Beasts Before Us

Beasts Before Us PDF Author: Elsa Panciroli
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472983971
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large hairy beasts with accelerating metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, which was key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals, once called 'mammal-like reptiles', that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilised skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.

Beasts Before Us

Beasts Before Us PDF Author: Elsa Panciroli
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472983971
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book Here

Book Description
For most of us, the story of mammal evolution starts after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, but over the last 20 years scientists have uncovered new fossils and used new technologies that have upended this story. In Beasts Before Us, palaeontologist Elsa Panciroli charts the emergence of the mammal lineage, Synapsida, beginning at their murky split from the reptiles in the Carboniferous period, over three-hundred million years ago. They made the world theirs long before the rise of dinosaurs. Travelling forward into the Permian and then Triassic periods, we learn how our ancient mammal ancestors evolved from large hairy beasts with accelerating metabolisms to exploit miniaturisation, which was key to unlocking the traits that define mammals as we now know them. Elsa criss-crosses the globe to explore the sites where discoveries are being made and meet the people who make them. In Scotland, she traverses the desert dunes of prehistoric Moray, where quarry workers unearthed the footprints of Permian creatures from before the time of dinosaurs. In South Africa, she introduces us to animals, once called 'mammal-like reptiles', that gave scientists the first hints that our furry kin evolved from a lineage of egg-laying burrowers. In China, new, complete fossilised skeletons reveal mammals that were gliders, shovel-pawed Jurassic moles, and flat-tailed swimmers. This book radically reframes the narrative of our mammalian ancestors and provides a counterpoint to the stereotypes of mighty dinosaur overlords and cowering little mammals. It turns out the earliest mammals weren't just precursors, they were pioneers.

The Playground Book

The Playground Book PDF Author: Mary E. Gross
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Outdoor recreation for children
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description


The Beauty and the Beasts

The Beauty and the Beasts PDF Author: Geoff Hobbs
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1447822358
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This book recalls the memories of a young English businessman, who was not in the least interested in working in Africa, however the Corporation believed that his experience of working in a rough tough and hard to bluff industry made him the perfect candidate for the position in Nairobi, Kenya and they offered him a package that he could only imagine in his wildest dreams and the opportunity to move from a cold and wet English climate. With no more than a good gut feeling, he accepted the position little knowing that the decision he had just made, would change his life forever. This fast paced easy to read book, takes the reader through the complete lifecycle of an expatriate living and working in Nairobi, from the excitement of getting to know a new country, to falling totally in love with it, and finally to the point where daily life-threatening situations bought him to realise that if he did not leave on an aeroplane seat, he would soon leave in a wooden box.

Something Within

Something Within PDF Author: Fredrick C. Harris
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195120337
Category : African Americans
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Going beyond the opiate-inspiration debate that has dominated research on the subject, author Fredrick C.

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover PDF Author: Michael Andreasen
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110198662X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
An astonishing fiction debut from a UC Irvine MFA graduate and recent contributor to The New Yorker. Bewitching and playful, with its feet only slightly tethered to the world we know, The Sea Beast Takes a Lover explores hope, love, and loss across a series of surreal landscapes and wild metamorphoses. Just because Jenny was born without a head doesn't mean she isn't still annoying to her older brother, and just because the Man of the Future's carefully planned extramarital affair ends in alien abduction and network fame doesn't mean he can't still pine for his absent wife. Romping through the fantastic with big-hearted ease, these stories cut to the core of what it means to navigate family, faith, and longing, whether in the form of a lovesick kraken slowly dragging a ship of sailors into the sea, a small town euthanizing its grandfathers in a time-honored ritual, or a third-grade field trip learning that time travel is even more wondrous--and more perilous--than they might imagine. Andreasen's stories are simultaneously daring and deeply familiar, unfolding in wildly inventive worlds that convey our common yearning for connection and understanding. With a captivating new voice from an incredible author, The Sea Beast Takes a Lover uses the supernatural and extraordinary to expose us at our most human.

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies PDF Author: William Golding
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571290582
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a murderous, savage significance. First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is one of the most celebrated and widely read of modern classics. Now fully revised and updated, this educational edition includes chapter summaries, comprehension questions, discussion points, classroom activities, a biographical profile of Golding, historical context relevant to the novel and an essay on Lord of the Flies by William Golding entitled 'Fable'. Aimed at Key Stage 3 and 4 students, it also includes a section on literary theory for advanced or A-level students. The educational edition encourages original and independent thinking while guiding the student through the text - ideal for use in the classroom and at home.

The Beast 2

The Beast 2 PDF Author: R.L. Stine
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1442488409
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 103

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Book Description
Climbing on The Beast, an exciting new amusement park ride, Ashley longs for just one more ride, but when her car returns, and Ashley has disappeared, her best friends must get on…or Ashley may never find her way off.

Beast

Beast PDF Author: Donna Jo Napoli
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439115451
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Meet the Beast -- before there was Beauty Orasmyn is the prince of Persia and heir to the throne. His religion fills his heart and his mind, and he strives for the knowledge and leadership his father demonstrates. But on the day of the Feast of Sacrifices, Orasmyn makes a foolish choice that results in a fairy's wretched punishment: he is turned into a beast, a curse to be undone only by the love of a woman. Thus begins Orasmyn's journey through the exotic Middle East and sensuous France as he struggles to learn the way of the beast, while also preserving the mind of the man. This is the story of his search, not only for a woman courageous enough to love him, but also for his own redemption.

Studies in Cistercian Art and Architecture

Studies in Cistercian Art and Architecture PDF Author: Meredith P. Lillich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cistercian architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description


The Virgin and the Beast

The Virgin and the Beast PDF Author: Stasia Black
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781950097203
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
They say good things come to those who wait. Bullsh*%! My whole life has been about waiting. Playing it safe. Be the good girl, don't color outside the lines. Put in the hard work trying to prove myself to Dad, then to my college professors, then to my boss at New World Media. Just waiting for the day when it will all pay off. And right when it was all starting to--I finally had the house, the job, I was even thinking about getting a cat--boom!--my life explodes and suddenly now I'm here and-- "All done," the doctor interrupts my thoughts, pulling off her gloves with a loud snap. Even from the bed where I'm lying, my legs spread like the Thanksgiving turkey, I can hear the impatient growl of the man standing in the doorway. If you can even call him a man. More like a beast out of a friggin' fairytale. "Well?" Her pronouncement echoes throughout the room while the speculum is still inside me. "She's a virgin."