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Nature and Science December 2018
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Did you see these in 2018? |
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Buzz : The Nature and Necessity of Bees
by Thor Hanson
What it's about: Bees are like oxygen: ubiquitous, essential, and, for the most part, unseen. While we might overlook them, they lie at the heart of relationships that bind the human and natural worlds. In Buzz , the beloved Thor Hanson takes us on a journey that begins 125 million years ago, when a wasp first dared to feed pollen to its young. From honeybees and bumbles to lesser-known diggers, miners, leafcutters, and masons, bees have long been central to our harvests, our mythologies, and our very existence. They've given us sweetness and light, the beauty of flowers, and as much as a third of the foodstuffs we eat. And, alarmingly, they are at risk of disappearing.
Why you might like it: As informative and enchanting as the waggle dance of a honeybee, Buzz shows us why all bees are wonders to celebrate and protect. Read this book and you'll never overlook them again.
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A wilder time : notes from a geologist at the edge of the Greenland ice.
by William E. Glassley
What it is: Greenland, one of the last truly wild places, contains a treasure trove of information on Earth's early history embedded in its pristine landscape. Over numerous seasons, William E. Glassley and two fellow geologists traveled there to collect samples and observe rock formations for evidence to prove a contested theory that plate tectonics, the movement of Earth's crust over its molten core, is a much more ancient process than some believed. As their research drove the scientists ever farther into regions barely explored by humans for millennia--if ever--Glassley encountered wondrous creatures and natural phenomena that gave him unexpected insight into the origins of myth, the virtues and boundaries of science, and the importance of seeking the wilderness within.
What sets it apart: An invitation to experience a breathtaking place and the fascinating science behind its creation, A Wilder Time is nature writing at its best.
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The feather thief : beauty, obsession, and the natural history heist of the century
by Kirk W Johnson
What it's about: Documents the astonishing 2009 theft of an invaluable collection of ornithological displays from the British Museum of Natural History by a talented American musician, tracing the author's years-long investigation to track down the culprit and understand his motives, which were possibly linked to an obsession with the Victorian art of salmon fly-tying.
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The wonderful Mr. Willughby : the first true ornithologist
by Tim Birkhead
What it's about: Describes the too-short life and career of the man who helped found the Royal Society and accelerated science in the 1600s through his study of birds and his identification system that categorized them by distinguishing features.
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A Magical World: Superstition and Science from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
by Derek K. Wilson
What it's about: Richly detailed yet briskly paced, A Magical World surveys the profound intellectual and cultural shifts that occurred in Europe between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.
What sets it apart: Historian Derek K. Wilson rejects the notion of humanity's steady progress from barbarism to civilization and views great thinkers as products of their time, not anomalies.
Read it for: a thought-provoking meditation on the complementary roles of science and religion in Western civilization.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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