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Nature and Science June 2018
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| The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve BrusatteWhat 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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| The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales... by Lucy CookeWhat 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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Still waters : the secret world of lakes
by Curt Stager
Beautifully observed and eloquently written, Stager’s narrative is filled with strange and enchanting details about these submerged worlds―diving insects chirping underwater like crickets, African crater lakes that explode, and the growing threats to some of our most precious bodies of water. Modern science has demonstrated that humanity is an integral part of nature on this planet, so intertwined with it that we have also become an increasingly powerful force of nature in our own right. Still Waters reminds us how beautiful, complex, and vulnerable our lakes are, and how, more than ever, it is essential to protect them.
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Endangered
by Tim Flach
In Endangered, the result of a multiyear project to document the lives of threatened species, photographer Tim Flach explores one of the most pressing issues of our time. Traveling around the world--to settings ranging from forest to savannah to the polar seas to the great coral reefs--Flach has constructed a visual record of remarkable animals and ecosystems facing harsh challenges. Among them are primates coping with habitat loss, big cats in a losing battle with human settlements, elephants hunted for their ivory, and numerous bird species taken as pets. With zoologist Jonathan Baillie providing insightful commentary on this ambitious project, Endangered unfolds as a series of vivid, interconnected stories that pose moral dilemmas, expressed by more than 180 of Flach's images.
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The Feather Thief : Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
by Kirk Wallace Johnson
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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Kings of the Yukon : One Summer Paddling Across the Far North
by Adam Weymouth The Yukon river is 2,000 miles long, the longest stretch of free-flowing river in the United States. In this riveting examination of one of the last wild places on earth, Adam Weymouth canoes along the river's length, from Canada's Yukon Territory, through Alaska, to the Bering Sea. The result is a book that shows how even the most remote wilderness is affected by the same forces reshaping the rest of the planet. |
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| Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean Tells Us about Ourselves by James NestorWhat it’s about: Competitive free diving is a sport in which participants plunge, unburdened by scuba gear, to depths of up to 300 feet in the span of a single breath. In Deep, author James Nestor begins training for free diving -- and in the process uncovers much about the enduring relationship between humans and the ocean.
Book buzz: Deep was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, an Amazon Best Science Book of 2014, and a Scientific American Recommended Read. |
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| The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea by Callum RobertsWhat it's about: Biologist Callum Roberts documents the past, present, and future of the world's oceans, which continue to undergo dramatic environmental changes.
Why you should read it: Filled with fascinating tidbits (albatross chicks eat an average of 70 pieces of plastic per meal) as well as meticulous scientific detail, The Ocean of Life makes a powerful case for ocean conservation.
About the author: Roberts has been called “the Rachel Carson of the fish world” (The New York Times). |
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| Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators... by Simon WinchesterWhat it’s about: bestselling author Simon Winchester turns his keen eye on the Pacific Ocean, the largest body of water on Earth, mainly focusing on events after 1950.
What’s inside: Assessing not only the ocean and what lies beneath it, Winchester also discusses the countries that border it (including China and the United States) as well as the islands within it.
Reviewers say: Kirkus Reviews calls Pacific a "superb analysis of a world wonder." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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