The Earth: natural history: general interest Books

Book SynopsisA Financial Times Best Science Book of 2023 A scientist’s exploration of the "ocean engine"—the physics behind the ocean’s systems—and why it matters.Trade Review"Riveting.... The cultural history fascinates.... Wide-ranging and meticulously detailed, this captures the wonder, beauty, and intrigue of its subject." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"The Blue Machine is a point of departure, a map for further exploration. Not since reading The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson have I read a book as timely, salient, and informative." -- Todd L. Capson - Science"[Czerski’s] profound, sparkling global ocean voyage mingles history and culture, natural history, geography, animals and people." -- Andrew Robinson - Nature"A beautifully written guide to the seas reveals the hidden complexity of their role in moving energy around the Earth.... A brisk tour of the oceans, like a sleek catamaran skipping over the waves. Deftly harnessing the trade winds of history and geography, guiding us through eddies and currents of anecdote, [Czerski] leaves us with an understanding of the complexity of the oceans." -- Tom Whipple - The Times (UK)"A dazzle of stories beautifully told.... Czerski argues throughout that to truly see the miraculous oceans, to understand and to feel our connection to them, is vital and integral to our history and our future. Her outstanding book advances that understanding and honours that connection. Her readers will see the seas anew." -- Horatio Clare - Telegraph (UK)"Lively and engrossing.... Czerski is an exceptionally able guide.... Alongside her vivid portrayal of waters sliding over one another, colliding, mixing and turning into ice or water vapour, she explains how the living beings within the sea also form part of the ‘blue machine’.... [An] excellent and important book." -- David Abulafia - Spectator"A spectacular read." -- Martin Chilton - The Independent (UK)"Czerski’s fascinating new book casts the ocean as an extraordinary giant engine, and helps us grasp its complex physics and its key role in climate change." -- Graham Lawton - New Scientist"Czerski aims to greatly expand and even revolutionise the reader’s understanding of what is going on in seven tenths of the planet that is not covered in land." -- Financial Times"Czerski is a wonderful writer.... a compelling and elegantly written story.... [The] Blue Machine really does change the way you see the world." -- Christopher Hart - Daily Mail"Helen Czerski, urging us to see the ocean as a presence, not an absence, has done a remarkable job of shoehorning an overview of the whole shebang into a single, very readable volume." -- Jon Turney - Arts Desk"I love Helen Czerski’s writing, and this is her richest work yet—as clear as springwater, yet as filled with fascinating things as the ocean itself." -- Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live and Humanly Possible"In Helen Czerski's hands, the mechanical becomes magical. An instant classic." -- Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea"Awash with fascinating facts. Helen Czerski writes with authority, passion, and an easy conversational style. You will want to be out there on the ice and ocean with her. I loved it." -- Hugh Aldersey-Williams, author of The Tide: The Science and Stories Behind the Greatest Force on Earth"The Blue Machine is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read. Helen Czerski is a consummate storyteller…In places you’ll drift serenely among corals or dense kelp forests, in others you’ll ride Atlantic breakers or fear for your life in a tropical storm…When you resurface, you will be bursting with enthusiasm and wonder and you’ll understand how the ocean works and more besides." -- Dr. George McGavin, zoologist, entomologist, and broadcaster"A fascinating dive into the essential engine that drives our world. Czerski brings the oceans alive with compelling stories that masterfully navigate this most complex system." -- Gaia Vince, author of Nomad Century: How Climate Migration Will Reshape Our World"In this captivating and urgently needed book, Helen Czerski weaves a wonderful, watery spell, entwining spectacular science with poetic awe as she expertly guides readers through the workings of a vast, unfamiliar world. Moving and thrilling, The Blue Machine tells us about the seas but also makes us care: an epic love story that captures the ocean’s beating heart." -- Jo Marchant, author of Cure and The Human Cosmos"Helen Czerski weaves together physics and biology, history and science, in a beautifully poetic way. Fascinating, funny, and deeply moving. From vast currents and tides to the smallest creatures that inhabit our oceans she reveals the spellbinding wonder of the oceans. From the opening paragraph, I was entranced." -- Professor Alice Roberts"A compelling read for science buffs and ocean enthusiasts." -- Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisNovelist and nonfiction writer Philip Gerard invites readers onto the fabled waters of the Cape Fear River and guides them on the 200-mile voyage from the confluence of the Deep and Haw Rivers at Mermaid Point all the way to the Cape of Fear on Bald Head Island.

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Book SynopsisThe nation's approach to managing environmental policy and protecting natural resources has shifted from the national government's top down, command and control, regulatory approach, used almost exclusively in the 1970s, to collaborative, multi-sector approaches used in recent decades to manage problems that are generally too complex, too expensive,, and too politically divisive for one agency to manage or resolve on its own. Governments have organized multi-sector collaborations as a way to achieve better results for the past two decades. We know much about why collaboration occurs. We know a good deal about how collaborative processes work. Collaborations organized, led, and managed by grassroots organizations are rarer, though becoming more common. We do not as yet have a clear understanding of how they might differ from government led collaborations.Hampton Roads, Virginia, located at the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay, offers an unusual opportunity to study and draw comparativTrade ReviewThe idea of participatory democracy and citizen involvement in agency decision making is not new. This is especially true for works on participatory decision making in environmental policy and watershed management. Unfortunately, what sounds like a great idea on the surface rarely works in practice as competing interests often get in the way of compromise and collaboration. This is where The Case for Grassroots Collaboration can prove to be a useful addition to the literature. The authors provide three case studies of situations where the approach did work--the Elizabeth River watershed, the Lynnhaven River watershed, and the Nansemond River watershed. . . .The authors synthesize the factors that led to success in these cases in order to provide a template for future use. This is what is necessary if citizens and policy makers are to bridge the gap between a promising theory and a generally elusive practice and make more widespread use of grassroots participation. For this reason, the work is recommended. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduate collections and above. * CHOICE *This is a richly detailed and carefully supported examination of an under-explored aspect of environmental protection, the role of grassroots organizations. The work is particularly valuable for the specific, well-documented characterizations of these organizations. The mix of history and interpretation, which constitute the heart of the book, is especially noteworthy. This mix provides the necessary scholarly framework within which the reader can place the concrete details that draw the reader into the content deeply. The Case for Grassroots Collaboration has the potential to add to the field's knowledge of an important yet emerging topic. -- Gerald Andrews Emison, Mississippi State UniversityThis work offers a fresh perspective on collaboration by focusing on citizen-based efforts to resolve complex problems. An in-depth examination of three grassroots environmental organizations reveals the power in voluntary collaboration as a catalyst for action. -- Madeleine W. McNamara, University of New OrleansThe Case for Grassroots Collaboration brings together the most current research on environmental collaboration, with a special focus on the potential of local, place-based initiatives to make a significant difference in ecological restoration efforts, such as the Chesapeake Bay. The book’s major theme, “restoring water quality one watershed at a time,” richly illustrated by three in-depth case studies, inspires hope for those discouraged by the limited success of government-led, large-scale environmental collaboration. The message, supported by evidence from these case studies, is that small successes in improving water quality support gains on a larger scale. The rich detail in the case studies, framed by current literature, is valuable to academic researchers, and accessible to citizens who are inspired by their own sense of place to make a difference. -- Christine Reed, University of Nebraska-OmahaTable of ContentsList of Figures List of Abbreviations Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Grassroots Collaborations to Solve Environmental Problems Chapter 2: A Framework for Collaboration: Building Social Capital, Improving Environmental Outcomes, and Maximizing Democratic Values Chapter 3: The Chesapeake Bay: Local Efforts, Regional Connections Chapter 4: Restoring Princess Elizabeth’s River Chapter 5: The Return of the Oyster to the Lynnhaven River Chapter 6: The Nansemond: A Tale of Two Rivers Chapter 7: Conclusion: One Watershed at a Time Appendix: List of Interviewees Reference List About the Authors Index

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Book SynopsisPioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson explores the wonders of the Earth''s oceans in these classics of American science and nature writing.Includes meticulously restored drawings from the original editions, including the nearly 200 illustrations by Bob Hines for The Edge of the SeaRachel Carson is perhaps most famous as the author of Silent Spring, but she was first and foremost a "poet of the sea" and the three books collected in this deluxe Library of America volume are classics of American science and nature writing.Under the Sea-Wind (1941), Carson''s lyrical debut, offers an intimate account of maritime ecology through the eyes of three of the ocean''s denizens, the individual lives of sanderling, mackerel, and eel dramatically intertwined in the enduring ebb and flow of the tides. The Sea Around Us (1951)--a winner of the National Book Award--draws on a wealth of oceanographic, meteorological, biological, and historical research to present its subject on a grand, biospheric scale, revealing not only many mysteries of the still-unfathomed depths, but a reverence for the sea as a source of global climate and of life itself.Concluding Carson''s "sea trilogy," The Edge of the Sea (1955) explores the habits of the many small creatures that live on shorelines and in tidepools accessible to any beachcomber: part identification guide, part hymn to ecological complexity, it is a book that conveys the "sense of wonder" in nature for which Carson is justly celebrated.At a moment when overfishing, pollution, and global warming are causing catastrophic changes to marine environments worldwide, Carson''s lyrically detailed accounts of these environments offer a timely reminder of their beauty, fragility, and immense consequence for human life.

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Book SynopsisNew York State Freshwater Fishes is a portable reference guide to 80 native species of freshwater fish that inhabit New York State''s lakes and rivers. The illustrated, 12-panel folding guide features a watershed map to which each species is keyed, and provides descriptions of anatomy and distinguishing features. Made in the USA.

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