The Human Predator

The Human Predator PDF Author: Katherine Ramsland
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101619058
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
When we think of serial killing, we tend to think of it as a perversion of contemporary society. The Human Predator makes an eye-opening case for the existence of serial killers throughout time—the motives and methods, the societies that spawned them, and the historical periods in which they lived . . . and killed. From Ancient Rome and the Dark Ages to the open roads of America, from the exploits of French religious zealot Gilles de Rais to such high-profile monsters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Aileen Wuornos, Katherine Ramsland offers a complete chronological record of the serial-killer phenomenon—and the parallel development of psychology, forensic science, and FBI profiling in the serial killer’s evolving manifestation throughout human history. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

The Human Predator

The Human Predator PDF Author: Katherine Ramsland
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101619058
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 377

Get Book Here

Book Description
When we think of serial killing, we tend to think of it as a perversion of contemporary society. The Human Predator makes an eye-opening case for the existence of serial killers throughout time—the motives and methods, the societies that spawned them, and the historical periods in which they lived . . . and killed. From Ancient Rome and the Dark Ages to the open roads of America, from the exploits of French religious zealot Gilles de Rais to such high-profile monsters as Jeffrey Dahmer and Aileen Wuornos, Katherine Ramsland offers a complete chronological record of the serial-killer phenomenon—and the parallel development of psychology, forensic science, and FBI profiling in the serial killer’s evolving manifestation throughout human history. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

Man the Hunted

Man the Hunted PDF Author: Donna Hart
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429978715
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
Man the Hunted argues that primates, including the earliest members of the human family, have evolved as the prey of any number of predators, including wild cats and dogs, hyenas, snakes, crocodiles, and even birds. The authors' studies of predators on monkeys and apes are supplemented here with the observations of naturalists in the field and revealing interpretations of the fossil record. Eyewitness accounts of the 'man the hunted' drama being played out even now give vivid evidence of its prehistoric significance. This provocative view of human evolution suggests that countless adaptations that have allowed our species to survive (from larger brains to speech), stem from a considerably more vulnerable position on the food chain than we might like to imagine. The myth of early humans as fearless hunters dominating the earth obscures our origins as just one of many species that had to be cautious, depend on other group members, communicate danger, and come to terms with being merely one cog in the complex cycle of life.

The Mosquito

The Mosquito PDF Author: Timothy C. Winegard
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1524743437
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 639

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Book Description
**The instant New York Times bestseller.** *An international bestseller.* Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award “Hugely impressive, a major work.”—NPR A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity’s fate Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power. The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village. Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.

People and Predators

People and Predators PDF Author: Defenders of Wildlife
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597269107
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Carnivores provide innumerable ecological benefits and play a unique role in preserving and maintaining ecosystem services and function, but at the same time they can create serious problems for human populations. A key question for conservation biologists and wildlife managers is how to manage the world's carnivore populations to conserve this important natural resource while mitigating harmful impacts on humans. In People and Predators, leading scientists and researchers offer case studies of human-carnivore conflicts in a variety of landscapes, including rural, urban, and political. The book covers a diverse range of taxa, geographic regions, and conflict scenarios, with each chapter dealing with a specific facet of human-carnivore interactions and offering practical, concrete approaches to resolving the conflict under consideration. Chapters provide background on particular problems and describe how challenges have been met or what research or tools are still needed to resolve the conflicts. People and Predators will helps readers to better understand issues of carnivore conservation in the 21st century, and provides practical tools for resolving many of the problems that stand between us and a future in which carnivores fulfill their historic ecological roles.

Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind

Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind PDF Author: David Quammen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 039307630X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
"Rich detail and vivid anecdotes of adventure....A treasure trove of exotic fact and hard thinking." —New York Times Book Review For millennia, lions, tigers, and their man-eating kin have kept our dark, scary forests dark and scary, and their predatory majesty has been the stuff of folklore. But by the year 2150 big predators may only exist on the other side of glass barriers and chain-link fences. Their gradual disappearance is changing the very nature of our existence. We no longer occupy an intermediate position on the food chain; instead we survey it invulnerably from above—so far above that we are in danger of forgetting that we even belong to an ecosystem. Casting his expert eye over the rapidly diminishing areas of wilderness where predators still reign, the award-winning author of The Song of the Dodo and The Tangled Tree examines the fate of lions in India's Gir forest, of saltwater crocodiles in northern Australia, of brown bears in the mountains of Romania, and of Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. In the poignant and troublesome ferocity of these embattled creatures, we recognize something primeval deep within us, something in danger of vanishing forever.

Deadly Powers

Deadly Powers PDF Author: Paul A. Trout
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616145021
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
In this illuminating and evocative exploration of the origin and function of storytelling, the author goes beyond the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell, arguing that mythmaking evolved as a cultural survival strategy for coping with the constant fear of being killed and eaten by predators. Beginning nearly two million years ago in the Pleistocene era, the first stories, Trout argues, functioned as alarm calls, warning fellow group members about the carnivores lurking in the surroundings. At the earliest period, before the development of language, these rudimentary "stories" would have been acted out. When language appeared with the evolution of the ancestral human brain, stories were recited, memorized, and much later written down as the often bone-chilling myths that have survived to this day. This book takes the reader through the landscape of world mythology to show how our more recent ancestors created myths that portrayed animal predators in four basic ways: as monsters, as gods, as benefactors, and as role models. Each incarnation is a variation of the fear-management technique that enabled early humans not only to survive but to overcome their potentially incapacitating fear of predators. In the final chapter, Trout explores the ways in which our visceral fear of predators is played out in the movies, where both animal and human predators serve to probe and revitalize our capacity to detect and survive danger. Anyone with an interest in mythology, archaeology, folk tales, and the origins of contemporary storytelling will find this book an exciting and provocative exploration into the natural and psychological forces that shaped human culture and gave rise to storytelling and mythmaking.

The Perfect Predator

The Perfect Predator PDF Author: Steffanie Strathdee
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316418072
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
An electrifying memoir of one woman's extraordinary effort to save her husband's life-and the discovery of a forgotten cure that has the potential to save millions more. "A memoir that reads like a thriller." -New York Times Book Review "A fascinating and terrifying peek into the devastating outcomes of antibiotic misuse-and what happens when standard health care falls short." -Scientific American Epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee and her husband, psychologist Tom Patterson, were vacationing in Egypt when Tom came down with a stomach bug. What at first seemed like a case of food poisoning quickly turned critical, and by the time Tom had been transferred via emergency medevac to the world-class medical center at UC San Diego, where both he and Steffanie worked, blood work revealed why modern medicine was failing: Tom was fighting one of the most dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world. Frantic, Steffanie combed through research old and new and came across phage therapy: the idea that the right virus, aka "the perfect predator," can kill even the most lethal bacteria. Phage treatment had fallen out of favor almost 100 years ago, after antibiotic use went mainstream. Now, with time running out, Steffanie appealed to phage researchers all over the world for help. She found allies at the FDA, researchers from Texas A&M, and a clandestine Navy biomedical center -- and together they resurrected a forgotten cure. A nail-biting medical mystery, The Perfect Predator is a story of love and survival against all odds, and the (re)discovery of a powerful new weapon in the global superbug crisis.

Predator - Incursion

Predator - Incursion PDF Author: Tim Lebbon
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
ISBN: 1783296399
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Predator ships stream into human space in unprecedented numbers. The Colonial Marines, controlled by Weyland-Yutani, respond to the incursion, thus entering the Rage War. This terrifying assault by the Yautja cannot go unchallenged, yet the cost of combat is high. Predators are master combatants, and each encounter yields a high body count. Then when Lt. Johnny Mains and his marines—the VoidLarks—enter the fray, they discover an enemy deadlier than any could imagine. Book one in an epic trilogy that continues in ALIEN: INVASION and concludes in ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: ARMAGEDDON. The universe will forever be changed.

Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators

Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators PDF Author: Katherine Ramsland
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313379602
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This revealing look inside the minds of sexual predators, from cyber-stalkers to rapists to teachers who exploit underage children, explains why they commit their heinous crimes. They are among the most frightening of all criminals, yet few have attempted to document the complex mindset of the sexual predator through intimate case details. Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators reexamines this intentional criminal behavior, describing the different types of sexual predators and explaining why they choose to commit their specific type of predatory acts. Each chapter of the book addresses a different category of predator or a specific, complex issue related to predatory behavior. Distinctions are drawn between types of offenders, from the casual offender to the depraved rapist and serial lust killer, and the variables that play a part in an individual's sexual predation are explored. Like Ramsland's Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers, this book is essential reading for professionals in law enforcement and psychology, as well as for everyone seeking to go beyond the headlines to understand this difficult and controversial topic.

Predator: Hunters

Predator: Hunters PDF Author: Chris Warner
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
ISBN: 1630087440
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
A disparate group of human protagonists from Dark Horse's past thirty years of Predator are set on a collision course with their most hated enemy--rendered in frenetic, violent detail by artist Francisco Ruiz Velasco! Since time immemorial, the aliens known as Predators have come to Earth to hunt us. Now a group of survivors of those visits have begun a hunt of their own. This is the year that humanity turns the tables on the Predators! When Enoch Nakai is recruited by a privately funded group of former soldiers, drug runners, and FBI agents to investigate the killers from beyond the stars, he sees it as a chance to strike back at the creatures who derailed his life. But the team's destination--a South Pacific island paradise--hides a terror no one expects!