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Nature and Science August 2018
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The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales...
by Lucy Cooke
What it is: Zoologist Lucy Cooke -- the founder of the Sloth Appreciation Society -- probes some of the most intriguing myths about 13 animals, including beavers, pandas, and (of course) sloths.
For fans of: natural history and hilarious, quirky, and entertaining facts.
Try this next: Follow this fun collection of surprising essays with The Wasp That Brainwashed The Caterpillar: Evolution’s Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life’s Biggest Problems by Matt Simon.
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Wild Moms : Motherhood in the Animal Kingdom
by Carin Bondar
A fascinating and entertaining tour of motherhood in the animal kingdom that reveals a new perspective on the mother/child relationship. "Being a mom is a tough job--but imagine doing it in the jungle or out on the safari, faced by the ravages of the elements, a scarcity of resources and the threat of predators prowling at all times of the day and night. In Wild Moms, Dr. Carin Bondar takes readers on an enthralling tour of the animal kingdom as she explores the phenomenon of motherhood in the wild. A journey through motherhood for the animal kingdom--from the initial phases of gestation and pregnancy through breastfeeding and toddler-rearing and trying to parent a teenager through empty nest syndrome (which, in many of these cases, is quite literal!) to being a grandmother. In Wild Moms, Dr. Bondar answers a whole host of questions about the animal kingdom: How do moms in the animal kingdom cope with crying babies and potty training? How does breastfeeding work in the wild--particularly when a mother is nursing not one baby at a time, but a whole litter? If children with disabilities do not fit into Darwin's theory of evolution (I.e. Survival of the fittest), then why do we see mothers from various mammalian groups providing ongoing care to disabled offspring? Accessible and entertaining, Wild Moms is a celebration of moms everywhere--and a book guaranteed to make readers think about motherhood in an entirely new way.
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The consciousness instinct : unraveling the mystery of how the brain makes the mind
by Michael S Gazzaniga
How do neurons turn into minds? How does physical "stuff"--atoms, molecules, chemicals, and cells--create the vivid and various worlds inside our heads? The problem of consciousness has gnawed at us for millennia. In the last century there have been massive breakthroughs that have rewritten the science of the brain, and yet the puzzles faced by the ancient Greeks are still present. In The Consciousness Instinct, the neuroscience pioneer Michael S. Gazzaniga puts the latest research in conversation with the history of human thinking about the mind, giving a big-picture view of what science has revealed about consciousness.
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Buzz : The Nature and Necessity of Bees
by Thor Hanson
From the award-winning author of The Triumph of Seeds and Feathers, a natural and cultural history of the buzzing wee beasties that make the world go round. 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. 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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| Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything by Randi Hutter EpsteinWhat it is: a crash course in endocrinology, which illuminates the role of hormones in metabolism, the immune system, puberty, sex, and sleep.
Read it for: an eye-opening and engaging history involving resurrectionists, roosters, sideshow attractions, and horse urine.
For fans of: Mary Roach's Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. |
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| Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth's Most Awesome Creatures by Nick PyensonWhat it's about: Paleontologist Nicholas Pyenson recounts the evolution of whales from four-legged, dog-sized, land-dwelling creatures to today's aquatic leviathans, while contemplating their uncertain future.
Why you might like it: part natural history, part travelogue, Spying on Whales offers a glimpse at a hidden underwater world.
You might also like: Philip Hoare's The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea; Micheline Jenner's The Secret Life of Whales. |
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The Weather Detective : Rediscovering Nature's Secret Signs
by Peter Wohlleben
In this first-ever English translation of The Weather Detective, Peter Wohlleben uses his long experience and deep love of nature to help decipher the weather and our local environments in a completely new and compelling way. Analyzing the explanations for everyday questions and mysteries surrounding weather and natural phenomena, he delves into a new and intriguing world of scientific investigation. At what temperature do bees stay home? Why do southerly winds in winter often bring storms? How can birdsong or flower scents help you tell the time? These are among the many questions Wohlleben poses. Full of the very latest discoveries, combined with ancient now-forgotten lore, The Weather Detective helps you read nature's secret signs and discover a rich new layer of meaning in the world around you.
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Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
by Adam Frank
What it's about: According to author Adam Frank, civilizations are "just another thing the universe does." By his calculations, there exist some 10 billion trillion planets with the potential for civilizations to develop. What can such planets tell us about ourselves -- and our fate?
About the author: Adam Frank is an astrophysicist and the founder of NPR's 13.7: Cosmos and Culture blog.
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The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World
by Steve Brusatte
What it is: the most up-to-date research on the amazing rise, fantastic reign, and spectacular extinction of dinosaurs, presented in a captivating and lively manner.
Why you should read it: Paleontologists discover, on average, one new dinosaur species a week(!), so there is much new information to share.
About the author: American paleontologist Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh is highly respected in his field.
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Chesapeake Requiem : A Year With the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island
by Earl Swift
angier Island, Virginia, is a community unique on the American landscape. Mapped by John Smith in 1608, settled during the American Revolution, the tiny sliver of mud is home to 470 hardy people who live an isolated and challenging existence, with one foot in the 21st century and another in times long passed. They are separated from their countrymen by the nation’s largest estuary, and a twelve-mile boat trip across often tempestuous water—the same water that for generations has made Tangier’s fleet of small fishing boats a chief source for the rightly prized Chesapeake Bay blue crab, and has lent the island its claim to fame as the softshell crab capital of the world. Yet for all of its long history, and despite its tenacity, Tangier is disappearing. The very water that has long sustained it is erasing the island day by day, wave by wave. It has lost two-thirds of its land since 1850, and still its shoreline retreats by fifteen feet a year—meaning this storied place will likely succumb first among U.S. towns to the effects of climate change. Experts reckon that, barring heroic intervention by the federal government, islanders could be forced to abandon their home within twenty-five years. Meanwhile, the graves of their forebears are being sprung open by encroaching tides, and the conservative and deeply religious Tangiermen ponder the end times. Chesapeake Requiem is an intimate look at the island’s past, present and tenuous future, by an acclaimed journalist who spent much of the past two years living among Tangier’s people, crabbing and oystering with its watermen, and observing its long traditions and odd ways. What emerges is the poignant tale of a world that has, quite nearly, gone by—and a leading-edge report on the coming fate of countless coastal communities.
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The order of time
by Carlo Rovelli
Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike.
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Comparing Notes : How We Make Sense of Music
by Adam Ockelford
A tap of the foot, a rush of emotion, the urge to hum a tune; without instruction or training we all respond intuitively to music. Comparing Notes explores what music is, why all of us are musical, and how abstract patterns of sound that might not appear to mean anything can, in fact, be so meaningful. Taking the reader on a clear and compelling tour of major twentieth century musical theories, Professor Adam Ockelford arrives at his own important psychologically grounded theory of how music works. From pitch and rhythm to dynamics and timbre, he shows how all the elements of music cohere through the principle of imitation to create an abstract narrative in sound that we instinctively grasp, whether listening to Bach or the Beatles. Authoritative, engaging, and full of wonderful examples from across the musical spectrum, Comparing Notes is essential reading for anyone who’s ever loved a song, sonata, or symphony, and wondered why.
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Focus on: Companion Animals
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My patients like treats : tales from a house-call veterinarian
by Duncan MacVean
A veterinarian who still makes house calls, the author presents a collection of part-hilarious, part-heartbreaking true tales gathered from his career as he navigating the finer elements of human and animal interaction and gets to know the curious creatures he treats.
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Happily Ever Esther : Two Men, a Wonder Pig, and Their Life-changing Mission to Give Animals a Home
by Steve Jenkins
Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter, had their lives turned upside down when they adopted their pig-daughter Esther--the so-called micro pig who turned out to be a full-sized commercial pig growing to a whopping 600 pounds--as they describe in their bestselling memoir Esther the Wonder Pig. The book ends with them moving to a new farm, and starting a new wonderful life where they will live on the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary to care for other animals and just live happily ever after... Or so they thought. People often think about giving it all up and just moving to a farm. In theory it sure does sound great. But as Derek and Steve quickly realized, the realities of being a farmer--especially when you have never lived on a farm let alone outside of the city--can be frantic, crazy, and even insane. Not only are they adjusting to farm life and dutifully taking care of their pig-daughter Esther (who by the way lives in the master bedroom of their house), but before they knew it their sanctuary grew to as many as 42 animals, including: pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, cows, roosters, a peacock, a duck, a horse, a donkey, and a barn cat named Willma Ferrell. Written with joy and humor, and filled with delicious Esther-approved recipes dispersed throughout the book, this charming memoir captures an emotional journey of one little family advocating for animals everywhere.
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Another Good Dog : One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs
by Cara Sue Achterberg
When Cara felt her teenaged children slipping away and saw an empty nest on the horizon, she decided the best way to fill that void was with dogs―lots of them―and so her foster journey began. In 2015, her Pennsylvania farm became a haven for Operation Paws for Homes. There were the nine puppies at once, which arrived with less than a day’s notice; a heart- worm positive dog; a deeply traumatized stray pup from Iraq; and countless others who just needed a gentle touch and a warm place to sleep. Operation Paws for Homes rescues dogs from high-kill shelters in the rural south and shuttles them north to foster homes like Cara’s on the way to their forever homes. What started as a search for a good dog, led to an epiphany that there wasn’t just one that could ll the hole left in her heart from her children gaining independence―she could save dozens along the way. The stories of these remarkable dogs― including an eighty-pound bloodhound who sang arias for the neighbors―and the joy they bring to Cara and her family (along with a few chewed sofa cushions) fill the pages of this touching and inspiring new book that reveals the wonderful rewards of fostering. When asked how she can possibly say goodbye to that many loveable pups, Cara says, “If I don’t give this one away, I can’t possibly save another.” Filled with humanity and hope, Another Good Dog will take the reader on an journey of smiles, laughs, and tears―and lead us to wonder how many other good dogs are out there and what we can do to help.
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| Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight by Margaret Lazarus DeanWhat it's about: Margaret Lazarus Dean travels to Florida's Space Coast to witness the final days of the Shuttle program and reflects on America's retreat from human spaceflight.
Why you might like it: Eschewing technical jargon, Dean's behind-the-scenes tour of NASA focuses on the people who made space exploration a reality.
Book buzz: Leaving Orbit won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize in 2015. |
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| How to Make a Spaceship: A Band of Renegades, an Epic Race, and the Birth of... by Julian GuthrieWhat it's about: the new 21st-century space race, in which billionaires compete to launch rockets and reap the financial rewards of doing business in space.
Featuring: American entrepreneur Peter Diamandis and his $10 million XPrize; the eventual winning team and their experimental spaceplane SpaceShipOne.
You might also like: Joe Pappalardo's Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight, another optimistic book about the nascent commercial space industry. |
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| Beyond: Our Future in Space by Chris ImpeyWhat it's about: Astronomer Chris Impey chronicles human space travel, from the Cold War "space race" to the rise of private space companies such as Space X and Virgin Galactic.
Why you might like it: In engaging fashion, Beyond describes our species' ongoing efforts to explore, colonize, and inhabit the final frontier.
You might also like: Neil deGrasse Tyson's Space Chronicles, which considers our future in space. |
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| Sally Ride: America's First Woman in Space by Lynn SherrWhat it is: a biography of the first American woman astronaut to go to space, written by a journalist who followed Sally Ride's career for decades.
Did you know? That Ride was a nationally ranked college tennis player? That she was the first (known) gay astronaut? That on her famous first flight she suffered from space sickness?
Want a taste? "Sally was very good at keeping secrets." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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