Search results for ""Author Bird"

The Ormesby Psalter is perhaps the most magnificent yet enigmatic of the great Gothic psalters produced in East Anglia in the first half of the fourteenth century. Its pages boast a wealth of decoration picked out in rich colours and burnished gold, and its margins are inhabited by a vibrant crew of beasts, birds and insects. Fantastic imagery proliferates: musicians, mermaids, lovers and warriors are juxtaposed with scenes from everyday life, from chivalric legend, and from folk-tales, fables and riddles. The psalter takes its name from Robert of Ormesby, subprior at Norwich Cathedral Priory in the 1330s. He was not the first owner, however, and it has long been acknowledged that the writing, decoration and binding of the book took place in a series of distinct phases from the late thirteenth to the mid-fourteenth century. The final result was the work of four or five scribes and up to seven illuminators and its pages show a panorama of stylistic development. Unravelling its complexities has sometimes been thought to hold the key to understanding the ‘East Anglian School’, a group of large, luxury manuscripts connected with Norwich Cathedral and Norfolk churches and patrons. This book casts an entirely new light on its history, not only clarifying and dating the successive phases of production, but associating the main work on the manuscript with the patronage of John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, one of the greatest magnates of the time. It is extensively illustrated with full-page colour reproductions of the manuscript’s main decorated folios, as well as many smaller initials and numerous comparative illustrations.

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Letters & Sounds (2021): Phase 2 Scholastic Set: 04 Title: This and That Focus: qu sh th nk Tricky words: I and to go be is no Book Band: Red This title is part of a brand new set of phonically decodable reading books perfect for very early readers. These expertly levelled stories are engaging, and are exactly matched to Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Revised, used in schools across the UK. The series includes a wide selection of diverse and inclusive stories, accompanied by bright, contemporary and humorous illustrations that will engage and inspire young readers with a 'find the character' feature on each spread. The artwork is detailed so as not to provide picture cues and prompting. Each book also contains parent's notes and a 'retell the story' task to support children's oracy, vocabulary and comprehension skills. Thirteen sets of books covering groups of sounds to allow for progression. The stories in this set focus on the sounds found in Scholastic Set 04 and revise the sounds found in previous sets. There are thirteen sets in total, covering: Phase 2 Set 1: s a t p i n m d Phase 2 Set 2: g o c k ck e u r h b f l Phase 2 Set 3: ff ll ss j v w x y z zz Phase 2 Set 4: qu ch sh th ng nk Phase 3 Set 5: ai ee igh oa oo Phase 3 Set 6: ar or ur ow oi ear air er Phase 4 Set 7: Adjacent consonants with short vowels Phase 4 Set 8: Adjacent consonants with Phase 3 long vowels Phase 5 Set 9: ay (play), ou (cloud), oy (boy), ea (each), ir (bird), ie (pie), ue (blue), u (unicorn) Phase 5 Set 10: o (go), i (tiger), a (paper), e (he), a-e (snake), i-e (time), o-e (home), u-e (cute), e-e (these), ew (new), ie (shield), aw (claw) Phase 5 Set 11: y (funny), ea (head), wh (wheel), oe (toe), ou (shoulder), y (fly), ow (snow), g (giant), ph (phone), le (apple), al (metal), c (ice), ve (give), o-e (some), o (mother), ou (young), se (cheese), se (mouse), ce (fence), ey (donkey), ui (fruit), ou (soup) Phase 5 Set 12: or (word), u (full), oul (could), are (share), ear (bear), ere (there), au (author), aur (dinosaur), oor (floor), al (walk), tch (match), ture (adventure), al (half), a (father), a (water), a (want), ear (learn), wr (wrist), st (whistle), sc (science), ch (school), ch (chef), ze (freeze), schwa at the end of words (actor) Phase 5 Set 13: eigh (eight), aigh (straight), ey (grey), ea (break), gn (gnaw), kn (knee), mb (thumb), ere (here), eer (deer), su (treasure), si (vision), dge (bridge), ge (large), y (crystal), ti (potion), ssi (mission), si (mansion), ci (delicious), augh (daughter), our (pour), oar (oar), ore (more) Have you got them all?

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Winner of the Creative Play Awards 2023 Discover the treasures of our natural world with 52 fun activities following the seasons. Filled with activities and games for children aged 7 years and up to do out and about in nature that are budget-friendly and will entertain all year round. From spring birdwatching walks to summer park games, autumn wildlife tracking to winter nature rubbings, these 52 things to see and do will inspire children to go on a nature walk and have fun outdoors! Fun activities for every week of the year Easy-to-follow instructions and tips Colourful photographs and illustrations From authors of A Year of Nature Craft and Play, (9780008467944), awarded Highly Commended in the 2022 Creative Play Awards.

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In this first biography of David Henry Lewis, Ben Lowings examines his lifetime of adventure forensically yet sympathetically, and unlocks the secrets of his determination. This British-born New Zealander was the first person to sail a catamaran around the world, the first — in Ice Bird — to reach Antarctica solo under sail, and the first to make known to Westerners how ancient navigators reached — and could reach again — the Pacific islands. His many voyages resulted in thirteen books published and translated worldwide; many were bestsellers — We, the Navigators has not been out of print since first publication in 1972. David Lewis’s achievements have been acknowledged with a series of awards, including that of Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. But the price of David Lewis’s adventures had ultimately to be paid by others in the succession of families he created, then broke apart; and many of his actions brought him into conflict with the feelings of friends and contemporaries. We may legitimately ask 'was it really all worth it?' For the first time his six marriages are revealed, through more than a year of original research in Britain, Australia and New Zealand — including interviews with all surviving family members, as well as friends and fellow voyagers. Events thinly-sketched or omitted in his own writings, such as his father’s own failings, are investigated. His kayaking, mountain-climbing and sailing were struggles all the more difficult because of a fractured backbone, shattered elbow and impaired vision. David Lewis’s early years get the comprehensive documentation they deserve — in his own memoir he jumps straight from child to fully-fledged explorer. Inaccuracies are corrected in his tale of kayaking four hundred miles home from school. As playboy medical student, British paratrooper fighting in Normandy, and political activist in Palestine, Jamaica and London, he grappled with academic and colonial prejudice, and fought anti-Semitism and inequality; all is examined. As a general practitioner in the East End’s impure 1950s air he worked where the new National Health Service was most needed. Professional frustrations and marital disappointments were not soothed by weekend sailing. He would join a pioneering single-handed yacht race to America in 1960, leaving his first daughter to find him on board in Plymouth to say farewell only at the last minute. In 1964 he would race again, but this time in a catamaran, and then, with Fiona, his new wife, and their daughters, girdle the earth in it. For the first time, their circumnavigation is described in part from Fiona’s perspective. Media accounts and passages from his many books build up a picture of a consistently experimental, and utterly untypical, middle aged man. Every word in the Antarctic logbook of Ice Bird — scrawled with freezing hands — is closely compared with literary sources, National Geographic articles and his commercially successful book-length account. A new critical appreciation shows the white heat at the core of his being. He has abandoned his children again, and been drugged by ocean solitude. But in the act of writing he is earning his place among humanity. To hell with the frozen hands.

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Planning the Play of a Bridge Hand, by the same author team, (978 1897106 51 8), was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Bridge Teachers' Association. Building on the success of that title, this book gives the near-beginner a chance to practice the principles on which sound defensive play is based, from the opening lead onwards. This is not just a series of problem hands, however. Each section contains a brief introduction of its topic, and the ideas are reinforced with carefully explained solutions and helpful tips throughout.

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Peregrine falcons have their share of claims to fame. With a diving speed of over two hundred miles per hour, these birds of prey are the fastest animals on earth or in the sky, and they are now well known for adapting from life on rocky cliffs to a different kind of mountain: modern skyscrapers. But adaptability only helps so much. In 1951, there were no peregrines left in Illinois, and it looked as if the species would be wiped out entirely in North America. Today, however, peregrines are flourishing. In The Peregrine Returns, Mary Hennen gives wings to this extraordinary conservation success story. Drawing on the beautiful watercolors of Field Museum artist-in-residence Peggy Macnamara and photos by Field Museum research assistant Stephanie Ware, as well as her own decades of work with peregrines, Hennen focuses her tale on Illinois's Chicago Peregrine Program, a collaboration between researchers and citizen scientists. She follows the journey of Illinois's peregrines from their devastating decline to the discovery of its cause (a thinning of eggshells caused by a byproduct of DDT), through to recovery, revealing how the urban landscape has played an essential role in enabling falcons to return to the wild and how people are now learning to live in close proximity to these captivating raptors. Both a model for conservation programs across the country and an eye-opening look at the many creatures with which we share our homes, this richly illustrated story of the Chicago Peregrine Program is an inspiring example of how urban architecture can serve not only our cities' human inhabitants, but also their wild ones.

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Studies representations of women and death by women to see whether and how they differ from patriarchal versions. In Western culture, women are often linked with death, perhaps because they are traditionally constructed as an unknowable "other." The first two Women and Death volumes investigate ideas about death and the feminine as represented in German culture since 1500, focusing, respectively, on the representation of women as victims and killers and the idea of the woman warrior, and confirming that women who kill or die violent or untimely deaths exercisefascination even as they pose a threat. The traditions of representation traced in the first two volumes, however, are largely patriarchal. What happens when it is women who produce the representations? Do they debunk or reject the dominant discourses of sexual fascination around women and death? Do they replace them with more sober or "realistic" representations, with new forms, modes, and language? Or do women writers and artists, inescapably bound up in patriarchal tradition, reproduce its paradigms? This third volume in the series investigates these questions in ten essays written by an international group of expert scholars. It will be of interest to scholars and students of German literature and culture, gender studies, and film studies. Contributors: Judith Aikin, Barbara Becker-Cantarino, Jill Bepler, Stephanie Bird, Abigail Dunn, Stephanie Hilger, Elisabeth Krimmer, Aine McMurtry, Simon Richter, Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly. Clare Bielby is Lecturer in German at the University of Hull. Anna Richards is Lecturer in German at Birkbeck College, University of London.

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The award-winning Curiositree: Natural World explores, through 67 exquisitely illustrated charts, the myriad ways in which plants and animals have adapted to survive. Discover the interconnectedness of the natural world and learn why living things look and behave the way they do in a series of visually compelling information charts, maps and cutaways, all illustrated in a nostalgic, vintage style. Packed with incredible facts about the natural world and the animals that populate it, the whole family will enjoy the full-page spreads grouped into the categories of habitats, species and adaptations.The jacket of this large-format book unfolds to a huge wall poster showing the brilliant adaptations of a range of birds. Use the coloured ribbons like a bookmark, or to mark your place so you can return to pages that you found especially interesting. Celebrate the extraordinary resourcefulness and resilience of the natural world with amazing facts about: Habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity Migrations, from the wildebeest of Africa to the red crabs of Christmas Island All types of camouflage, from predator-dazing zebra stripes to the fur of the Artic fox, which changes to white in winter to match the snow Life in the rainforest, the ‘lungs of our planet’ All sorts of seeds and their variety of ingenious designs Life cycles of creatures, from butterflies to the curious axolotl (a type of salamander) As the human species, Homo sapiens, are challenged now to find ways to live and survive in harmony with nature, curiosity will provide the answers. So, set out on your own adventure in this book, and discover why the natural world is worthy of your unending curiosity.

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First published in 1814 and expanded in 1821 – long before the era of colour photography or print – Syme’s edition of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours attempted to establish a universal colour reference system to help identify, classify and represent species from the natural world. Werner’s set of 54 colour standards was enhanced by Patrick Syme with the addition of colour swatches and further references from nature, taking the total number of hues classified to 110. The resulting resource proved invaluable not only to artists but also to zoologists, botanists, mineralogists and anatomists. In Nature’s Palette this technicolour trove has, for the first time, been enhanced with the addition of illustrations of the animals, vegetables and minerals Werner referenced alongside each colour swatch and accompanied by expert text explaining the uses and development of colour standards in relation to zoology, botany, minerology and anatomy. This fully realized colour catalogue includes elegant contemporary illustrations of every animal, plant or mineral that Syme cited. Readers can see for themselves Tile Red in the Cock Bullfinch’s breast, Shrubby Pimpernel and Porcelain Jasper; or admire the Berlin Blue that Syme identified on the wing feathers of a Jay, in the Hepatica flower and in Blue Sapphire. Displays of contemporary collector’s cabinets of birds, butterflies, eggs, flowers and minerals are interspersed at intervals throughout the compendium, with individual specimens colour matched to colour swatches. Still a much-loved reference among artists, naturalists and everyone fascinated by colour today, Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours finds its fullest expression in this beautiful and comprehensive colour reference system.With 1000 illustrations in colour

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In January 1945, the collapse of the German front along the Siegfried Line led to a large-scale dissolution of German combat forces and capability. Pressed hard by Allied forces advancing eastward, German units often found themselves trapped west of the Rhine River. With his eye on history, US Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. was determined to be the first leader since Napoleon to make an assault crossing of the Rhine. The most logical crossing-place was at Mainz, as it served as a major railroad logistical link from west to east. However, Patton was aware that this would be obvious to the Germans, and therefore he and his staff made rapid plans for another site at Nierstein and Oppenheim, about 12 miles south of Mainz. The crossing began at 2230 hours on 23 March, when the first boats carrying 11th Infantry Regiment troops left the western bank of the Rhine. They met with little opposition; despite a few sharp counterattacks, overall resistance was light and American forces suffered few casualties. By 24 March, the US 4th Armoured Division under Brig. Gen. William Hoge crossed the Rhine and began the exploitation phase. By 26 March, the exploitation to the Main River was clearly a rout, exacerbated by additional crossings of the Rhine by other Allied units over the next few days. Illustrated throughout with stunning full-colour artwork, maps, and bird’s-eye-views, this title details the complete history of this dramatic campaign.

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"Creators Kniivila (Year of the Dog) and Vuong (The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn) present a funny, uncommonly charming mash-up of martial arts, superhero, and sci-fi comics. The rare all-ages title that will entertain, and perhaps even enthrall, adolescents and adults alike." --- Library Journal (Starred Review) When a machine boy falls to earth, his heart is awoken for the first time. As he learns to be human, he struggles to override his own programming and become a hero, from rising stars Tri Vuong and Irma Kniivila. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... Machine Boy! When Machine Boy falls from the sky into the domed city of Mega 416, he leaves a wake of destruction in his path... until Karate Grandpa is able to turn on his heart. Now, Machine Boy wants nothing more than to become a hero! Whether he is fighting giant bugs in the school's basement, rescuing cats from trees, or making the perfect spaghetti sauce, Machine Boy is always looking for the best way to help others. But when his heart begins to interact dangerously with other debris from space, Machine Boy wonders if he can be a power for good after all. Rising stars Tri Vuong and Irma Kniivila create a funny and engaging all-ages adventure that asks-can you override your own programming? Included in Everyday Hero Machine Boy, is a two-page READER'S GUIDE. The full TEACHER'S GUIDE is available on SkyboundComet.com.

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There is no shortage of opinion about the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Some see it as the agent of austerity, being manipulated by wealthy nations and forcing poorer countries to pursue economic policies that suppress growth and development. A sharply contrasting view regards it as bailing out such countries with large amounts of soft finance, allowing them to avoid necessary adjustment. The challenge is to evaluate the alternative arguments and to distinguish reality from rhetoric.In this book, the authors undertake a careful and detailed empirical analysis of the underlying issues, covering participation in IMF programs, their implementation and effects on economic growth, and on the willingness of international capital markets to lend. Blending research methodologies and crossing conventional disciplinary boundaries, what emerges is a balanced and nuanced assessment of the IMF's operations that confronts many commonly held views.Unique in its broad scope, this careful examination of the IMF will be of great interest to students and academics in the fields of international economics and international relations. Those involved in international financial institutions and national monetary institutions will also find it to be an impartial and illuminating study.

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O. W. "Pappy" Kitchens (1901–1986) was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi, and began painting at age sixty-seven. His self-taught, narrative, visual art springs directly from the oral tradition of parable and storytelling with which he grew up. A self-declared folk artist, Kitchens claimed, "I paint about folks, what folks see and what folks do." His magnum opus, The Saga of Red Eye the Rooster, was painted between 1973 and 1976 and presents a homespun Pilgrim’s Progress in the form of a beast fable. Kitchens’s most ambitious allegorical work, this fable consists of sixty panels, each one measuring fifteen inches square, composed of mixed materials on paper, and executed in three groups of twenty. Kitchens follows Red Eye from foundling to funeral, exploring the life of this extraordinary bird. Red Eye’s quasi-human behavior inevitably maneuvers him into conflicts with antagonists of all sorts. He encounters violence, avarice, lust, greed, and most of the other seven deadly sins, dispatching them in heroic fashion until he finally succumbs to his own fatal flaw. In addition to The Saga of Red Eye the Rooster, the volume features personal photos of Kitchens as well as additional works by the artist. Written by distinguished artist and Kitchens’s once son-in-law William Dunlap, with an introduction by renowned curator Jane Livingston, Pappy Kitchens and the Saga of Red Eye the Rooster brings much-needed exposure to the life and work of a key Mississippi figure.

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Alfred Wallis (1855-1942) is one of the most original and inspiring British artists of the 20th Century. Promoted by the artist Ben Nicholson amongst others, Wallis’s paintings influenced the development of British art between the wars. The directness of Wallis’ vision reflected a lifetime of living by and from the sea. His paintings are of what he knew, remembered and imagined. Yet they are also timeless stories about survival and the nature of our relationship with the world. As Jim Ede commented “Wallis is never local.” With over 70 illustrations, excerpts from letters and texts by Michael Bird, Ben Nicholson and Jim Ede, this book takes a fresh look at this extraordinary artist and his relationship to Kettle's Yard. It includes some of Wallis's best works from the Kettle’s Yard collection including many that are not normally on display, from ambitious paintings such as Saltash to what Wallis knew and loved best: ships and boats. Kettle's Yard, the University of Cambridge's modern and contemporary art gallery, holds the largest public collection of works by Alfred Wallis. Wallis was born in Devon. He was a fisherman and later a scrap-metal merchant in St. Ives. He took up painting in his later years, following the death of his wife in 1922. He was admired by Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood, who came across his work when visiting St. Ives in 1928 and included it in the Seven & Five Society’s exhibition of 1929. He died in Madron Poorhouse.

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'This puppy's not just for Christmas...it's also the kind of book to reach for on any winter's evening when you want rib-sticking comfort food in your belly.' Tony Turbull, The Best Food Books of 2023, Times'This book sits alongside turkey, chipolatas and stuffing as a Christmas essential.' Tom Parker BowlesFrom the award-winning Ginger Pig butchers, here are all the recipes you need for the most important meal of the year, plus all the other get-togethers of the festive season. In addition to delicious dishes there's a wealth of helpful advice, from how to stuff a bird to the art of building a festive cheese board.'Much though we love it, Christmas day is not just about poultry, so although this book has recipes for turkey and goose, we've included plenty of alternatives, like stuffed porchetta, rib of beef or celeriac steaks. Because families and friends get together before and after the big day, we have included ideas for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, canapés and puddings for the days between Christmas and the New Year, together with advice on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. For New Year's Eve itself, choose between our recipes for a formal dinner or a more relaxed get-together.' Tim Wilson, Founder of Ginger PigPacked with recipes for every possible Christmas, whether you're feeding a crowd or cooking for just a few, this is the ultimate culinary guide for a stress-free, luxurious Christmas.

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What would you do if you alone had discovered that the entire planet was about to be engulfed in a belt of poisonous "ether" from outer space -- and that all humanity would die? Arthur Conan Doyle's intrepid Professor Challenger invites a hand-picked crew of adventurers and scientists -- the very same comrades with whom he had romped through a South American jungle crawling with prehistoric monsters and beast-men in The Lost World, science fiction's first popular dinoasaurs-still-live tale. This adventure, however, takes place entirely in Challenger's home (in his wife's boudoir, in fact) outside London, which has been fortified with several hours' worth of oxygen. Challenger tells his friends: "We are assisting at a tremendous and awful function." Like astronauts strapping themselves into a rocket, Challenger & Co. assemble in front of a picture window to witness the end of all life on the planet. As birds plummet from the sky, trains crash, and men and women topple over before their horrified gaze, they debate everything from the possibilities of the universe to the "abysses that lie upon either side of our material existence," to the "ideal scientific mind." If the point of other apocalyptic tales is to model proper action in the face of certain disaster, Doyle's offbeat adventure models a proper attitude: scholarly sprezzatura, nerves of steel, stoic calm. Professor Challenger himself is a larger than life character -- strong as a bull, the smartest man alive, and an enormous egotist who nevertheless is good company whether he's hunting dinosaurs or waiting for the end of the world.

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Life is the most extraordinary phenomenon in the known universe; but how does it work? Even in this age of cloning and synthetic biology, the remarkable truth remains: nobody has ever made anything living entirely out of dead material. Life remains the only way to make life. Are we missing a vital ingredient in its creation? Like Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, which provided a new perspective on evolution, Life on the Edge alters our understanding of life's dynamics as Jim Al-Khalili and Johnjoe Macfadden reveal the hitherto missing ingredient to be quantum mechanics. Drawing on recent ground-breaking experiments around the world, they show how photosynthesis relies on subatomic particles existing in many places at once, while inside enzymes, those workhorses of life that make every molecule within our cells, particles vanish from one point in space and instantly materialize in another. Each chapter in Life on the Edge opens with an engaging example that illustrates one of life’s puzzles – How do migrating birds know where to go? How do we really smell the scent of a rose? How do our genes manage to copy themselves with such precision? – and then reveals how quantum mechanics delivers its answer. Guiding the reader through the maze of rapidly unfolding discovery, Al-Khalili and McFadden communicate vividly the excitement of this explosive new field of quantum biology, with its potentially revolutionary applications, and also offer insights into the biggest puzzle of all: what is life?

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A beautifully illustrated seashore spotter’s guide that both children and adults will love to take to the beach, published in collaboration with the RSPB. Ideal for children aged 5+ _______________ Did you know that jellyfish have no brain, heart or blood? Or that there’s an animal called a sea potato? Come rain or shine there is always something interesting to spot at the seaside! Grab this handy nature guide and head to the beach to explore the wonders of the seashore. Nature Guide Seashore is jam-packed with facts – you'll learn that seaweed is used to make ice cream, and that grey seals can eat 10kg of fish a day (that's about the weight of two bowling balls!). From bright-beaked puffins and sunbathing seals to slippery seaweed and limpets clinging to rocks, there are over 200 different animals, plants and other wildlife to discover in this spotter’s guide. Discover how to be a wildlife detective, what animals you might find when you go rock pooling and tips on how to look after our coastline. Includes easy to look up fact boxes, a checklist to tick off everything you spot and activities such as making sand art. What will you spot? _______________ Full of charming and life-like illustrations by Kate McLelland, RSPB Nature Guide: Seashore is the perfect contemporary spotter’s guide for young wildlife watchers. Published in collaboration with the RSPB, the largest wildlife conservation charity in Europe, this is the fourth book in the RSPB Nature Guide series, following Birds, Wildlife and Minibeasts.

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Animals pervade our lives, both today and in the past. From the smallest bug through pets and agricultural animals to elephants and blue whales, the animals themselves, animal-derived products and representations of animals can be found everywhere in our daily lives. This book focuses on the representations of animals in the past: How were animals represented in iconography, and how is the craftsperson interpreting animals within his or her own cultural context? What do the representations tell us about the role and function of both animals and the representations themselves? A series of papers explore these questions through images of animals. This is, for example, done by using technologies like 3D models to emphasize the dimensionality of objects, or through theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches that examine the intersection of the human and the animal. The papers challenge the notion of animals purely as objects, instead focusing on the many ways in which humans and animals interact. The importance of animals in all aspects of our lives means that the study of human-animal relations is an extremely relevant one both in the past and today. The papers take us on a journey through time and space, demonstrating exactly this relevance. Starting in the Neolithic and ending in the Medieval period, from the Mediterranean and Northern Europe through Siberia and the Baltic to the other side of the world in Australia, we have the privilege of encountering lions, horses, dogs, monkeys, birds, kangaroos and octopuses, among many other wonderful creatures. The book is an important and exciting contribution to the study of human-animal relations. It should be of interest to anyone working on this topic and the interpretation of images - both modern and ancient.

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Australia’s nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoingexistence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity,many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to thechallenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. Thisdedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, ofpopulations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts.Recovering Australian Threatened Species showcases successful conservation stories and identifiesapproaches and implementation methods that have been most effective in recovering threatened species.These diverse accounts – dealing with threatened plants, invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals– show that the conservation of threatened species is achievable: that it can be done and should be done.They collectively serve to inform, guide and inspire other conservation efforts. This is a book of hope andinspiration. It shows that with dedication, knowledge and support, we can retain and restore our marvellous natural heritage, and gift to our descendants a world that is as diverse, healthy and beautiful as that which we have inherited. FEATURES: Foreword written by Gregory Andrews, Australia’s first Threatened Species Commissioner. Features inspiring Australian conservation success stories spanning a wide range of threatened species and habitats, demonstrating that recovery of threatened species is both achievable and worthwhile. Includes perspectives from expert conservation practitioners and draws lessons about what elements are important in achieving conservation successes.

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Saint Christina the Astonishing was born into a poor Belgian family in 1150. She 'died' aged 22 but at her requiem she rose from her coffin and flew away like a bird, wanting to escape the smell of sinful humanity. This was the first of many mad, disobedient exploits in her long and remarkable life. Jane Draycott and Lesley Saunders retell - through their own poems as well as brief extracts from medieval religious writers - Christina's story as a woman's search for selfhood. The book includes artworks from Peter Hay, which he created for the original edition in direct response to the poetry. First published in 1998 and long out of print, this new edition makes Jane Draycott and Lesley Saunders' sensual and exhilarating poetic collaboration available once more. 'Ascetic and excessive, exasperating, sometimes absurd, the life of the little-known St Christina provokes fantasies and questions. Was she a wonder worker? Or an anorexic, fuelled by hatred of the flesh? Or a powerful woman whose legendary flights set her free from her time and her place? Rather than offering pieties or diagnoses, Lesley Saunders and Jane Draycott, invite us to a feast of soul food. Their two distinctive voices meet the voices of the Middle Ages in an extraordinary blend of the sacred and the profane, the rapt and the irreverent, playful, sensual and deeply felt.' Philip Gross 'Poetry as exciting as this is rare: fusing an earthy sensuality with the spiritual, it lets us hear Christina's voice ringing clearly from the rafters.' Robyn Bolam

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An eye-opening handbook from a leading Ayurvedic physician that blends cutting-edge science on "clock genes" with ancient eastern wisdom to help us understand how to harness the power of chronobiology to effortlessly lose weight, sleep better, exercise stronger, reduce stress, and boost our wellbeing."It’s not you, it’s your schedule." Does it sound like magic? It’s not. We’ve all heard of circadian rhythms—those biological processes that give us jet lag and make us night owls or early birds. But few of us know just how profoundly these diurnal patterns affect our overall health.Bad habits like skipping meals, squeezing in workouts when it’s convenient, working late into the night to maximize productivity and then trying to "catch up" on sleep during the weekend disrupt our natural cycles. A growing body of research on chronobiology reveals just how sensitive the human body is to these rhythms all the way down to the genetic level. Our "clock genes" control more than we realize, and small changes can make the difference between battling our bodies, and effortlessly managing weight, sleep, stress, inflammation, and more.Marrying ancient Ayurvedic wisdom with the latest scientific research, Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar’s holistic step-by-step 30-day plan gives you the tools—and the schedule—you need to transform your life. With diagnostic quizzes to determine your specific mind-body type, you will learn to adapt you schedule for effortless wellness for life.

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With Let’s Draw Sea Creatures, you can learn to bring your animal drawings to life, guided by realistic illustrations and step-by-step instructions for a variety of ocean animals. The easy-to-follow visual and written instructions in this book make it achievable and fun to draw realistic sea life. Each drawing lesson begins with basic shapes and progresses, step by step, to a finished piece of artwork, making it easy to follow along. You just need to grab a pencil, a piece of paper, and your copy of Let’s Draw Sea Creatures, and then flip to the ocean animal you want to draw. The drawing projects include: Dolphin Sea Lion Clownfish Great White Shark Humpback Whale Stingray Moorish Idol Fish Sea Turtle Octopus Orca The detailed written instructions in this 48-page book also provide tips for placement of details, how to create realistic skin and facial features, how to shade, and much more. If you’ve never drawn before, don’t be intimidated. Just start with a few basic shapes and follow the illustrated steps—you’ll be creating your own amazing animal masterpieces in no time at all! And each time you draw, you should see an improvement in your artistic skills.Also available from the Let’s Draw series:Let’s Draw Cats, Let’s Draw Dogs, Let’s Draw Favorite Animals, Let’s Draw Wild Animals, Let’s Draw Birds & Butterflies, Let’s Draw Dinosaurs, and Let’s Draw Dragons.

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The sensational debut novel about love, friendship and finding happiness in the most unexpected places. 'It's as fun as it is thoughtful: a tender and generous novel about finding your people, getting vulnerable, and celebrating every joy - big or small.' Buzzfeed 'Elvin James Mensah's Small Joys is breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild. Mensah's prose makes the intangible deft and tremendous — from the balm of friendship, to the beauty of queerness, and the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest; Small Joys is a beam of light.' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial 'A beautiful, moving story of love, male intimacy, chosen family and finding self worth.' Paul Mendez, author of Rainbow Milk ‘I adored Small Joys – a sweet, moving, funny, strikingly open story. I don’t know if I’ve ever rooted so much for a protagonist as I did for Harley – what a gorgeous novel.’ Jennifer Saint, No. 1 bestselling author of Elektra 'This heartwarming, witty, and moving debut is one of the most charming books you'll read this year. Exploring love, friendship, grief, and the bittersweet joy of being young, Small Joys is utterly beautiful.' Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of Idol 'I loved it - Small Joys is a wonderful book full of music, life and a great deal of heart. An extremely BIG joy!' Matson Taylor, bestselling author of The Miseducation of Evie Epworth 'A largehearted look at the importance of found family.' Electric Lit ‘A captivatingly tender novel . . . it’s beautiful.’ Natasha Onwuemezi, The Bookseller‘Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me?’ Harley is a young queer Black man struggling to find his way in mid-noughties Britain. Returning home to Dartford, having just dropped out of an undergraduate course in music journalism, he is wracked by feelings of failure and inadequacy. Standing in the local woods one day, on the verge of doing something drastic and irreversible, his hand is stayed by a stranger: a tall husky guy who emerges from the bushes holding a pair of binoculars. Muddy is an ebullient Mancunian whose lust for his own life makes others feel better by association. A keen birdwatcher, rugby fanatic and Oasis obsessive, he quickly becomes a devoted and loyal friend to Harley who finds his enthusiasm infectious and his dimples irresistible. In no time at all, they become inseparable. Harley starts to think that life may be worth living after all, while Muddy discovers things about himself that the lads down the rugby club may struggle to understand. But when figures from the past threaten to plunge Harley back into the depths of depression, his only hope of survival is Muddy and the small joys they create together. Moving, funny and tender, Small Joys is an epic novel about ordinary lives that introduces the world to an unforgettable cast of characters and a major new literary talent.

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Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition Well-referenced clinical resource for canine and feline nutrition, with expansions throughout and two new chapters covering birds and small mammals. Fully revised to reflect new advances and information throughout, the Second Edition of Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition presents current, authoritative information on all aspects of small companion animal nutrition. The book provides clinically oriented solutions for integrating nutrition into clinical practice, with introductory chapters covering the foundation and science behind the recommendations and extensive references for further reading in every chapter. With contributions from more than 25 leading veterinary nutritionists, Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition covers topics such as: Integration of nutrition into clinical practice, basic nutrition, energy requirements, and pet food regulations in North America and Europe that also apply to many other regions Using and reviewing pet food labels and product guides, feeding the healthy dog and cat, and abridged clinical nutrition topics for companion avian species & small mammals Commercial and home-prepared diets, and nutritional management of body weight and orthopedic, skin, and gastrointestinal diseases Nutritional management of exocrine, hepatobiliary, kidney, lower urinary tract, endocrine, cardiovascular, and oncological diseases as well as enteral and parenteral nutrition A valuable resource on the principles of small animal nutrition and feeding practices in health or disease, Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition is a widely trusted and practical daily reference for veterinary practitioners including specialists, residents, and students seeking expert information on feeding their canine, feline, avian, and small mammalian patients.

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“[A] smart yet tender tale. . . . Sometimes heartbreaking, often hilarious . . . one of the finest food memoirs of recent years.” - The New York Times Book ReviewFor a woman raised by a weight-obsessed mother and a father who rebelled by sneaking his daughter out to lavish meals at such fine dining establishments as Le Pavillon and La Grenouille, food could be a fraught proposition. Not that this stopped Elissa Altman from pursuing a culinary career. Everything Elissa cooked was inspired by the French haute cuisine she once secretly enjoyed with her dad, from the rare game birds she served at extravagant dinner parties held in her tiny New York City apartment to the eight timbale molds she purchased from Dean & Deluca, just so she could make her food tall. All that elegance was called into question when Elissa fell in love with Susan, a small-town woman whose idea of fine dining was a rustic meal served on her best tag sale TV tray. Susan’s devotion to simple living astounded Elissa, even as it changed the way she thought about food--;and the family who taught her everything she understood about it--forever.Based on the James Beard Award–winning blog and filled with twenty-six delicious recipes, Poor Man’s Feast is one woman’s achingly honest, often uproarious journey to making peace with food and finding lasting love.

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This book is for anyone wanting to make change happen in their life, in their workplace or community and possibly for a better world. It shows how social activists ask better questions, take baby steps to move to the next level. From green campaigns to building profitable, trusted teams, to Government policy, Carmel offers practical tools and strategies in your personal and professional life. Rather than tune out or hope someone else will create the best options, Change Activists use passion, purpose and a compelling plan to move forward. Change activists ask better questions - what am I passionate about, what change do I want to see in the world, how can I make big things happen fast in my life? If you are interested in values led change for yourself, and across any kind of organization this will help; there is power in being true to yourself, in doing the right thing. And it is your life, so don’t be plastic about it. The book describes how to navigate the ups and downs of making change happen; from start up to scale up, to winning backers and allies. Through interviews with global change leaders including Big Issue co Founder Lord John Bird, Kenyan education leader Qabale Duba and Indian vaccination activist Varsha Vanugobal, Carmel unpacks the elements of successful change activists, suggests we are all capable of more, if we take action. This is a practical guide - Carmel wants everyone to find and play their part in a better future.

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Full of insights and very practical, this important book by the Dalai Lama shows that self-knowledge is the key to personal development and creating positive relationshipsHow to See Yourself As You Really Are is based on a fundamental Buddhist belief that love and insight work together to bring about enlightenment, like two wings of a bird. It provides a new perspective on the psychological problems of hurting ourselves through misguided, exaggerated notions of self, others, events and physical things. It shows how even our senses deceive us, drawing us into unwise attachments and negative actions that can only come back to haunt us in the future.Drawing on wisdom and techniques refined in Tibetan monasteries for more than a thousand years, and adopting as its structure traditional Buddhist steps of meditative reflection, How to See Yourself As You Really Are includes practical exercises and gives readers a clear path to assess their growth and personal development. The book is enlivened throughout with warm personal anecdotes and intimate accounts of the Dalai Lama's experiences as a life-long student, a meditator, a political leader and an international figure working with other Nobel Peace Laureates to address crises around the world.His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet. Today, he lives in exile in Northern India and works tirelessly on behalf of the Tibetan people, as well as travelling the world to give spiritual teachings to sell-out audiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

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Nicholas Whittaker's much-loved classic recollects the long sunny days of his childhood when, notepad in hand, jam sandwiches in the duffel bag, he happily spent his time jotting down train numbers during the Indian summer of steam and the heyday of diesel.Whittaker returns to his roots in this updated edition, casting a sceptical eye over recent developments, catching up with old acquaintances and considering the toll that half a century of ridicule and a couple of decades of privatisation have wrought upon his beloved pastime.As Andrew Martin notes in his Foreword, this is 'one of the best books ever written about rail enthusiasm'. Equally it is a poetically written memoir of growing up in a more innocent age, a hymn to British eccentricity and to the virtues of observing the world around you: 'Spotters - of trains, planes, buses or birds - are a last redoubt for something rapidly vanishing from our lives: looking outward, seeing, observing. People notice things less and less these days, while watching things more and more.'Praise for the first edition:'An elegy: for the steam trains already vanishing when Whittaker's hobby began in 1964; for the short-lived diesel age which followed; for an era of near innocence.' Times Literary Supplement 'Whittaker writes with humour and considerable evocative power . For anyone who will admit to having a childhood brush with this now derided hobby, Platform Souls brings it all rushing back.' Independent

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Known for the classics “Knock on Wood,” “634-5789,” “Raise Your Hand,” “Big Bird,” and “I’ve Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do),” among others, Eddie Floyd’s career as a soul legend spans over sixty years. His professional singing career began in Detroit in the 1950s as a founding member of the Falcons, considered “The First Soul Group.” A solo artist and songwriter for Memphis’s famed Stax Records from 1966 until 1975, Floyd has subsequently been the singer for the Blues Brothers Band and for Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, while continuing to perform and record solo. In Knock! Knock! Knock! On Wood, Floyd recounts how a three-year stint in an Alabama reform school shaped his young life; recalls the early years of R&B in Detroit alongside future Motown and Stax legends; discusses the songwriting sessions with Steve Cropper and Booker T. Jones that produced his biggest hits; addresses his complicated life-long relationship with the often-unpredictable Wilson Pickett; shares his memories of friend Otis Redding; reveals his unlikely involvement in the rise of southern rock darlings Lynyrd Skynyrd; and offers an insider perspective on the tragic downfall of Stax Records. With input from Bruce Springsteen, Bill Wyman, Paul Young, William Bell, Steve Cropper, and others, Knock! Knock! Knock! On Wood captures Eddie’s tireless work ethic and warm personality for an engrossing first-hand account of one of the last true soul survivors.

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#1 International bestseller "I love Niklas’s food, and it certainly makes me happy to eat it.” Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Writing this book changed Niklas and Henrik's lives, and it could soon change yours too. In writing HAPPY FOOD they re-evaluated everything that they had learned about food and stepped beyond the conversation around gut health to look at how the food we eat affects our brains and mental health, too. With so much going on in our daily lives, it's often much easier to grab fast food than cook a meal at home, and as a result so many of us our suffering both physically and mentally. Within these pages Niklas and Henrik look at how we can get what we need on a deep and nourishing level. You won’t find a more interesting and hands-on book about this subject. The unbeatable combination of Ekstedt’s recipes and kitchen know-how with Ennart’s research and flowing narrative, along with beautiful pictures and impeccable Nordic cooking, makes this book a must-have. HAPPY FOOD brings Hygge and lagom into your kitchen, allowing everyone the chance to live and eat like the Scandinavians. With its practical and inspiring advice, HAPPY FOOD will be your companion in everyday life, both in and out of the kitchen. Ennart and Ekstedt elegantly navigate between the “Early Bird” health-shot and the anti-inflammatory burger all the way to super-beetroot juice. It’s all about good food, and how the right meal can change your life.

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Winner of the 1957 Grand prix de la littérature policière It was fate that led her to step out in front of the car. A quiet mountain road. A crushed violin. And a beautiful woman lying motionless in the ditch. Carrying her back to his lodging on a beach near Barcelona, Daniel discovers that the woman is still alive but that she remembers nothing - not even her own name. And soon he has fallen for her mysterious allure. She is a blank canvas, a perfect muse, and his alone. But when Daniel travels to France in search of her past, he slips into a tangled vortex of lies, depravity and murder. The Executioner Weeps is a macabre thriller about the dangerous pitfalls of love. 'The French master of noir' Observer 'Unsettling... worthy of Agatha Christie at her devious best... classic French noir' Guardian 'Hugely atmospheric' The Times 'Spellbinding' Wall Street Journal 'Disturbing from the outset with strong echoes of Simenon' Sunday Times Frédéric Dard (1921-2000) was one of the best known and loved French crime writers of the twentieth century. Enormously prolific, he wrote more than three hundred thrillers, suspense stories, plays and screenplays, under a variety of noms de plume, throughout his long and illustrious career, which also saw him win the 1957 Grand prix de la littérature policière for The Executioner Weeps. Dard's Bird in a Cage, The Wicked Go to Hell, Crush, The Gravediggers' Bread and The King of Fools are also available or forthcoming from Pushkin Vertigo.

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Foreword by Gillian Burke This is a lovely little book that could and should have a big impact....Let’s all get rebugging right away! Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Meet the intelligent insects, marvellous minibeasts and inspirational invertebrates that bring life to our planet. Discover how we can ‘rebug’ our attitudes and embrace these brilliant, essential insects, so that we can avoid an ‘insectageddon’ and help each other thrive. In Rebugging the Planet, Vicki Hird shows us that bugs are beautiful, inventive and economically invaluable. They are also responsible for pollinating plants, feeding birds, defending crops and cleaning water systems. But with 40% of insect species at risk of extinction and a third more endangered, our planet is headed towards an insect apocalypse. We have to start giving worms, spiders, beetles, ladybirds and butterflies the space they need to flourish! Discover how to: Grow your garden a little wild and plant weedkiller-free, wildlife-friendly plants Take your kids on a bug treasure hunt and build a bug palace in your garden Rebug parks, schools, pavements, verges and other green spaces Make bug-friendly food choices and support good farming practices Rebugging the Planet shows how small changes will have a big impact on our littlest allies – and our planet. Hird’s joy in bug life is infectious and her knowledge encyclopaedic...If you’ve ever asked what bugs have done for us, read this book! Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP

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The Little Witch's Book of Spells is an enchanting compendium of spells, potions, and activities for kids 8 to 12 years old.Young witches-in-training will discover spells to resolve problems, foster friendship, and engage with the natural world.This spellbinding book guides readers on how to craft a magic wand, befriend a fairy, and read tea leaves, as well as glossaries of magical terms and symbols. • A playful and immersive guidebook to all things magical • Filled with simple activities using easily found ingredients • Complete with lush illustrationsThe Little Witch's Book of Spells harnesses magic and the imagination to help little witches feel powerful, tap into creative energy, and practice self-love.Spells and activities include Best Friends Forever Spell, Jump Rope Protection Spell, Get Well Soon Elixir, Blanket Fort Magical Fortress Spell, How to Make a Magical Fairy Garden, and Mermaid Bath Spell. • Perfect for young readers interested in magic, fans of Harry Potter, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and fantasy series featuring witches • A mystical, fun, and empowering book of spells that will have any child enthralled by the magical world • Makes a great gift for millennial parents who want to encourage imagination, creativity, and play • Add it the the shelf with books like The Book of the Secrets of Merlin Wizardology by Candlewick Press, Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal by Glen Bird and Liz Catchpole, and The Unofficial Harry Potter Spellbook: Wizard Training by Michael Gonzalez.

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Cities pose formidable obstacles to nonhuman life. Vast expanses of asphalt and concrete are inhospitable to plants and animals; traffic noise and artificial light disturb natural rhythms; sewage and pollutants imperil existence. Yet cities teem with life: In rowhouse neighborhoods, tiny flowers bloom from cracks in the sidewalk. White clover covers lawns, its seeds dispersed by shoes and birds. Moths flutter and spiders weave their webs near electric lights. Sparrows and squirrels feast on the scraps people leave behind. Pairs of red-tailed hawks nest on window ledges. How do wild plants and animals in urban areas find mates? How do they navigate the patchwork of habitats to reproduce while avoiding inbreeding? In what ways do built environments enable or inhibit mating?This book explores the natural history of sex in urban bacteria, fungi, plants, and nonhuman animals. Kenneth D. Frank illuminates the reproductive behavior of scores of species. He examines topics such as breeding systems, sex determination, sex change, sexual conflict, sexual trauma, sexually transmitted disease, sexual mimicry, sexual cannibalism, aphrodisiacs, and lost sex. Frank offers a guide to urban reproductive diversity across a range of conditions, showing how understanding of sex and mating furthers the appreciation of biodiversity. He presents reproductive diversity as elegant but vulnerable, underscoring the consequences of human activity. Featuring compelling photographs of a multitude of life forms in their city habitats, this book provides a new lens on urban natural history.

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This title comes with maps, dates and fun facts! In this title, all 50 states are listed in alphabetical order, complete with details about the capital city, nickname, bird and flower associated with each one, as well as the date on which it became one of the United States. Map illustrations show examples of native wildlife, regional foods, local industries and landmarks - including Mount Rushmore, Fort Knox and the Statue of Liberty. You can find out about the hot springs of Arkansas, the tiny state of Delaware, and the fossils of Connecticut's Dinosaur State Park. You can discover where Dr Seuss was born, why Montana is known as the Treasure State, how the Rhode Island Red chicken got its name, and why Virginia is called the "mother of presidents". It is designed for children and grown-ups to enjoy together, with a wipe-clean padded cover and sturdy board pages. This fascinating first board book looks at each state in turn, including maps and interesting facts. Did you know that during the summer in Alaska, the sun shines for 20 hours a day? Or that California has the world's tallest trees, which can grow higher than a 30-floor building!Did you know that Hawaii is the only state with two official languages? Or that lowa is nicknamed the Hawkeye State after an important Native American leader. A little American is never too young to find out about the 50 great states that make up the USA!

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You probably have a tin of shoe polish tucked under the laundry sink bearing the little bird logo that has been in homes around the globe for over a century. Founded in Melbourne by William Ramsay in 1906, Kiwi is one of the most iconic and enduring international brands ever to have come out of Australia.One of Australia's best-loved journalists, Keith Dunstan tells the remarkable story of the Ramsay family and how they created and nurtured the Kiwi brand. Always quick to seize a marketing opportunity, the Ramsays sent Kiwi to England with the Anzacs in World War I, putting a brilliant shine on belts, bridles and leggings as well as boots. Soon there was a Kiwi factory in London, and in time Kiwi ran 24 factories worldwide, selling more than 250 million cans of shoe polish annually.In his inimitable warm and chatty style, Dunstan follows the fortunes of the Ramsay family as they built the Kiwi brand over the decades: business decisions good and bad, grand houses, the latest cars, constant travel, and their marriages, quarrels and friendships. He also tracks the clever advertising strategies that kept Kiwi in the public mind, including the notorious sign that caused traffic accidents in Richmond in the 1960s.Richly illustrated in full colour, Kiwi is the fascinating inside story of one of Australia's great families, as well as one of its great brands.'I have not previously read a business story or family history that is so pithy and observant, and written with such a mix of fun and seriousness.' Geoffrey Blainey

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Bugs can sometimes really...bug you. On the flip side, they pollinate crops, provide food for birds and other wildlife, produce honey and other useful things, and serve as bellwether indicators of our environment's health. That's to say nothing of aesthetic worth. Iridescent dragonflies weaving patterns of light as they patrol a lakeshore, a ghostly luna moth drifting through the dusk - encounters like these enrich our lives enormously. That's what ""Hey, Bug Doctor!"" is all about: appreciating that the difference between a pesky and a helpful bug often comes down to how, when, and where you find it. Few of us realize that better than entomologist Jim Howell, who is known to readers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution through his helpful, humorous columns on getting along with bugs. Gathered here are Howell's profiles of over sixty crawling and flying (and yes, biting and stinging) bugs commonly found in homes, gardens, and yards in Georgia and around the Southeast. Each illustrated profile describes the bug's appearance, diet, behavior, and impact on the natural and built environments. Like Howell's widely read newspaper columns, the profiles offer unusual facts, popular myths, and stories of real-life encounters. A single square yard of your lawn or garden can contain hundreds, even thousands, of bugs. Here is proven, practical guidance on those beautiful, ugly, harmless, toxic, and ultimately amazing creatures with which you share your home and yard.

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Keena Roberts split her adolescence between the wilds of an island camp in Botswana and the even more treacherous halls of an elite Philadelphia private school. In Africa, she slept in a tent, cooked over a campfire, and lived each day alongside the baboon colony her parents were studying. She could wield a spear as easily as a pencil, and it wasn't unusual to be chased by lions or elephants on any given day. But for the months of the year when her family lived in the United States, this brave kid from the bush was cowed by the far more treacherous landscape of the preppy, private school social hierarchy.Most girls Keena's age didn't spend their days changing truck tires, baking their own bread, or running from elephants as they tried to do their schoolwork. They also didn't carve bird whistles from palm nuts or nearly knock themselves unconscious trying to make homemade palm wine. But Keena's parents were famous primatologists who shuttled her and her sister between Philadelphia and Botswana every six months. Dreamer, reader and adventurer, she was always far more comfortable avoiding lions and hippopotamuses than she was dealing with spoiled middle-school field hockey players. In Keena's funny, tender memoir, Wild Life, Africa bleeds into America and vice versa, each culture amplifying the other. By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Wild Life is ultimately the story of a daring but sensitive young girl desperately trying to figure out if there's any place where she truly fits in.

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Children think we make them, but we don’t … They come into the world and make us. They make us by breaking us first. ‘Utterly gripping’ Karin Slaughter ‘Impossible to put down’ Booklist ‘Undeniable, brilliantly written’ Theodore Wheeler ‘Thrilling’ Lydia Kang The world is mostly water when Pearl is born. The floods have left America a cluster of small islands with roving trade ships and raiders. Pearl knows little of her father Jacob and elder sister Row, who left her mother Myra when she was pregnant with her. Between them they make do, with Myra fishing and trading to make ends meet, travelling from island to island on Bird, the boat Myra’s grandfather made before he died. Whilst their life is a tranquil one, Myra still aches for the daughter she once lost. When a chance encounter reveals that Row might still be alive, Myra packs up six-year-old Pearl and together they begin a dangerous voyage to The Valley, where rumours of violence and breeding ships run rampant. Along the way they encounter death and strangers, finally finding solace on board Sedna – full to the brim with supplies and an able crew – where Myra feels like she might be closer to finding Row than she has ever been. But to get to Row she will have to deceive everyone around her, betraying the trust of those she’s come to love, and ask herself if she’s willing to sacrifice everything and everyone for what might be nothing at all.

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Calling all Yankee and Red Sox fans! Dodgers and Giants fans! Blue Jays, White Sox, and Cubs fans! Fans everywhere! Do you have what it takes to be Major League umpire? Well, now you can test your baseball knowledge.Divided into three sections, this unusual handbook, now in its third edition, offers Routine Calls, which deal with scenarios and rules that typically come up in games and deal with clear-cut rules—fair and foul, strike zone questions, and the like.The next section, Basic Situations, deals with umpiring matters and rules that are just a bit more unusual or, for the casual fan, obscure. Interference and obstruction calls, for example, don’t come up too often, but they remain standard stuff involving rules that umps and many fans know quite well.In the final section, Obscure Rules and Situations, you will be presented with what many baseball people call “knotty” problems. Here, you will be asked questions involving the complex infield fly rule and other arcane matters. This section, then, is the ultimate test of your umpiring skills and knowledge.Most of the situations in You’re the Umpire come from real games, such as the time a fastball from Randy Johnson killed a bird in flight and what the umps did regarding that pitch, but some scenarios are made up to illustrate specific points or rules. Test yourself against your friends or against the iconic baseball rulebook. It’s a challenge and it’s fun.

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The lives and activities of seabirds as you’ve never seen them beforeSeabirds evoke the spirit of the earth's wildest places. They spend large portions of their lives at sea, often far from land, and nest on beautiful and remote islands that humans rarely visit. Thanks to the development of increasingly sophisticated and miniaturized devices that can track their every movement and behavior, it is now possible to observe the mysterious lives of these remarkable creatures as never before. This beautifully illustrated book takes you on a breathtaking journey around the globe to reveal where these birds actually go when they roam the sea, the tactics they employ to traverse vast tracts of ocean, the strategies they use to evade threats, and more.Michael Brooke has visited every corner of the world in his lifelong pursuit of seabirds. Here, he draws on his own experiences and insights as well as the latest cutting-edge science to shed light on the elusive seafaring lives of albatrosses, frigatebirds, cormorants, and other ocean wanderers. Where do puffins go in the winter? How deep do penguins dive? From how far away can an albatross spot a fishing vessel worth following for its next meal? Brooke addresses these and other questions in this delightful book. Along the way, he reveals that seabirds are not the aimless wind-tossed creatures they may appear to be and explains the observational innovations that are driving this exciting area of research.Featuring illustrations by renowned artist Bruce Pearson and packed with intriguing facts, Far from Land provides an extraordinary up-close look at the activities of seabirds.

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A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by the Baba Yaga. Featuring Gwendolyn Kiste, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Mercedes M. Yardley, Monique Snyman, Donna Lynch, Lisa Quigley, and R. J. Joseph, with an introduction by Christina Henry.Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that spins on birds’ legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the Baba Yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those who come across the Baba Baga may find help, or hinderance, or horror. She is wild, she is woman, she is witch— and these are her tales. Edited by Lindy Ryan, this collection brings together some of today’ s leading voices of women-in-horror as they pay tribute to the Baba Yaga, and go Into the Forest. "Perfect for horror fans who can't get enough of folklore and fairy-tale retellings that veer in unexpected directions." — Booklist Starred Review "Fans of folklore retellings will find plenty to enjoy." — Publishers Weekly"The stories in Into the Forest collect the guts and bones of some of the world’ s oldest witch tales and refashion them into something new, beautiful, and gruesome." — Foreword Reviews"A powerful literary reflection... Outstanding in its diversity and interpretations, Into the Forest is very highly recommended not just for horror collections, but for libraries strong in women's literature, as well as for reader's book groups who would study the legend and realities of the Baba Yaga folktale as it journeys into the heart and soul of women's experiences and psychology." — Midwest Book Review

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An authoritative and complete guide, by a range of expert contributors, to exploring the natural history of Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside. Lavishly illustrated in full colour throughout. `Wow! This is a real classic. Every sort of living thing is here, whether it swims, slithers, walks, creeps, crawls, flies or stands resolutely rooted to its appointed spot, safe in the county of the red rose. This is your personal guide to a wonderland overflowing with fascinating, really wild life, there for you and your family to discover.' (From the foreword by David Bellamy.) Take a walk on the wild side in the old county of Lancashire and you will be rewarded with a cornucopia of living things. From the dizzy heights of Leck Fell to deep under the sea in Morecambe Bay, you are in for lots of surprises, big and small. You never really know what you are going to see next, but whatever it is this book will give you all the fascinating facts you could want. Red squirrels in Formby, sealife in Morecambe, birds in Bowland and otters on the Hodder and Ribble; read this book and wherever you wander, a walk in town or countryside will never be the same again. `Wildlife of Lancashire' is aimed at anyone who enjoys exploring the natural wonders of our region, and is packed full of superb images of treasures both common and rare. Intended to stimulate the general reader rather than inform the expert, the book is written in a clear and readable style, making it a real joy to use. The Wildlife Trust has been working for the past forty years to try to ensure that the wildlife of both town and countryside will be cherished by future generations.

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A beautifully presented, practical gift guide for all surf seekers. Explained with fascinating, easy-to-understand commentary from surfer and scientist Easkey Britton, this guide helps you soak up maximum vitamin sea. The book is divided into six main sections – each filled with exercises, ideas and fun facts to help you reconnect with your oceanic roots and create special moments by the sea… Reading the Sea – watch waves, move with the tides, understand rips and currents, getting to know the sea and your limits.What the Sea Does for Us – appreciate the food, feel-good factors, and even medicines that the sea has to offer. Plus learn about its fundamental role in climate control.We are Ocean – explore the multi-sensory environment the sea has to offer.The Power of the Sea to Heal – from seaweed and ocean plasma to social change and ocean therapy.The Sea is Calling – try your hand at beach combing, wave play, rockpooling, bird watching, searching for jellyfish and bioluminescence and swimming in the sea.Things to Do for the Sea – with guides to beach clean-ups, sustainable foraging, restoring coastal habitats and inclusion and diversity ideas to make the sea accessible to all, you’ll have everything you need to be the hero our seas need. Taking an inclusive global outlook on the subject, and complemented by Maria Nilsson’s captivating drawings, this timely book will show you the benefits of doing things by and for the sea – and how those benefits can spill over into your daily life.

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Welcome to Cross River, Maryland. Established by the leaders of the country's only successful slave revolt, history casts a long shadow over its residents. Among them are David Sherman, a struggling musician who just happens to be the last son of God; Jim, a Robot Personal Helper desperate to escape the master who enslaves him; and James-my-man, who travels the path of the Underground Railroad year after year.Not to forget the water women who lure men to their watery graves and the screecher birds who cry out for sacrificial flesh... PRAISE FOR THE WORLD DOESN'T REQUIRE YOU: 'I wandered into Cross River, not knowing a damn thing. Now I'm shuddering, gasping in wonder, reading stories over and over, and doing just about anything so that I never leave' MARLON JAMES 'A musical and visceral explosion. The book makes you laugh even as it stabs. The truth told in a completely new way' NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH 'Flat-out unputdownable' LAURA VAN DEN BERG 'Rion Amilcar Scott doesn't hold back or tiptoe around issues about race. He's the most courageous writer I know; and this collection is an excellent example and significant achievement. He's now made his mark as a force to reckon with' NICOLE DENNIS-BENN 'Surreal, intertextual, and darkly comical... With breathtaking cruelty and devastating humor, Scott adduces the whole world in one community' NAFISSA THOMPSON-SPIRES

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The case for a thoughtful secularism from some of today's most distinguished scientists, philosophers, and writersCan secularism offer us moral, aesthetic, and spiritual satisfaction? Or does the secular view simply affirm a dog-eat-dog universe? At a time when the issues of religion, evolution, atheism, fundamentalism, Darwin, and science fill headlines and invoke controversy, The Joy of Secularism provides a balanced and thoughtful approach for understanding an enlightened, sympathetic, and relevant secularism for our lives today. Bringing together distinguished historians, philosophers, scientists, and writers, this book shows that secularism is not a mere denial of religion. Rather, this positive and necessary condition presents a vision of a natural and difficult world—without miracles or supernatural interventions—that is far richer and more satisfying than the religious one beyond.From various perspectives—philosophy, evolutionary biology, primate study, Darwinian thinking, poetry, and even bird-watching—the essays in this collection examine the wealth of possibilities that secularism offers for achieving a condition of fullness. Factoring in historical contexts, and ethical and emotional challenges, the contributors make an honest and heartfelt yet rigorous case for the secular view by focusing attention on aspects of ordinary life normally associated with religion, such as the desire for meaning, justice, spirituality, and wonder. Demonstrating that a world of secular enchantment is a place worth living in, The Joy of Secularism takes a new and liberating look at a valuable and complex subject.The contributors are William Connolly, Paolo Costa, Frans de Waal, Philip Kitcher, George Levine, Adam Phillips, Robert Richards, Bruce Robbins, Rebecca Stott, Charles Taylor, and David Sloan Wilson.

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In this remarkable tale of creativity and chaos, do-it-yourself innovation and extraordinary attempts at world domination, Needles and Plastic tells the inside story of one of New Zealand – and the world’s – great independent music labels. Hundreds of full color & black and white photos illustrate the story! Founded in 1981 by Roger Shepherd in Christchurch, New Zealand, Flying Nun Records unleashed an extraordinary wave of music that had an impact around the world.Needles and Plastic is the first comprehensive history of the early years of the label and its bands covering the critical period from 1981–1988 when many of the most influential and critically acclaimed artists emerged on Flying Nun, bands like – from The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines, Straitjacket Fits and Bailter Space. The influence of the obscure label became apparent in the 1990s, when big-time indie acts like Pavement, Cat Power or Yo La Tengo started covering Flying Nun bands. In entries on over 140 records from The Clean’s ‘Tally Ho!’ 7" in 1981 to The Verlaines Bird-Dog LP in 1988, Matthew Goody tells the story through the records themselves. His book draws on years of in-depth research to reveal the stories of the bands, the recordings, the songs, and the audience, with a host of significant characters contributing along the way – Shepherd, Chris Knox, Doug Hood, Hamish Kilgour and many more. In this remarkable tale of creativity and chaos, do-it-yourself innovation and extraordinary attempts at world domination, Needles and Plastic tells the inside story of one the world’s great independent music labels.

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