A journey around the United States in search of the truth about the threat of earthquakes leads to spine-tingling discoveries, unnerving experts, and ultimately the kind of preparations that will actually help guide us through disasters. It's a road trip full of surprises. Earthquakes. You need to worry about them only if you're in San Francisco, right? Wrong. We have been making enormous changes to subterranean America, and Mother Earth, as always, has been making some of her own. . . . The consequences for our real estate, our civil engineering, and our communities will be huge because they will include earthquakes most of us do not expect and cannot imagine - at least not without reading Quakeland. Kathryn Miles descends into mines in the Northwest, dissects Mississippi levee engineering studies, uncovers the horrific risks of an earthquake in the Northeast, and interviews the seismologists, structual engineers, and emergency managers around the country who are addressing this ground shaking threat. As Miles relates, the era of human-induced earthquakes began in 1962 in Colorado after millions of gallons of chemical-weapon waste was pumped underground in the Rockies. More than 1,500 quakes over the following seven years resulted. The Department of Energy plans to dump spent nuclear rods in the same way. Evidence of fracking's seismological impact continues to mount. . . . Humans as well as fault lines built our "quakeland". What will happen when Memphis, home of FedEx's 1.5-million-packages-a-day hub, goes offline as a result of an earthquake along the unstable Reelfoot Fault? FEMA has estimated that a modest 7.0 magnitude quake (twenty of these happen per year around the world) along the Wasatch Fault under Salt Lake City would put a $33 billion dent in our economy. When the Fukushima reactor melted down, tens of thousands were displaced. If New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant blows, ten million people will be displaced. How would that evacuation even begin? Kathryn Miles' tour of our land is as fascinating and frightening as it is irresistibly compelling.
Dutton
|
9780525955184
|
Hardcover
Into the Storm
By Korten, Tristram
"An intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller. This is nonfiction at its very best." - Lee ChildThe true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path: El Faro, a 790-foot American behemoth with a crew of thirty-three, and the Minouche, a 230-foot freighter with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships and their final journeys, Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of two veteran sea captains from very different worlds, the harrowing ordeals of their desperate crews, and the Coast Guard's extraordinary battle against a storm that defied prediction.
Ballantine Books
|
9781524797881
|
Hardcover
A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings
By Sewell, Matt
"Most groups of wildlife can be described as a flock, herd, or shoal - but where is the fun in ending there?" - from the IntroductionWhether you're an animal lover or a grammar geek, illustrator Matt Sewell has the perfect menagerie of beasts (and beast-related terms) for your reading pleasure. Along with fifty-five gorgeous color illustrations, Sewell presents the unexpected collective nouns used to describe groups of animals on land, in the air, and in the water. Discover the secret behind a "sleuth of bears," keep your eyes open for a "watch of nightingales," and learn something new about a "school of whales." Illustrated in inimitable watercolor, this book makes a great gift for nature and art lovers everywhere.
Ten Speed Press
|
9780399579394
|
Hardcover
Atlas of a Lost World
By Childs, Craig
From the author of Apocalyptic Planet comes a vivid travelogue through prehistory, tracing the arrival of the First People in North America at least twenty thousand years ago and the artifacts that tell of their lives and fates. This book upends our notions of where these people came from and who they were. How they arrived, persisted, and ultimately thrived is a story that resonates from the Pleistocene to our modern era. During the Ice Age, sea levels were much lower, exposing a vast land bridge between Asia and North America. But the land bridge was not the only way across. Different people arrived from different directions, and not all at the same time. The first explorers of the New World were few, their encampments fleeting. The continent they reached had no people, and was inhabited by megafauna - mastodons, giant bears, mammoths, saber-toothed cats, 500-pound jaguar-lions, enormous bison, and sloths that stood one story tall. The First People were hunters - Paleolithic spear points are still encrusted with the proteins of their prey - but they were wildly outnumbered and many would have been prey to the much larger animals. Atlas of a Lost World chronicles the last millennia of the Ice Age, the violent oscillations and retreat of glaciers, the clues and traces that document the first encounters of early humans, and the animals whose presence governed the humans' chances for survival. A blend of science and personal narrative reveals how much has changed since the time of mammoth hunters, and how little. Across unexplored landscapes yet to be peopled, readers will see the Ice Age, and their own age, in a whole new light.
Pantheon
|
9780307908650
|
Hardcover
The Living Forest
By Llewellyn, Robert
"With precise, stunning photographs and a distinctly literary narrative that tells the story of the forest ecosystem along the way, The Living Forest is an invitation to join in the eloquence of seeing." - Sierra Magazine. From the leaves and branches of the canopy to the roots and soil of the understory, the forest is a complex, interconnected ecosystem filled with plants, birds, mammals, insects, and fungi. Some of it is easily discovered, but many parts remain difficult or impossible for the human eye to see. Until now. . The Living Forest is a visual journey that immerses you deep into the woods. The wide-ranging photography by Robert Llewellyn celebrates the small and the large, the living and the dead, and the seen and the unseen. Youll discover close-up images of owls, hawks, and turtles; aerial photographs that show herons in flight; and time-lapse imagery that reveals the slow change of leaves. In an ideal blend of art and scholarship, the 300 awe-inspiring photographs are supported by lyrical essays from Joan Maloof detailing the science behind the wonder.
Timber Press
|
9781604697124
|
Hardcover
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
By Brusatte, Stephen
In this ambitious and engrossing narrative history that spans nearly 200 million years, Stephen Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering ten new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies - tells the complete story of the life and death of the dinosaurs.
Brusatte follows these magnificent creatures from the Early Triassic period at the start of their evolution, roughly 250 million years ago, through the Jurassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period (66 million years ago), when a giant meteor struck the earth and all non-bird species went extinct.
An electrifying scientific history and biography that unearths the dinosaurs' epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be the definitive narrative history of the subject for years to come.
William Morrow
|
9780062490421
|
Book
What It's Like to Be a Dog
By Berns, Gregory
What is it like to be a dog? A bat? Or a dolphin? To find out, neuroscientist Gregory Berns and his team began with a radical step: they taught dogs to go into an MRI scanner-completely awake. They discovered what makes dogs individuals with varying capacities for self-control, different value systems, and a complex understanding of human speech. And dogs were just the beginning. In What It's Like to Be a Dog, Berns explores the fascinating inner lives of wild animals from dolphins and sea lions to the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Much as Silent Spring transformed how we thought about the environment, so What It's Like to Be a Dog will fundamentally reshape how we think about-and treat-animals. Groundbreaking and deeply humane, it is essential reading for animal lovers of all stripes.
Basic Books
|
9780465096244
|
Hardcover
The Secret Life of Cows
By Young, Rosamund
In this affectionate, heart-warming chronicle, Rosamund Young distills a lifetime of organic farming wisdom, describing the surprising personalities of her cows and other animalsAt her famous Kite's Nest Farm in Worcestershire, England, the cows (as well as sheep, hens, and pigs) all roam free. They make their own choices about rearing, grazing, and housing. Left to be themselves, the cows exhibit temperaments and interests as diverse as our own. "Fat Hat" prefers men to women; "Chippy Minton" refuses to sleep with muddy legs and always reports to the barn for grooming before bed; "Jake" has a thing for sniffing the carbon monoxide fumes of the Land Rover exhaust pipe; and "Gemima" greets all humans with an angry shake of the head and is fiercely independent.An organic farmer for decades, Young has an unaffected and homely voice. Her prose brims with genuine devotion to the wellbeing of animals. Most of us never apprehend the various inner lives animals possess, least of all those that we might eat. But Young has spent countless hours observing how these creatures love, play games, and form life-long friendships. She imparts hard-won wisdom about the both moral and real-world benefits of organic farming. (If preserving the dignity of animals isn't a good enough reason for you, consider how badly factory farming stunts the growth of animals, producing unhealthy and tasteless food.) This gorgeously-illustrated book, which includes an original introduction by the legendary British playwright Alan Bennett, is the summation of a life's work, and a delightful and moving tribute to the deep richness of animal sentience.
Penguin Press
|
9780525557319
|
Hardcover
The Horse-Lover's Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition
By Haas, Jessie
Here is a completely revised, full-color second edition of the established go-to source for equestrian information. This comprehensive A-to-Z guide covers "everything horse" and bridges gaps in the equestrian universe between English and Western styles. More than 1,700 entries explain wide-ranging topics such as breeds, tack, facilities, equine care and management, health and safety issues, riding styles and disciplines, shows, and much more. Whether you're a rodeo hand, thoroughbred racer, seasoned professional, or armchair admirer, you'll get everything you need from noted equestrian author Jessie Haas' clear and thorough descriptions.
Storey Publishing
|
9781612126821
|
Print book
The Source
By Doyle, Martin
How rivers have shaped American politics, economics, and society from the beginnings of the Republic to today. In this fresh and powerful work of environmental history, Martin Doyle explores how rivers have often been the source of arguments at the heart of the American experiment -- over federalism, taxation, regulation, conservation, and development. Doyle tells the epic story of America and its rivers, from the U.S. Constitution's roots in interstate river navigation, the origins of the Army Corps of Engineers, the discovery of gold in 1848, and the construction of the Hoover Dam and the TVA during the New Deal, to the failure of the levees in Hurricane Katrina. And through encounters with experts all over the country -- a Mississippi River tugboat captain, an Erie Canal lock operator, a western rancher fighting for water rights -- Doyle reveals how we've dammed, raised, rerouted, channelized, and even "re-meandered" our rivers. 20 illustrations
Quakeland
By Miles, Kathryn
A journey around the United States in search of the truth about the threat of earthquakes leads to spine-tingling discoveries, unnerving experts, and ultimately the kind of preparations that will actually help guide us through disasters. It's a road trip full of surprises. Earthquakes. You need to worry about them only if you're in San Francisco, right? Wrong. We have been making enormous changes to subterranean America, and Mother Earth, as always, has been making some of her own. . . . The consequences for our real estate, our civil engineering, and our communities will be huge because they will include earthquakes most of us do not expect and cannot imagine - at least not without reading Quakeland. Kathryn Miles descends into mines in the Northwest, dissects Mississippi levee engineering studies, uncovers the horrific risks of an earthquake in the Northeast, and interviews the seismologists, structual engineers, and emergency managers around the country who are addressing this ground shaking threat. As Miles relates, the era of human-induced earthquakes began in 1962 in Colorado after millions of gallons of chemical-weapon waste was pumped underground in the Rockies. More than 1,500 quakes over the following seven years resulted. The Department of Energy plans to dump spent nuclear rods in the same way. Evidence of fracking's seismological impact continues to mount. . . . Humans as well as fault lines built our "quakeland". What will happen when Memphis, home of FedEx's 1.5-million-packages-a-day hub, goes offline as a result of an earthquake along the unstable Reelfoot Fault? FEMA has estimated that a modest 7.0 magnitude quake (twenty of these happen per year around the world) along the Wasatch Fault under Salt Lake City would put a $33 billion dent in our economy. When the Fukushima reactor melted down, tens of thousands were displaced. If New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant blows, ten million people will be displaced. How would that evacuation even begin? Kathryn Miles' tour of our land is as fascinating and frightening as it is irresistibly compelling.
Into the Storm
By Korten, Tristram
"An intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller. This is nonfiction at its very best." - Lee ChildThe true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path: El Faro, a 790-foot American behemoth with a crew of thirty-three, and the Minouche, a 230-foot freighter with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships and their final journeys, Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of two veteran sea captains from very different worlds, the harrowing ordeals of their desperate crews, and the Coast Guard's extraordinary battle against a storm that defied prediction.
A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings
By Sewell, Matt
"Most groups of wildlife can be described as a flock, herd, or shoal - but where is the fun in ending there?" - from the IntroductionWhether you're an animal lover or a grammar geek, illustrator Matt Sewell has the perfect menagerie of beasts (and beast-related terms) for your reading pleasure. Along with fifty-five gorgeous color illustrations, Sewell presents the unexpected collective nouns used to describe groups of animals on land, in the air, and in the water. Discover the secret behind a "sleuth of bears," keep your eyes open for a "watch of nightingales," and learn something new about a "school of whales." Illustrated in inimitable watercolor, this book makes a great gift for nature and art lovers everywhere.
Atlas of a Lost World
By Childs, Craig
From the author of Apocalyptic Planet comes a vivid travelogue through prehistory, tracing the arrival of the First People in North America at least twenty thousand years ago and the artifacts that tell of their lives and fates. This book upends our notions of where these people came from and who they were. How they arrived, persisted, and ultimately thrived is a story that resonates from the Pleistocene to our modern era. During the Ice Age, sea levels were much lower, exposing a vast land bridge between Asia and North America. But the land bridge was not the only way across. Different people arrived from different directions, and not all at the same time. The first explorers of the New World were few, their encampments fleeting. The continent they reached had no people, and was inhabited by megafauna - mastodons, giant bears, mammoths, saber-toothed cats, 500-pound jaguar-lions, enormous bison, and sloths that stood one story tall. The First People were hunters - Paleolithic spear points are still encrusted with the proteins of their prey - but they were wildly outnumbered and many would have been prey to the much larger animals. Atlas of a Lost World chronicles the last millennia of the Ice Age, the violent oscillations and retreat of glaciers, the clues and traces that document the first encounters of early humans, and the animals whose presence governed the humans' chances for survival. A blend of science and personal narrative reveals how much has changed since the time of mammoth hunters, and how little. Across unexplored landscapes yet to be peopled, readers will see the Ice Age, and their own age, in a whole new light.
The Living Forest
By Llewellyn, Robert
"With precise, stunning photographs and a distinctly literary narrative that tells the story of the forest ecosystem along the way, The Living Forest is an invitation to join in the eloquence of seeing." - Sierra Magazine. From the leaves and branches of the canopy to the roots and soil of the understory, the forest is a complex, interconnected ecosystem filled with plants, birds, mammals, insects, and fungi. Some of it is easily discovered, but many parts remain difficult or impossible for the human eye to see. Until now. . The Living Forest is a visual journey that immerses you deep into the woods. The wide-ranging photography by Robert Llewellyn celebrates the small and the large, the living and the dead, and the seen and the unseen. Youll discover close-up images of owls, hawks, and turtles; aerial photographs that show herons in flight; and time-lapse imagery that reveals the slow change of leaves. In an ideal blend of art and scholarship, the 300 awe-inspiring photographs are supported by lyrical essays from Joan Maloof detailing the science behind the wonder.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
By Brusatte, Stephen
In this ambitious and engrossing narrative history that spans nearly 200 million years, Stephen Brusatte, a young American paleontologist who has emerged as one of the foremost stars of the field - discovering ten new species and leading groundbreaking scientific studies - tells the complete story of the life and death of the dinosaurs. Brusatte follows these magnificent creatures from the Early Triassic period at the start of their evolution, roughly 250 million years ago, through the Jurassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period (66 million years ago), when a giant meteor struck the earth and all non-bird species went extinct. An electrifying scientific history and biography that unearths the dinosaurs' epic saga, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be the definitive narrative history of the subject for years to come.
What It's Like to Be a Dog
By Berns, Gregory
What is it like to be a dog? A bat? Or a dolphin? To find out, neuroscientist Gregory Berns and his team began with a radical step: they taught dogs to go into an MRI scanner-completely awake. They discovered what makes dogs individuals with varying capacities for self-control, different value systems, and a complex understanding of human speech. And dogs were just the beginning. In What It's Like to Be a Dog, Berns explores the fascinating inner lives of wild animals from dolphins and sea lions to the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Much as Silent Spring transformed how we thought about the environment, so What It's Like to Be a Dog will fundamentally reshape how we think about-and treat-animals. Groundbreaking and deeply humane, it is essential reading for animal lovers of all stripes.
The Secret Life of Cows
By Young, Rosamund
In this affectionate, heart-warming chronicle, Rosamund Young distills a lifetime of organic farming wisdom, describing the surprising personalities of her cows and other animalsAt her famous Kite's Nest Farm in Worcestershire, England, the cows (as well as sheep, hens, and pigs) all roam free. They make their own choices about rearing, grazing, and housing. Left to be themselves, the cows exhibit temperaments and interests as diverse as our own. "Fat Hat" prefers men to women; "Chippy Minton" refuses to sleep with muddy legs and always reports to the barn for grooming before bed; "Jake" has a thing for sniffing the carbon monoxide fumes of the Land Rover exhaust pipe; and "Gemima" greets all humans with an angry shake of the head and is fiercely independent.An organic farmer for decades, Young has an unaffected and homely voice. Her prose brims with genuine devotion to the wellbeing of animals. Most of us never apprehend the various inner lives animals possess, least of all those that we might eat. But Young has spent countless hours observing how these creatures love, play games, and form life-long friendships. She imparts hard-won wisdom about the both moral and real-world benefits of organic farming. (If preserving the dignity of animals isn't a good enough reason for you, consider how badly factory farming stunts the growth of animals, producing unhealthy and tasteless food.) This gorgeously-illustrated book, which includes an original introduction by the legendary British playwright Alan Bennett, is the summation of a life's work, and a delightful and moving tribute to the deep richness of animal sentience.
The Horse-Lover's Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition
By Haas, Jessie
Here is a completely revised, full-color second edition of the established go-to source for equestrian information. This comprehensive A-to-Z guide covers "everything horse" and bridges gaps in the equestrian universe between English and Western styles. More than 1,700 entries explain wide-ranging topics such as breeds, tack, facilities, equine care and management, health and safety issues, riding styles and disciplines, shows, and much more. Whether you're a rodeo hand, thoroughbred racer, seasoned professional, or armchair admirer, you'll get everything you need from noted equestrian author Jessie Haas' clear and thorough descriptions.
The Source
By Doyle, Martin
How rivers have shaped American politics, economics, and society from the beginnings of the Republic to today. In this fresh and powerful work of environmental history, Martin Doyle explores how rivers have often been the source of arguments at the heart of the American experiment -- over federalism, taxation, regulation, conservation, and development. Doyle tells the epic story of America and its rivers, from the U.S. Constitution's roots in interstate river navigation, the origins of the Army Corps of Engineers, the discovery of gold in 1848, and the construction of the Hoover Dam and the TVA during the New Deal, to the failure of the levees in Hurricane Katrina. And through encounters with experts all over the country -- a Mississippi River tugboat captain, an Erie Canal lock operator, a western rancher fighting for water rights -- Doyle reveals how we've dammed, raised, rerouted, channelized, and even "re-meandered" our rivers. 20 illustrations