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books tagged “natural history” (Natural history)
books tagged “natural history”
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Almost Like a Whale: The Origin of Speciesby Steve JonesISBN 1862300259 (1-86230-025-9)
Softcover, Trafalgar Square
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Almost Like a Whale: The Origin of Species'Book summary:Containing anecdotes, facts and humour, this work uses 20th-century science to update the theories presented in Darwin's "The Origin of Species". [via]
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The Bafut Beaglesby Gerald Malcolm DurrellISBN 0140012664 (0-14-001266-4)
Softcover, Penguin USA
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The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Timeby Jonathan WeinerISBN 067973337X (0-679-73337-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time'Book summary:On the Galapagos Islands Charles Darwin gave his first hint at his theory of natural selection, writing about the finches he studied there. In Darwin's time there was no proof of this theoretical mechanism for evolution. Indeed it would have been thought absurd to imagine observing it actually happen; the process was thought to take geological time spans. Weiner, an outstanding science journalist, details research done in the last 20 years that proves otherwise. Biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant have documented the evolution of Darwin's Galapagos finches, demonstrating that it is neither rare nor slow, but can be watched by the hour. Weiner's superb account reads like a thriller and won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. [via]
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Birds, Beasts and Relativesby Gerald Malcolm DurrellISBN 0142004405 (0-14-200440-5)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Birds, Beasts and Relatives'Book summary:[via]Part coming-of-age autobiography and part nature guide, Gerald Durrells dazzling sequel to My Family and Other Animals is based on his boyhood on Corfu, from 1933 to 1939. Originally published in 1969 but long out of print, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives is filled with charming observations, amusing anecdotes, boyhood memories, and childlike wonder.
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The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceansby David Attenborough, Martha Holmes, Alastair Fothergill, Andrew ByattISBN 0563384980 (0-563-38498-0)
Hardcover, BBC
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans'Book summary:Whether you have seen the BBC TV series or not, The Blue Planet is a must-have book. It tells the story of life in the oceans, upon which we all ultimately depend. From the tropics to the poles, from the shores to the deeps, the waters of the planet teem with an amazing diversity of creatures and plants and a wonderful sample of it is portrayed here in the book's 400 or so colour photos.
The Blue Planet is a reminder of what we know and what we still don't know about the oceans and is a timely reminder of how fragile its ecosystems can be. We still know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the floor of the oceans. As David Attenborough reminds us in his introduction the highest peaks on Earth are still unclimbed and there are still thousands, maybe even millions, of animal species that remain undiscovered because all are hidden under the waves of the oceans. People have walked on the surface of the moon, nobody has walked on the floor of the deep ocean and probably never will. Looking at a book such as this you can get some idea of the thrill of exploring the last unknown section of our planet. And since 70 per cent of Earth's surface is covered in water, there is still plenty left to find out about.
The story the book tells is so momentous that much of the scientific background has to be condensed. For the general reader, however, this is an excellent and up-to-date introduction. Martha Holmes, one of the three authors is a marine biologist and all have worked in the Natural History Unit, the jewel in the crown of BBC TV, and so have been exposed to most of the researchers whose work has helped inform the series and the book. There is a useful glossary and index but, disappointingly, there is no Further Reading list for those who want to find out more. The Blue Planet will no doubt encourage a whole new generation of marine biologists and oceanographers.-- Douglas Palmer [via]
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The Blue Planet : Seas of Lifeby Alastair Fothergill, Martha Holmes, Andrew Byatt, David Attenborough, Dorling Kindersley Publishing StaffISBN 0789482657 (0-7894-8265-7)
Hardcover, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated
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Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the Eye of the Beholderby David QuammenISBN 0743200322 (0-7432-0032-2)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the Eye of the Beholder'Book summary:David Quammen, a highly regarded popular-science writer (Song of the Dodo) and novelist, brings a range of qualities to his work as an interpreter of nature: a journalist's talent for finding a good story and telling it well, a scholar's conviction that facts matter, and an amateur naturalist's passion for learning about the way things work. For 15 years, Quammen put these qualities to good use in his Outside magazine column "Natural Acts." The Boilerplate Rhino gathers 26 of those columns between book covers, and to good purpose: every one of them is a keeper. Quammen writes of such matters as the entirely reasonable human fear of spiders (which he shares) and snakes (which he does not); of the work of such groundbreaking theoreticians and thinkers as E.O. Wilson and Henry David Thoreau; of the history of American lawns; the life of the durian fruit; the commodification of nature by way of television documentaries; the strange scholarly fortunes of Tyrannosaurus rex; and the landing patterns of cats in free fall. (Really.) A single theme underpins these scattered pieces: namely, how humans "in all their variousness, regard and react to the natural world, in all its variousness." Quammen explores this theme with good cheer and hard-won knowledge, and his essays teach his readers much about the world. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the Worldby Mark KurlanskyISBN 0140275010 (0-14-027501-0)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'Book summary:[via]The codfish. Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies and livelihoods have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. To the millions it has sustained, it has been a treasure more precious than gold. Indeed, the codfish has played a fascinating and crucial role in world history.
Cod spans a thousand years and four continents. From the Vikings, who pursued the codfish across the Atlantic, and the enigmatic Basques, who first commercialized it in medieval times, to Bartholomew Gosnold, who named Cape Cod in 1602, and Clarence Birdseye, who founded an industry on frozen cod in the 1930s, Mark Kurlansky introduces the explorers, merchants, writers, chefs, and of course the fishermen, whose lives have interwoven with this prolific fish. He chronicles the fifteenth-century politics of the Hanseatic League and the cod wars of the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. He embellishes his story with gastronomic detail, blending in recipes and lore from the Middle Ages to the present.
And he brings to life the cod itself: its personality, habits, extended family, and ultimately the tragedy of how the most profitable fish in history is today faced with extinction.
From fishing ports in New England and Newfoundland to coastal skiffs, schooners, and factory ships across the Atlantic; from Iceland and Scandinavia to the coasts of England, Brazil, and West Africa, Mark Kurlansky tells a story that brings world history and human passions into captivating focus.More editions of Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World:
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The Control of Natureby John McPheeISBN 0374522596 (0-374-52259-6)
Softcover, Noonday Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Control of Nature'Book summary:Master how-it-works writer John McPhee has instructed his readers in the arcana of how oranges are commercially graded, how mountains form, how canoes are built and oceans crossed. In The Control of Nature he turns his attention once more to geology and the human struggle against nature. In one sketch, he explores the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' unrealized plan to divert the flow of the Mississippi River into a tributary, the Atchafalaya, for flood control; in another, he looks at the ingenious ways in which an Icelandic engineer saved a southern harbor on that island from being destroyed by a lava flow; in a third, he examines a complex scheme to protect Los Angeles from boulders ejected from mountains by compression and tectonic movement. As always, McPhee combines a deep knowledge of his subject with a narrative approach that is wholly accessible; you may not have thought you were interested in earthquakes and flood control, but he gently leads you to take a passionate concern in such matters. [via]
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Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Gardenby Diane AckermanISBN 0060505362 (0-06-050536-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden'Book summary:Diane Ackerman relishes the world of her garden. As a poet, she finds within it an endless field of metaphors. As a naturalist, she notices each small, miraculous detail: the hummingbirds and their routines, the showy tulips, the crazy yellow forsythia. Of visiting deer she writes, "I love watching the deer, which always arrive like magic or a miracle or the answer to an unasked question."
In her popular book A Natural History of the Senses, Ackerman celebrates the human body; in A Natural History of My Garden, she turns her attention to the world outside the body, outside the human sphere. Structured by seasons, this is a book of subtle shifts, but the reader never feels lost. Her prose is so welcoming, at times it feels like she's talking directly to you, although her lush, poetic language is the opposite of speech.
Distracted urban readers craving a book that will transport them would do well to spend time immersed in these pages, as will gardeners who've lost appreciation for their plot. Ackerman is a generous writer--a teacher who will share treasured, obscure passages from Beckett or Hawthorne. She's emotional and highly charged, and her descriptions are so clear they're small marvels. She's remarkable for her ability to find mystery everywhere. --Emily White [via]
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Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updatedby Steve JonesISBN 0345422775 (0-345-42277-5)
Softcover, Ballantine Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated'Book summary:Biologists have a dirty little secret: while practically everyone knows of The Origin of Species (and owes much to it), almost nobody has read it. British geneticist Steve Jones wants to make the arguments contained in that great text accessible to modern audiences, and succeeds with the delightful Darwin's Ghost. Approximating the structure of Darwin's opus, Jones uses the original chapter headings and summaries as a scaffolding to build an up-to-date demonstration of the power of a few simple ideas. Heredity, variation, and natural selection are all you need to infer evolution over time, and now that Jones can fill in the gaps in Darwin's pre-Mendelian understanding of genetics, the case becomes airtight.
More than a polemic, though, Darwin's Ghost is nearly as pleasurable a read as its ancestor is--one suspects that part of Jones's mission is to inspire today's readers to turn back to the grand but humble Origin of Species. While he may not be able to quite match Darwin's vast erudition or hawk's eye for detail, he still makes the theory of evolution shudder and breathe on the page. Dog breeding, mass extinctions, and weird fossils of tiny elephants all march to his drumbeat and--just when you least expect it--return to the main point that all living things share a common ancestor. Whether you're one of the elite who's had the pleasure of Darwin's literary company or you'd like a taste of what you're missing, Darwin's Ghost will bring the spirit of the great man back into your world of ideas. --Rob Lightner [via]
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Eastern Forestsby Ann Sutton, Myron Sutton, National Audubon SocietyISBN 0394731263 (0-394-73126-3)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexicoby Donald Joyce BorrorISBN 0395185238 (0-395-18523-8)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico'Book summary:Find what you're looking for with Peterson Field Guidestheir field-tested visual identification system is designed to help you differentiate thousands of unique species accurately every time.Detailed descriptions of insect orders, families, and many individual species are illustrated with 1,300 drawings and 142 superb color paintings. Illustrations - which use the unique Peterson Identification System to distinguish one insect from another - include size lines to show the actual length of each insect. A helpful glossary explains the technical terms of insect anatomy.[via]More editions of A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico:
A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexicoby Richard E. White, Donald Joyce BorrorISBN 0395911702 (0-395-91170-2)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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A Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians: Eastern and Central North Americaby Joseph T. Collins, Roger ConantISBN 0395904528 (0-395-90452-8)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North Americaby Roger ConantISBN 0395199778 (0-395-19977-8)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America'Book summary:The third edition of this classic, definitive guide to the reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central Noth America features new color plates, an updated text, and painstakingly researched maps. With increasing focus on endangered species as indicators of environmental problems, this guide will be an essential reference for anyone concerned about the state of the natural world. 48 full-color plates, 333 maps. [via]
More editions of A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America:
- A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians : Eastern and Central North America: ISBN 0395583896 (0-395-58389-6)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin Company - A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America: ISBN 0395199794 (0-395-19979-4)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin - A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America: ISBN 0395199778 (0-395-19977-8)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
- A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians : Eastern and Central North America: ISBN 0395583896 (0-395-58389-6)
A Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-Central North Americaby Margaret McKenny, Roger Tory PetersonISBN 0395911729 (0-395-91172-9)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-Central North Americaby Roger Tory PetersonISBN 0395183251 (0-395-18325-1)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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Fillets of Plaiceby Gerald Malcolm DurrellISBN 0670313270 (0-670-31327-0)
Hardcover, Penguin USA
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The Illustrated Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animalby Desmond MorrisISBN 0224022601 (0-224-02260-1)
Hardcover, J. Cape, 1986
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Illustrated Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal'Book summary:a new edition of the world's most provocative best seller now with 56 fabulous full color photographs [via]
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In the Shadow of Manby Jane GoodallISBN 0618056769 (0-618-05676-9)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'In the Shadow of Man'Book summary:[via]World-renowned primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodalls account of her life among the wild chimpanzees of Gombe is one of the most enthralling stories of animal behavior ever written. Her adventure began when the famous anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey suggested that a long-term study of chimpanzees in the wild might shed light on the behavior of our closest living relatives. Accompanied by only her mother and her African assistants, she set up camp in the remote Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanzania. For months the project seemed hopeless; out in the forest from dawn until dark, she had but fleeting glimpses of frightened animals. But gradually she won their trust and was able to record previously unknown behavior, such as the useand even the making of tools, until then believed to be an exclusive skill of man. As she came to know the chimps as individuals, she began to understand their complicated social hierarchy and observed many extraordinary behaviors, which have forever changed our understanding of the profound connection between humans and chimpanzees.In the Shadow of Man is one of the Western worlds great scientific achievements (Stephen Jay Gould) and a vivid, essential journey of discovery for each new generation of readers. 
In the Shadow of Manby Lawick-Goodall, Jane, Barones VanISBN 0395127262 (0-395-12726-2)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883by Simon WinchesterISBN 0060838590 (0-06-083859-0)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Krakatoa: The Day The World Exploded August 27, 1883'Book summary:In Krakatoa, the author of The Map That Changed the World and The Professor and the Madman focuses his considerable research powers on one of the most cataclysmic events of modern history: the volcanic eruption, in 1883, of the Southeast Asian island of Krakatoa, which resulted in the deaths of 36,000 people and sent shock-waves around the world. But what at the time was a mysterious, almost supernatural phenomenon has become, under the precepts of the contemporary science of plate tectonics, explicable if no less tragic. Winchester veers between eyewitness accounts by survivors and the limited scientific measurements of the time in an attempt to describe the indescribable. The event "is still said to be the most violent explosion ever recorded and experienced by modern man," he writes. "Six cubic miles of rock had been blasted out of existence, had been turned into pumice and ash and uncountable billions of particles of dust." Yet words and numbers can barely hint at the scale of the calamity, which resulted in tsunamis that washed whole villages into the ocean and forever changed the very topography of the area. The author also explores the social and cultural topography, noting, "Orthodox Islam, its revival in part triggered by tragic events such as the great cataclysm, was totally transformed in Java during the nineteenth century, with fundamentalism, militancy, and profound hostility to non-Muslims its watchwords." At times Winchester seems to overstate his case, and the link he finds between Krakatoa and the rise of anti-Western sentiment in the Islamic world isnt especially convincing. But, by weaving together the disaster with science, communications, politics, religion, and economics, he has come up with a comprehensive and often fascinating glimpse into the way the world, and our perception of it, can change in an instant. --Shawn Conner [via]
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- Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883: ISBN 006093736X (0-06-093736-X)
Softcover, HarperCollins Canada, Limited - Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883: ISBN 0066212855 (0-06-621285-5)
Hardcover, Harpercollins - Krakatoa: The Day The World Exploded August 27, 1883: ISBN 0060838590 (0-06-083859-0)
Softcover, Harpercollins
- Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883: ISBN 006093736X (0-06-093736-X)
Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earthby Richard ForteyISBN 037570261X (0-375-70261-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth'Book summary:"The excitement of discovery cannot be bought, or faked, or learned from books," London Natural History Museum senior paleontologist Richard Fortey writes in Life. The first chapter, an engrossing account of an Arctic fossil-hunting expedition he undertook as a university student, will bring shivers to anyone who has ever ignored cold hands, hunger, and filthy socks to keep looking for something new, some piece of rock or bit of plant that may hold the key to the gleaming certainty of understanding. Fortey's descriptions of scruffy field assistants and eccentrically brilliant scientists are easily as interesting as the billions of years of evolution he so imaginatively describes. After all, the fossil record has not been accepted without controversy, and the arguments among fallible evolutionary biologists as they refined their theories make for great reading. But it is the little animals that make up our distant ancestry that are the focus here. The often mysterious fossils they left behind are like a history book in a language we don't know--the history of bugs and birds, humans and cauliflowers. One by one, Fortey reveals how the puzzles of paleontology have been subjected to the scientific method and to the politics and personal ambitions of academia, until a beautifully clear path is traced from the very first traces of life all the way across the eons to the advent of Homo sapiens. Fortey's elegantly written tour lets us share his passion for ancient seas and the animals that frolicked in them, and understand how time and chance contributed to the biography of us all. --Therese Littleton [via]
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The Life of Birdsby David AttenboroughISBN 069101633X (0-691-01633-X)
Hardcover, Princeton Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Life of Birds'Book summary:Tireless explorer of the natural world and wide-ranging traveler, documentary filmmaker and writer David Attenborough has delighted readers and viewers with such productions as Life on Earth and The Living Planet. In this companion to a 10-part PBS series of the same name, Attenborough examines the ways of bird species from prehistoric times to the present, writing, as he admits, from the viewpoint of an amateur with a particular interest in animal behavior. (Those who can distinguish a bird at sight or by song possess a skill, he writes, "which I greatly admire, but one, alas, that I do not possess.") That amateur passion yields a fine overview of avian biology, as Attenborough turns to such matters as the antiquity of birds, which have dominated the air for some 150 million years, and the adaptation of birds to every ecosystem on the planet--for no obstacle, from huge mountains to wide oceans, has been able to stop their colonizing the whole of the globe, including the artificial deserts of major cities, where pigeons and peregrines rule. Graced with 180 color photographs, Attenborough's book will delight birdwatchers, students of animal behavior, and admirers of good writing alike. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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The Life of Mammalsby David AttenboroughISBN 0691113246 (0-691-11324-6)
Hardcover, Princeton Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Life of Mammals'Book summary:There are over four and a half thousand different kinds of mammals alive today. How many can you name? Many will not be entirely clear about what it is that makes a mammal rather than a reptile or bird, apart from egg laying. But then what about egg-laying mammals such as the platypus and echidna? The Life of Mammals describes and illustrates the remarkable diversity of mammals from the giant blue whale to the miniscule pigmy shrew. The cachet of David Attenborough's name and distinctive voice comes through clearly from the text and there's a stunning selection of photographs, by the best wildlife photographers in the world. The Life of Mammals is worth getting even if you just like wildlife pictures, for there are many here that you will not have seen before--the Brazilian tapir, the hairy rhino of Sumatra, the Pyrenean desman and more.
Attenborough certainly has the knack of making good stories for the general reader out of what, in other hands, can be rather dry science. He manages to weave in a great deal about the evolutionary story behind the success of the mammals over the last 65 million years since the dinosaurs bit the dust. Also, because of all the careful research behind the TV programmes, he is pretty well up to speed on many of the scientific developments in our understanding of our biologically nearest if not necessarily dearest relatives. This is especially true when the story gets around to our closest primate cousins--the apes. All the recent discoveries about tool use and culture are included.
The Life of Mammals will make a perfect gift for anyone from the age of about 10 upwards and hopefully a whole new generation will know what a kinkajou, cacomistle or a uakiri are. The only quibble is there's no further-reading list to fuel new enthusiasms lit up by this excellent book. --Douglas Palmer. [via]
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The Life of the Beeby Maurice MaeterlinckISBN 1404313486 (1-4043-1348-6)
Hardcover, IndyPublish.com
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Life of the Bee'Book summary:The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Bees; [via]
More editions of The Life of the Bee:
- The Life Of The Bee: ISBN 159605039X (1-59605-039-X)
Softcover, Cosimo Inc - The Life of the Bee: ISBN 0486451437 (0-486-45143-7)
Softcover, Dover Pubns - The Life Of The Bee: ISBN 0898753759 (0-89875-375-9)
Softcover, Univ Pr of the Pacific - The Life of the Bee: ISBN 1404313486 (1-4043-1348-6)
Hardcover, IndyPublish.com
- The Life Of The Bee: ISBN 159605039X (1-59605-039-X)
Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcasterby David AttenboroughISBN 0691113238 (0-691-11323-8)
Hardcover, Princeton Univ Pr
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The Living World of Audubonby Roland C. ClementISBN 0448118319 (0-448-11831-9)
Hardcover, Grosset & Dunlap
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Meetings with Remarkable Treesby Thomas PakenhamISBN 0297832557 (0-297-83255-7)
Hardcover, Weidenfeld & Nicolson
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Meetings with Remarkable Trees'Book summary:Thomas Pakenham, a distinguished historian of Africa, takes a new tack by writing an old-fashioned kind of book: a catalog of trees of the British Isles. The last such book was published in 1826. In Meetings with Remarkable Trees Pakenham assembles a beautifully photographed gallery of 60-odd trees of Scotland, England, and Ireland, and magnificent trees they are. One is a 600-year-old king oak that looms large over Charleville, Ireland; another is the yew tree that Wordsworth called the "pride of Lorton's vale"; still another is a sequoia brought from the United States and planted in a Herefordshire grove in 1851, where it has since flourished. Pakenham helpfully includes a map showing the locations of his scattered dramatis personae; you could make a fine tour retracing his steps and having a look for yourself. [via]
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The Naked Apeby Desmond MorrisISBN 0440362660 (0-440-36266-0)
Softcover, Dell Publishing
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Naked Ape'Book summary:"A startling view of man, stripped of the facade we try so hard to hide behind." In view of man's awesome creativity and resourcefulness, we may be inclined to regard him as descended from the angels, yet, in his brilliant study, Desmond Morris reminds us that man is relative to the apes--is in fact, the greatest primate of all. With knowledge gleaned from primate ethnology, zoologist Morris examines sex, child-rearing, exploratory habits, fighting, feeding, and much more to establish our surprising bonds to the animal kingdom and add substance to the discussion that has provoked controversy and debate the world over. Natural History Magazine praised The Naked Ape as "stimulating . . . thought-provoking . . . [Morris] has introduced some novel and challenging ideas and speculations." "He minces no words," said Harper's. "He lets off nothing in our basic relation to the animal kingdom to which we belong. . . He is always specific, startling, but logical." [via]
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The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animalby Desmond MorrisISBN 0385334303 (0-385-33430-3)
Softcover, Dell Pub Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal'Book summary:"A startling view of man, stripped of the facade we try so hard to hide behind." In view of man's awesome creativity and resourcefulness, we may be inclined to regard him as descended from the angels, yet, in his brilliant study, Desmond Morris reminds us that man is relative to the apes--is in fact, the greatest primate of all. With knowledge gleaned from primate ethnology, zoologist Morris examines sex, child-rearing, exploratory habits, fighting, feeding, and much more to establish our surprising bonds to the animal kingdom and add substance to the discussion that has provoked controversy and debate the world over. Natural History Magazine praised The Naked Ape as "stimulating . . . thought-provoking . . . [Morris] has introduced some novel and challenging ideas and speculations." "He minces no words," said Harper's. "He lets off nothing in our basic relation to the animal kingdom to which we belong. . . He is always specific, startling, but logical." [via]
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National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spidersby Lorus Milne, Margery LorusISBN 0394507630 (0-394-50763-0)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Natureby David QuammenISBN 0380717387 (0-380-71738-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature'More editions of Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature:
- Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature: ISBN 0440556961 (0-440-55696-1)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group - Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature: ISBN 0805239677 (0-8052-3967-7)
Hardcover, Random House Inc - Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature: ISBN 0380717387 (0-380-71738-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
- Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature: ISBN 0440556961 (0-440-55696-1)
A Natural History of Loveby Diane AckermanISBN 0679761837 (0-679-76183-7)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Natural History of Love'Book summary:The bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses now explores the allure of adultery, the appeal of aphrodisiacs, and the cult of the kiss. Enchantingly written and stunningly informed, this "audaciously brilliant romp through the world of romantic love" (Washington Post Book World) is the next best thing to love itself.
From the Trade Paperback edition. [via]-
Never Cry Wolfby Farley MowatISBN 0316881791 (0-316-88179-1)
Softcover, Back Bay Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Never Cry Wolf'Book summary:More than a half-century ago the Canadian Wildlife Service assigned the naturalist Farley Mowat to investigate why wolves were killing arctic caribou. Mowat's account of the summer he lived in the frozen tundra alone-studying the wolf population and developing a deep affection for the wolves (who were of no threat to caribou or man) and for a friendly Inuit tribe known as the Ihalmiut ("People of the Deer")-is a work that has become cherished by generations of readers, an indelible record of the myths and magic of wild wolves. [via]
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Of Wolves and Menby Barry Holstun LopezISBN 0684163225 (0-684-16322-5)
Softcover, Scribner
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Of Wolves and Men'Book summary:"The wolf exerts a powerful influence on the human imagination. It takes your stare and turns it back on you." So Barry Lopez writes in his first major work of nonfiction, a careful study of the way that wolves and humans have interacted over centuries, and the way that the wolf has become so central to our thinking about animals. Drawing on considerable personal experience with wolves and on an astonishing range of literature, Lopez argues for the necessity of wolves in the world, which would be much poorer without their howl. Thanks in part to the influence of this essential book about Canis lupus, first published in 1978, we know a great deal more about wolves and are all the better prepared to assure their protection. [via]
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The Outermost Houseby Henry BestonISBN 080507368X (0-8050-7368-X)
Softcover, Henry Holt & Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Outermost House'Book summary:In 1926, Henry Beston spent two weeks in a two-room cottage on the sand dunes of Cape Cod. He had not intended to stay longer, but, as he later wrote, "I lingered on, and as the year lengthened into autumn, the beauty and mystery of this earth and outer sea so possessed and held me that I could not go." Beston stayed for a year, meditating on humanity and the natural world. In The Outermost House, originally published in 1928, he poetically chronicled the four seasons at the beach; the ebb and flow of the tides, the migration of birds, storms, stars, and solitude. The landscape was his major character, and his writing provides a snapshot of the Cape, a place physically changed yet as soulful 80 years later. Like Henry D. Thoreau before him, and Rachel Carson after him, Beston was a writer of stunning beauty, importance and vision. Robert Finch once wrote of him, His are burnished, polished sentences, richly metaphoric and musical, that beg to be read aloud. The Outermost House is a classic of American nature literature. It is now available, for the first time, on audio. *Including an interview with Beston biographer, Dr. Daniel G. Payne *Unabridged on 5 CDs / approximately 5 hours *Narrated by Brett Barry [via]
More editions of The Outermost House:
- The Outermost House: ISBN 014017012X (0-14-017012-X)
Softcover, Penguin Books - The Outermost House: ISBN 0345334205 (0-345-33420-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group - The Outermost House: ISBN 0805019669 (0-8050-1966-9)
Softcover, Henry Holt & Co - The Outermost House: ISBN 0670001260 (0-670-00126-0)
Hardcover, Viking Press - The Outermost House: ISBN 080507368X (0-8050-7368-X)
Softcover, Henry Holt & Co
- The Outermost House: ISBN 014017012X (0-14-017012-X)
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Peterson First Guide to Wildflowers: Of Northeastern and North-Central North Americaby Roger Tory PetersonISBN 039540777X (0-395-40777-X)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Peterson First Guide to Wildflowers: Of Northeastern and North-Central North America'Book summary:Peterson First Guides are the first books the beginning naturalist needs. Condensed versions of the famous Peterson Field Guides, the First Guides focus on the animals, plants, and other natural things you are most likely to see. They make it fun to get into the field and easy to progress to the full-fledged Peterson Guides.[via]More editions of Peterson First Guide to Wildflowers: Of Northeastern and North-Central North America:
The Pine Barrensby Bill Curtsinger, John A. McPheeISBN 0374233624 (0-374-23362-4)
Hardcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux
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The Pine Barrensby John A. McPheeISBN 0374514429 (0-374-51442-9)
Softcover, Farrar Straus & Giroux
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Pine Barrens'Book summary:Contrary to popular opinion, the whole of New Jersey is not a continuous Superfund site enlivened solely by poorly labeled Turnpike exits and skanky diners. In fact, the largest essentially untouched wilderness east of the Mississippi comprises nearly half the state: the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This more than 1,000-square-mile region has only a few thousand inhabitants--the Pineys, whose way of life has remained essentially unchanged since the 17th century. McPhee--one of the finest American essayists of the 20th century--has written an extraordinarily compelling, informative, and insightful book about the botanical, cultural, hydrological, and historical peculiarities of this region. He also details the efforts to save it from the creeping urbanization of nearby Philadelphia and New York City. Very Highly Recommended. [via]
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The Rarest of the Rareby Diane AckermanISBN 0679403469 (0-679-40346-9)
Hardcover, Random House Publishing Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Rarest of the Rare'Book summary:Having written books on the natural history of the human senses and love, Ackerman turns her own exquisitely honed poetic sensibility to vanishing species. Although she travels to exotic locales such as the Amazon, the tropical Pacific, and remote Japanese islands, the powers of her craft are most evident in the chapter centering on Cornell, in Ithaca, New York, near her home. Many nature writers seem to seek out unusual terrains to find their voice. It is a tribute to Ackerman's craft -- and the extraordinary complexity of nature -- that she can turn a trip to the Entomology Department of a nearby university into a world as exotic as the Amazon. Highly Recommended. [via]
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The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worldsby Diane AckermanISBN 0679776230 (0-679-77623-0)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds'Book summary:How do bombardier beetles choose their mates? Why does a firefly's tail light up at night? What does a monk seal talk about, barking out there on the offshore reef? These questions all have some bearing on the way we humans live our lives, strange though they may seem. Diane Ackerman, a tireless explorer of the natural world, looks for answers among animals that are fast disappearing as their native habitats are destroyed--creatures such as the monarch butterfly, the short-tailed albatross, and the wonderfully named golden lion tamarin. She writes with grace and compassion, but also with a considerable command of science, which makes her work essential for students of nature writing. [via]
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The Sea Around Usby Rachel L. CarsonISBN 0195069978 (0-19-506997-8)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sea Around Us'Book summary:Published in 1951, The Sea Around Us was a phenomenal success. Rachel Carson's rare ability to combine scientific insight with moving, poetic prose catapulted her book to first place on The New York Times bestseller list, where it remained on top for thirty-one consecutive weeks. It stayed on the list for more than a year and a half and ultimately sold well over a million copies, has been translated into 28 languages, inspired an Academy Award-winning documentary, and won both the 1952 National Book Award and the John Burroughs Medal. This commemorative edition has over 130 beautiful, full color illustrations from all over the world--everything from breaching whales, Christmas Tree worms and phosphorescent shrimp, to fur seals, flashlight fish, and giant squid. The volume features a foreword by Carl Safina, a founder of the Blue Ocean Institute; an introduction by explorer Robert D. Ballard, renowned for his role in finding the Titanic as well as for his discovery of life around deep-sea hydrothermal vents; and an afterword by Brian J. Skinner, an eminent geologist and former president of the Geological Society of America. The book itself remains as fresh today as when it first appeared. Carson's writing teems with stunning, memorable images--the newly formed Earth cooling beneath an endlessly overcast sky; the centuries of nonstop rain that created the oceans; incredibly powerful tides moving 100 billion tons of water daily in the Bay of Fundy. Quite simply, she captures the mystery and allure of the ocean with a compelling blend of imagination and expertise. For anyone who loves to wander the shore, sail the ocean, or ponder what lies beneath the waves, this illustrated special edition of The Sea Around Us will make a perfect gift. [via]
More editions of The Sea Around Us:
- The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0195147014 (0-19-514701-4)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr - The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0451624831 (0-451-62483-1)
Softcover, New Amer Library - The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0195061861 (0-19-506186-1)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr - The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0307167453 (0-307-16745-3)
Hardcover, Random House Childrens Books - The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0195069978 (0-19-506997-8)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
- The Sea Around Us: ISBN 0195147014 (0-19-514701-4)
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Silent Springby Rachel Carson, Wilson, Edward O. (AFT), Linda LearISBN 0618249060 (0-618-24906-0)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Silent Spring'Book summary:Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that those chemicals were more dangerous than radiation and that for the first time in history, humans were exposed to chemicals that stayed in their systems from birth to death. Presented with thorough documentation, the book opened more than a few eyes about the dangers of the modern world and stands today as a landmark work. [via]
More editions of Silent Spring:
- Silent Spring: ISBN 061825305X (0-618-25305-X)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin - Silent Spring: ISBN 0395453909 (0-395-45390-9)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin - Silent Spring: ISBN 0395683297 (0-395-68329-7)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin - Silent Spring: ISBN 0395453895 (0-395-45389-5)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Co - Silent Spring: ISBN 0395683300 (0-395-68330-0)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin - Silent Spring: ISBN 0449200795 (0-449-20079-5)
Hardcover, Fawcett Crest - Silent Spring: ISBN 0783880537 (0-7838-8053-7)
Hardcover, Thorndike Pr - Silent Spring: ISBN 0618249060 (0-618-24906-0)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
- Silent Spring: ISBN 061825305X (0-618-25305-X)
Silent Springby Rachel Louise CarsonISBN 0449209385 (0-449-20938-5)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group
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Stuffed Animals & Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museumsby Stephen T. AsmaISBN 0195163362 (0-19-516336-2)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr on Demand
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stuffed Animals & Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums'Book summary:Science museums can be illuminating, exciting, and disturbing--just like the collectors that make them possible. In Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums Scholar Stephen T. Asma turns his professional curiosity about preserving bodies into an engrossing, wide-ranging exploration of the nature of these places and their curators. He brings a refreshing vitality to a subject usually thought boring, if not morbid. Asma's writing ranges from expositive to chatty and occasionally feels like a travelogue or memoir as he investigates the American Museum of Natural History, the Galerie d'anatomie comparée, and other collections in the US and Europe; this informality keeps the reader engaged throughout. Referring to the process of skeletonising specimens--while maintaining his hold on all but the most sensitive--he writes:
I stepped into the foulest, most pestiferous stench you can imagine ... Inside each tank were thousands of dermestid beetles, otherwise known as flesh-eating beetles, blissfully chewing the meaty chunks and strands off the bones. Each bug was no bigger than a watermelon seed, but en masse they could strip a skeleton clean in two short days.
To Asma's credit, the bulk of the text is less a gross-out festival than a consideration of the hard, sometimes obsessive work of the men and women behind the displays. He examines the role of museums and collectors in the great evolutionary debates of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the future of these institutions as they come more and more to depend on corporate largesse. Equally enlightening and entertaining, Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads is a perfectly exhibited specimen. --Rob Lightner [via]More editions of Stuffed Animals & Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums:
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Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Natural History Museumsby Stephen T. AsmaISBN 0195130502 (0-19-513050-2)
Hardcover, Oxford University Press
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Natural History Museums'Book summary:Science museums can be illuminating, exciting, and disturbing--just like the collectors that make them possible. In Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums Scholar Stephen T. Asma turns his professional curiosity about preserving bodies into an engrossing, wide-ranging exploration of the nature of these places and their curators. He brings a refreshing vitality to a subject usually thought boring, if not morbid. Asma's writing ranges from expositive to chatty and occasionally feels like a travelogue or memoir as he investigates the American Museum of Natural History, the Galerie d'anatomie comparée, and other collections in the US and Europe; this informality keeps the reader engaged throughout. Referring to the process of skeletonising specimens--while maintaining his hold on all but the most sensitive--he writes:
I stepped into the foulest, most pestiferous stench you can imagine ... Inside each tank were thousands of dermestid beetles, otherwise known as flesh-eating beetles, blissfully chewing the meaty chunks and strands off the bones. Each bug was no bigger than a watermelon seed, but en masse they could strip a skeleton clean in two short days.
To Asma's credit, the bulk of the text is less a gross-out festival than a consideration of the hard, sometimes obsessive work of the men and women behind the displays. He examines the role of museums and collectors in the great evolutionary debates of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the future of these institutions as they come more and more to depend on corporate largesse. Equally enlightening and entertaining, Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads is a perfectly exhibited specimen. --Rob Lightner [via]More editions of Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Natural History Museums:
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Time's Arrow/Time's Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Timeby Stephen Jay GouldISBN 0674891996 (0-674-89199-6)
Softcover, Harvard Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Time's Arrow/Time's Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time'Book summary:Rarely has a scholar attained such popular acclaim merely by doing what he does best and enjoys most. But such is Stephen Jay Gould's command of paleontology and evolutionary theory, and his gift for brilliant explication, that he has brought dust and dead bones to life, and developed an immense following for the seeming arcana of this field.
In Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle his subject is nothing less than geology's signal contribution to human thought--the discovery of "deep time," the vastness of earth's history, a history so ancient that we can comprehend it only as metaphor. He follows a single thread through three documents that mark the transition in our thinking from thousands to billions of years: Thomas Burnet's four-volume Sacred Theory of the Earth (1680-1690), James Hutton's Theory of the Earth (1795), and Charles Lyell's three-volume Principles of Geology (1830-1833).
Gould's major theme is the role of metaphor in the formulation and testing of scientific theories--in this case the insight provided by the oldest traditional dichotomy of Judeo-Christian thought: the directionality of time's arrow or the immanence of time's cycle. Gould follows these metaphors through these three great documents and shows how their influence, more than the empirical observation of rocks in the field, provoked the supposed discovery of deep time by Hutton and Lyell. Gould breaks through the traditional "cardboard" history of geological textbooks (the progressive march to truth inspired by more and better observations) by showing that Burnet, the villain of conventional accounts, was a rationalist (not a theologically driven miracle-monger) whose rich reconstruction of earth history emphasized the need for both time's arrow (narrative history) and time's cycle (immanent laws), while Hutton and Lyell, our traditional heroes, denied the richness of history by their exclusive focus upon time's Arrow.
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The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Animal Behaviorby David AttenboroughISBN 0316057517 (0-316-05751-7)
Hardcover, Little Brown & Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Trials of Life: A Natural History of Animal Behavior'Book summary:Phenomenal color photographs form the cornerstone of Attenborough's new book which, along with its companion TV series, picks up where the first two left off. Life on earth traced the development of animal life from its beginnings. [via]
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Whispering Landby Gerald DurrellISBN 0143037080 (0-14-303708-0)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Whispering Land'Book summary:[via]Fans of Gerard Durrell's beloved classic My Family and Other Animals and other accounts of his lifelong fascination with members of the animal kingdom will rejoice at The Whispering Land. The sequel to A Zoo in My Luggage, this is the story of how Durrell and his wife's zoo-building efforts at England's Jersey Zoo led them and a team of helpers on an eight-month safari in Argentina to look for South American specimens. Through windswept Patagonian shores and tropical forests in Argentina, from ocelots to penguins, fur seals to parrots, Durrell captures the landscape and its inhabitants with his signature charm and humor.
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Wild Thoughts from Wild Placesby David QuammenISBN 068485208X (0-684-85208-X)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster
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Zoo in My Luggageby Gerald Durrell, Ralph ThompsonISBN 0140020845 (0-14-002084-5)
Softcover, Viking Pr
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