Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

A young New Yorker grieving his mother's death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this “extraordinary” and beloved novel that "connects with the heart as well as the mind" (Stephen King, New York Times Book Review), named a New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century.Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a weal...

The CBC Literary Award–winning title story from Claire Battershill’s debut collection, winner of the Canadian Authors Association Emerging Writer Award, and a finalist for the Canadian Authors Association Emerging Writer Award and the PEN International / New Voices Award.For as long as Susan can remember, the circus has been part of her family’s DNA – her mother was a gifted contortionist, and her grandfather played the role of a man-wrestling bear. Coming from suc...

"If you picture Henry David Thoreau as a young mother and scientist in suburban Seattle, you can begin to imagine the literate elegance of Crow Planet ." —Paul Hawken, New York Times– bestselling authorThere are more crows now than ever. Their abundance is both an indicator of ecological imbalance and a generous opportunity to connect with the animal world. Crow Planet ...

MY object in the following pages is merely to give a very brief account of some of those birds which are useful, or the reverse, to farmers and gardeners. It is seldom possible, of course, to give an exact estimate of their value. In many cases they are useful in some ways, but mischievous in others. But it must be remembered that while the damage which they do is generally evident enough, their services are very easily overlooked. It should also be noted that, while a gooseberry stolen or...

This book depicts the wonder of the world of Penguins in all its glory. Children are given a well-rounded understanding of this fascinating creature: its anatomy, feeding habits and behavior. The following penguins are featured: * The fierce Adelie Penguin * The comical African Penguin * The awesome Emperor Penguin * The strange Galapagos Penguin * The regal King Penguin * The beautiful Little Blue Penguin * The burrowing Magellanic Penguin * The bad-tempered Rockhopper Penguin The picture...

Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands is a comprehensive guide to the bird life of Madagascar, the Seychelles, theComoros, and the Mascarenes – an area that boasts high levels of endemism. This new, expanded edition is fully updated to reflect taxonomic changes, and now describes and illustrates 502 species. The species accounts cover the birds’ appearance, basic behaviour, preferred habitats, geographical distribution and IUCN threat status. The text is complemented by newly designed ...

Two species of magpie feature in this book, the Black-billed Magpie, familiar to most Europeans, which occurs throughout much of the northern hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to California.Magpies are unmistakable in their appearance, voice and extrovert, arrogant manner. While their persecution at the hands of gamekeepers over the last hundred years has made them wary and difficult to approach, a number of recent field studies, both in E...

Birding Indonesia is a concise field guide to bird-watching in IndonesiaThe Indonesian archipelago contains 17% of the world's bird species, of which 381 are found nowhere else on earth. Written by the world's leading authorities on Indonesian birds, this book directs you in search of these specialities, to sites as varied as the environments of Jakarta to Arfak Mountains in Irian JayaPracticalities: Travel information geared to ev...

John James Audubon came to America as a dapper eighteen-year-old eager to make his fortune. He had a talent for drawing and an interest in birds, and he would spend the next thirty-five years traveling to the remotest regions of his new country–often alone and on foot–to render his avian subjects on paper. The works of art he created gave the world its idea of America. They gave America its idea of itself.Here Richard Rhodes vividly depicts Audubon’s life and career: his epic wande...

In these delightful meditations, biologist and bird lover Richard Cannings weaves stories of his personal encounters with birds into fascinating descriptions of their behavior, anatomy, and evolution. He muses over the meadowlarks’ ability to hide their nests so completely that he has seen only two in a lifetime spent searching for them; the trumpeter swan, as picky as a two-year old, devouring potatoes and carrots but turning up its beak at Brussels sprouts; the northern ...

Hippos are unusual in being genuinely amphibious. This has a fundamental effect on their physiology and way of life.Following a general introduction, there is a detailed description of hippo anatomy and physiology, including facts about their skin structure and physiology.Subsequent chapters are devoted to their social biology and ecology, including descriptions of their breeding and feeding ecology. Several extraordinary instances of carnivory, including a...