Nature and the natural world: general interest Books
HarperCollins In Defense of Hunting
£11.39
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Pastoral Song
Book Synopsis
£16.14
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023
Book SynopsisAward-winning writer, columnist, and journalists Carl Zimmer selects twenty science and nature essays that represent the best examples of the form published in 2022.A collection of the best science and nature articles written in 2022, selected by guest editor Carl Zimmer and series editor Jaime Green. Trade Review“Captivating. . . . The contributors showcase science journalism’s capacity to educate while entertaining, and the timely bent of the selections gives the collection a sense of urgency. . . . Readers will be enthralled.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
£14.24
Penguin Random House LLC The Land of Little Rain Classic Nature Penguin
£18.00
Penguin Random House LLC My First Summer in the Sierra Penguin nature library
£18.00
Penguin Putnam Inc Where I Lived and What I Lived for Penguin Great
Book SynopsisThe perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world.Thoreau's account of his solitary and self-sufficient home in the New England woods remains an inspiration to the environmental movement—a call to his fellow men to abandon their striving, materialistic existences of 'quiet desperation' for a simple life within their means, finding spiritual truth through awareness of the sheer beauty of their surroundings.
£12.60
Penguin Putnam Inc The Snow Leopard
Book SynopsisAn unforgettable spiritual journey through the Himalayas by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014), the National Book Award-winning author of the new novel In Paradise In 1973, Peter Matthiessen and field biologist George Schaller traveled high into the remote mountains of Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and possibly glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard. Matthiessen, a student of Zen Buddhism, was also on a spiritual quest to find the Lama of Shey at the ancient shrine on Crystal Mountain. As the climb proceeds, Matthiessen charts his inner path as well as his outer one, with a deepening Buddhist understanding of reality, suffering, impermanence, and beauty. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by acclaimed travel writer and novelist Pico Iyer.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.
£15.30
Oxford University Press Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads
Book SynopsisThe natural history museum is a place where the line between "high" and "low" culture effectively vanishes - where our awe of nature, our taste for the bizarre and our thirst for knowledge all blend together. But, as this text shows, there is more going on in these institutions than just smart fun.Trade Review"In Stuffed Animals, the natural history museum is a dimly lit stage for scientific dreams. Inside its cabinet of wonder, the mysteries of the natural world are laid bare and the rupture between the scientific and the sublime is momentarily healed."--Voice Literary Supplement"Rich in detail, lucid explanation, telling anecdotes, and fascinating characters.... Asma has rendered a fascinating and credible account of how natural history museums are conceived and presented. It's the kind of book that will not only engage a wide and diverse readership, but it should, best of all, send them flocking to see how we look at nature and ourselves in those fabulous legacies of the curiosity cabinet."--Boston Herald"Asma has already established himself as one of the most creative minds working in cultural history and the history of science. Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads is an incredibly stimulating discussion of the role of natural history museums in culture and society. It should be read by all, both practicing scientists and philosophers, and the broadly curious general reader."--Michael Ruse, author of The Darwinian Revolution: Science Red in Tooth and Claw"Strap yourself into your seat and prepare for a thrilling ride back into history and natural history through Stephen Asma's time machine--two hundred years back into the history of natural history museums, and two million years back into natural history itself. The weird and the wonderful are on display and visually striking, as Asma traces our journey to understand our origins and evolution, and how we have struggled mightily to convey millions of years of time and change to a species whose chronology is set in decades. A gripping tale with great illustrations that are absolutely necessary--for we are the most visual of all the primates, and there is no greater theatre than evolution."--Michael Shermer, author of The Borderlands of Sciencehistoryh Asma's Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads surveys the presence and evolution of natural history museums around the world interviewing curators, scientists and exhibit designers and providing many observations of the history of these museums and how their contents and approaches have evolved. The result is an excellent and intriguing survey of the evolution of natural history collections."--The Bookwatch
£22.49
Oxford University Press American Wilderness A New History
Book SynopsisThis collected volume of original essays proposes to address the state of scholarship on the political, cultural, and intellectual history of Americans responses to wilderness from first contact to the present. While not bringing a synthetic narrative to wilderness, the volume will gather competing interpretations of wilderness in historical context.Trade ReviewValuable for both is synthesis and innovation. American Wilderness: A New History successfully draws together essays that explore the paradoxes and controversies that continue to plague this mercurial concept. * Robin O'Sullivan, H-Net Book Review *Table of ContentsCh. 1: Michael Lewis: American Wilderness--An Introduction Ch. 2: Melanie Perreault: American Wilderness and First Contact Ch. 3: Mark Stoll: Religion "Irradiates" the Wilderness Ch. 4: Steven Stoll: Farm Against Forest Ch. 5: Bradley P. Dean: Natural History, Romanticism, and Thoreau Ch. 6: Angela Miller: The Fate of Wilderness in American Landscape Art: The Dilemmas of "Nature's Nation" Ch. 7: Benjamin Johnson: Wilderness Parks and Their Discontents Ch. 8: Char Miller: A Sylvan Prospect: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Early Twentieth-Century Conservatism Ch. 9: Kimberly A. Jarvis: Gender and Wilderness Conservation Ch. 10: Paul Sutter: Putting Wilderness in Context: The Interwar Origins of the Modern Wilderness Idea Ch. 11: Mark Harvey: Loving the Wild in Postwar America Ch. 12: Michael Lewis: Wilderness and Conservation Science Ch. 13: Christopher Conte: Creating Wild Places from Domesticated Landscapes: The Internationalization of the American Wilderness Concept Ch. 14: James Morton Turner: The Politics of Modern Wilderness Donald Worster: Epilogue: Nature, Liberty, and Equality Recommended Readings
£31.34
Oxford University Press The Variety of Life
Book SynopsisThe Variety of Life can be read at many levels. Not least it is an extraordinary inventory - an illustrated summary of all the Earthly creatures that have ever lived. Whatever living thing you come across, from E coli to an oak tree or an elephant, The Variety of Life will show you what kind of creature it is, and how it relates to all others. Yet there are far too many creatures to present merely as a catalogue. The list of species already described is vast enough - nearly two million - but there could in reality be as many as 30 million different animals, plants, fungi and protists - and perhaps another 400 million different bacteria and archaea. In the 4,000 million years or so since life first began on Earth, there could have been several thousand billion different species. The only way to keep track of so many is to classify - placing similar creatures into categories, which nest within larger categories, and so on. As the centuries have passed, so it has become clear that the difTrade ReviewReview from previous edition The first part of The Variety of Life provides an excellent discussion and explanation of the systematisation of life, which is far from being static and boring. * The Herald 09/02/00 *This is much more thatn a beautifilly illustrated, engagingly written catalogue * The Independent 09/03/2002 *..wonderful encyclopedic "labour of love". * The Herald 09/02/2000 *Hopefully, the success The Variety of Life deserves will help encourage us "to share (our planet) with so many goodly creatures". * The Herald 09/02/2000 *The Variety of Life is far more than just another good popular science book. It's a celebration of the "huge privilege" it is to share the planet with so many fantastical creatures. * Independent Weekend 08/04/00 *Taxonomy may sound dull, but Tudge makes a brilliant case for it. A seasoned science writer with a delightfully light touch, he can make the most arcane subject appealing... a beautifully illustrated introduction to everything that's ever lived. * Independent Weekend 08/04/00 *...exceptionally clear, user-friendly, and up-to-date...a valuable introduction to the higher classification of organisms and an easily accessible reference work to the entire spread of biodiversity. * Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University *...For all natural historians and anyone professing biology The Variety of Life is a must * Douglas Palmer, Amazon.co.uk January 2000 *Throughout the book, which one might expect to be dryly taxonomical, he inserts adjectives like "fascinating", "marvellous", and "extraordinary". I will let his own words describe his book. * Richard Ellis, The Times 16th March 2000 *This book is a remarkable achievement, giving an authoritative overview of the whole of life in a readable way that should be accessible to anyone with an interest in natural history. Find an excuse to buy it. * Bulletin of the British Ecological Society 2000 *...this is a lovely and accessible book...It will be hugely valuable as a source-book for student libraries, and highly informative for any enthusiastic lay naturalist curious about the life around them and the fossils beneath them. * Nature September 2000 *The book is excellently produced, can be recommended unreservedly to all interested in the life sciences (especially molecular biologists), and is remarkably good value for money. * Galton Insitute Newsletter September 2000 *Table of ContentsCLASSIFICATION AND THE SEARCH FOR ORDER; THE NATURAL ORDER: DARWIN'S DREAM AND HENNIG'S SOLUTION; DATA; CLADE, GRADE, AND A PLEA FOR NONLINNEAN IMPRESSIONISM ; THE DOMAIN OF THE PROKARYOTES: BACTERIA AND ARCHAEA;THE DOMAIN OF THE NUCLEUS: THE EUCARYOTA; MUSHROOMS, MOULDS AND LICHENS: RUSTS, SMUT AND ROT: THE KINGDOM OF THE FUNGI;THE ANIMALS; ANEMONES, CORALS, JELLYFISH AND SEA-PENS; CLAMS AND COCKLES, SNAILS AND SLUGS, OCTOPUS AND SQUIDS; ANIMALS WITH JOINTED LEGS; LOBSTERS, CRABS, SHRIMPS, BARNACLES AND MANY MORE BESIDES; THE INSECTS; SPIDERS, SCORPIONS, MITES, WATER-SCORPIONS, HORSESHOE CRABS, AND SEA SPIDERS; STARFISH AND BRITTLE STARS, SEA URCHINS AND SAND DOLLARS, SEA LILIES, SEA DAISIES AND SEA CUCUMBERS; SEA-SQUIRTS, LANCELETS, AND VERTEBRATES; SHARKS, RAYS AND CHIMAERAS; THE RAY-FINNED BONY FISH; LOBEFINS AND TETRAPODS; THE REPTILES; THE MAMMALS; LEMURS, LORISES, TARSIERS, MONKEYS AND APES: THE ORDER OF THE PRIMATES; HUMAN BEINGS AND OUR IMMEDIATE RELATIVES; THE BIRDS; THE MODERN BIRDS; THE PLANTS; THE FLOWERING PLANTS; DAISIES, ARTICHOCKES, THISTLES AND LETTUCE ; EPILOGUE ; INDEX
£38.47
Lulu.com THE TRIUMVIRATE OF LIFE Earth Humankind and Volition
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£12.99
Random House USA Inc Its a Cats WorldYou Just Live in It Everything
Book SynopsisFinally, the truth about cats is out of the bag!If cat lovers are from Venus, then cats hail from another planet altogether. Mischievous and aloof one moment, affectionate the next, the cat is a confounding creature right down to its question mark of a tail. What cat owner hasn’t wondered what goes on inside that mysterious kitty brain? In this companion to It’s a Dog’s Life . . . but It’s Your Carpet, veterinary specialist Dr. Justine A. Lee answers your questions about all things feline in this entertaining and enlightening guide. An animal lover with two cats of her own, Dr. Lee combines scientific research with irreverent humor to address questions ranging from the common to the offbeat, including:• Do cats always land on their feet?• Can I train my cat to use the toilet?• Do cats have belly buttons? • How do I stop my cat from begging for food at 5:45 a.m.?• Can cats really predict
£14.55
Little, Brown & Company The Sun Is a Compass
Book SynopsisDuring graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals.In March of 2012 she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic. Travelling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft and canoe, they explored northern landscapes so remote there were no maps or guidebooks to mark them. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace - migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure and personal narrative, the book explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of creatures whose daily survival is nothing short of miraculous. It is a journey through the heart, the mind and some of the wildest places left in North America.In the end, The Sun Is a Compass is a love letter to nature, an inspiring story of endurance and a beautifully written testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
£999.99
Voracious 100 Animals That Can Fcking End You
Book Synopsis
£19.79
Little, Brown & Company The Rural Life
£15.29
Random House USA Inc Last Chance to See
Book Synopsis
£15.30
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Best American Science And Nature Writing 2020
Book SynopsisA collection of the best science and nature writing published in North America in 2019, guest edited by New York Times best-selling author and ground-breaking physicist Dr. Michio Kaku.“Scientists and science writers have a monumental task: making science exciting and relevant to the average person, so that they care,” writes renowned American physicist Michio Kaku. “If we fail in this endeavor, then we must face dire consequences.” From the startlingly human abilities of AI, to the devastating accounts of California’s forest fires, to the impending traffic jam on the moon, the selections in this year’s Best American Science and Nature Writing explore the latest mysteries and marvels occurring in our labs and in nature. These gripping narratives masterfully translate the work of today’s brightest scientists, offering a clearer view of our world and making us care. THE BEST AMERICANTrade Review“A must-buy.”—Booklist —
£16.14
Lulu.com A Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for Wake Island
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£10.20
Lulu.com A Magnificent Fight Marines in the Battle for Wake Island
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£22.92
Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Pine Barrens
Book SynopsisMost people think of New Jersey as a suburban-industrial corridor that runs between New York and Philadelphia. Yet in the low center of the state is a near wilderness, larger than most national parks, which has been known since the seventeenth century as the Pine Barrens.The term refers to the predominant trees in the vast forests that cover the area and to the quality of the soils below, which are too sandy and acid to be good for farming. On all sides, however, developments of one kind or another have gradually moved in, so that now the central and integral forest is reduced to about a thousand square miles. Although New Jersey has the heaviest population density of any state, huge segments of the Pine Barrens remain uninhabited. The few people who dwell in the region, the Pineys, are little known and often misunderstood. Here McPhee uses his uncanny skills as a journalist to explore the history of the region and describe the peopleand their distinctive folklorewho call it
£14.45
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Bird School
£25.50
WW Norton & Co A Stillness in the Pines The Ecology of the Red Cockaded Woodpecker Commonwealth Fund Book Program
Book SynopsisA wonderful book . . . will be enjoyed by anyone with interest in either birds or the impact that humanity is having on its fellow travelers on spaceship earth. -Paul R. Ehrlich, author of The Population BombTrade Review"Densely packed, adroitly written life history of the red-cockaded woodpecker. . . . Expand[s] our understanding of a single species into a broad appreciation of ecology." -- Kirkus Reviews
£18.50
Houghton Mifflin Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern and
Book Synopsis
£18.40
Basic Books Why Birds Sing A Journey Into the Mystery of Bird Song
Book SynopsisThe astonishing richness of birdsong is both an aesthetic and a scientific mystery. Evolutionists have never been able to completely explain why birdsong is so inventive and why many species devote so many hours to singing. The standard explanations of defending territories and attracting mates don''t begin to account for the variety and energy that the commonest birds exhibit. Is it possible that birds sing because they like to? This seemingly naive explanation is starting to look more and more like the truth. Why Birds Sing is a lyric exploration of birdsong that blends the latest scientific research with a deep understanding of musical beauty and form. Drawing on conversations with neuroscientists, ecologists, and composers, it is the first book to investigate the elusive question of why birds sing and what their song means to both avian and human ears. Whether playing his clarinet with the whitecrested laughing thrush in Pittsburgh, or jamming in the Australian winter breeding gr
£20.89
Random House USA Inc The Uninhabitable Earth Life After Warming
Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The Uninhabitable Earth hits you like a comet, with an overflow of insanely lyrical prose about our pending Armageddon.”—Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday DemonWith a new afterwordIt is worse, much worse, than you think. If your anxiety about global warming is dominated by fears of sea-level rise, you are barely scratching the surface of what terrors are possible—food shortages, refugee emergencies, climate wars and economic devastation. An “epoch-defining book” (The Guardian) and “this generation’s Silent Spring” (The Washington Post), The Uninhabitable Earth is both a travelogue of the near future and a meditation on how that future will look to those living through it—the ways that warming promises to transform global politics, the meaning of technology and nature in the
£16.20
Mariner Books Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians
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£23.39
HarperCollins Publishers Good Birders Still Dont Wear White
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Mariner Books Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests
Book SynopsisA comprehensive field guide to the nests and nesting behavior of North American birdsBeyond being a simple reference book, the Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests is a practical, educational, and intimate doorway to our continent’s bird life. The diversity of nests and nesting strategies of birds reflect the unique biology and evolution of these charismatic animals. Unlike any other book currently on the market, this guide comprehensively incorporates nest design, breeding behavior, and habitat preferences of North American birds to provide the reader with a highly functional field resource and an engaging perspective of this sensitive part of a bird’s life cycle.
£21.24
HarperCollins Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and
Book Synopsis
£23.80
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc Lost in the Barrens
Book SynopsisAwasin and Jamie, brothers in courage, meet a challenge many mountain men could not endure. When their canoe is destroyed by the fury of the rapids, they must face the wilderness with no food and no hope of rescue. To survive, they build an igloo, battle a towering grizzly bear, track several wolves, slaughter caribou for food and clothing. Two lost huskies they tame bring companionship--and maybe a way home from their dangerous adventure.
£7.59
Fornax Adventure Yellowstone A Rediscovery
£25.00
Random House USA Inc Phosphorescence
Book Synopsis“Both timeless and timely, this is a book of wisdom and wonder” (Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of March), a deeply personal exploration of what can sustain us through our darkest moments.“What has fascinated and sustained me over these last few years has been the notion that we have the ability to find, nurture, and carry our own inner, living light—a light to ward off the darkness. This is not about burning brightly; it’s about yielding a more simple phosphorescence—being luminous, having stored light for later use. Staying alive, remaining upright, even when lashed by doubt.” After surviving a difficult heartbreak and battle with cancer, acclaimed author and columnist Julia Baird began thinking deeply about how we, as people, persevere through the most challenging circumstances. She started to wonder, when we are overwhelmed by illness, loss or pain, or a tragedy outside o
£17.10
Random House USA Inc Sibley Backyard Birding Flashcards Revised and
Book SynopsisA beautifully illustrated, fully revised and updated flashcard deck for birdwatchers at every level from leading ornithologist David SibleyCalling birders of all ages: There’s no better way to start learning your birds! This new edition of the beloved Sibley Backyard Birding Flashcards offers 100 cards showing portraits of commonly seen North American birds from The Sibley Guide to Birds Second Edition.One side features two depictions of a bird (either male or female; breeding and nonbreeding; or juvenile and adult), and the flip side offers a slew of details about the bird to commit to memory:• Popular and Latin names• Size, weight, wingspan• Brief description• Voice• Habitat• Full-color range map Just pull a card, guess the name of the bird you see, and turn it over to see if you got it right. Then scan the additional information to learn more a
£20.40
iUniverse Youre the Elephant Man If Youre Still Alive After Two Weeks Youre Permanent
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£16.59
iUniverse A Naturalist Indoors Observing the World of Nature Inside Your Home
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£16.59
iUniverse Unknown Waters in an Unknown Land Trout and the Soul in Iowa
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£14.61
iUniverse Mostly Sand and Gravel Artifact Adventures on the High Plains
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£18.07
iUniverse The Spirit of Hiking in the Hamptons Poetry of the Soul
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£15.60
iUniverse Understanding The Rain Natural Lessons From An Oregon Life
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£14.61
iUniverse Polar State Parables
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£16.59
iUniverse Teachings of the Cat Zen Masters
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£8.50
iUniverse A Spiral Wind
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£11.32
iUniverse Passive Fear Alternative to Fight or Flight When frightened animals hide
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£11.22
iUniverse Barefoot Boy An Anthology of Blue Ridge Poems
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£9.54
iUniverse THE OVERTURE BIRD POEMS
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£9.48
iUniverse Bows Swamps Whitetails
£11.54
iUniverse WHAT THE HEART WANTS Stories of Hope and Belonging
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£9.24
iUniverse Sonnets of the Christmas Season
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£8.97
