Deep Things Out of Darkness

Deep Things Out of Darkness PDF Author: John G. T. Anderson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520273761
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Natural history, the deliberate observation of the environment, is arguably the oldest science. From purely practical beginnings as a way of finding food and shelter, natural history evolved into the holistic, systematic study of plants, animals, and the landscape. This book chronicles the rise, decline, and ultimate revival of natural history within the realms of science and public discourse. It charts the journey of the naturalist's endeavour from prehistory to the present, underscoring the need for natural history in an era of dynamic environmental change.

Deep Things Out of Darkness

Deep Things Out of Darkness PDF Author: John G. T. Anderson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520273761
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Natural history, the deliberate observation of the environment, is arguably the oldest science. From purely practical beginnings as a way of finding food and shelter, natural history evolved into the holistic, systematic study of plants, animals, and the landscape. This book chronicles the rise, decline, and ultimate revival of natural history within the realms of science and public discourse. It charts the journey of the naturalist's endeavour from prehistory to the present, underscoring the need for natural history in an era of dynamic environmental change.

The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way

The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way PDF Author: Colin Davey
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
ISBN: 0823287076
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Tells the story of the building of the American Museum of Natural History and Hayden Planetarium, a story of history, politics, science, and exploration, including the roles of American presidents, New York power brokers, museum presidents, planetarium directors, polar and African explorers, and German rocket scientists. The American Museum of Natural History is one of New York City’s most beloved institutions, and one of the largest, most celebrated museums in the world. Since 1869, generations of New Yorkers and tourists of all ages have been educated and entertained here. Located across from Central Park, the sprawling structure, spanning four city blocks, is a fascinating conglomeration of many buildings of diverse architectural styles built over a period of 150 years. The first book to tell the history of the museum from the point of view of these buildings, including the planned Gilder Center, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way contextualizes them within New York and American history and the history of science. Part II, “The Heavens in the Attic,” is the first detailed history of the Hayden Planetarium, from the museum’s earliest astronomy exhibits, to Clyde Fisher and the original planetarium, to Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and it features a photographic tour through the original Hayden Planetarium. Author Colin Davey spent much of his childhood literally and figuratively lost in the museum’s labyrinthine hallways. The museum grew in fits and starts according to the vicissitudes of backroom deals, personal agendas, two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War. Chronicling its evolution―from the selection of a desolate, rocky, hilly, swampy site, known as Manhattan Square to the present day―the book includes some of the most important and colorful characters in the city’s history, including the notoriously corrupt and powerful “Boss” Tweed, “Father of New York City” Andrew Haswell Green, and twentieth-century powerbroker and master builder Robert Moses; museum presidents Morris K. Jesup, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Ellen Futter; and American presidents, polar and African explorers, dinosaur hunters, and German rocket scientists. Richly illustrated with period photos, The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way is based on deep archival research and interviews.

Natural History

Natural History PDF Author: Kathryn Hennessy
Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
ISBN: 9780756667528
Category : Natural history
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A landmark in reference publishing and overseen and authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Natural History presents an unrivaled visual survey of Earth's natural history. Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. Featuring a remarkable array of specially commissioned photographs, Natural History looks at thousands of specimens and species displayed in visual galleries that take the reader on an incredible journey from the most fundamental building blocks of the world's landscapes, through the simplest of life forms, to plants, fungi, and animals.

Worlds of Natural History

Worlds of Natural History PDF Author: Helen Anne Curry
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131651031X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 683

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Book Description
Explores the development of natural history since the Renaissance and contextualizes current discussions of biodiversity.

A Natural History of Time

A Natural History of Time PDF Author: Pascal Richet
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226712893
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
The quest to pinpoint the age of the Earth is nearly as old as humanity itself. For most of history, people trusted mythology or religion to provide the answer, even though nature abounds with clues to the past of the Earth and the stars. In A Natural History of Time, geophysicist Pascal Richet tells the fascinating story of how scientists and philosophers examined those clues and from them built a chronological scale that has made it possible to reconstruct the history of nature itself. Richet begins his story with mythological traditions, which were heavily influenced by the seasons and almost uniformly viewed time cyclically. The linear history promulgated by Judaism, with its story of creation, was an exception, and it was that tradition that drove early Christian attempts to date the Earth. For instance, in 169 CE, the bishop of Antioch, for instance declared that the world had been in existence for “5,698 years and the odd months and days.” Until the mid-eighteenth century, such natural timescales derived from biblical chronologies prevailed, but, Richet demonstrates, with the Scientific Revolution geological and astronomical evidence for much longer timescales began to accumulate. Fossils and the developing science of geology provided compelling evidence for periods of millions and millions of years—a scale that even scientists had difficulty grasping. By the end of the twentieth century, new tools such as radiometric dating had demonstrated that the solar system is four and a half billion years old, and the universe itself about twice that, though controversial questions remain. The quest for time is a story of ingenuity and determination, and like a geologist, Pascal Richet carefully peels back the strata of that history, giving us a chance to marvel at each layer and truly appreciate how far our knowledge—and our planet—have come.

A Natural History of the Senses

A Natural History of the Senses PDF Author: Diane Ackerman
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307763315
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Diane Ackerman's lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. “Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in.” —The New York Times

Natural History

Natural History PDF Author: Michael Runtz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781465242389
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
What exactly is natural history? To put it simply, it is the study of all living things with which we share this planet. Natural history could be thought of as an observational science involving the exploration of flora and fauna (plants and animals) and their interaction with each other and their environment.

Natural Histories

Natural Histories PDF Author: American Museum of Natural History
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781454912149
Category : Illustrated books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Highlights 40 masterworks of illustrated scientific art from the Rare Book Collection of the American Museum of Natural History.

A Natural History of Vision

A Natural History of Vision PDF Author: Nicholas J. Wade
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262731294
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
This illustrated survey covers what Nicholas Wade calls the "observational era of vision," beginning with the Greek philosophers and ending with Wheatstone's description of the stereoscope in the late 1830s.

The Natural History Book

The Natural History Book PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780241393345
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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Book Description