Author: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271081945
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 163
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Book Description
An iconoclast and best-selling author of both nonfiction and fiction, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas has spent a lifetime observing, thinking, and writing about the cultures of animals such as lions, wolves, dogs, deer, and humans. In this compulsively readable book, she provides a plainspoken, big-picture look at the commonality of life on our planet, from the littlest microbes to the largest lizards. Inspired by the idea of symbiosis in evolution—that all living things evolve in a series of cooperative relationships—Thomas takes readers on a journey through the progression of life. Along the way she shares the universal likenesses, experiences, and environments of “Gaia’s creatures,” from amoebas in plant soil to the pets we love, from proud primates to Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers on the African savanna. Fervently rejecting “anthropodenial,” the notion that nonhuman life does not share characteristics with humans, Thomas instead shows that paramecia can learn, plants can communicate, humans aren’t really as special as we think we are—and that it doesn’t take a scientist to marvel at the smallest inhabitants of the natural world and their connections to all living things. A unique voice on anthropology and animal behavior, Thomas challenges scientific convention and the jargon that prevents us all from understanding all living things better. This joyfully written book is a fascinating look at the challenges and behaviors shared by creatures from bacteria to larvae to parasitic fungi, a potted hyacinth to the author herself, and all those in between.
Author: Johanna Reiss
Publisher: Melville House Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
At her husband's urging, Johanna Reiss returned with her family to Holland to chronicle the time she spent hiding from the Nazis during WWII, resulting in her Newbery Honor-wining The Upstairs Room. But unknown to the millions who read her beloved classic, behind the dark and painful story of the book was a still darker tale: Reiss' husband returned to America early and committed suicide at age 37, leaving no note. Subtle and disturbing, the book is a powerful consideration of memory, violence, and loss, told in a stunning and sparse narrative style.
Author: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547504683
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 195
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Book Description
“A fascinating glimpse into the canine world, possibly deeper and more accurate than any we have had until now” (The New York Times Book Review). Long before the Dog Whisperer, anthropologist Elizabeth Marshall Thomas revealed to readers the nature of pack dynamics, leading to a completely new understanding of dogs, their personalities, and their desires. Based on thirty years of living with and observing dogs, The Hidden Life of Dogs asks one question: What do dogs want? To find out, we must meet the pack. First there is Misha, a husky Thomas followed on her daily rounds of more than 130 square miles. Then there is Maria, who adored Misha, bore his puppies, and clearly mourned when he moved away; the brave pug Bingo and his little wife, Violet; the dingo Viva; and other colorful characters. In observing them, Thomas learned that what dogs want most of all is other dogs. Informative and captivating, The Hidden Life of Dogs will give every canine owner and canine lover great insight into dog behavior. “A wonderful book . . . Too bad dogs can’t read. They’d be fascinated. Dog people will be too.” —USA Today
Author: Peter Wohlleben
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008218447
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 263
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Book Description
Sunday Times Bestseller‘A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement’ Charles Foster Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month (September) Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings?
Author: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061902098
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257
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Book Description
The animal kingdom operates by ancient rules, and the deer in our woods and backyards can teach us many of them—but only if we take the time to notice. In the fall of 2007 in southern New Hampshire, the acorn crop failed and the animals who depended on it faced starvation. Elizabeth Marshall Thomas began leaving food in small piles around her farmhouse. Soon she had over thirty deer coming to her fields, and her naturalist's eye was riveted. How did they know when to come, all together, and why did they sometimes cooperate, sometimes compete? Throughout the next twelve months she observed the local deer families as they fought through a rough winter; bred fawns in the spring; fended off coyotes, a bobcat, a bear, and plenty of hunters; and made it to the next fall when the acorn crop was back to normal. As she hiked through her woods, spotting tree rubbings, deer beds, and deer yards, she discovered a vast hidden world. Deer families are run by their mothers. Local families arrange into a hierarchy. They adopt orphans; they occasionally reject a child; they use complex warnings to signal danger; they mark their territories; they master local microclimates to choose their beds; they send countless coded messages that we can read, if only we know what to look for. Just as she did in her beloved books The Hidden Life of Dogs and Tribe of Tiger, Thomas describes a network of rules that have allowed earth's species to coexist for millions of years. Most of us have lost touch with these rules, yet they are a deep part of us, from our ancient evolutionary past. The Hidden Life of Deer is a narrative masterpiece and a naturalist's delight.
Author: Heather Rogers
Publisher: New Press, The
ISBN: 1595585729
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265
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Book Description
“A galvanizing exposé” of America’s trash problem from plastic in the ocean to “wasteful packaging, bogus recycling, and flawed landfills and incinerators” (Booklist, starred review). Eat a take-out meal, buy a pair of shoes, or read a newspaper, and you’re soon faced with a bewildering amount of garbage. The United States is the planet’s number-one producer of trash. Each American throws out 4.5 pounds daily. But garbage is also a global problem. Today, the Pacific Ocean contains six times more plastic waste than zooplankton. How did we end up with this much rubbish, and where does it all go? Journalist and filmmaker Heather Rogers answers these questions by taking readers on a grisly and fascinating tour through the underworld of garbage. Gone Tomorrow excavates the history of rubbish handling from the nineteenth century to the present, pinpointing the roots of today’s waste-addicted society. With a “lively authorial voice,” Rogers draws connections between modern industrial production, consumer culture, and our throwaway lifestyle (New York Press). She also investigates the politics of recycling and the export of trash to poor countries, while offering a potent argument for change. “A clear-thinking and peppery writer, Rogers presents a galvanizing exposé of how we became the planet’s trash monsters. . . . [Gone Tomorrow] details everything that is wrong with today’s wasteful packaging, bogus recycling, and flawed landfills and incinerators. . . . Rogers exhibits black-belt precision.” —Booklist, starred review
Author: David M. M'Intyre
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Prayer
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
Author: Jim Dutcher
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1426210124
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 220
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Book Description
A photographic tribute to the authors' work as wolf caregivers and advocates documents their efforts with the Sawtooth Pack in Idaho and features a passionate argument for reintroducing and protecting wild wolves.
Author: Edith Stein
Publisher: ICS Publications
ISBN: 1939272173
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208
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Book Description
This is an inspiring collection of Edith Stein's shorter spiritual writings, many available for the first time in English translation. Topics include: Shorter spiritual writings on prayer, liturgy, and the spirit of Carmel. They were composed during her final years, often at the request of her Carmelite superiors. Here the noted philosopher, Catholic feminist, and convert shares her reflections on prayer, liturgy, the lives of holy women, the spirit of Carmel, the mystery of the Christian vocation, and the meaning of the cross in our lives. These essays, poems, and dramatic pieces offer readers a unique glimpse into the hidden inner life of one of the twentieth century's most remarkable women.The book includes 5 photos and fully linked index.
Author: Majorie Harness Goodwin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405178299
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344
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Book Description
Winner of the Best Book of 2008 from The International Gender and Language Association In this ground-breaking ethnography of girls on a playground, Goodwin offers a window into their complex social worlds. Combats stereotypes that have dominated theories on female moral development by challenging the notion that girls are inherently supportive of each other Examines the stances that girls on a playground in a multicultural school setting assume and shows how they position themselves in their peer groups Documents the language practices and degradation rituals used to sanction friends and to bully others Part of the Blackwell Studies in Discourse and Culture Series
