Are animals trying to tell us something—and have we been too distracted to notice?It started with a hummingbird dive-bombing Amelia Thomas over her morning coffee, and a pair of piglets who just wouldn't stay put. Soon Amelia, journalist and new farmer, begins to question the communications of the creatures all around her: her pigs, her dogs, the pheasant family inhabiting her wood, her 'difficult' big red horse: even the earwigs in the farm's dark, damp corners. A...

The last Palestinian zoo stands on a dusty, dead-end street in the once prosperous farming town of Qalqilya, on the very edge of the West Bank.The zoo's bars are rusting; peacocks wander quiet avenues shaded by broad plane trees; a teenage baboon broods in solitary confinement; walls bear the pockmarks of gunfire. And yet the zoo is an extraordinary place, with a bizarre, troubling and inspiring story to tell. At the center of this story is Dr. Sami Khader, the onl...

It started with a hummingbird dive-bombing Amelia Thomas over her morning coffee, and a pair of piglets who just wouldn't stay put. Soon Amelia, journalist and new farmer, begins to question the communications of the creatures all around her. Are they all just animals reacting instinctually to the world around them—or are they trying to communicate something deeper?Driven by lifelong curiosity, Amelia embarks on a journey to uncover what animals truly seek to say to humans. On the ...

For fans of accessible and fun popular science comes an exploration of evolution’s quirkiest puzzles and most enduring mysteries.Why do cats live longer than dogs? Why do bees have yellow stripes? Why can we smell a skunk from a mile away? Such questions can be seen as puzzles about creatures' evolved traits. Besides triggering our curiosity, they focus our attention on beguiling designs that have been millions of years in the making. Indeed, looking at the living ...

In this posthumous collection of thought-provoking essays—many published here for the first time—Pulitzer Prize–winning historian and bestselling author David McCullough affirms the value of history, how we can be guided by its lessons, and the enduring legacy of American ideals.History Matters brings together selected essays by beloved historian David McCullough, some published here for the first time, written at different points over the course of his lo...

**One of Scientific American’s Best Books of 2024One of the world’s leading astrobiologists takes us on an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos to investigate some of humanity’s most profound questions: Are we alone in the universe? And how did life on Earth begin?**We are in a golden age in astronomy, living on the cusp of breakthroughs that will revolutionize our understanding of our place in the cosmos. Yet a profound question remains: Are we alone in the uni...

A KIRKUS EARPHONES AWARD WINNERAn irresistible and enchanting journey through human history—from mankind’s earliest fires to the latest smart phones—that tells the surprising and untold story of storytelling.Joan Didion told us, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the ...

Master naturalist Nancy Lawson takes listeners on a fascinating tour of the vibrant web of nature outside our back door—where animals and plants perceive and communicate using marvelous sensory abilities we are only beginning to understand. Organized into chapters investigating each of their five senses, Lawson's exploration reveals a remarkable world of interdependent creatures with amazing capabilities.You'll learn of ultrasound clicks humans can't hear, and ultraviolet colors hu...

“This stunning meditation on nostalgia, heritage, and compassion asks us to dismantle the stories we’ve been told—and told ourselves—in order to naturalize the forms of injustice we’ve come to understand as order.” —Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy ExamsWhen and how did migration become a crime? Why does ancient Greece remain so important to the West’s idea of itself? How does nostalgia fuel the exclusion and demonization of migrants today?In 2...

**Shortlisted for the 2024 Carnegie Medal for ExcellenceThe “closely observed, compassionate, and far-sighted” (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Under a White Sky) story of climate migration in the United States—the personal stories of those experiencing displacement, the portraits of communities torn apart by disaster, and the implications for all of us as we confront a changing future.**Even as climate change dominates the headlines, many of us...

'Heartfelt and beautifully written, this is the author's best book to date' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Caroline James, bestselling author of The CruiseWhere books are borrowed, friendships are forged and secrets uncovered…As a beautiful summer unfolds in the Croatian islands, Ana Meštrović embarks on a new venture – transforming her beloved catamaran into a floating library.Joined by crew members Lloyd, a widower whose past threatens to oversha...

A critically-acclaimed literary memoir braiding together environmental research and the personal journey of generational healing, grief, and chronic illness.Author Eiren Caffall is the inheritor of a family legacy of two hundred years of genetic kidney disease and the mother of a child who may inherit that legacy.A literary memoir on loss, chronic illness, and generational healing, Caffall’s The Mourner’s Bestiary is also a meditation on grief and ...