Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:22:49 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/convenient-action-:-gujarat-s-response-to-challenges-of-climate-changesthe-149-114511.html There has been broad agreement over the fundamentals of Climate Change in mainstream scientific circles for some time now. Climate Change is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere. And its consequences for the world we live in will be disastrous, if left unchecked. “Convenient Action- Gujarat’s Response to Challenges of Climate Change” , written by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, is an illustrative book containing successful examples of the policy and programmatic initiatives for dealing with Climate Change which he has undertaken during the last few years in the State of Gujarat, India. The book explicitly documents the development philosophy that forms the core of his public policy and how it has contributed to both adaptation and mitigation of Climate Change. In a field more marked by debates and discourses, the book stands distinct in its emphasis on action and how a conscious Climate Change Policy can bring in visible results. The book thus caters to a wide cross section of readers which includes policy makers, scientists, research scholars, students, writers and the general public at large. “I would call this unique compendium of action a Green Autobiography of Narendra Modi who has shown a definite path and determined strategy to meet the Challenges of Climate Change.” --- Steve Howard, CEO, The Climate Group

Author: NARENDRA MODI  Publisher: MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS INDIA]]> Sun, 19 Dec 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/heat-how-to-stop-the-planet-burning-149-105936.html We are the most fortunate generation that has ever lived. And we are the most fortunate generation that ever will. George Monbiot What George Monbiot means by this is that our civilization has leveraged the awesome power of fossil energy to create a world that only a short time ago would have been nearly unimaginable. Our health, our wealth, our leisure, our freedom from tyranny and struggle, are all benefits bestowed upon us by harnessed energy of oil and coal. But the price of these gifts has been a growing environmental crisis. Our atmosphere is filling up with carbon dioxide, which is released by the burning of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide traps the sun' s heat, causing the temperature of our planet to rise. The reason why future generations are unlikely to be as fortunate as us is that fossil energy is just too good to be true. We cannot go on enjoying the benefits of this dirty energy. We must either address the problem, which will be a tough challenge involving many sacrifices, or ignore it, with unthinkable consequences. George Monbiot' s Heat How to Stop the Planet from Burning marks an important moment in our civilization' s thinking about global warming. The question is no longer whether climate change is actually happening. The question is what to do about it. Monbiot offers an ambitious and farreaching program to cut our carbon dioxide emissions to the point where the environmental scales start tipping away from catastrophe. (But not before he devotes a chapter to unmasking the vested interests that have spent fortunes funding the specious science of the climate change deniers.) He does not pretend itwill be easy. The threshold for disaster, he argues, is a rise of two degrees centigrade above preindustrial levels. Past two degrees, science tells us, the ability to control climate change passes out of our hands. At that point, the world' s forests will fall into decline, changing cloud formation patterns and releasing the billions of tons of carbon the trees store. Past two degrees, the permafrost begins to thaw, releasing billions of tons of methane, a greenhouse gas far more destructive than CO2. At the same point, the polar ice begins to melt, affecting ocean currents and water levels. This is called a positive feedback loop, and it means that once we' ve passed two degrees, nothing can be done to stop it rising to three. And once we hit three, four will follow. Two degrees is also the point at which the globe slides towards increasing water scarcity and, eventually, food deficit. And the fact is, we' re already seeing the consequences of climate change around the globe collapsing ice shelves, the failure of the cyclical rains in Eastern Africa, drought in Australia, the spread of tropical diseases into new territory as temperatures rise, pollution of aquifers with salt water in Bangladesh. Global temperatures have already risen 0.6 of a degree, causing huge damage to the natural environment and inflicting suffering on vast numbers of people. The only way to avoid further devastation, and forestall the catastrophe of positive feedback, Monbiot argues, is a 90% cut in CO2 emissions in the rich nations of the world by 2030. In other words, our response will have to be immediate, and it will have to be decisive. But where to start? Monbiot starts at home, where we have most control. Though he draws his examples from the UK, and commends Canadians for our superior building standards, he makes a damning case that the buildings we live and work in squander energy. Since our heat and electricity produce CO2, nearly every bit of heat and power we waste (like nearly every bit of heat and power we use) commits us to greenhouse gas emissions. Monbiot finds ways for us to build, and live, so much better that we can cut emissions at home by the required 90%. He then looks at the source of our electricity, and evaluates the arguments for both local microgeneration (for example, solar photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines), and renewable energy for the grid. His research leads him to some unexpected discoveries, but he finds a way to trim our emissions by the necessary margin. Another obvious source of CO2 emissions is our transportation the cars we drive and the flights we take. A little ingenuity, he argues, will allow us to deal with the former. But the latter, he acknowledges, is shaping up to be the Achilles heel of all efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A couple of less obvious major sources of CO2 are the retail and construction industries. Big box stores, with their inefficient designs, their racks of heaters, air conditioners, and blazing lights (to say nothing of the sprawling parking lots full of cars that drive back and forth on shopping trips), are simply inconsistent with a lowcarbon future. But Monbiot has a thoughtful and surprisingly simple solution. Similarly, the concrete industry, that backbone of all new construction, emits millions of tons each year as a consequenceof the immense heat and chemical processes involved in the manufacturing process. Though the solution here is not as ready to hand, it is still possible. In short, the scale of the changes before us is staggering, as is the size of the problem. But Monbiot ends on a note of hope. We have shown ourselves to be capable of enormous ingenuity and great feats of cooperation and sacrifice when confronted with a serious threat. The Second World War provides countless examples of citizens and engineers doing the supposedly impossible in order to get the job done. Fighting climate change will not require young men to die in battle, but a failure to tackle the problem urgently and with all the determination we can muster will cost uncountable lives. There is no reason to think we will do less when faced with a threat to the sustainability of all life on the planet than we did when faced with a threat to our political and

Author: Monbiot, George  Publisher: ALLEN LANE]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/revenge-of-gaia-why-the-earth-is-fight-149-105937.html Illustrated with examples drawn from his experiences around the world, the author draws conclusions, an advocacy of nuclear energy. He argues that a way for humankind to come to terms with Gaia, and have a chance of surviving, is to embrace science and technology, not reject them.

Author: Lovelock, James  Publisher: ALLEN LANE]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/ban-the-plastic-bag-149-105938.html Plastic bag litter is lethal, killing over 100,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, whales and turtles every year. In May 2007, Modbury in South Devon became Britain's first plastic bag free town. This book uses the Modbury story as a call to action, entreating every village, town and city in the country to follow Modbury's example.

Author: Hoskins, Rebecca  Publisher: ALASTAIR SAWDAY]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/earth-matters-made-with-care-149-105939.html Helps readers explore and get close to the places or 'biomes' that make the world so special. This book describes how life on Earth began, and shows the effect that humankind has had on the natural world. It features photographs which show how the Earth is changing, and what each of us can do to help preserve its wonder.

Author: Rothschild, David de  Publisher: DORLING KINDERSLEY]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/eyewitness-guide-climate-change-149-105940.html Helps your child learn about climate change. From what's being done to stop pollution harming life on earth, to why rising sea levels mean maps will need to be redrawn this title lets your child discover all about our planet and the changes that are affecting the weather, the environment and our way of life.

Publisher: DORLING KINDERSLEY]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/how-we-can-save-the-planet-149-105941.html Mayer Hillman, one of Britain's most original and influential thinkers, here offers the reader both a stunning analysis of the looming environmental catastrophe and a blueprint for avoiding it. The blueprint is practical at a personal level but the challenge he throws out is to governments and business do they have the political courage to take the necessary steps to avert the end of the world? He anticipates the counterarguments and gives the reader the ammunition to challenge the prevailing inaction in these areas. Stimulating, challenging, frightening but also practical, this is a book that will help you make a difference.

Author: Hillman, M  Publisher: PENGUIN]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/stargazer-kit-dk-kit-149-105942.html Stargazer Kit Dk Kit

Publisher: DORLING KINDERSLEY]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/what-about-china-answers-to-this-and-149-105943.html Aims to show that the excuses we give to avoid reducing our carbon footprint and our personal impact on the environment are exactly that, excuses. This book illustrates through explanation, facts and figures, that any changes we make now will have an effect, both directly and indirectly on climate change.

Author: Sawday, Alastair  Publisher: ALASTAIR SAWDAY]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/waste-uncovering-the-global-food-scand-149-105944.html Shows us what we can do to fix the global food crisis. This book introduces us to foraging pigs, potato farmers, freegans and food industry directors.

Author: Stuart, Tristram  Publisher: PENGUIN]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/vanishing-face-of-gaia-the-a-final-wa-149-105945.html States that even though the weather seems cooler and pollution lessens as the recession bites, the environmental problems we will face in the twentyfirst century are even more terrifying than the author previously realised.

Author: Lovelock, James  Publisher: ALLEN LANE]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/heat-how-to-stop-the-planet-burning-149-105946.html Started to worry about just how hot our world is going to get, and whether you can do anything about it? As the effect of climate change grows by the day, so does the amount of hot air and bluster spouted by politicians and businessmen on what we should do about it. Using investigative journalism, this work presents facts and inspiring ideas.

Author: Monbiot, George  Publisher: PENGUIN]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/weather-makers-the-history-future-im-149-105947.html A pageturning epic that brings the most elusive and powerful of natural phenomena within our grasp. The author takes us on a journey through history and around the globe as he describes the wondrous diversity of the world's ecosystems and explains how 'the great aerial ocean' unites us. Along the way, we meet polar bears and golden toads, and travel from ocean depths to mountaintops, via desert, swamp and rainforest.

Author: Flannery, Tim  Publisher: ALLEN LANE]]> Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/facing-extinction-149-97651.html Almost two hundred species of birds have become extinct in the past 400 years, and a similar number today are in imminent danger of following them. The world s conservationists are leading the fight to prevent the demise of these remaining critically endangered birds, with a fair degree of success. This new book examines the process and issues concerning extinction how and why it happens and what can be done about it. Whilst man is to blame for many of the causes, such as persecution and habitat loss, species have become extinct on a regular basis since life began. After several thought-provoking introductory chapters, the book showcases about 20 species on the brink of extinction from around the world and describes the work that is being undertaken to save them. Some are success stories, but a few are not. This is a subject close to the hearts of all birders and ornithologists and this book, written by a team of leading conservationists, will strike a chord in most of them.

Author: Paul Donald;Nigel Collar;Stuart Marsden;Debbie Pain  Publisher: ACB]]> Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/nature-s-spokesman-149-96831.html All in all, once you ve gone through this collection, there are only two things that need to be done: begin to read it all over again and hanker for more Dileep Padgaonkar, Times of India Writer, naturalist, ecological patriot and avid nature photographer, M. Krishnan had an astonishingly wide range of interests. His work spanned six decades, and his nature writings are among the most readable ever written in English. Nature s Spokesman showcases Krishnan s finest essays: on large mammals, little creatures, nature in temple art and folklore, nature s desecration and its conservation, all described in his inimitable style wry, lucid and humorous. Embellished with Krishnan s own sketches, this landmark volume, edited by Ramachandra Guha, also includes a biographical introduction.

Author: Krishnan, M.(Edited by Ramachandra Guha)  Publisher: PENGUIN]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/ecology-and-equity-149-96832.html Ecology and Equity explores a society that is, in ecological terms, the most complex in the world. India s people range from technocrats to hunter-gatherers and its environments from dense forest to wasteland. This book provides the first analytically sophisticated and empirically grounded study of environmental reform in the Third World. Radical both in its interpretation of the crisis in India and in its proposals for ecological reform, Ecology and Equity is essential reading for all concerned with the Third World development and/or the environmental debate.

Author: Gadgil, Madhav & Guha, Ramachandra  Publisher: PENGUIN]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/never-eat-shredded-wheat-149-95366.html Bognor Regis...Aberystwyth...Glasgow...Can you place them on a map? Most people can't, these days. What kind of countryside do you pass through on your way to the Cairngorms, or the Fens, or Northumberland? What's north of the Pennines? And what's it like when you get there? Most folk wouldn't have a clue. Increasing numbers of us don't have a basic geographical notion of these islands. Blame it on a decline in formal geography teaching, or Sat-Nav and other 'A to Z and nothing in between' devices that make us lazy -- we are becoming the best travelled and least well orientated Britons ever seen. Now Christopher Somerville, bestselling author of Coast and many other books of UK exploration, presents the basics of what belongs where, which counties border one another, and what lies beyond the Watford Gap. He reminds us of the watery bits, the lumpy bits and the flat bits, and gets to grips with the smaller islands surrounding Britain -- and much more. Never Eat Shredded Wheat is a reminder of all the fascinating British geography once learned at school - geography that brings our islands vividly to life - geography which we have forgotten, or never even knew.

Author: Somerville, Christopher  Publisher: HODDER & STOUGHTON]]> Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/get-out-149-91015.html Get Out

Author: Forrester, Philippa,Hamilton James, Arthur,Hamilton James, Fred,Hamilton James, Gus  Publisher: Preface Publishing]]> Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/systemic-management:-pb-149-75403.html Systemic Management describes a holistic, objective, and universally applicable form of management, providing a framework for addressing environmental challenges such as global warming, emergent diseases, deforestation, overpopulation, the extinction crisis, pollution, over-fishing, and habitat destruction. Its goals are the consistently sustainable relationships between humans and ecosystems, between humans and other species, and between humans and the biosphere. This book presents a convincing argument that these goals, and the means to achieve them, can be inferred from empirical information. It describes how comparisons between humans and other species reveal patterns that can serve to guide management toward true sustainability, i.e. ways that are empirically observed to work in natural systems. This objective approach has rarely been possible in conventional management because sustainability is invariably undermined by conflicting human values. Systemic Management is presented as a specialized process of pattern-based decision-making that avoids the inconsistency, subjectivity and error in current management practice. It clearly demonstrates how mimicking nature's empirical examples of sustainability can circumvent anthropocentric tendencies to overuse/misuse human values in management, and illustrates the science best suited for achieving sustainability through examples of research that address specific management questions.

Author: CHARLES W. FOWLER  Publisher: OUP]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/confessions-of-a-radical-industrialist-149-91027.html Ray Anderson’s story is truly inspirational. In 1994, after reading The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken, Ray felt a ‘spear in the chest’: he realised that his company, billion-dollar carpeting manufacturer Interface, Inc, was plundering the environment with its unsustainable business practices, and he needed to steer it on a new course. Thoughtful and winning, Confessions of a Radical Industrialist shows just how Anderson revolutionised his company, and includes the 'seven faces of Mount Sustainability' they are climbing: 1. moving towards zero waste 2. making emissions benign 3. using renewable energy 4. instigating closed-loop recycling, imitating nature's way of turning waste into food 5. ensuring all transportation is resource-efficient 6. creating a corporate ecosystem, with cooperation as its founding principle 7. assessing costs accurately in order to set real prices By setting unprecedented targets for cutting waste, instigating revolutionary recycling initiatives, and encouraging employees at every level of the company to contribute ideas on how to save resources, he has succeeded in cutting Interface's greenhouse gas emissions by 82%, and the goal is to reach zero emissions by 2020. Not only that, he has also brought down costs, improved quality, made Interface one of Fortune’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’, and increased profits. What Confessions of a Radical Industrialist proves is that running your company sustainably isn't radical at all - it's just good business.

Author: Anderson, Ray  Publisher: Random House Business]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/deep-jungle-149-91026.html DEEP JUNGLE is an exploration of the most alien and feared habitat on Earth. Starting with man's earliest recorded adventures, Fred Pearce journeys high into the canopy – home to two-thirds of all the creatures on our planet, many of whom never come down to earth. During his travels he encounters all manner of fantastic flora and fauna, including a frog that can glide from tree to tree, a spider that can drag live chickens into its burrow and a flower that smells of decaying flesh. It is in the jungle that Pearce discovers secrets about how evolution works, the intricate links that connect us all, and maybe even clues to where humans came from – here is the key to our future foods and medicines, our climate and our understanding of how life works. At the start of a new millennium Pearce asks why we continue to waste precious time – and billions of dollars – looking for signs of life elsewhere in our universe when the greatest range of life-forms that have ever existed lies right here on our doorstep. Today environmentalists say we are on the verge of destroying the last rainforests, and with them the planet's evolutionary crucible, and maybe even its ability to maintain life on Earth. But nature has a way of getting its own back. The Mayans and the people of Angkor went too far in manipulating nature and paid the ultimate price. Their civilisations died and the jungle returned. Nature reclaimed it's own and it may do so again ...

Author: Pearce, Fred  Publisher: Eden Project Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/dinosaur-disaster-149-91025.html Fin, the dinosaur hero is back! But he's not alone . . . the bullies are still hot on his tail! Luckily, when clever Fin finds the secret entrance to a hidden valley with its own volcanic spring, the bullies are too big to follow. And when the temperature drops and it suddenley starts to snow, the bullies discover they're in real danger . . . But will Fin leave them out in the cold? Of course not! From safe inside the heated valley, kind-hearted Fin feeds those mean bullies every day until the weather changes. But do they say thank you? No! They chase him all the way home again - but clever Fin outwits them to the very end! Can readers spot Fin and his friends on the final spread as they hide from those dastardly dinos?! A heart-warming tale about kindness and standing up to bullies, with a great 'look and find' final spread.

Author: Blathwayt, Benedict  Publisher: Red Fox Picture Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/brush-with-nature-a-149-91024.html Described as ‘Britain’s greatest living nature writer’, Richard Mabey has revealed his passion for the natural world in eloquent stories for BBC Wildlife Magazine. This definitive collection brings together his favourite pieces and presents a fascinating and inspiring view of the changing natural landscape in which we live. With marvellously observed detail, Mabey recalls following a barn owl he’d encountered while walking near his home in Norfolk, and talks of studying lichens through the lens of a Victorian microscope. Alongside tales of ants and hornets, swifts and pink-footed geese, we read about the hustle and bustle of his village in the heat of the summer, and his musings on the significance of Constable’s The Cornfield. Mabey’s fascination lies in the way that we live and work within the nature that surrounds us. Peppered throughout with references to the heritage of nature writing, and great writers from Richard Jefferies and John Clare to Roger Deakin and Robert MacFarlane, A Brush With Nature is part memoir, part nature journal, part social history, giving us a unique insight into a nature lover’s reflections over a quarter of a century.

Author: Mabey, Richard  Publisher: BBC Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/meaning-of-the-21st-century-the-149-91023.html James Martin, one of the world's most widely respected authorities on the impact of technology on society, argues that we are living at a turning point in human history. 'We are travelling at breakneck speed into an era of extremes - extremes of wealth and poverty, extremes in technology, extremes in globalization. If we are to survive, we must learn how to manage them all.' Although we face huge challenges and conflicts, Martin argues that it is in the scientific breakthroughs of the new century that we will find new hope. In a clear, penetrating and insightful style he addresses the key questions of our age and proposes an interconnected set of solutions to its problems.

Author: James Martin, Dr  Publisher: Eden Project Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/take-me-to-the-source-149-91022.html Colourless, tasteless, odourless, ageless: water is both the simplest thing on earth and the most complex. We cannot live without it yet it kills six thousand children a day. It is the ultimate renewable resource but we pollute it without thinking twice. Why, if water is so valuable does nobody want to pay for it unless it comes in a designer bottle? Is it really the oil of the twenty-first century? Will we all soon be fighting over it, or can it lead countries into co-operation rather than conflict? In this enthralling voyage of discovery, Rupert Wright sets out to discover exactly what water is and why it plays such an important role in history, culture, art and literature. Part reportage and part personal journey, Take Me To the Source is the fascinating story of the substance that makes life on earth possible.

Author: Wright, Rupert  Publisher: Vintage]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/last-generation-the-149-91021.html Climate change is not a matter of gradually increasing temperatures. New scientific findings about how our planet works show that it does not do gradual change. Under pressure, it lurches into another mode of operation. Man-made global warming is on the verge of unleashing unstoppable planetary forces. Biological and geological monsters are being woken, and they will consume us. Virtually overnight Nature’s revenge will be sudden and brutal, like a climatic tsunami sweeping across the globe. No question, we are the last generation to live with any kind of climatic stability. In this impassioned report, Fred Pearce travels the world on the story to end them all. Most troubling, while visiting the places where the action may start: deep in the Amazon, high in the Arctic and among the bogs of Siberia, he uncovers the first signs that nature’s revenge is already under way.

Author: Pearce, Fred  Publisher: Eden Project Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/wonderful-life-149-91019.html A masterpiece of analysis and imagination...It centres on a sensational discovery in the field of palaeontology - the existence, in the Burgess Shale... of 530-million-year-old fossils unique in age, preservation and diversity...With skill and passion, Gould takes this mute collection of fossils and makes them speak to us. The result challenges some of our most cherished self-perceptions and urges a fundamental re-assessment of our place in the history of life on earth' Sunday Times.

Author: Gould, Stephen Jay  Publisher: Vintage]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/100-years-of-wildlife-149-91020.html Ever since 1907, when a flickering film about birds enthralled a cinema audience, we've been fascinated by watching the natural world on film. For 100 years wildlife films have taken us to places and shown us things we would never be able to see – the excitement, the strangeness, the danger of the wild. Today, our interest in the wonders of the natural world is stronger than ever. Accompanying the lavish BBC two-hour special, Top 100 Wildlife Moments dives into the archives to find the 100 wildlife moments that best celebrate the glories and the eccentricities of this astonishingly popular and enduring culture. Discover the history of the wildlife moving image: the first heady days when an ant juggling a matchbox was big box office; the charismatic and sometimes controversial celebrity presenters; the astonishing behaviour of animals and plants; the boggling oddities of nature; the animals now extinct that poignantly only exist on film. Explore 100 years of revelation – from the black-and-white silent footage that started it all to the almost magical photography techniques seen today in programmes like Planet Earth. From famous faces of wildlife TV to extraordinary animal (and plant) behaviour, natural history filming has changed the way we look at and think about our world. It's all here – so weird, you couldn't make it up; so wonderful, you wouldn't want to miss it.

Author: Bright, Michael  Publisher: BBC Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/chicken-coops-for-the-soul-149-91018.html When Julia Hollander agreed to buy her small daughter a rabbit, she had no idea that she would end up with two hens as well. Finding herself at the wrong end of a very steep learning curve, she then had to master the many skills of hen husbandry in short order, from what to feed them to how best to fox-proof a small urban garden. Chicken Coops for the Soul is a record of the five years of trial and error that ensued, in which Julia charts the joys, challenges and inevitable moments of disappointment thyat face any aspiring poultry keeper. It's also a compendium of wisdom about the humble chicken that explains, among many other things, which breeds are most productive, why some hens lay double-yolkers, and how we have the Second World War to thank for our ability to tell newly hatched male and female chicks apart. Not to mention a considered discussion of where the first chicken (or egg) came from. Fascinating and entertaining by turns, this is a book that will prove invaluable to the aspiring keeper and remind chicken aficionados why they became hooked in the first place.

Author: Hollander, Julia  Publisher: Guardian Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/great-trees-of-london-149-91016.html The Great Trees of London brings together over 60 trees around the capital that have achieved ‘Great Tree’ status – as determined by the popular tree-planting charity Trees for Cities. As you might expect, there are plenty of London planes, horse chestnuts and oaks – the everyday trees that everyone is familiar with – but also some rarer species. The Greenwich Park Shagback Hickory, for instance, probably the largest such tree in the country, and the Marble Hill Black Walnut, with its unusual pitch-black bark. There are magnificent, towering specimens, such as the Forty Hall Cedar of Lebanon and the Berkeley Square Plane, as well as humbler trees that, on first glance, might not deserve the accolade of Great. But they are special for other reasons: the Marylebone Elm is one such: it survived bombing in World War II (which destroyed the adjacent church) as well as Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s, which wiped out three-quarters of Britain’s elms. Some incredibly venerable trees appear too, such as the Charlton House Mulberry, planted at the request of James I at the turn of the 17th century, and the Richmond Royal Oak, estimated to be 750 years old. Packed with glorious colour photography taken in various seasons, this book also contains a glossary of botanical terms; facts, figures and folklore about key species. And where else in the capital you’ll find usual or interesting trees.

Author: Time Out Guides Ltd  Publisher: Time Out]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/light-on-the-earth-149-91013.html You wont find a better collection of nature photographs the best from 20 years of the prestigious international Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition representing most of the worlds top photographers There are more than 170 photographs in this lavish, large-format book, covering all natural subjects, with an emphasis on beauty colour and form as well as unforgettable scenes of both animal behaviour and landscape grouped in the following chapters: Illuminations, Portraits, Moments, Formations, Reflections and Connections. Each picture is accompanied by amemorable and informative caption, and each chapter has an introduction by a famous photographer or personality, from Yann Arthus-Bertrand to Jim Brandenberg and Chris Packham. An index of photographic details is also included.

Author: Attenborough, David  Publisher: BBC Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/bugs-britannica-149-91014.html As with Flora and Birds, Bugs is not a biological guide but a richly-illustrated cultural one, seen through the eyes of writers, musicians, artists and naturalists – from the great Tudor naturalist, Thomas Muffet (father of Little Miss Muffet) to Irvine Welsh’s talking tapeworm in Filth – as well as contributions by ordinary men and women who are fascinated by creepy-crawlies of all kinds. The book is structured along a roughly evolving path, from simple cell life-forms – amoeba, worms, crustaceans (proof, say the authors, of ‘just how far you can go on very little’) – to bugs we all might recognise – spiders, butterflies, bees – and back into the water to meet molluscs and ‘almost-fish’… The book works so triumphantly because author Peter Marren has examined bugs in the dusty corners of our houses and gardens as well as traversing mountains, lakes and fields. In addition to the fascinating habits of the bug world, he also includes the eccentric behaviour of the bug obsessives themselves. But of course, the true heroes of the book are the bugs themselves: the nimble-dicks, clock ladies and coffin-cutters. From the Boring Sponge (its official name!) to the Mermaid’s Glove and Penis Worm, via the glamourous Dark Crimson Underwing and Ruby-Tailed Wasp – this rich compendium of bugs is a must not only for naturalists but for anyone who cares about the crawling, buzzing swarms at our feet.

Author: Marren, Peter  Publisher: Chatto & Windus]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/life-in-cold-blood-149-91012.html Reptiles and amphibians ruled the world for nearly 200 million years and today there are still over 12,500 of them. Some are huge, the deadliest creatures on earth. Some are tiny, among the strangest to be found anywhere. Together they not only outnumber mammals or birds but in their colourful variety and extraordinary behaviour, they far surpass them. So where did these ancient creatures come from? How have they transformed themselves into the bizarre and beautiful forms that are alive today? And what’s the secret of their epic success? In Life in Cold Blood, David traces the story of their evolution and overturns the myth that these creatures are just primitive killers to reveal them for what they truly are.

Author: Attenborough, David  Publisher: BBC Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/halcyon-river-diaries-149-91011.html struggling minnow in its orange beak; an otter slips silently through reeds; a family of moorhens paddles to its night-time lodgings. Here is the perfect, idyllic scene of a British river in summertime captured with love and astonishing skill by two of the leading wildlife filmmakers of our age. Halcyon River Diaries was commissioned following the phenomenally successful and award-winning My Halcyon River an intimate portrait of a secret world along a river in Britain, where otters hunt on the midnight current, mink lie in wait to ambush unwary victims and gleaming kingfishers pierce the water to spear their prey. Deemed as one of the most beautiful films at the Wildscreen festival, 2004, My Halcyon River was the winner of the Kodak Cinematography Award. Halcyon River Diaries is an evocative look at the wildlife of a typical English river, through the eyes of Philippa and Charlie's family, including their three young sons Fred, Gus and Arthur, who live beside it. Over the period of a year we experience life on the river following the same group of animal characters as they navigate the seasons, as well as seeing how Philippa and Charlie’s passion for the river extends into every part of their family life.

Author: Forrester, Philippa,Hamilton-James, Charlie  Publisher: Preface Publishing]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/eight-little-piggies-149-91009.html The title is a pun, and as always with Gould the joke has a point that illustrates the largest pattern of life's history. For millennia the animals that populated the earth had four toes on each foot, or six. If evolution had taken a tiny shift - if our ancestors had inherited a couple of genes in a different form - our canonical number, based on our fingers and toes, might be eight instead of ten. This is just one of the oddities of history that Gould deploys in this wonderfully readable book

Author: Gould, Stephen Jay  Publisher: Vintage]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/song-of-the-dodo-the-149-91007.html Why have island ecosystems always suffered such high rates of extinction ? In our age, with all the world's landscapes, from Tasmania to the Amazon to Yellowstone, now being carved into islandlike fragments by human activity, the implications of this question are more urgent than ever. Over the past eight years, David Quammen has followed the threads of island biogeography on a globe-encircling journey of discovery.

Author: Quammen, David  Publisher: Pimlico]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/primate-s-memoir-a-149-91031.html I had never planned to become a Savannah baboon when I grew up; instead I assumed I would become a mountain gorilla,' writes Robert Sapolsky in this riveting chronicle of a scientist's coming of age in remote Africa. Upon graduating from college, a booksmart and na-ve Sapolsky leaves the comforts of the Northeastern United States for the very first time, to join a baboon troop in Kenya as a young transfer male'. An expert in primate behaviour, Sapolsky sets out to study the relationship between stress and disease. As he observes the Machiavellian politics of the troop, giving the primates biblical names and pinpointing his favourite (Benjamin) and his nemesis (Nebuchadnezzar), he also immerses himself in the society of the neighbouring Masai tribesmen and ventures far from his camp on a series of jaw-dropping adventures. Combining irreverence and humour with the best credentials in his field, Sapolsky writes as originally and vividly about people and their society as he does about animals and theirs. A Primate's Memoir is the culmination of over two decades of experience and research - an astonishing masterpiece from the unique talent Oliver Sacks has called 'one of the best scientist-writers of our time.'

Author: Sapolsky, Robert M  Publisher: Vintage]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/ganges-149-91030.html The Ganges (Gang Ma or Great Mother) is the holiest river in the world. Rising from the pure glacial meltwaters of the Himalayas, it flows down onto India’s northern plain and heads eastward into the swamplands of Bangladesh, finally discharging a vast, 500km (310-mile) tongue of silt into the Bay of Bengal. As well as filling wells and irrigating crops to sustain the cities and villages along its banks, it is the spiritual life-blood of India’s primary religion, Hinduism. Bathing in the Ganges remains the lifelong ambition of many of India’s believing masses, who consider the river to be a living goddess. People gather daily at her banks to murmur prayers, baptise children, wash vibrantly coloured saris, drink her waters or simply die – believing such acts help absolve sins and lead the way to nirvana. Ganges reveals the source of the river high in the Himalayas – the youngest mountain range in the world – and follows its route as it sharply incises the mountains on its journey southeast. Along the way, we discover the Hindu story of the river's creation and how it supports the myriad forms of life that thrive on its banks. With stunning images by photographer Jon Nicholson and accompanying text by the producers of the BBC2 television series, Ganges is a true visual feast – as teeming with life and colour as the mighty river itself.

Author: Nicholson, Jon  Publisher: BBC Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/nature-watch-149-91029.html ‘What a glorious day: warm, bright sunshine, and still. At a time when the transition from October to November should be pushing at winter with a short stick, the light and temperature are spring-like. Wasps feed on ivy flowers. Red admiral butterflies, still dapper in black, scarlet and white, have a confident swagger as they flick through sunny patches. I ceremoniously knocked the last apple down from the tree with a broom, but the season refuses to end for some plants…’ Paul Evans is one of the Guardian’s most popular country diarists, alongside Richard Mabey and Mark Cocker. This collection has been specifically chosen by the author to represent the huge body of work he has produced for the Guardian over the last ten years. Whether he is writing about the sinuous twisting of the river at his beloved Wenlock Edge, or the weird dissonance caused by the clocks going back in the autumn, Paul Evan’s writing is part poetry, part hymn, but always nature writing at its very best.

Author: Evans, Paul  Publisher: Guardian Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/when-the-rivers-run-dry-149-91028.html The world is running out of water. Some of our largest rivers now trickle into sand miles from the ocean, exhausted by human need. Water is 'the new oil' - except we can live without oil; there are no alternatives to fresh water. Fred Pearce explores the complex origins of the growing world water crisis. His vivid reportage reveals the personal stories behind failing rivers, barren fields, desertification, floods, water wars, and even the death of cultures. Is there hope? Yes - but only if we revolutionize the way we treat water. This phenomenally important book shows us just how essential it is that each of us takes responsibility for the water we use now - before all our rivers run dry. When the Rivers Run Dry by Fred Pearce has been selected as one of the Top 50 Sustainability Books as voted for by the University of Cambridge's Programme for Sustainability Leadership alumni network involving over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world.

Author: Pearce, Fred  Publisher: Eden Project Books]]> Sun, 11 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/all-about-reptiles-and-prehistoric-animals-149-83224.html ALL ABOUT REPTILES AND PREHISTORIC ANIMALS

Author: NONE  Publisher: AWARD PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/all-about-fishes-149-83225.html ALL ABOUT FISHES

Author: NONE  Publisher: AWARD PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/all-about-birds-149-83226.html ALL ABOUT BIRDS

Author: NONE  Publisher: AWARD PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/all-about-animals-149-83227.html ALL ABOUT ANIMALS

Author: NONE  Publisher: AWARD PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/amphibians-reptiles-149-83228.html AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

Author: NONE  Publisher: BRIJBASI ART PRESS LTD]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/glorious-cats-149-83229.html They're sleek, inscrutable, artful, and mysterious. But above all they're lovable. This collection of words and paintings about cats by famous artists and writers--including Renoir, Hilaire Belloc, and Doris Lessing--celebrates the glory of these mischievous, beguiling companions.

Author: HELEN EXLEY  Publisher: EXLEY PUBLICATION]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-miracle-of-flight-149-83230.html Praise for the hardcover edition: ""The explanation of the physics of flight is one of the strengths of Dalton's text... Dalton's high-speed photographs of animals in flight, combined with color illustrations, beautifully illuminate the sometimes arcane discussions. Overall, this breathtakingly illustrated and well written book is superb."" - Booklist Insects and birds account for three-quarters of all land creatures. For many of them, the ability to fly has allowed them to live in diverse habitats all over the globe. For humans, the mastery of flight is a supreme technical achievement that has revolutionized our world during the last century. The Miracle of Flight shows how animals evolved wings and how humans triumphed over the associated physical challenges of taking to the air. The magic of winged flight is passionately revealed in photography and color illustrations. The main sections cover: Insects and the mechanics of their flight Birds and their wing structure Man's centuries old dream of flight The development of flight from balloons to jets and rockets. Every section of The Miracle of Flight is illustrated by Dalton's stunning wildlife photographs and specially commissioned full color technical drawings.

Author: STEPHEN DALTON  Publisher: FIREFLY BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/simon-schusters-guide-to-dogs-149-83231.html With more than 250,000 copies in print, "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs" is the best guide available -- whether you need a dog book for general identification or to select the breed that is most suitable for you. With more than 320 breeds of dogs described and illustrated in full color, this book provides quick access to essential information on physical and psychological characteristics and care required. The entries for each breed give details on weight, height, markings, and type of coat, as well as information on personality traits, origins, uses, and care. Each entry also features easy-to-read visual symbols that indicate, for example, whether a breed of dog is good with children or has a tendency to bite, whether a breed is well- suited as a hunting dog or a guard dog, whether the dog needs to be kept outdoors or indoors or can live happily in the city, and much more. Filled with useful information and illustrated throughout, "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs" is a valuable reference to the world of canines.

Author: ELIZABETH WILHIDE  Publisher: FIRESIDE BOOK]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-encyclopedia-of-animals-a-complete-visual-guid-149-83232.html THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMALS A COMPLETE VISUAL GUID

Author: NONE  Publisher: FOG CITY PRESS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/natural-world-patrick-book-149-83233.html NATURAL WORLD PATRICK BOOK

Author: PATRICK HOOK  Publisher: GRANGE BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-ilustrated-wildlife-encyc-nature-predators-149-83234.html THE ILUSTRATED WILDLIFE ENCYC NATURE PREDATORS

Author: NONE  Publisher: HERMES HOUSE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/world-encyclopedia-of-bird-birdwatching-149-83235.html WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIRD & BIRDWATCHING

Author: NONE  Publisher: HERMES HOUSE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/diving-the-world-149-83236.html Preeminent photographer Norbert Wu travels to the ends of the earth to showcase an array of dive spots including reefs, wrecks, caves, and drifts. Here are schooling hammerheads and spawning corals, curious sea creatures and dense kelp forests, captured in breathtaking full color photographs. Ken McAlpine's commentary outlines each locale's geography and choice dive sites, the best seasons to explore specific areas, and ideal times and places to see favorite species and extraordinary behaviors. Also included are topside tips for the nondiver and current preservation issues related to the sea and its inhabitants. Beautifully packaged and produced, this impressive coffee-table book appeals to diving enthusiasts, naturalists, conservationists, boaters, and anyone captivated by the sea.

Author: NORBERT WU  Publisher: HUGH LAUTER LEVIN ASSC]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-encyclopedia-of-animals-149-83237.html A comprehensive overview of the animals of the world features hundreds of photographs, paintings, diagrams, and maps, along with authoritative information on the behavior, life cycle, and habitats of a wide range of mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians. 15,000 first printing.

Author: NONE  Publisher: KEY PORTER BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-encyclopedia-of-amphibians-149-83238.html A comprehensive reference to the world of the amphibian A fascinating world of scientific wonders, the amphibian species is full of unusual and extreme adaptions and is home to numerous unsolved mysteries. The Encyclopedia of Amphibians is your guide to these intriguing and diverse creatures. Amphibians, including frogs, toads, newts and salamanders, surpass all other vertebrate species in survival and reproduction strategies. In addition, as the stunning photographs depict, amphibians are also creatures of extreme beauty. Many tropical tree- and poison-arrow frogs are just as dazzling in appearance as some of the world`s most colourful birds. Scientific experts from all over the globe have contributed their knowledge and understanding of amphibians to this comprehensive volume. An excellent resource for both experienced and amateur scientists, The Encyclopedia of Amphibians includes information on thousands of amphibian species from throughout the world. This useful reference guide also includes information on the biology, physiology and evolution of amphibians, as well as chapters on Ecology and Ethology, The Meaning of Amphibians for Mankind and Endangerment and Species Protection. Fascinating and informative, The Encyclopedia of Amphibians is one of the most comprehensive books available on this adaptive and ubiquitous species. (2000)

Author: NONE  Publisher: KEY PORTER BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/ian-jacksons-animal-portraits-149-83239.html IAN JACKSONS ANIMAL PORTRAITS

Author: IAN JACKSONS  Publisher: MILES KELLY PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/lets-sleeping-vests-lie-149-83240.html With two years experience behind him, James Herriot still feels privileged working on the beautiful Yorkshire moors as assistant vet at the Darrowby practice. Time to meet yet more unwilling patients and a rich cast of supporting owners. Full of hilarious tales of his unpredictable boss Siegfreid Farnon, his charming student brother Tristan, the joys of spring lambing, a vicious cat called Boris and James' jinxed courtship of the lovely Helen, this third volume of memoirs is sure to delight hardened fans and new readers of James Herriot titles alike. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' "Daily Telegraph" 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' "The Field" 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer "

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/oi-shouldn`t-happen-to-a-vet-149-83241.html How on earth did James Herriot come to be sitting on a high Yorkshire moor, smelling vaguely of cows? James isn't sure, but he knows that he loves it. This second hilarious volume of memoirs contains more tales of James' unpredictable boss Siegfried Farnon, his charming student brother Tristan, animal mayhem galore and his first encounters with a beautiful girl called Helen. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' "Daily Telegraph " 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' "The Field " 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer "

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/if-onlt-they-could-talk-149-83242.html When the newly qualified vet, James Herriot, arrives in the small Yorkshire village of Darrowby, he has no idea of the new friends he will meet or adventures that lie ahead. From the author whose books inspired the BBC series "All Creatures Great and Small," this first volume of unforgettable memoirs chronicles James Herriot's first years as a country vet, with the signature storytelling magic that has made him a favourite the world over. Here is a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic of wild places and beautiful countryside.

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/every-living-thing-149-83243.html James Herriot has captivated millions of readers and television viewers with tales of the triumphs, disasters, pride and sometimes heartache that filled his life as a vet in the Yorkshire Dales. "Every Living Thing" shines with the captivating storytelling that has made James Herriot a favourite the world over. Here is a book for all those who find laughter and joy in animals, and who know and understand the magic of wild places and beautiful countryside. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' "Daily Telegraph" 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' "The Field" 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer "

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-lord-god-made-them-all-149-83244.html The war is over, the RAF uniform has been handed in and James Herriot goes back where he ought to be - at work in the dales around Darrowby. Much has changed, but the blunt-spoken Yorkshire folk and the host of four-legged patients are still the same. So is their vet, who doesn't yet know that literary success is just around the corner... 'After an evening among his tales, anyone with as much as a dog or a budgerigar will feel he should move to Darrowby at once' "Yorkshire Post" 'Wonderful tales... a joyous book, a celebration of life itself' " Publishers Weekly"

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/vet-in-harness-149-83245.html The Yorkshire dales have never seemed more beautiful for James - now he has a lovely wife by his side, a partner's plate on the gate and the usual menagerie of farm animals, pets and owners demanding his constant attention and teaching him a few lessons along the way. All of the old Darrowby friends are on top form - Siegfried thashes round the practice, Tristan occasionally buckles down for finals and James is signed up for a local cricket team. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' The "Daily Telegraph" 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' The "Field" 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer "

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/vet-in-a-spin-149-83246.html James Herriot, strapped into the cockpit of a Tiger Moth trainer, feels rather out of place, but he hasn't found a new profession and it surely won't be long before the RAF come round to his point of view... James Herriot's sixth volume of unforgettable memoirs sees him dreaming of the day when he can rejoin his wife Helen, little son Jimmy, veterinary partner Siegfried, the eternal student Tristan - and all the old Darrowby crows, both two-legged and four. 'He can tell a good story against himself, and his pleasure in the beauty of the countryside in which he works is infectious' The "Daily Telegraph" 'Full of warmth, wisdom and wit' The Field 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer"

Author: JAMES HERRIOT  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/vets-might-fly-149-83247.html A few months of married bliss, a lovers' nest in Darrowby and the wonders of home cooking are rudely interrupted for James Herriot by the Second World War. James Herriot's fifth volume of memoirs relocates him to a training camp somewhere in England. And in between square pounding and digging for victory, he dreams of the people and livestock he left behind him. 'There are funny cases, sad cases, farm animals and pets, downright farmers, ladies of refinement, hard-bitten NCOs and of course, the immortal Siegfried and Tristan' The "Sunday Times" 'Another winner... as always hilariously funny' The "Sunday Telegraph" 'It is a pleasure to be in James Herriot's company' "Observer"

Author: SUE & SIMON LILLY  Publisher: PAN BOOKS]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-spiders-149-83248.html SALLY MORGAN -SPIDERS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-tigers-149-83249.html SALLY MORGAN -TIGERS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-lions-149-83250.html SALLY MORGAN -LIONS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-elephants-149-83251.html SALLY MORGAN -ELEPHANTS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-penguins-149-83252.html SALLY MORGAN - PENGUINS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-snakes-149-83253.html SALLY MORGAN - SNAKES

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-whales-149-83254.html SALLY MORGAN - WHALES

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/sally-morgan-gorillas-149-83255.html SALLY MORGAN - GORILLAS

Author: NONE  Publisher: QEB PUBLISHING]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/glimpses-of-paradise-149-83256.html GLIMPSES OF PARADISE

Author: FRED BRUEMMER  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/animal-facts-files-insects-149-83257.html ANIMAL FACTS FILES INSECTS

Author: NONE  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/animal-facts-files-fish-149-83258.html ANIMAL FACTS FILES FISH

Author: NONE  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/animal-facts-files-mammals-149-83259.html ANIMAL FACTS FILES MAMMALS

Author: NONE  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/animal-facts-files-birds-149-83260.html This beautifully illustrated book on birds includes articles on 244 species of birds, grouped by order and family. Each article has a color-coded header strip denoting the order to which each bird belongs and giving its common name. This is followed by a fact panel listing its scientific name and other taxonomic information, followed by sections describing different features of the bird and its lifestyle. There is also a status heading denoting the threat of extinction or lack thereof for the bird. Finally, a world map visually portrays the distribution of each species, showing its natural range. Also includes a glossary and index. A wonderful, convenient reference for any bird lover.

Author: NONE  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/animal-facts-files-reptiles-149-83261.html ANIMAL FACTS FILES REPTILES

Author: NONE  Publisher: SHREE BOOK CENTRE]]> Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/salim-ali-s-india-149-74340.html Presented here, as a tribute to ornithologist Salim Ali, are many pictures and lithographs of 19th-century natural history publications. There are selections from the writings of Ali himself, 19th-century naturalists, and gleanings from the old journals of the Bombay Natural History Society.

Author: KOTHARI & CHHAPGAR  Publisher: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS]]> Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/book-of-calamities-the:-five-questions-about-suffering-and-its-meaning-149-5340.html What does it mean to suffer? What enables some people to emerge from tragedy while others are spiritually crushed by it? Why do so many Americans think of suffering as something that happens to other people-who usually deserve it? These are some of the questions at the heart of this powerful book. Combining reportage, personal narrative, and moral philosophy, ""Peter Trachtenberg""tells the stories of grass-roots genocide tribunals in Rwanda and tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka, an innocent man on death row, and a family bereaved on 9/11. He examines texts from the Book of Job to the Bodhicharyavatara and the writings of Simone Weil. THE BOOK OF CALAMITIES is a provocative and sweeping look at one of the biggest paradoxes of the human condition--and the surprising strength and resilience of those who are forced to confront it.

Author: TRACHTENBERG, PETER  Publisher: HBGUS]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/life:-strange-but-true-149-5491.html From the popular "LIFE" Picture Puzzle series comes a new volume categorized according to level of difficulty with a suggested completion time included for serious puzzlers. LIFE

Author: EDITORS OF LIFE MAGAZINE  Publisher: HBGAG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/h20:-a-biography-of-water-149-12214.html The extent to which water remains a scientific mystery is extraordinary, despite its prevalence and central importance on Earth. Whether one considers its role in biology, its place in the physical world (where it refuses to obey the usual rules of liquids) or its deceptively simple structure, there is still no complete answer to the question: what is water? Philip Ball's book explains what, exactly, we do and do not know about the strange character of this most essential and ubiquitous of substances. H20 begins by transporting its readers back to the Big Bang and the formation of galaxies to witness the birth of water's constituent elements: hydrogen and oxygen. It then explains how the primeval oceans were formed four billion years ago; where water is to be found on other planets; why ice floats when most solids sink; why, despite being highly corrosive, water is good for us; why there are at least fifteen kinds of ice and perhaps two kinds of liquid water; how scientists have consistently misunderstood water for centuries; and why wars have been waged over it. Philip Ball's gloriously offbeat and intelligent book conducts us on a journey through the history of science, folklore, the wilder scientific fringes, cutting-edge physics, biology and ecology, to give a fascinating new perspective on life and the substance that sustains it. After reading this book, drinking a glass of water will never be the same again.

Author: BALL, PHILIP  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-character-of-cats-149-12217.html Unlike every other domestic animal, the cat evolved as a solitary animal, not a group-dweller. A cat in a household is almost literally a fish out of water. That cats can nonetheless get along with people and (sometimes) other cats when forced to, is testimony to a remarkable adaptability. But it also makes for an extraordinary range of behaviours. Cats have for years been the subjects of intensive research in the fields of developmental psychology, learning, emotions, brain chemistry, and perception. THE CHARACTER OF CATS is the first popular book to bring this knowledge to bear on the behaviour and nature of cats. Budiansky enables us to see that many of the things that puzzle and at times baffle or even infuriate cat owners have a rational - though often very surprising - explanation in science.

Author: BUDIANSKY, STEPHEN  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-nature-of-horses:-their-evolution-intelligence-behaviour-149-12218.html What makes a winning racehorse? How intelligent are horses? What are horses trying to tell us when they stamp their hooves and snort? Do horses talk to each other? The horse, long symbol of beauty and athletic prowess, has made and lost fortunes and transformed human history and culture, and yet has retained mysteries that baffle even those who work with them every day. There has recently been an explosion of scientific research on the horse. In this book Stephen Budiansky brings the insights of modern science to a wider audience of horse enthusiasts and animal-lovers.

Author: BUDIANSKY, STEPHEN  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/gorillas-in-the-mist-149-12222.html For thirteen years Dian Fossey lived and worked with Uncle Bert, Flossie, Beethoven, Pantsy and Digit in the remote rain forests of the volcanic Virunga Mountains in Africa, establishing an unprecedented relationship with these shy and affectionate beasts. In her base camp, 10,000 feet above sea-level, she struggled daily with rain, loneliness and the ever-constant threat of poachers who slaughtered her beloved gorillas with horrifying ferocity. African adventure, personal quest and scientific study, Gorillas in the Mist is a unique and intimate glimpse into a vanishing world and a vanishing species.

Author: FOSSEY, DIANE  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/in-the-shadow-of-man-149-12223.html Jane Goodall's classic account of primate research provides an impressively detailed and absorbing account of the early years of her field study of, and adventures with, chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa. It is a landmark for everyone to enjoy. 'Jane Goodall's work has already passed into the legends of culture...and represents one of the Western world's great scientific achievements ...Chimps, as our closest genealogical cousins, hold more of our common evolutionary heritage than any other species can. Chimpanzees are not so much the shadow of man as our mirror, only slightly blurred by the mists of time' Stephen Jay Gould

Author: GOODALL, JANE  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/through-a-window-149-12224.html This is a sequel to "In The Shadow of Man". Seen through the window Jane Goodall opens up for us, the saga of the wild chimpanzees is as captivating as the story of any human community.

Author: GOODALL, JANE  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/cosmic-serpent-149-12228.html Whilst living amongst Peruvian Indians, anthropologist Jeremy Narby learned of their phenomenal knowledge of plants and biochemical interactions, gained under the influence of the hallucinogen ayahuasca. Despite his initial scepticism, Narby found himself engaged in an increasingly obsessive quest. He researched cutting-edge scholarship in subjects as diverse as molecular biology, shamanism, neurology and mythology, which led him inexorably to the conclusion that the Indians' claims were literally true: to a consciousness prepared with drugs, biochemical knowledge could indeed be transmitted, through DNA itself.

Author: NARBY, JEREMY  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/meetings-with-remarkable-trees-149-12232.html With this astonishing collection of tree portraits, Thomas Pakenham produced a new kind of tree book. The arrangement owed little to conventional botany. The sixty trees were grouped according to their own strong personalities: Natives, Travellers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. From the ancient native trees, many of which are huge and immeasurably old, to the exotic newcomers from Europe, the East and North America, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE TREES captures the history and beauty of these entrancing living structures. Common to all these trees is their power to inspire awe and wonder. This is a lovingly researched book, beautifully illustrated with colour photographs, engravings and maps - a moving testimonial to the Earth s largest and oldest living structures.

Author: PAKENHAM, THOMAS  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/meetings-with-remarkable-trees-mini--149-12233.html With this astonishing collection of tree portraits, Thomas Pakenham produced a new kind of tree book. The arrangement owed little to conventional botany. The sixty trees were grouped according to their own strong personalities: Natives, Travellers, Shrines, Fantasies and Survivors. From the ancient native trees, many of which are huge and immeasurably old, to the exotic newcomers from Europe, the East and North America, Meetings with Remarkable Trees captures the history and beauty of these entrancing living structures. Common to all these trees is their power to inspire awe and wonder. Meetings with Remarkable Trees was a lovingly researched book, beautifully illustrated with colour photographs, engravings and maps - a moving testimonial to the Earth s largest and oldest living structures.

Author: PAKENHAM, THOMAS  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/remarkable-trees-of-the-world-mini--149-12235.html A landmark volume celebrating the most remarkable trees on the planet, Pakenham takes readers on a voyage across four continents and introduces them to arbors of all shapes and sizes--dwarfs, giants, aliens, and monuments. Full-color photos. The Spirit of Nineteenth-Century naturalistic investigation lives in British historian Thomas Pakenham, who has spent the last two decades chronicling the lives of the world's most dramatic trees, many of which are in danger of destruction. In Remarkable Trees of the World, Pakenham takes us on a breathtaking voyage across four continents, introducing, with a passionate text and stunning photographs, trees of amazing personality and presence: dwarfs, giants, monuments, and aliens; the lovingly tended midgets of Japan; the enormous strangler from India; and the 4,700-year-old "Old Methusalehs." American readers will be fascinated by Pakenham's first examination of North American trees, including the towering redwoods of Sequoia and Yosemite, the drooping cypresses in Monterey, the gaunt Joshua trees of Death Valley, and the bristlecone pines discovered in California's White Mountains. Remarkable Trees of the World is a magnificent work that will be treasured for generations by all those who marvel at the wonders of nature.

Author: PAKENHAM, THOMAS  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-hidden-life-of-dogs-149-12240.html Have you ever wondered what the world looks like to your dog? Or what it smells like? Do dogs have dreams and, if so, what about? And are dogs really capable of emotion? THE HIDDEN LIFE OF DOGS was a sensational bestseller on first publication and is now considered a classic. In her riveting account of thirty years spent living with dogs, wolves and dingoes, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas provides a fascinating insight into a species very different from our own, yet in many respects surprisingly familiar.

Author: THOMAS, ELIZABETH MARSHALL  Publisher: ORPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/endangered-species-149-16052.html A love of landscape and countryside lies at the very heart of British life, yet most of us have long lost touch with our rural roots. In this heart-warming and affectionate celebration of the countryside, cousins Sir Richard Heygate and Mike Daunt, countrymen themselves, travel the length and breadth of the British Isles chronicling the stories of an "endangered species"--the gamekeepers, farmers, fishermen, poachers, rogues, and vagabonds who share their passion for this fast-disappearing way of life. Along the way, they eat hedgehog with the Romany, tickle a trout, meet the White Witch of Cornwall, go rat-catching in Yorkshire, wildfowling in Norfolk, boar-hunting in Sussex, and celebrate an uproarious Christmas in Ireland. They also sample a good many pints of ale and tell many tall tales in the course of giving triumphant voice to a largely unheard, forgotten, yet still-vibrant community. Eccentric, affectionate, humorous, and touching by turn, "Endangered Species" stands as a glorious record of country tradition.

Author: DAUNT, MICHAEL AND HEYGATE, RICHARD  Publisher: H&S]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/nature’s-great-events-149-47818.html Showcases some of our planet's most spectacular natural events and the global climatic phenomena which transform entire landscapes, drawing in millions of animals and determining their fate. This work shows how powerful natural forces can drive chain reactions involving everything from microscopic organisms to entire tracts of rainforest.

Author: BBC NATURAL HISTORY UNIT  Publisher: OPG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/enough-:-breaking-free-from-the-world-of-more-149-78203.html What do you do when the person who holds you together is the one who tears you apart? Bestselling phenomenon Picoult's novel centres on domestic abuse.

Author: NAISH, JOHN  Publisher: H&S]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/converging-world-149-78204.html Faced with the challenge of making the English village of Chew Magna a zero waste society, John Pontin and his Converging World program developed a groundbreaking non-profit scheme that twinned the town with Tamil Nadu, a poor rural community in southern India. In this captivating account, Pontin describes how he developed a system of wind turbines for Tamil Nadu that would not only reduce the community's reliance on fossil fuels but also provide a local source of sustainable income. The carbon credits produced from the wind turbines were sold in Chew Magna to individuals and businesses to offset emissions. The effects of this scheme were dramatic and exhilarating: while Chew Magna grew closer to zero waste, Tamil Nadu's carbon emissions and poverty levels diminished accordingly. This innovative story presents a model of action for any individual or community concerned about climate change, environmental damage, social inequality, and the plight of developing nations.

Author: PONTIN, JOHN  Publisher: LBUK]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-jewel-garden-149-78744.html THE JEWEL GARDEN

Author: DON, MONTY AND SARAH  Publisher: H&S]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/the-last-oil-shock-149-78745.html In the 15th century, the world beyond Europe began to emerge from myth and legend, and it was the Portuguese who led the way. They founded an empire that stretched from China to Brazil, the peak of their achievement being Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India. For those who sailed beyond the known world, life was harsh beyond measure. Yet the discovers were lured not only by gold and spices--"they were driven to colonize, to enslave, to bring their religion to the uncoverted. Reconstructing journeys from contemporary logs and papers, this is an absorbing, wonderfully vivid account. Historian Ronald Watkins lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Author: STRAHAN, DAVID  Publisher: H&S]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/nature-s-child-149-78746.html NATURE'S CHILD

Author: LISTER-KAYE, JOHN  Publisher: LBUK]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100 http://www.bookvook.com/book/details/simply-green-149-78895.html Perfect for everyday people who are concerned about the environment, but may not be able to afford or access major changes, Simply Green is a hands-on, simple guide to help readers begin their transition to a greener lifestyle. Melissa and David Seligman give quick and simple tips on how to save energy while putting more money in the bank. As the green trend continues to spread, Simply Green will be the answer for all environment and budget-conscious readers.

Author: SELIGMAN, MELISSA & DAVID  Publisher: HBGAG]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:30:00 +0100