Featured Ebooks
Welcome
Happy Earth Month! To help you appreciate the planet we all share, we have compiled a list of books that celebrate the Earth. Our selection covers various ecosystems around the world and includes fascinating facts about our planet. Take some time to explore the world through these books and become inspired to help care for our world.
Contemporary Poetry Books
Earth
"It's impossible to grasp the whole planet or integrate all the descriptions of it. But because we live here, we have to try. This is not just an artistic compulsion or an existential yearning, still less an academic exercise. It's a survival issue. This is the only planet we have. We're stuck here, and we don't own the place it would be the height of arrogance to assume that we do. We're tenants here, not owners, but we're tenants with hope for a long-term tenancy. We want to extend our lease just as far as we can." From Earth: A Tenant's Manual In Earth: A Tenant's Manual, the distinguished geologist Frank H. T. Rhodes, President Emeritus of Cornell University, provides a sweeping, accessible, and deeply informed guide to the home we all share, showing us how we might best preserve the Earth's livability for ourselves and future generations.
Reef and Rainforest
Reef and Rainforest is a photographic portrayal of marine and terrestrial life in one of the world's most biodiverse regions - the tropics of north-eastern Australia, together with the South Pacific nations of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The photographs were taken over more than 30 years while the author was living in the Solomon Islands and northern Australia. They depict life on the coral reefs, in the rainforests, and adjacent tropical savannahs. From detailed macro studies to sweeping scenics and aerials, the photographs are impressive for both their technical/compositional expertise and the unique insight they provide into the behavioral nuances of marine and terrestrial wildlife. Reefs and rainforests convey the richness and diversity of the natural world with maximum visual impact. Key Features * High-quality photographic coverage of both marine and terrestrial environments * Unique portrayal of natural history subjects in one of the world's most biodiverse regions
Arctic Archives
This pioneering volume explores the Arctic as an important and highly endangered archive of knowledge about the natural as well as human history of the Anthropocene. Focusing on the Arctic as an archive means investigating it not only as a place of human history and memory - of the Arctic exploring, conquering, and colonizing -but taking into account also the specific environmental conditions of the circumpolar region: ice and permafrost. These have allowed a huge natural archive to emerge, offering rich sources for natural scientists and historians alike. Examining the debate on the notion of the archive, the cultural semantics and historicity of the meaning of concepts like warm; freezing, and melting as well as various works of literature, art, and science on Arctic topics, this volume brings together literary scholars, historians of knowledge and philosophy, art historians, media theorists, and archeologists.
Earth
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. In Earth, a planetary scientist and a literary humanist explore what happens when we think of the Earth as an object viewable from space. As a "blue marble," "a blue pale dot," or, as Chaucer described it, "this litel spot of erthe," the solitary orb is a challenge to scale and to human self-importance. Beautiful and self-contained, the Earth turns out to be far less knowable than it at first appears: its vast interior an inferno of incandescent and yet solid rock and a reservoir of water vaster than the ocean, a world within the world. Viewing the Earth from space invites a dive into the abyss of scale: how can humans apprehend the distances, the temperatures, and the time scale on which planets are born, evolve, and die? Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
Forest Talk
Trees are essential. They provide water, shelter, and food for millions of plant and animal species, including humans. They deliver proven health benefits, and they capture and store carbon, which combats climate change. Yet trees are in trouble. Forests are struggling to adapt to climate change, and deforestation is a major threat. Recently, researchers and citizen scientists made the surprising revelation that trees communicate with each other through an underground system of soil fungi and other methods. Complex social networks help trees survive and thrive by transferring resources to each other, sending defense signals, communicating with their kin, and more. Meet the tree scientists and learn more about their fascinating discoveries.
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
Drawing from her experiences as an Indigenous scientist, botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer demonstrated how all living things--from strawberries and witch hazel to water lilies and lichen--provide us with gifts and lessons every day in her best-selling book Braiding Sweetgrass. Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us. With informative sidebars, reflection questions, and art from illustrator Nicole Neidhardt, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults brings Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the lessons of plant life to a new generation.
The Natural History of Flowers
Flowers have played an important role in human culture and survival for thousands of years. The final products of flowers--fruits and seeds--are vitally important as food. Flowers provide bursts of color to homes and gardens and they symbolize love, sorrow, and renewal. Yet we often overlook their real purpose. Why do flowers exist and why do they have certain colors, shapes, and smells? What function does a flower have in the life and survival of the plants themselves? In nature, flowers play an essential role in improving a plant's chances of survival. Some flowers are pollinated by wind or water but most are designed to attract and reward pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, birds, and bats, to carry their pollen from flower to flower. After being pollinated, flowers produce fruits and again take advantage of wind, water, and animals to disperse their seeds, ensuring a new generation of their species. Pollination and seed dispersal are fine-tuned systems, and their importance in sustaining a healthy environment cannot be overstated. And, as ongoing climate and other environmental changes apply new pressures, flowers must continue to adapt to survive. In this beautifully illustrated book with over 200 stunning photographs, Michael Fogden and Patricia Fogden draw from existing research and their extensive field experiences all over the world to present a detailed but accessible introduction to the natural history of flowers. They discuss a representative sample of flowering and fruiting strategies, illustrating interactions between plants and their pollinators and dispersers, and conclude with descriptions of their favorite tropical flowers.
The Earth Machine
From the scorching center of Earth's core to the outer limits of its atmosphere, from the gradual process of erosion that carved the Grand Canyon to the earth-shaking fury of volcanoes and earthquakes, this fascinating book--inspired by the award-winning Hall of Planet Earth at New York City's American Museum of Natural History--tells the story of the evolution of our planet and of the science that makes it work. With the same exuberance and expertise they brought to the creation of the Hall of Planet Earth, co-curators Edmond A. Mathez and James D. Webster offer a guided tour of Earth's dynamic, 4.6-billion-year history. Including numerous full-color photographs of the innovative exhibit and helpful, easy-to-understand illustrations, the authors explore the major factors in our planet's evolution: how Earth emerged from the swirling dust of a nascent solar system; how an oxygen-rich, life-sustaining atmosphere developed; how continents, mountain ranges, and oceans formed; and how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions alter Earth's surface. Traversing geologic time and delving into the depths of the planet---beginning with meteorites containing minuscule particles that are the solar system's oldest known objects, and concluding with the unusual microbial life that lives on the chemical and thermal energy produced by sulfide vents in the ocean floor--The Earth Machine provides an up-to-date overview of the central theories and discoveries in earth science today. By incorporating stories of real-life fieldwork, Mathez and Webster explain how Earth is capable of supporting life, how even the smallest rocks can hold the key to explaining the formation of mountains, and how scientists have learned to read nature's subtle clues and interpret Earth's ever-evolving narrative.
Earth Eats
Focusing on local products, sustainability, and popular farm-to-fork dining trends, Earth Eats: Real Food Green Living compiles the best recipes, tips, and tricks to plant, harvest, and prepare local food. Along with renowned chef Daniel Orr, Earth Eats radio host Annie Corrigan presents tips, grouped by season, on keeping your farm or garden in top form, finding the best in-season produce at your local farmers' market, and stocking your kitchen effectively. The book showcases what locally produced food will be available in each season and is amply stuffed with more than 200 delicious, original, and tested recipes, reflecting the dishes that can be made with these local foods. In addition to tips and recipes, Corrigan and Orr profile individuals who are on the front lines of the changing food ecosystem, detailing the challenges they and the local food movement face. With more than 140 color photos, Earth Eats showcases local food at its finest and features everything the local grower and food enthusiast needs to know all year round, including how to cook up a healthy compost heap, nurture a failing bee colony, create an all-natural deer repellant, and ferment delicious vegetables.
Evolution on Planet Earth
Driving evolution forward, the Earth's physical environment has challenged the very survival of organisms and ecosystems throughout the ages. With a fresh new perspective, Evolution on Planet Earth shows how these physical realities and hurdles shaped the primary phases of life on the planet. The book's thorough coverage also includes chapters on more proximate factors and paleoenvironmental events that influenced the diversity of life. A team of notable ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and paleontologists join forces to describe drifting continents, extinction events, and climate change -- important topics that continue to shape Earth's inhabitants to this very day. In a world where global change has become an international issue, this book provides a several billion-year evolutionary perspective on what the environment and environmental change mean to life.
The Long, Long Life of Trees
A lyrical tribute to the diversity of trees, their physical beauty, their special characteristics and uses, and their ever-evolving meanings Since the beginnings of history trees have served humankind in countless useful ways, but our relationship with trees has many dimensions beyond mere practicality. Trees are so entwined with human experience that diverse species have inspired their own stories, myths, songs, poems, paintings, and spiritual meanings. Some have achieved status as religious, cultural, or national symbols. In this beautifully illustrated volume Fiona Stafford offers intimate, detailed explorations of seventeen common trees, from ash and apple to pine, oak, cypress, and willow. The author also pays homage to particular trees, such as the fabled Ankerwyke Yew, under which Henry VIII courted Anne Boleyn, and the spectacular cherry trees of Washington, D.C. Stafford discusses practical uses of wood past and present, tree diseases and environmental threats, and trees' potential contributions toward slowing global climate change. Brimming with unusual topics and intriguing facts, this book celebrates trees and their long, long lives as our inspiring and beloved natural companions.
Readings in Wood
Award-winning nature writer John Leland offers a collection of twenty-seven short, poetic essays that marry science and the humanities as the author seeks meaning in trees. Readings in Wood is an investigation of trees and forests and also of wood as a material that people have found essential in the creation of society and culture. Leland views with wit and erudition the natural world and the curious place of human beings as saviors and destroyers of this world. At once a personal memoir, natural history, and cultural criticism, the book reflects Leland's idiosyncratic vision. In one essay Leland asks the trees, "Do you, like us, rejoice in sunny days, dance with the wind, and blush to have your sexual desires known by prurient passersby? Why, like us, do you torture yourselves reaching for a heaven beyond your grasp? Why twist yourselves so that your grain becomes a record of your grief? What mystic patterns of science, math, and religion hide in your whirls of leaf and branch?" As vast as a forest, topics range from tree grain and leaf shape to economic theories, mathematics, and engineering. Readings in Wood is a hybrid testament of science, faith, superstition, and disbelief learned from sitting on tree trunks and peering at leaves and fungi. Leland hopes others will join him in nature's classroom. Quite aware of the irony, he reminds us, "These leaves you desultorily turn over once hung in a green wood gone to make this book. Touching a book, you touch a tree.
Forest Ecosystems
This current book reviews and analyzes forest ecosystems. Chapter One begins with a discussion of radioactivity in forest ecosystems. Chapter Two discusses how litter chemistry has significant effects on soil biogeochemistry and looks into the relationships between litter chemistry, soil chemistry, and microbial activity. Chapter Three summarizes information about short- and long-term studies of the relationship between soil nematode communities as bioindicators of soil health and different types of disturbance forest soil (fallen trees, fire-damaged) and management (cleared and non-extracted windstorm plot). Chapter Four studies the organization of boreal forests in insular volcanic landscapes of the northwest Pacific. Chapter Five concludes the book with an analysis of the changes in snow moisture balance in logging areas in dark-needles forests of the Yenisei Ridge of Central Siberia.
Coral Reefs
This book provides current research on the ecosystems of coral reefs, as well as the environmental impact and current threats to the coral reefs. Chapter One studies proteins responsive to variable temperature exposure in the reef-building coral Seriatopora hystrix. Chapters Two and Three examine the impact of arachidonic acid (ArA) on coral reefs. The final chapter discusses environmental monitoring in the Gulf of Thailand and the use of coral skeletons as metal pollution recorders.
Desert Navigator
Winner of the Association of American Publishers PROSE Award for Excellence in Biological and Life Sciences A world-renowned researcher of animal behavior reveals the extraordinary orienteering skills of desert ants, offering a thrilling account of the sophisticated ways insects function in their natural environments. Cataglyphis desert ants are agile ultrarunners who can tolerate near-lethal temperatures when they forage in the hot midday sun. But it is their remarkable navigational abilities that make these ants so fascinating to study. Whether in the Sahara or its ecological equivalents in the Namib Desert and Australian Outback, the Cataglyphis navigators can set out foraging across vast expanses of desert terrain in search of prey, and then find the shortest way home. For almost half a century, Rüdiger Wehner and his collaborators have devised elegant experiments to unmask how they do it. Through a lively and lucid narrative, Desert Navigator offers a firsthand look at the extraordinary navigational skills of these charismatic desert dwellers and the experiments that revealed how they strategize and solve complex problems.
Mountain Ecosystems
Mountain ecosystems serve as early warning systems both for climate change and pollution by persistent organic pollutants, in particular, because mountains are located near the sources and could serve as monitors of the levels of POPs in the environment. This book presents topical research in the study of mountain ecosystems, including Euro-Mediterranean torrents; a comparison of the impact of reduced rainfall on plant and soil processes in mountain and grasslands; atmospheric carbon dioxide transport over mountainous terrains and abandonment of previously managed meadows in mountain regions.