable travel funds, Moskvitch has visited radio telescopes on five continents, spoken to many of the key researchers including Jocelyn Bell, and managed to connect a surprising number of dots to give a big picture view of the Universe. -- Michael Gross * Chemistry & Industry *A detailed overview of what we know, and have yet to find out, about neutron stars and their place in the universe…Engaging. -- Jeff Foust * Space Review *An enjoyable read about an area of science in which remarkable advances-in-insight have been made in recent years—and where much promising work looks to be possible. * Complete Review *

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Book SynopsisBeing among bees is a full-body experience, Mark Winston writes. Bee Time presents his reflections on three decades spent studying these remarkable creatures, and on the lessons they can teach about how humans might better interact with one another and the natural world, from the boardroom to urban design to agricultural ecosystems.Trade ReviewMark Winston has spent 30 years studying and working with bees. His book is a passionate celebration of bees, apiaries and honey, as well as a calmly reasoned critique of industrialized farming and a plea to halt the dramatic decline in bee numbers… A wonderfully rich insight into the imperiled world of the bee. -- P. D. Smith * The Guardian *In this personal and scientific journey into the history we share with bees, [Winston] ranges over neonicotinoid pesticides and colony collapse, the control of African ‘killer’ bees and more. The charismatic social insects emerge as both icons of societal cohesion and symbols of nature’s paradoxically mingled power and fragility. -- Barbara Kiser * Nature *[Winston] writes lovingly of the rhythms and quiddities of the apiary… In a highly personal style, Winston steps between reportage, scientific exactitude and a deep, poetically expressed love of bees, beekeeping and the cultural forms that bees inspire. People and bees have been working together for millennia—synergy that Winston, sensitized by his work as a communications specialist, clearly feels brings out the best and the worst in humanity. His take on the situation makes Bee Time an insightful delight. -- Adrian Barnett * New Scientist *Winston wants to acquaint his readers with the fascinating complexity of the bee world, and he also wants to alert readers to the fact that the bee world is drastically endangered. He brings to this hybrid task a very smooth ability to simplify the complex bee-literature he’s obviously mastered, providing engaging glimpses into the world of the hive—and usually presenting them in parallel context of the human world… Considering the enormous ripple-effects that would happen in the wake of the disappearance of these key pollinators, Winston’s wake-up call takes on an urgency that’s belied by its friendly, approachable tone. That clarion call makes Bee Time an important book, even if you by chance suffer from a touch of apiphobia. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *[Winston] presents a stark picture of how much we expect from, and rely on, bees. -- Kristin Treen * Literary Review *Thoughtful and eloquent… Winston is an inspired cross-pollinator, who uses the ‘full-body experience’ of being with bees to draw lessons for human hives. -- Sarah Murdoch * Toronto Star *Like the beekeeper he is, paying careful attention to what’s going on in his colonies, Winston has done a fine job with this book. Bee Time is beautifully written and rich in the detail, evoking emotions without being overly maudlin. -- Jeff Lee * Vancouver Sun *[Winston’s] lyricism inspires awe of these necessary insects. -- Temma Ehrenfeld * Weekly Standard *A recap of what’s been going on in beekeeping over the past 10 years or so… Winston has left no hive unturned in this work, documenting all the good, and the bad that has occurred… There are indeed lessons to learn from a bee hive. This work will share some of them with you. -- Kim Flottum * Bee Culture *Winston combines beekeeping work/research, philosophical musings, and his personal memories in this enjoyable book. -- J. M. Gonzalez * Choice *Bee Time is a unique book: in turn a touching memoir, a warm paean to the honey bees that have fueled Winston’s impressive scientific career, and an insightful analysis of some of the serious environmental problems facing us today. -- Gene E. Robinson, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignNo other book celebrates the long relationship between humans and honeybees as powerfully, thoughtfully, and enchantingly as this one. Written in lyrical prose, Bee Time is a delightful and inspiring read. -- Thomas D. Seeley, author of Honeybee Democracy

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Book SynopsisThe unique relationship between dogs and humans has had huge evolutionary consequences, changing the physical, behavioral, genetic, and emotional characteristics of both species. Pat Shipman looks to fossil records and new evidence to trace how the process of domestication worked and discovers how much of ourselves we owe to our canine companions.Trade ReviewThis book is a great read for anyone interested in dogs but is overall of a high enough quality for scholars to enjoy. Shipman explores the genetic, behavioral, and archaeological studies revealing the development of the companion relationship between people and dogs, and brings the human and canid settlement of the Australian region into a global context. -- Susan O’Connor, author of Transcending the Culture–Nature Divide in Cultural HeritageWhen, where, and how did the partnership between dogs and humans begin? Was it an accident? Was it inevitable? Where would we human beings be without our canine colleagues? Pat Shipman’s Our Oldest Companions is a must-read, a tour de force drawing together under one proverbial roof what science can tell us to date. A follow-up to her provocative and intriguing The Invaders, Dr. Shipman examines the anthropology and archeology of the dog’s transition from wolf to house pet all over the world, from the Australian Outback to north of the Arctic Circle. You’ll want to read this book three, four, even five times in order to absorb the abundance of research and ideas presented here. -- Wendy Williams, author of The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble CompanionThe latest in a string of authoritative and readable books by Pat Shipman benefits from her well-known scientific knowledge and her great storytelling ability. One of the first times anyone has told how the evidence from archaeology and DNA of Sahul, with its late-appearing dingoes and singing dogs, adds to the human story rather than seeming anomalous. It is the perfect complement to other accounts written with a bias towards Africa, Asia, or Europe. This book, like the dogs that are at its center, covers all the continents where modern people have lived with them. Read it. You will enjoy it. -- Iain Davidson, author of Making Scenes: Global Perspectives on Scenes in Rock Art[A] lively tale of dog domestication and migration. -- Josie Glausiusz * Nature *The erudite Our Oldest Companions makes a remarkable story out of the long partnership between humans and dogs. * Foreword Reviews *A fascinating and often surprising exploration of human and canine evolution…[Shipman's] captivating prose will enchant all readers seeking to learn more about humans, dogs, and our long history together. -- Adrienne Krone * Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture *

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Book SynopsisAre we alone in the universe? It is a captivating question, but one that historically eluded proper scientific investigation. The new discipline of astrobiology changes the game, introducing rigor to the quest for extraterrestrial life. Life in the Cosmos surveys the field, showing how cutting-edge research is closing in on the answers “out there.”Trade ReviewThe new go-to for astrobiology. Life in the Cosmos is a quantitative and encyclopedic tour de force for all topics related to the origin of life on Earth and life’s existence beyond. -- Sara Seager, author of The Smallest Lights in the UniverseAn instant classic. Lingam and Loeb’s brilliant Life in the Cosmos is a momentous scientific achievement. To anyone looking to dig deep into the exciting prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life, I say: Make space on your bookshelf. -- Michael J. Russell, University of TurinA book of sweeping vision. Lingam and Loeb offer detailed and insightful analysis of the challenges we face as we investigate the universal distribution of this unusual material we call life. A helpful and fascinating read. -- Charles Cockell, author of Astrobiology: Understanding Life in the UniverseAre we alone in the universe? Lingam and Loeb provide expert guidance to the many dimensions of this fundamental question—and, just maybe, how to answer it. -- Andrew H. Knoll, author of A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight ChaptersA remarkable and modern survey of how to search for life in the universe, from two of the boldest, most innovative thinkers in the field today. Impressively detailed, this book takes into account what we know about life on Earth to consider what we don’t know about life elsewhere. -- Jason Wright, Director, Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence CenterThis book discusses everything you ever wanted to know about life in the cosmos. Lingam and Loeb are the best guides for this truly breathtaking journey, providing masterful and comprehensive answers for everyone, from the scholar to the amateur stargazer. -- Dimitar Sasselov, author of The Life of Super-Earths: How the Hunt for Alien Worlds and Artificial Cells Will Revolutionize Life on Our PlanetThe search for intelligent alien life continues to motivate and inspire generations of scientists and the public alike…The authors separate themselves from other treatments of similar topics by focusing on ‘extraterrestrial technological intelligences’ rather than alien life more generally. * Nature Astronomy *Boldly goes where few academic books have gone before by seriously and open-mindedly considering the possibility of extraterrestrial technological intelligence on par with or far beyond humans…Chock-full of interesting topics and insights…A stellar achievement that deserves the undivided attention of readers who are ready to take a deep dive into astrobiology. * Inquisitive Biologist *An excellent primer on life on earth, from the very beginnings…Both incredibly wide-ranging and constantly fascinating. * Complete Review *

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Book Synopsis By virtue of its casual, off-handedly brilliant wisdom and the easy splendor of its nature writing, Thoreau’s account of his adventure in self-reliance on the shores of a pond in Massachusetts is one of the signposts by which the modern mind has located itself in an increasingly bewildering world. Deeply sane, invigorating in its awareness of humanity’s place in the moral and natural order, Walden represents the progressive spirit of nineteenth-century America at its eloquent best.

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Book SynopsisThe most comprehensive field guide available to the flora and fauna of Florida--a portable, essential companion for visitors and residents alike--from the go-to reference source for over 18 million nature lovers.This compact volume contains:An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more;A complete overview of Florida's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky;An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others.The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 dr

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Book SynopsisA portable, comprehensive field guide to North American butterflies--brimming with concise descriptions and stunning color photographs, and designed to fit into your back pocket--from the go-to reference source for over 18 million nature lovers.This streamlined volume contains: a simple field guide identifying 80 of the most widespread butterflies in North America and a complete overview of observing butterflies, covering basic identifying field marks and practical tips for observing and distinguishing different butterflies.This pocket guide is packed with information; bright photographs capturing the butterflies perched with their wings spread and closed; specific descriptions of each species' important identifying characteristics, life cycle, habitat and range, line drawings depicting the basic butterfly anatomy, a description of major butterfly groups and a glossary of technical terms.When observing these beautifully fragile creatures, the National

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