Download or read book Spineless Wonders written by Richard Conniff and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blending natural history and human lore, Ric hard Conniff relates some of his knowledge of the world of i nvertebrates. Spineless Wonders marvels at the skills of the housefly, looks at the world of the fire ant, and meets a m an who loves beetles. '

Download or read book Spineless written by Juli Berwald and published by Black Inc.. This book was released on 2018-04-30 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jellyfish have been swimming in our oceans for over half a billion years, longer than any other animal that lives on the planet. Their sting is the fastest known motion in the animal kingdom, their venom so toxic it can kill a human in three minutes. Made of roughly 95 percent water, some jellies are barely perceptible virtuosos of disguise, while others’ luminescent glow has revolutionized biotechnology. Yet until recently, jellyfish were largely ignored by science, and they remain among the most poorly understood of ocean dwellers. Over a decade ago, ocean scientist Juli Berwald left her career to raise a family in landlocked Austin, Texas, but jellyfish drew her back to the sea. Driven by questions about how overfishing, coastal development, and climate change were contributing to a jellyfish population explosion that has caused millions of dollars of damage, Juli embarked on a scientific odyssey that took her across the globe. She met the biologists who devote their careers to jellies, hitched rides on Japanese fishing boats to see giant jellyfish in the wild, raised jellyfish in her dining room, and throughout it all marveled at the complexity of these alluring and ominous biological wonders. Gracefully blending personal memoir with crystal-clear distillations of science, Spineless is the story of how Juli learned to navigate and ultimately embrace her ambition, her curiosity, and her passion for the natural world. She discovers that jellyfish science is a call to realize our collective responsibility for the planet we share. ‘Captivating and informative.’—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ‘In this astonishing adventure of a book, Juli Berwald takes us on a personal journey into the enchanting and mystifying aqueous world of jellyfish, and in so doing, sheds light on the vital ecological balances upon which our own survival depends.’ —Ruth Ozeki, author of A Tale for the Time Being ‘Berwald uncovers many fascinating aspects of jellyfish behaviour, including the fact that they are the most efficient swimmers ever discovered.’—Tim Flannery ‘This thoroughly engaging book turned my old horror into wonderment and by its end into something close to love and awe.’—Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk ‘In this lovely exploration of the mysterious jellyfish, Berwald both entrances and sounds a warning: pay attention to the messages sent by ocean life, and act to protect their environment, and ours.’ —Kirkus

Download or read book Loopholes written by Susan McCreery and published by . This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LOOPHOLE, noun. 1. An escape route from a sticky situation. 2. A chink in the system that allows us to circumvent or avoid consequences. Susan McCreery's perfectly-formed microfictions provide glimpses into the travails of everyday existence - of family life, relationships, ageing and loss. Her characters are typical humans - flawed yet admirable, frustrating and frustrated. Told with wit and compassion and honed with a wordsmith's skill, McCreery's Loopholes makes us see ourselves and each other differently. Ranging in length from a page to four lines, Susan McCreery's vivid glimpses into diverse lives and situations will amuse, shock and inspire you. ELIZABETH WEBBY AM

Download or read book Australian short stories written by and published by Ernst Klett Sprachen. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Origins written by Frank H. T. Rhodes and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-29 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fossils are the fragments from which, piece by laborious piece, the great mosaic of the history of life has been constructed. Here and there, we can supplement these meager scraps by the use of biochemical markers or geochemical signatures that add useful information, but, even with such additional help, our reconstructions and our models of descent are often tentative. For the fossil record is, as we have seen, as biased as it is incomplete. But fragmentary, selective, and biased though it is, the fossil record, with all its imperfections, is still a treasure. Though whole chapters are missing, many pages lost, and the earliest pages so damaged as to be, as yet, virtually unreadable, this—the greatest biography of all—is one in whose closing pages we find ourselves."—from Origins In Origins, Frank H. T. Rhodes explores the origin and evolution of living things, the changing environments in which they have developed, and the challenges we now face on an increasingly crowded and polluted planet. Rhodes argues that the future well-being of our burgeoning population depends in no small part on our understanding of life’s past, its long and slow development, and its intricate interdependencies. Rhodes’s accessible and extensively illustrated treatment of the origins narrative describes the nature of the search for prehistoric life, the significance of geologic time, the origin of life, the emergence and spread of flora and fauna, the evolution of primates, and the emergence of modern humans.

Download or read book Spineless written by Samantha San Miguel and published by Union Square & Co.. This book was released on 2022-06-07 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This exciting middle-grade adventure is Hoot for the Gilded Age—with scientific discoveries, secret plots, and surprisingly enormous fauna. When his asthma lands him at a health resort in the wilds of Gilded Age South Florida, twelve-year-old Algie Emsworth is over the moon. The scientific treasure trove of unexplored swamps may launch his dream career as a naturalist. But even Algie is startled when he happens upon a brand-new species and her brood in the karst springs surrounding the resort. Algie quickly realizes he must keep his discovery a secret: a famous collector of exotic animals is also staying at the hotel, and the new species is threatened by his very presence. An apparent curse has also descended upon the hotel, bringing with it a deadly red tide. But when the pool starts filling with ink and guests start getting mysterious, sucker-shaped wounds, Algie must pluck up his courage to find the truth about the goings-on at the Grand Hotel—and save the new species from destruction.

Download or read book Signs and Wonders written by Delia Falconer and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-09-29 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2022 Nib Literary Awards. Chosen as a 2021 ‘Book of the Year’ in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Book Review. The celebrated, Walkley Award-winning author on how global warming is changing not only our climate but our culture. Beautifully observed, brilliantly argued and deeply felt, these essays show that our emotions, our art, our relationships with the generations around us – all the delicate networks that make us who we are – have already been transformed. In Signs and Wonders, Falconer explores how it feels to live as a reader, a writer, a lover of nature and a mother of small children in an era of profound ecological change. Building on Falconer’s two acclaimed essays, ‘Signs and Wonders’ and the Walkley Award-winning ‘The Opposite of Glamour’, Signs and Wonders is a pioneering examination of how we are changing our culture, language and imaginations along with our climate. Is a mammoth emerging from the permafrost beautiful or terrifying? How is our imagination affected when something that used to be ordinary – like a car windscreen smeared with insects – becomes unimaginable? What can the disappearance of the paragraph from much contemporary writing tell us about what’s happening in the modern mind? Scientists write about a 'great acceleration' in human impact on the natural world. Signs and Wonders shows that we are also in a period of profound cultural acceleration, which is just as dynamic, strange, extreme and, sometimes, beautiful. Ranging from an ‘unnatural’ history of coal to the effect of a large fur seal turning up in the park below her apartment, this book is a searching and poetic examination of the ways we are thinking about how, and why, to live now. ‘Only the finest of writers can hope to convey the mercurial nature of the times we are living though: the sense of slippage; of terror and beauty. Falconer is such a writer. Signs and Wonders is an essential collection.’ Sophie Cunningham, author of City of Trees ‘Delia Falconer is one of the best writers working today, and in Signs and Wonders she demonstrates everything that makes her writing so necessary. Brave, beautiful, and breathtaking in its elegance and intelligence, it is, quite simply, a marvel.’ James Bradley ‘Scintillating. Delia Falconer is at the peak of her powers as a critic, and as an observer of the natural world. Signs and Wonders looks outward from Sydney, and from literature, to trace the contours of our environmental moment.’ Rebecca Giggs, author of Fathoms ‘Exquisite … From reflections on feeding birds, analyses of literary trends, to Falconer’s Covid and fire diaries, the essays are complex, ambitious, rewarding … Delia Falconer’s mesmerising Signs and Wonders helps us to process the disorienting complexity of living in this time of great beauty and loss.’ Jonica Newby, Australian Book Review

Download or read book The Icky Bug Alphabet Book written by Jerry Pallotta and published by Charlesbridge Publishing. This book was released on 1986 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Light hearted alphabetical exploration of spiders and insects. 2-6 yrs.

Download or read book A Hundred Words for Butterfly written by Sophie Masson and published by . This book was released on 2022-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was meant to be the experience of a lifetime, for Australian twin sisters Helen and Alex Dorian, to walk the famous Camino from Saint Jean Pied de Port in the French Basque country, to Santiago del Compostella in Spain. But Helen injures her leg on the very day they arrive in Saint Jean and has to stay behind in the town while Alex goes on alone. A disappointed Helen tries to make the best of things and keep up with Alex via phone calls and blog posts, but it's not easy. But an unexpected meeting with Tony Garcia, an old schoolmate who is in Saint Jean to explore his Basque ancestral roots, begins to change things for Helen, as she and Tony investigate the mysteries surrounding his family's past. And then Alex goes missing... A lively, thoughtful short novel by award-winning writer Sophie Masson, A Hundred Words for Butterfly explores family relationships and the past's effect on the present, with a light touch and a vivid sense of place.

Download or read book Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals written by Richard Conniff and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2010-06-28 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning nature writer takes readers on a thrilling journey deep intothe domains of strange--and often dangerous--animals.

Download or read book The Butcherbird Stories written by A.S. Patric and published by Transit Lounge . This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eleven stories. Each like a matchstick struck to illuminate the darkness. Evocations of place ranging from a Bangla jungle to the deep, blue Danube to a winter beach in Melbourne excite and seduce. But what truly draws the reader in are the unexpected landscapes of people's lives, explored with rare sensitivity, grace and a fearless truthfulness. A lonely St Kilda chef invites a beautiful busker to use his spare room. A father sings a lullaby to comfort his young daughter who has woken from a nightmare. A taxi driver picks up an old-world gentleman who is reluctant to disclose his destination. A young immigrant boy growing up in the western suburbs of Melbourne daydreams of infinite possibility. Death, loneliness, passion and belief: Patrić takes on the big questions in life and writes about the small people of the world with stylistic verve and deep humanity. This collection of stories reveals the author, best known for his award-winning novels, as a true master of the short story form. ‘One of the most interesting and valuable writers working in Australia today.’ — The Australian

Download or read book Unseen City written by Nathanael Johnson and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It all started with Nathanael Johnson’s decision to teach his daughter the name of every tree they passed on their walk to day care in San Francisco. This project turned into a quest to discover the secrets of the neighborhood’s flora and fauna, and yielded more than names and trivia: Johnson developed a relationship with his nonhuman neighbors. Johnson argues that learning to see the world afresh, like a child, shifts the way we think about nature: Instead of something distant and abstract, nature becomes real—all at once comical, annoying, and beautiful. This shift can add tremendous value to our lives, and it might just be the first step in saving the world. No matter where we live—city, country, oceanside, or mountains—there are wonders that we walk past every day. Unseen City widens the pinhole of our perspective by allowing us to view the world from the high-altitude eyes of a turkey vulture and the distinctly low-altitude eyes of a snail. The narrative allows us to eavesdrop on the comically frenetic life of a squirrel and peer deep into the past with a ginkgo biloba tree. Each of these organisms has something unique to tell us about our neighborhoods and, chapter by chapter, Unseen City takes us on a journey that is part nature lesson and part love letter to the world’s urban jungles. With the right perspective, a walk to the subway can be every bit as entrancing as a walk through a national park.

Download or read book Siarad written by Caroline Reid and published by ESP. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Siarad isa Welsh word, meaning to talk, to speak. In this collection of spoken word,prose poetry and micro-fiction, Reid speaks to the memories and emotions thatmove us through decades, continents and cultures. The collection pulses withimages of stars and stray dogs, highways with no horizon and mothers withfading memories. Reid's background as a performer and playwright shines in thiscollection of works that are as bold as they are tender, begging to be shouted,spoken, whispered many times over. 'Psychedelic. Startling. Alive. This book takes you to places younever imagined you'd go, and some places you've already been, but thought youwere alone when you were there. Caroline Reid is a fellow traveller in achaotic world. She tells a woman's story, but it is the story of us all.' -- Donna Ward, She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster's Meditations onLife. 'Caroline Reid's writing illuminates the mundane and the ordinaryas spectacular and powerful.' -- Rosslyn Prosser, University of Adelaide

Download or read book Spineless Wonders written by Richard Conniff and published by Owl Books. This book was released on 1997 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes unusual physical and behavioral characteristics of such creatures as worms, fleas, spiders, squid, earwigs, cockroaches, leeches, and mollusks

Download or read book Evolution written by Donald R. Prothero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2007-11-06 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past twenty years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before. The fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. In this engaging and richly illustrated book, Donald R. Prothero weaves an entertaining though intellectually rigorous history out of the transitional forms and series that dot the fossil record. Beginning with a brief discussion of the nature of science and the "monkey business of creationism," Prothero tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution. He covers the ingredients of the primordial soup, the effects of communal living, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, the mammalian explosion, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Prothero pays particular attention to the recent discovery of "missing links" that complete the fossil timeline and details the debate between biologists over the mechanisms driving the evolutionary process. Evolution is an absorbing combination of firsthand observation, scientific discovery, and trenchant analysis. With the teaching of evolution still an issue, there couldn't be a better moment for a book clarifying the nature and value of fossil evidence. Widely recognized as a leading expert in his field, Prothero demonstrates that the transformation of life on this planet is far more awe inspiring than the narrow view of extremists.

Download or read book The Fascinating Science Book for Kids written by Kevin Kurtz MA and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-12-29 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover 500 fascinating facts about everything from astronomy to zoology in this amazing science book for kids age 9 to 12! Do you love dinosaurs and dolphins, mountains and meteors? The Fascinating Science Book for Kids has all of that and more! This trivia-packed book includes 500 stupendous science facts that offer hours of exploration. Alongside full-color pictures on every page, you'll find weird and wonderful facts about topics like prehistoric life, the deep sea, weather, minerals, the human body, the solar system—and even your own backyard! In this engaging book of science fun facts for kids, you'll learn amazing things like: Scientists have evidence that tiny diamonds sometimes fall from the sky on Neptune. The giant squid has a brain shaped like a donut. Some bacteria species generate electricity when they breathe and can even power a battery. Get a heaping helping of the science facts kids love with The Fascinating Science Book for Kids — one of the best in kids' educational books!

Download or read book My Name Is Revenge written by Ashley Kalagian Blunt and published by . This book was released on 2019-02-22 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 17 December 1980, at 9:47 am, two men shot the Turkish consul-general to Sydney and his bodyguard near the consul's home in Vaucluse. The assassins aimed, fired, and vanished. My Name Is Revenge by Australian-Armenian author Ashley Kalagian Blunt is a novella set in 1980s Sydney and based on true events. Accompanied by essays.