A sunny garden hums, buzzes, creeps and crawls with life. Lift the flaps and peep through the delicate laser-cut holes to discover a whole host of butterflies, birds and bees, caterpillars, squirrels, frogs and other garden wildlife. A delightful information book for the very young.,
Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spendtwenty years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos studyingnatural selection. They recognize each individual bird on theisland, when there are four hundred at the time of the author'svisit, or when there are over a thousand. They have observed abouttwenty generations of finches -- continuously. Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin'sfinches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
Each plant or creature is described in detail and given a potted history which is not only fascinating in itself but which also stimulates the reader to find out more. The authors, Mike and Peggy Briggs, set out to inform but also to spark the imagination and encourage people to observe and enjoy what often goes unnoticed and unexplored. Which tree saved the world from perpetual winter? Which weed is still used in hand cream? Why were spiders fed to the sick in ancient times and how can you rid your lawn of moles using wine bottles? All the answers are here, along with snippets of poetry, country recipes, useful cross-references and plenty of pointers to further discovery. From the young student researching schoolwork to the elderly 'armchair rambler who might have thought they knew it all, there is something engrossing, possibly astonishing and perhaps even alarming, for everyone. This book is a treasure trove for anyone with even the slightest curiosity about the species which surround
For everyone who has looked up at the stars on a clear nightand longed to know more about them, here is the perfectintroduction and guide to discovering the stars. Discover the Stars leads you on a tour of all the stars andconstellations visible with the naked eye and introduces you todeep-sky objects that can be seen with binoculars or a simpletelescope. The tour is conducted by the editor of Astronomymagazine, Richard Berry, whose two-color, computer-plotted sky mapsand clear instructions make stargazing fun and productive from yourfirst night out. The heart of Discover the Stars is two sections of big, beautifulsky maps and charts. The first section features twelve maps thatshow the entire sky overhead as it appears during each month of theyear. These outline all the constellations visible anywhere in theNorthern Hemisphere, and the accompanying text reveals the richancient mythology that surrounds the star groups. The second section is made up of twenty-three star ch
Perhaps this book will be understood only by someone who has himself already had the thoughts that are expressed in it--or at least similar thoughts.--So it is not a textbook.--Its purpose would be achieved if it gave pleasure to one person who read and understood it.The book deals with the problems of philosophy, and shows, I believe, that the reason why these problems are posed is that the logic of our language is misunderstood.,
In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on an expedition that, in hisown words, determined my whole career. The Voyage of theBeagle chronicles his five-year journey around the world andespecially the coastal waters of South America as a naturalist onthe H.M.S. Beagle. While traveling through these unexploredcountries collecting specimens, Darwin began to formulate thetheories of evolution and natural selection realized in his masterwork, The Origin of Species. Travel memoir and scientific primeralike, The Voyage of the Beagle is a lively and accessibleintroduction to the mind of one of history's most influentialthinkers.
Discover all that's weird and wonderful in this am zing book. Find out about the greatest, maddestand nastiest people who've ever lived. Take a look at some of the odder parts of life and the crazy ideas and awesome technology humans have come up with. But humans aren't the whole story. There are creatures much stranger than us and parts of our planet where things happen that you just wouldn't believe - and once you get into outer Space things start to get very weird indeed...