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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets
Bees is an outstanding collection of photographs showing these
fascinating insects in their natural habitat. Honey bees,
bumblebees, mining bees, dwarf bees, carpenter, leafcutter and
mason bees: bees come in many different types, with more than
16,000 species worldwide. The bees we are most familiar with,
bumblebees and honey bees, live in colonies and play a major role
in pollinating the crops, plants and flowers around us. And bees
produce honey - reputedly the food of the gods - a function of
bees' lifecycle, which humans have exploited for millennia. Many
bees today are domesticated, and beekeepers collect honey, beeswax,
pollen, and royal jelly from hives for human use. A typical bee
produces a teaspoon of honey (about 5 grams) in her lifetime. Bees
can communicate many ways through the movement of their wings and
bodies - most famously, with the 'waggle dance', where they make
figure-of- eight circles to let other bees know the direction and
distance of nectar. With full captions explaining how bees live,
function communally, communicate, feed and reproduce, Bees is an
insightful examination in 190 outstanding colour photographs of
mankind's favourite insect.
Parents, teachers and Children will delight in these magical
stories that promote responsible stewardship toward all living
things. With original illustrations by Mohawk artists John
Kahionhes Fadden and David Kanietakeron Fadden, these mythical
stories draw upon legends from eighteen Native American tribes and
illustrate the importance of plant life in Native American
traditions.
"The Divinity of Dogs" is about the moments we learn something
profound about life from an experience with a dog. In this
inspiring collection of true dog stories, you'll hear dramatic
firsthand accounts from people whose lives have been transformed by
a dog's love. From everyday blessings to lifealtering miracles,
these stories confirm what many of us have always known: dogs are
the ultimate gift, sent here to help us on our journey.
You'll meet Mazie, the Lab who was rescued from a shelter only to
return the favor by rescuing her new family; Luna, the Retriever
who pulled her person to safety after she collapsed in a field;
Little Bit, the Chihuahua who detected cancer in her owner's
breast; Emma, the Rottweiler who stopped a troubled man from taking
his life; Bo, the Boxer who helped comfort a mother after the loss
of her son; and other amazing, heroic dogs you'll never forget.
Filled with heartwarming anecdotes, adorable dog photos, and the
author's moving personal story, The Divinity of Dogs reminds us
that we're not alone and will always have joy in our lives as long
as we have dogs by our sides.
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune *
Smithsonian A "remarkable" (Los Angeles Times), "seductive" (The
Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why
Fish Don't Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos,
scientific obsession, and--possibly--even murder. "At one point,
Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish...comes up for
air, and realizes she's in love. That's how I felt: Her book took
me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten." --The
New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a
man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he
would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known
to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life
he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him.
His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and
eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake--which sent more
than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars,
plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life's work was
shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But
Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish
that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his
collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that
he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the
world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in
passing, she took Jordan for a fool--a cautionary tale in hubris,
or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to
wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on
when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would
transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world
beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific
adventure, Why Fish Don't Exist is a wondrous fable about how to
persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.
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