Download or read book This Is Your Mind On Plants written by Michael Pollan and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-07-08 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR NEW NETFLIX SERIES, HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND 'It's a trip - engrossing, eye-opening, mind altering' New Statesman 'Fascinating. Pollan is the perfect guide ... curious, careful, open minded' The Guardian Of all the many things humans rely on plants for, surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate, calm, or completely alter the qualities of our mental experience. In This Is Your Mind On Plants, Michael Pollan explores three very different drugs - opium, caffeine and mescaline - and throws the fundamental strangeness of our thinking about them into sharp relief. Exploring and participating in the cultures that have grown up around these drugs, while consuming (or in the case of caffeine, trying not to consume) them, Pollan reckons with the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants, and the equally powerful taboos. In a unique blend of history, science, memoir and reportage, Pollan shines a fresh light on a subject that is all too often treated reductively. In doing so, he proves that there is much more to say about these plants than simply debating their regulation, for when we take them into our bodies and let them change our minds, we are engaging with nature in one of the most profound ways we can. This ground-breaking and singular book holds up a mirror to our fundamental human needs and aspirations, the operations of our minds and our entanglement with the natural world.

Download or read book The Nature of Life and Death written by Patricia E. J. Wiltshire and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting blend of science writing and true-crime narrative that explores the valuable but often shocking interface between crime and nature--and the secrets each can reveal about the other--from a pioneer in forensic ecology and a trailblazing female scientist. From mud tracks on a quiet country road to dirt specks on the soles of walking boots, forensic ecologist Patricia Wiltshire uses her decades of scientific expertise to find often-overlooked clues left behind by criminal activity. She detects evidence and eliminates hypotheses armed with little more than a microscope, eventually developing a compelling thesis of the who, what, how, and when of a crime. Wiltshire's remarkable accuracy has made her one of the most in-demand police consultants in the world, and her curiosity, humility, and passion for the truth have guided her every step of the way. A riveting blend of science writing and true-crime narrative, The Nature of Life and Death details Wiltshire's unique journey from college professor to crime fighter: solving murders, locating corpses, and exonerating the falsely accused. Along the way, she introduces us to the unseen world all around us and underneath our feet: plants, animals, pollen, spores, fungi, and microbes that we move through every day. Her story is a testament to the power of persistence and reveals how our relationship with the vast natural world reaches far deeper than we might think.

Download or read book H I V E written by Mark Walden and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-06-24 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: HIGHER INSTITUTE OF VILLAINOUS EDUCATION Otto Malpense may only be thirteen years old, but so far he has managed to run the orphanage where he lives, and he has come up with a plan clever enough to trick the most powerful man in the country. He is the perfect candidate to become the world's next supervillain. That is why he ends up at H.I.V.E., handpicked to become a member of the incoming class. The students have been kidnapped and brought to a secluded island inside a seemingly active volcano, where the school has resided for decades. All the kids are elite; they are the most athletic, the most technically advanced, and the smartest in the country. Inside the cavernous marble rooms, floodlit hangars, and steel doors, the students are enrolled in Villainy Studies and Stealth and Evasion 101. But what Otto soon comes to realize is that this is a six-year program, and leaving is not an option. With the help of his new friends: an athletic martial-arts expert; a world-famous, beautiful diamond thief; and a spunky computer genius -- the only other people who seem to want to leave -- can Otto achieve what has never been done before and break out of H.I.V.E.?

Download or read book If I Ever Get Out of Here written by Eric Gansworth and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2013-07-30 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A heart-healing, mocs-on-the-ground story of music, family and friendship." -- Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of Tantalize and Rain is Not My Indian Name. Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games, the snow blowing through his roof. What he's not used to is white kids being nice to him -- kids like George Haddonfield, whose family recently moved to town with the Air Force. As the boys connect through their mutual passion for music, especially the Beatles, Lewis has to lie more and more to hide the reality of his family's poverty from George. He also has to deal with the vicious Evan Reininger, who makes Lewis the special target of his wrath. But when everyone else is on Evan's side, how can he be defeated? And if George finds out the truth about Lewis's home -- will he still be his friend? Acclaimed adult author Eric Gansworth makes his YA debut with this wry and powerful novel about friendship, memory, and the joy of rock 'n' roll.

Download or read book The Super Life of Ben Braver written by Marcus Emerson and published by Roaring Brook Press. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It all started with a peanut butter cup . . . which leads Ben Braver to a secret school for kids with super abilities. Ben has never had any special powers—and maybe never will. But could this be his chance to become the superhero he's always dreamed of? Packed with black-and-white art and comic strips throughout, The Super Life of Ben Braver is the first book in a hilarious adventure series about the greatness that lies within any middle schooler who dreams big from Marcus Emerson, the author of the smash hit Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja series.

Download or read book The Memory Thief written by Leonie Agnew and published by Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited. This book was released on 2021-07-02 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A lonely troll and a fierce, spiky girl form an unlikely alliance in Leonie Agnew's extraordinary novel for children aged 9 years and up. For as long as Seth can remember he’s been trapped behind the iron bars of the public gardens, desperate to explore the world outside. By day he’s frozen in a stone skin as a statue of a shepherd boy. As soon as the sun sets he’s free to roam the park, ravenously hungry. He’s a troll, and the food he seeks is human memories. But somehow he’s yearning for something more than an endless cycle of hunting and loneliness. Then he meets Stella, who has just moved to live with her grandfather in a house neighbouring the park. Her mind is sharp and quick and there’s something so different about her — she’s the only human Seth has met whose memories make his insides burn. He doesn’t want to feed off her. He simply wants to talk to her. Maybe she can help him find another way to live? Engrossing, spine-chilling and surprising, this is a novel that grabs the reader and holds them spellbound. What terrible memory is Stella trying to escape? What are the fragments of memory that Seth is trying to put together? And is there any possibility that Seth could escape the lonely garden and start truly living?

Download or read book The Overstory A Novel written by Richard Powers and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction Winner of the William Dean Howells Medal Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize Over One Year on the New York Times Bestseller List A New York Times Notable Book and a Washington Post, Time, Oprah Magazine, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year "The best novel ever written about trees, and really just one of the best novels, period." —Ann Patchett The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of—and paean to—the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

Download or read book The Humane Gardener written by Nancy Lawson and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

Download or read book National Trust School of Gardening written by Rebecca Bevan and published by National Trust. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 803 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘An accessible, informative guide for beginners, but full of ideas and tips for seasoned gardeners.’ – Sunday Mirror Elevate your own green space and become a more confident and creative gardener with lessons from experienced National Trust gardeners in this comprehensive horticultural guide. The National Trust looks after hundreds of beautiful gardens of every imaginable shape and size across Britain – from the grandest country estate to the smallest cottage garden. They manage such internationally renowned gardens as Sissinghurst and Hidcote. National Trust garden staff receive countless questions from visitors about plants growing in the gardens and techniques that can be tried at home. This in-depth guide will pass on their wisdom and provide the answers you are looking for. This book is packed with images of National Trust gardens of all types, spanning over 300 years of horticultural heritage, to inspire keen amateur gardeners and aspirational novices to realise their green-fingered ambitions. Written by expert gardener Rebecca Bevan, with the help of National Trust gardeners, the National Trust School of Gardening will make you feel confident about developing your garden rather than overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail. From herbaceous borders to gardening sustainably, roses and climbers to growing under glass, each chapter provides snippets of horticultural history, examples of best practice from National Trust gardens, unique gems of wisdom from talented NT gardeners, and lots of easy-to-follow practical advice. Featuring a wide range of National Trust gardens both large and small, formal and informal, famous and undiscovered, high maintenance and low key. The topics covered and the insightful practical guides shared are easily applicable to private gardens, enriching even the tiniest urban spaces.

Download or read book Three Californias written by Kim Stanley Robinson and published by Tor Books. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 994 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the internationally bestselling author of the Mars Trilogy and New York 2140 Before Kim Stanley Robinson terraformed Mars, he wrote three science fiction novels set in Orange County, California, where he grew up. These alternate futures—one a post-apocalypse, one an if-this-goes-on future reminiscent of Philip K. Dick, and one an ecological utopia—form a whole that illuminates, enchants, and inspires--collected here as Three Californias. What if... there was a limited nuclear war that left the United States blockaded, fragmented, the few survivors living in the ruins of a once-great nation? What if... this goes on, and technology continues to accelerate, and power continues to be consolidated into corporate culture, a developer’s dream world gone mad: an endless sprawl of condos, freeways, and malls, and designer drugs? What if... a revolution happens, and the US addresses climate change in a responsible way. Is a future green Utopia all that great when you’re young and in love? This Tor Essentials edition of Three Californias includes an introduction by Francis Spufford, bestselling author of Golden Hill and Red Plenty. “[Robinson] invites us to share his characters’ intensely personal, intensely local attachment to what they have. The result may shame you into entertaining new hope for the future.” —The New York Times on Pacific Edge At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Download or read book Pelquin s Comet written by Ian Whates and published by Newcon Press. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age of exploration, the crew of the freetrader Pelquin's Comet set out to claim a cache of alien technology that will make them rich, but they are not the only interested party and find themselves in competition with a major corporation. They are also lumbered with an unwelcome passenger - an agent of the bank funding their expedition - who may be a great deal more than he seems. High octane adventure, dark secrets, hidden agendas and double-cross lie in store for the Comet and her motley crew as they pursue their goal to very edge of human space.

Download or read book The Ninja Betrayed written by Tori Eldridge and published by Polis Books. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW A NATIONAL BESTSELLER One of The Los Angeles Times' "Five Fall Mysteries You Shouldn't Miss" Things get personal for Chinese-Norwegian modern-day ninja Lily Wong in Hong Kong when she dives into the dangerous world of triads, romance, and corporate disaster during the height of the pro-democracy protests. Lily’s mother has been summoned by her grandfather, Gung-Gung to attend an emergency board meeting. Lily is happy to take her father’s place for exotic travel, family reunions, and romantic dates with her new boyfriend, Daniel Kwok, who's there for business. Lily and her mother stay at her grandparents' hillside home on Hong Kong Island, but tension between Gung-Gung and Ma makes it hard to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, especially with the city in turmoil. Gung-Gung won’t say anything about the meeting and Ma is worried that her career is in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the teenage daughter of Gung-Gung's driver is pulled into the dangerous riots. As Lily and Ma discover shaky finances, questionable loans, and plans for the future involving them both, Lily's escalating romance with Daniel puts her heart at risk. Will her ninja skills allow her to protect her mother, the family business, and the renegade teen while navigating love, corporate intrigue, and murderous triads?

Download or read book The Art of Being Human written by Michael Wesch and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anthropology is the study of all humans in all times in all places. But it is so much more than that. "Anthropology requires strength, valor, and courage," Nancy Scheper-Hughes noted. "Pierre Bourdieu called anthropology a combat sport, an extreme sport as well as a tough and rigorous discipline. ... It teaches students not to be afraid of getting one's hands dirty, to get down in the dirt, and to commit yourself, body and mind. Susan Sontag called anthropology a "heroic" profession." What is the payoff for this heroic journey? You will find ideas that can carry you across rivers of doubt and over mountains of fear to find the the light and life of places forgotten. Real anthropology cannot be contained in a book. You have to go out and feel the world's jagged edges, wipe its dust from your brow, and at times, leave your blood in its soil. In this unique book, Dr. Michael Wesch shares many of his own adventures of being an anthropologist and what the science of human beings can tell us about the art of being human. This special first draft edition is a loose framework for more and more complete future chapters and writings. It serves as a companion to anth101.com, a free and open resource for instructors of cultural anthropology. This 2018 text is a revision of the "first draft edition" from 2017 and includes 7 new chapters.

Download or read book The Quants written by Scott Patterson and published by Currency. This book was released on 2011-01-25 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the immediacy of today’s NASDAQ close and the timeless power of a Greek tragedy, The Quants is at once a masterpiece of explanatory journalism, a gripping tale of ambition and hubris, and an ominous warning about Wall Street’s future. In March of 2006, four of the world’s richest men sipped champagne in an opulent New York hotel. They were preparing to compete in a poker tournament with million-dollar stakes, but those numbers meant nothing to them. They were accustomed to risking billions. On that night, these four men and their cohorts were the new kings of Wall Street. Muller, Griffin, Asness, and Weinstein were among the best and brightest of a new breed, the quants. Over the prior twenty years, this species of math whiz--technocrats who make billions not with gut calls or fundamental analysis but with formulas and high-speed computers--had usurped the testosterone-fueled, kill-or-be-killed risk-takers who’d long been the alpha males the world’s largest casino. The quants helped create a digitized money-trading machine that could shift billions around the globe with the click of a mouse. Few realized, though, that in creating this unprecedented machine, men like Muller, Griffin, Asness and Weinstein had sowed the seeds for history’s greatest financial disaster. Drawing on unprecedented access to these four number-crunching titans, The Quants tells the inside story of what they thought and felt in the days and weeks when they helplessly watched much of their net worth vaporize--and wondered just how their mind-bending formulas and genius-level IQ’s had led them so wrong, so fast.

Download or read book A Way to Garden written by Margaret Roach and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2019-04-30 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A Way to Garden prods us toward that ineffable place where we feel we belong; it’s a guide to living both in and out of the garden.” —The New York Times Book Review For Margaret Roach, gardening is more than a hobby, it’s a calling. Her unique approach, which she calls “horticultural how-to and woo-woo,” is a blend of vital information you need to memorize and intuitive steps you must simply feel and surrender to. In A Way to Garden, Roach imparts decades of garden wisdom on seasonal gardening, ornamental plants, vegetable gardening, design, gardening for wildlife, organic practices, and much more. She also challenges gardeners to think beyond their garden borders and to consider the ways gardening can enrich the world. Brimming with beautiful photographs of Roach’s own garden, A Way to Garden is practical, inspiring, and a must-have for every passionate gardener.

Download or read book Weeding Manual written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dear Universe I Get It Now written by Alyssa Berthiaume and published by Onion River Press. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through personal memoir, reflective questions, and journaling prompts, "Dear Universe, I Get It Now" inspires readers to consider what they would ask the Universe about their own journey and invites them to brave the path that leads to their truth.