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Nature and Science August 2025 |
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How to be a living thing : meditations on intuitive oysters, hopeful doves, and being human in the world
by Mari Andrew
A luminous collection of essays exploring the lessons we can incorporate from the animal world in order to live more fully as humans. A shelter cat teaches us that our damaged parts, too, are worthy of love... a captive orca shows us that inconvenience and difficulties are the blessing of a full life... a gorilla teaches the universal language of grief... a group of oysters who prove that magic and science can and do coexist... In How to Be a Living Thing, Mari Andrew reflects on the ways animals mirror, challenge, and deepen our experiences as living creatures in the world. Heartwarming, funny, and insightful, How to Be a Living Thing reminds us that we are perfectly imperfect beings, capable of profound connection with each other and with all other species of the remarkable natural world that surrounds us.
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A year with the seals : unlocking the secrets of the sea's most charismatic and controversial creatures
by Alexandra Morris
It might be their large, strangely human eyes or their dog-like playfulness, but seals have long captured people's interest and affection, making them the perfect candidate for an environmental cause, as well as the subject of decades of study. Alix Morris spends a year with these magnetic creatures and brings them to life on the page, season by season, as she learns about their intelligence, their relationships with each other, their ecosystems, and the changing climate. Morris also gets to know all of the competing interests in the intense debate about the newly recovered seal populations in our coastal waters, from local fishermen whose catch is often diminished by savvy seals, to tribes who once relied on seal-hunting for food, clothing, and medicine, to seal rescue workers and biologists, to surfers and swimmers now encountering seal-hunting sharks in coastal waters. A Year with the Seals is a rare look at what happens when conservation efforts actually work, and how human tampering with ecosystems continues to have unexpected consequences.
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North to the future : an offline adventure through the changing wilds of Alaska
by Ben Weissenbach
At the age of twenty-one, college student Ben Weissenbach set out into the Alaskan wilderness armed with little more than inspiration from his literary heroes and a growing interest in climate change. What meets him there is a landscape both stark and awe-inspiring: a part of the world seen by few outside a small contingent of scientists with big personalities. There's Roman Dial, the larger-than-life field scientist who leads him on a five week journey into the Alaskan backcountry. There's Kenji Yoshikawa, the isolated researcher who leaves Ben alone for eleven days to care for his remote cabin, where temperatures at night drop to -49 degrees Fahrenheit. And there's Matt Nolan, the independent glaciologist who flies planes onto glaciers. As Weissenbach's mental and physical resilience is tested, he discovers far more than his own limits; struck by the landscape's staggering beauty and sheer indifference to humanity, he emerges from each experience with a new perspective on our modern relationships to technology -- and a deep sense of wonder for our natural world.
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The wonder of seashells : discover the meaning and magic of the ocean's treasures
by Melissa Hobson
Full of fascinating insights, science, and stunning, realistic watercolor illustrations, The Wonder of Seashells with deepen every nature lover's appreciation for the ocean's treasures. This visual odyssey reveals how seashells enhance and inform the world around us, delivering illuminating facts about seashells that are often overlooked.
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Naturally : the herbalist's guide to health and transformation
by Rachelle Robinett
A beginner's guide to herbalism: the ancient art and science of plants to transform your life. Weaving practical advice with deep explorations of herbalism's potential to shift our relationship with the natural world, Robinett shares science-backed guidance on how to use herbs to address a range of aliments, like pain and inflammation, regulating the nervous system, boosting memory and mental clarity, and more. Readers learn how to work with teas, tinctures, capsules, and other herbal blends, as well as the best format for taking each herb; the tried-and-true diet and lifestyle considerations to pair with each herbal protocol; and simple, easy-to-follow herbal recipes and formulas.
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Landlines : The Remarkable Story of a Thousand-Mile Journey Across Britain
by Raynor Winn
The powerful story of a 1,000-mile healing walk--from the lochs of Scotland to England's southwest coast--in a remarkable evocation of modern-day Britain. Raynor Winn knows that her husband Moth's health is declining, getting worse by the day. She knows of only one cure. It worked once before. But will he--can he?--set out with her on another healing walk? The Cape Wrath Trail is hundreds of miles of grueling terrain through Scotland's remotest mountains and lochs. But the lure of the wilderness and the beguiling beauty of the awaiting glens draw them northwards. Being one with nature saved them in their darkest hour years earlier--and their hope is that this experience can work its magic again.
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| More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to... by Adam BeckerMany of today’s tech industry leaders advance wildly optimistic visions of a future in which people will live on Mars, become immortal, and exist in simulation. Interrogating these scenarios with real science, journalist Adam Becker runs through the multitude of reasons why they aren’t achievable, and why we wouldn’t want them to be. Try this next: Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. |
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| Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum by Daniel TammetEssayist and memoirist Daniel Tammet, a writer who is himself on the autism spectrum, focuses on the lives of nine autistic individuals, highlighting the diversity of their various talents. It’s a sweeping and inspiring own voices journey that “captures the unique modes of autistic thought with sensitivity and lyrical flair” (Publishers Weekly). For fans of: We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric Garcia. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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