Geography, Environment, Earth Sciences & Planning Books

An insider account of how researchers unraveled the mystery of the thawing ArcticIn the 1990s, researchers in the Arctic noticed that floating summer sea ice had begun receding. This was accompanied by shifts in ocean circulation and unexpected changes...

By developing the scale that bears his name, Charles Richter not only invented the concept of magnitude as a measure of earthquake size, he turned himself into nothing less than a household word. He remains the only seismologist whose name anyone outside...

A gripping history of the polar continent, from the great discoveries of the nineteenth century to modern scientific breakthroughs.]Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen...

Life in Ancient Ice presents an unparalleled overview of current research into microbial life in ancient glacial ice and permafrost. Particulates of fungi, bacteria, pollen grains, protists, and viruses are carried by wind around the globe. When they...

The most up-to-date and authoritative resource on the biology and evolution of solitary beesWhile social bees such as honey bees and bumble bees are familiar to most people, they comprise less than 10 percent of all bee species in the world. The vast...

How technological advances and colonial fears inspired utopian geoengineering projects during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.From the 1870s to the mid-twentieth century, European explorers, climatologists, colonial officials, and...

The best-selling Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs remains the must-have book for anyone who loves dinosaurs, from amateur enthusiasts to professional paleontologists. Now extensively revised and expanded, this dazzlingly illustrated large-format...

Some 250 million years ago, the earth suffered the greatest biological crisis in its history. Around 95 percent of all living species died out--a global catastrophe far greater than the dinosaurs' demise 185 million years later. How this happened remains...

A comprehensive introduction to ocean ecology and a new way of thinking about ocean lifeMarine ecology is more interdisciplinary, broader in scope, and more intimately linked to human activities than ever before. Ocean Ecology provides advanced...

The world's leading economies are facing not just one but many crises. The financial meltdown may not be over, climate change threatens major global disruption, economic inequality has reached extremes not seen for a century, and government and business...

The go-to introductory guide to Australia's diverse wildlife and habitatsIdeal for the nature-loving traveler, Wildlife of Australia is a handy photographic pocket guide to the most widely seen birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and habitats of...

For 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds--they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs,...

The oceans exert a vital moderating influence on the Earth's climate system. They provide inertia to the global climate, essentially acting as the pacemaker of climate variability and change, and they provide heat to high latitudes, keeping them...

In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, motor vehicles, air travel, and television transformed households and workplaces. But...

We know that animals cross miles of water, land, and sky with pinpoint precision on a daily basis. But it is only in recent years that scientists have learned how these astounding feats of navigation are actually accomplished. With colorful and thorough...

The Arctic Guide presents the traveler and naturalist with a portable, authoritative guide to the flora and fauna of earth's northernmost region. Featuring superb color illustrations, this one-of-a-kind book covers the complete spectrum of wildlife--more...

From humble beginnings, Rome became perhaps the greatest intercontinental power in the world. Why did this historic city become so much more influential than its neighbor, nearby Latium, which was peopled by more or less the same stock? Over the years,...

A cosmic perspective on carbon its importance in the universe and our lives.When we think of carbon, we might first think of a simple element near the top of the periodic table: symbol C, atomic number 6. Alternatively, we might think of something more...

Millions of years ago in the Cretaceous period, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex--with its dagger-like teeth for tearing its prey to ribbons--was undoubtedly the fiercest carnivore to roam the Earth. Yet as What Bugged the Dinosaurs? reveals, T. rex was not...

Did you know that there will be more plastic than fish in the seas by 2050? Did you know that it takes 20,000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans? Did you know that we have a massive food-wastage problem, and yet millions die of hunger each day?In...

"Informative, well-written. It covers the subject of rod building in a concise manner. It should be in every rod builder's library."-Fly Fisherman Dale P. Clemens's Advanced Custom Rod Building is the book that sent American fishermen back to their...

Two highly respected outdoor journalists, Kirk Deeter of Field & Stream and Charlie Meyers of the Denver Post, have cracked open their notebooks and shared straight-shot advice on the sport of fly fishing, based on a range of new and old...

In Seeking Spatial Justice, Soja argues that justice has a geography and that the equitable distribution of resources, services, and access is a basic human right. Building on current concerns in critical geography and the new spatial consciousness, Soja...

"Architect and author Chuck Durrett's recently released book Senior Cohousing Handbook comes at a time of high interest in greening, sustainable housing and affordable living concerns. Durrett's new book is a comprehensive guide for baby boomers wishing...

From contaminated urban lots to polluted waterways and massive oil spills, how can communities transform toxic landscapes and respond to environmental disasters positively and effectively? Earth Repair is packed with accessible, simple, and practical...

The cohousing "bible" by the US originators of the concept.

Expert saltwater fly fisherman, Conway Bowman, offers advice and useful techniques for the beginner fisherman in The Orvis Guide to Beginning Saltwater Fly Fishing-ideal for the novice that wants to learn and perfect their skills. Written in conjunction...

As global temperatures rise and polar bears begin to drown in the melting artic ice, a growing chorus of voices is calling on governments to act now whilst there is still a small chance of saving the planet. Yet the harsh reality ignored by pundits and...

In 1909 a rich accumulation of many thousands of bones was excavated from Mammoth Cave in Australia's south-west. Many of the bones far exceeded in size any modern-day native mammal, evidence that in prehistoric times giant mammals had roamed the...

To ensure food security and restore the health of the planet, we need to move beyond industrial agriculture and return to the practice of small-scale, local farming. Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm describes the creation of a sustainable...

Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection, which has resulted in a renewed interest in...

How should you grow your organization? It's one of the most challenging questions an executive team faces and the wrong answer can break your firm. So where do you start? By asking the right questions, argue INSEAD's Laurence Capron and coauthor Will...

For most of human history, people have lived in durable, comfortable buildings made from natural materials such as soil, sand, rocks, and fiber. All over the globe, these ancient traditions persist; a quarter to a third of the world's population today...

Since the 1980s, Helen Caldicott - whom Meryl Streep has called "my inspiration to speak out" - has worked tirelessly for a safe, sustainable, nuclear-free planet. Now she has edited Loving This Planet, which offers an accessible overview of the chief...

In thisremarkable and often dazzling book, Paul Carter explores the conditions for sociabilityin a globalized future. He argues that we make many assumptions about communicationbut overlook barriers to understanding between strangers as well as the...

On Earth, catastrophic impact of an asteroid or comet with truly global consequences has not happened during our written history, and the threat seems very small. Giant scars on our planet's surface are relics of an impact history stretching back more...

1606 marked the first European sighting of Australia, when the Dutch ship Duyfken landed on Cape York. This gripping book tells the stories of the seafaring explorers, shipwrecks and mutinies that followed, including the voyages of Torres and La Perouse,...

The most complete, accessible and affordable guide to freshwater aquaculture in Australia, emphasising sustainable use of all resources: whether it be on a small scale in a backyard pond, or in commercial production on broad acres. The book includes...

From foundation to finish, a wealth of information is available on sustainable construction methods-entire volumes have been published on individual green and natural building techniques. But with so many different ideas to choose from, there is no...

Finding your way around Malaysia (and also the island nation of Singapore and the kingdom of Brunei Darussalam) is a breeze with this handy Tuttle Travel Atlas.The perfect travel guide,designed for adventurous travelers and containing all the maps you'll...

"In his scathing and deeply reported examination of the U.S. Border Patrol, Todd Miller argues that the agency has gone rogue since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, trampling on the dignity and rights of the undocumented with military-style tactics. . . ...

Alfred Russel Wallace deserves equal billing with Charles Darwin for his independently drawn but parallel conclusions on the theory of evolution. Darwin himself called Wallace 'generous and noble' and referred favourably to his work in later editions of...

"Surging sea levels are inundating the coasts." "Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming fiercer and more frequent." "Climate change will be an economic disaster." You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these...

Australians have long been tempted by the lure of the ice to the south, and our Antarctic stories are filled with mystery, exploration, adventure, ground-breaking science, tragedy, and triumph. The Antarctic region was taking shape in the Australian...

A collection of entertaining and unusual maps and data that explain how the world works. What would the world be without maps? How would we orientate ourselves? How would we travel? How could we plan streets or entire cities? We encounter maps...

Follows success of Bird, Bug, Dog, Cat and Ocean Bingo FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY - everyone will love this traditional game featuring 64 of the world's best loved at-risk creatures to learn about and get inspired to save; PLAY AND LEARN - this board...

Discover the World in a Whole New Way with "Brilliant Maps" by Ian Wright Ever wondered which countries have North Korean embassies? Or which region boasts the highest number of death metal bands per capita? "Brilliant Maps: An Atlas for Curious Minds"...

Many of us are already doing what we can to adopt a greener lifestyle. We recycle, try to reduce our waste and plastics, choose organic food when shopping, eat less meat and opt for environmentally friendly cleaning products. Yet we often wish we were...