A riveting, urgent account of the explorers and scientists racing to understand the rapidly melting ice sheet in Greenland, a dramatic harbinger of climate change Greenland: a remote, mysterious island five times the size of California but with a population of just 56,000. The ice sheet that covers it is 700 miles wide and 1,500 miles long, and is composed of nearly three quadrillion tons of ice. For the last 150 years, explorers and scientists have sought to understand Greenland - at first hoping that it would serve as a gateway to the North Pole, and later coming to realize it contained essential information about our climate. Locked within this vast and frozen white desert are some of the most profound secrets about our planet and its future. Greenland's ice doesn't just tell us where we've been. More urgently, it tells us where we're headed. In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth's last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland's ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the twentieth century - first on foot, then on skis, then on crude, motorized sleds - and embarked on grueling expeditions that took as long as a year and often ended in frostbitten tragedy. Their original goal was simple: to conquer Greenland's seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling - one mile, two miles down. Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth's past, going back hundreds of thousands of years. Today, scientists from all over the world are deploying every technological tool available to uncover the secrets of this frozen island before it's too late. As Greenland's ice melts and runs off into the sea, it not only threatens to affect hundreds of millions of people who live in coastal areas. It will also have drastic effects on ocean currents, weather systems, economies, and migration patterns. Gertner chronicles the unfathomable hardships, amazing discoveries, and scientific achievements of the Arctic's explorers and researchers with a transporting, deeply intelligent style - and a keen sense of what this work means for the rest of us. The melting ice sheet in Greenland is, in a way, an analog for time. It contains the past. It reflects the present. It can also tell us how much time we might have left.
Random House
|
9780812996623
|
Hardcover
Horizon
By Lopez, Barry
From the National Book Award-winning author of the now-classic Arctic Dreams, a vivid, poetic, capacious work that recollects the travels around the world and the encounters--human, animal, and natural--that have shaped an extraordinary life.Taking us nearly from pole to pole--from modern megacities to some of the most remote regions on the earth--and across decades of lived experience, Barry Lopez, hailed by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as "one of our finest writers," gives us his most far-ranging yet personal work to date, in a book that moves indelibly, immersively, through his travels to six regions of the world: from Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galpagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to finally, unforgettably, the ice shelves of Antarctica. As he takes us on these myriad travels, Lopez also probes the long history of humanity's quests and explorations, including the prehistoric peoples who trekked across Skraeling Island in northern Canada, the colonialists who plundered Central Africa, an enlightenment-era Englishman who sailed the Pacific, a Native American emissary who found his way into isolationist Japan, and today's ecotourists in the tropics. Throughout his journeys--to some of the hottest, coldest, and most desolate places on the globe--and via friendships he forges along the way with scientists, archaeologists, artists and local residents, Lopez searches for meaning and purpose in a broken world. Horizon is a revelatory, epic work that voices concern and frustration along with humanity and hope--a book that makes you see the world differently, and that is the crowning achievement by one of America's great thinkers and most humane voices.
Knopf
|
9780394585826
|
Hardcover
Shark
By Gelder, Paul De
From shark attack survivor to the shark's biggest advocate, Paul de Gelder tells us just why these majestic diverse animals need our help as much as we need them.Something happens to you the first time you dive with sharks ... We have a perennial fascination with sharks. Portrayed in the media and popular culture as killing machines, we are awed by their power and strength. But the shark is so much more - a marvel of the sea, they have evolved over 450 million years into over 500 species, from the bioluminescent kitefin to the tiny dwarf lantern shark, the sociable lemon shark to the blue shark, which can birth up to 100 pups in one litter. Bringing balance to the ocean's ecosystem, our planet is at serious risk when these amazing creatures are threatened.
Mudlark
|
9780008529666
|
Hardcover
Venom
By Jenner, Ronald A
Venom brings readers face to face with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, including jellyfish, snakes, and wasps, as it uncovers the story of venom. The book explores how venom is used for predation, defense, competition, and communication by an incredible diversity of species. It examines the unique methods that these species have evolved to create and deliver their deadly toxins. The book traces venom back to its origin in early jellyfish and sea anemones, and reveals how venoms have evolved dozens of times independently all across the animal kingdom since that time. And finally, it examines the relationships between these dangerous creatures and humans. Humans have not only learned to live with them, but also to benefit from them: scientists increasingly are harnessing the power of venom to create new drugs, treatments, and anti-venoms.
Smithsonian Books
|
9781588344540
|
Paperback
Accessible Vacations
By Hayhoe, Simon J.
Take a tour of ten national parks in this overview of the ways in which they can be accessed by those with physical, sensory and learning limitations and their companions. The National Parks of the U.S. are some of the most sought-after travel destinations in the world. But a visit to any one of them may seem daunting to someone with hearing, seeing, or other physical challenges. What many may not know is that the National Parks offer help to those with access needs. Here, Simon Hayhoe takes readers on a tour of ten National Parks and the accessibility options available to visitors and their companions. He covers three regions of national parks in the east, center and west of the US. The eastern parks include Acadia National Park in Maine, the Everglades National Park in Florida and the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
|
9781538128671
|
Hardcover
Horses For Dummies
By Pavia, Audrey
Updated for today's beginning horse enthusiasts! If you're just getting into the world of horses, there's a lot to learn! Horses For Dummies gets beginning-level riders and aspiring first-time horse owners up to speed on all things equine! From selecting the right horse for you to feeding, grooming, and handling a horse, this book covers it all! Featuring updates on breeds, boarding, nutrition, equipment, training, and riding - as well as new information on various equine conditions - this resource shows you how to keep your horse happy and take your riding skills to the next level. Features updated safety information Includes more riding disciplines Offers tips for better nutrition for your horse Provides grooming and training recommendations If you're crazy about horses, this hands-on guide is all you need to giddy up and go! .
For Dummies
|
9781119589402
|
Paperback
Kindle Paperwhite
By
Publisher: n/a
|
9780744048407
|
The World According to Bob
By Bowen, James
Bob Fever has swept the globe, with A Street Cat Named Bob vaulting its way to #7 on The New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale. With rights sold to 27 countries around the globe and a top spot on the British bestseller list for more than a year, this book has been a smashing success around the world. Now, James Bowen and Bob are back in The World According to Bob -- a touching and true sequel about one man and the cat that changed his life. As James struggles to adjust to his transformation from street musician to international celebrity, Bob is at his side, providing moments of intelligence, bravery, and humor and opening his human friend's eyes to important truths about friendship, loyalty, trust - and the meaning of happiness. In the continuing tale of their life together, James shows the many ways in which Bob has been his protector and guardian angel through times of illness, hardship, even life-threatening danger. As they high-five together for their crowds of admirers, James knows that the tricks he's taught Bob are nothing compared to the lessons he's learnt from his street-wise cat. Readers who fell in love with Dewey and Marley, as well as the many fans who read A Street Cat Named Bob, will be eager to read the next chapters in the life of James and Bob.
St Martins Pr
|
9781250046321
|
Hardcover
Epic Hikes of Australia & New Zealand 1
By Planet., Lonely
Lace up your hiking boots for the next in Lonely Planet's highly successful Epic Hikes series, this time exploring 50 of Australia and New Zealand's most rewarding treks and trails. From the Routeburn Track in New Zealand's South Island to the Cape to Cape walk in Western Australia's Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, we cover a huge variety of themes and experiences across routes that range from one-day walks to multi-day treks. A vibrant cover once again illustrated by Ross Murray continues this collectible series.Each of the 50 featured hikes includes:First-person accounts from writers who have completed the hikeChallenge level grading: easy / harder / epicInspirational photography, maps and practical information to follow in the writer's footstepsOrientation toolkit: when is the best time of year to hike, how to get there, special equipment requiredExpert travel advice: where to stay, recommended tours, the best places to eatSuggestions for similar hikesWhether you're a seasoned hiker or a novice embarking on your very first trek, Epic Hikes of Australia and New Zealand will inspire a lifetime of adventures on foot.
Lonely Planet
|
9781838695088
|
Hardcover
Birds
By Warren-chadd, Rachel
Why are owls regarded either as wise or as harbingers of doom? What gave rise to the fanciful belief that storks bring babies? Why is the eagle associated with victory, or the hummingbird with paradise? The answers are here in this new and engaging book. By re-telling the many legends, beliefs, proverbs, and predictions associated with more than 80 birds from many nations, it brings into focus the close--and often ancient--links between humans and these remarkable feathered descendants of dinosaurs. Discover, for instance: Why the cockerel features on many church spires The one sacred bird that symbolizes life and peace in most culturesHow to dispel bad luck if you see this black-and-white birdThe South American "devil bird" once thought to be a dragonBirds: Lore, Myth and Legend draws on historical accounts and scientific literature to reveal how colorful tales or superstitions were shaped by human imagination from each bird's behavior or appearance.
The Ice at the End of the World
By Gertner, Jon
A riveting, urgent account of the explorers and scientists racing to understand the rapidly melting ice sheet in Greenland, a dramatic harbinger of climate change Greenland: a remote, mysterious island five times the size of California but with a population of just 56,000. The ice sheet that covers it is 700 miles wide and 1,500 miles long, and is composed of nearly three quadrillion tons of ice. For the last 150 years, explorers and scientists have sought to understand Greenland - at first hoping that it would serve as a gateway to the North Pole, and later coming to realize it contained essential information about our climate. Locked within this vast and frozen white desert are some of the most profound secrets about our planet and its future. Greenland's ice doesn't just tell us where we've been. More urgently, it tells us where we're headed. In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth's last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland's ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the twentieth century - first on foot, then on skis, then on crude, motorized sleds - and embarked on grueling expeditions that took as long as a year and often ended in frostbitten tragedy. Their original goal was simple: to conquer Greenland's seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling - one mile, two miles down. Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth's past, going back hundreds of thousands of years. Today, scientists from all over the world are deploying every technological tool available to uncover the secrets of this frozen island before it's too late. As Greenland's ice melts and runs off into the sea, it not only threatens to affect hundreds of millions of people who live in coastal areas. It will also have drastic effects on ocean currents, weather systems, economies, and migration patterns. Gertner chronicles the unfathomable hardships, amazing discoveries, and scientific achievements of the Arctic's explorers and researchers with a transporting, deeply intelligent style - and a keen sense of what this work means for the rest of us. The melting ice sheet in Greenland is, in a way, an analog for time. It contains the past. It reflects the present. It can also tell us how much time we might have left.
Horizon
By Lopez, Barry
From the National Book Award-winning author of the now-classic Arctic Dreams, a vivid, poetic, capacious work that recollects the travels around the world and the encounters--human, animal, and natural--that have shaped an extraordinary life.Taking us nearly from pole to pole--from modern megacities to some of the most remote regions on the earth--and across decades of lived experience, Barry Lopez, hailed by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as "one of our finest writers," gives us his most far-ranging yet personal work to date, in a book that moves indelibly, immersively, through his travels to six regions of the world: from Western Oregon to the High Arctic; from the Galpagos to the Kenyan desert; from Botany Bay in Australia to finally, unforgettably, the ice shelves of Antarctica. As he takes us on these myriad travels, Lopez also probes the long history of humanity's quests and explorations, including the prehistoric peoples who trekked across Skraeling Island in northern Canada, the colonialists who plundered Central Africa, an enlightenment-era Englishman who sailed the Pacific, a Native American emissary who found his way into isolationist Japan, and today's ecotourists in the tropics. Throughout his journeys--to some of the hottest, coldest, and most desolate places on the globe--and via friendships he forges along the way with scientists, archaeologists, artists and local residents, Lopez searches for meaning and purpose in a broken world. Horizon is a revelatory, epic work that voices concern and frustration along with humanity and hope--a book that makes you see the world differently, and that is the crowning achievement by one of America's great thinkers and most humane voices.
Shark
By Gelder, Paul De
From shark attack survivor to the shark's biggest advocate, Paul de Gelder tells us just why these majestic diverse animals need our help as much as we need them.Something happens to you the first time you dive with sharks ... We have a perennial fascination with sharks. Portrayed in the media and popular culture as killing machines, we are awed by their power and strength. But the shark is so much more - a marvel of the sea, they have evolved over 450 million years into over 500 species, from the bioluminescent kitefin to the tiny dwarf lantern shark, the sociable lemon shark to the blue shark, which can birth up to 100 pups in one litter. Bringing balance to the ocean's ecosystem, our planet is at serious risk when these amazing creatures are threatened.
Venom
By Jenner, Ronald A
Venom brings readers face to face with some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet, including jellyfish, snakes, and wasps, as it uncovers the story of venom. The book explores how venom is used for predation, defense, competition, and communication by an incredible diversity of species. It examines the unique methods that these species have evolved to create and deliver their deadly toxins. The book traces venom back to its origin in early jellyfish and sea anemones, and reveals how venoms have evolved dozens of times independently all across the animal kingdom since that time. And finally, it examines the relationships between these dangerous creatures and humans. Humans have not only learned to live with them, but also to benefit from them: scientists increasingly are harnessing the power of venom to create new drugs, treatments, and anti-venoms.
Accessible Vacations
By Hayhoe, Simon J.
Take a tour of ten national parks in this overview of the ways in which they can be accessed by those with physical, sensory and learning limitations and their companions. The National Parks of the U.S. are some of the most sought-after travel destinations in the world. But a visit to any one of them may seem daunting to someone with hearing, seeing, or other physical challenges. What many may not know is that the National Parks offer help to those with access needs. Here, Simon Hayhoe takes readers on a tour of ten National Parks and the accessibility options available to visitors and their companions. He covers three regions of national parks in the east, center and west of the US. The eastern parks include Acadia National Park in Maine, the Everglades National Park in Florida and the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.
Horses For Dummies
By Pavia, Audrey
Updated for today's beginning horse enthusiasts! If you're just getting into the world of horses, there's a lot to learn! Horses For Dummies gets beginning-level riders and aspiring first-time horse owners up to speed on all things equine! From selecting the right horse for you to feeding, grooming, and handling a horse, this book covers it all! Featuring updates on breeds, boarding, nutrition, equipment, training, and riding - as well as new information on various equine conditions - this resource shows you how to keep your horse happy and take your riding skills to the next level. Features updated safety information Includes more riding disciplines Offers tips for better nutrition for your horse Provides grooming and training recommendations If you're crazy about horses, this hands-on guide is all you need to giddy up and go! .
Kindle Paperwhite
By
The World According to Bob
By Bowen, James
Bob Fever has swept the globe, with A Street Cat Named Bob vaulting its way to #7 on The New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale. With rights sold to 27 countries around the globe and a top spot on the British bestseller list for more than a year, this book has been a smashing success around the world. Now, James Bowen and Bob are back in The World According to Bob -- a touching and true sequel about one man and the cat that changed his life. As James struggles to adjust to his transformation from street musician to international celebrity, Bob is at his side, providing moments of intelligence, bravery, and humor and opening his human friend's eyes to important truths about friendship, loyalty, trust - and the meaning of happiness. In the continuing tale of their life together, James shows the many ways in which Bob has been his protector and guardian angel through times of illness, hardship, even life-threatening danger. As they high-five together for their crowds of admirers, James knows that the tricks he's taught Bob are nothing compared to the lessons he's learnt from his street-wise cat. Readers who fell in love with Dewey and Marley, as well as the many fans who read A Street Cat Named Bob, will be eager to read the next chapters in the life of James and Bob.
Epic Hikes of Australia & New Zealand 1
By Planet., Lonely
Lace up your hiking boots for the next in Lonely Planet's highly successful Epic Hikes series, this time exploring 50 of Australia and New Zealand's most rewarding treks and trails. From the Routeburn Track in New Zealand's South Island to the Cape to Cape walk in Western Australia's Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, we cover a huge variety of themes and experiences across routes that range from one-day walks to multi-day treks. A vibrant cover once again illustrated by Ross Murray continues this collectible series.Each of the 50 featured hikes includes:First-person accounts from writers who have completed the hikeChallenge level grading: easy / harder / epicInspirational photography, maps and practical information to follow in the writer's footstepsOrientation toolkit: when is the best time of year to hike, how to get there, special equipment requiredExpert travel advice: where to stay, recommended tours, the best places to eatSuggestions for similar hikesWhether you're a seasoned hiker or a novice embarking on your very first trek, Epic Hikes of Australia and New Zealand will inspire a lifetime of adventures on foot.
Birds
By Warren-chadd, Rachel
Why are owls regarded either as wise or as harbingers of doom? What gave rise to the fanciful belief that storks bring babies? Why is the eagle associated with victory, or the hummingbird with paradise? The answers are here in this new and engaging book. By re-telling the many legends, beliefs, proverbs, and predictions associated with more than 80 birds from many nations, it brings into focus the close--and often ancient--links between humans and these remarkable feathered descendants of dinosaurs. Discover, for instance: Why the cockerel features on many church spires The one sacred bird that symbolizes life and peace in most culturesHow to dispel bad luck if you see this black-and-white birdThe South American "devil bird" once thought to be a dragonBirds: Lore, Myth and Legend draws on historical accounts and scientific literature to reveal how colorful tales or superstitions were shaped by human imagination from each bird's behavior or appearance.