**“A successful and funny book that is sure to swell the ranks of the world’s beekeepers.”—New York TimesA fascinating foray into the obsessions, friendships, scientific curiosity, misfortunes and rewards of suburban beekeeping—through the eyes of a Master Beekeeper . . .**Who wants to keep bees? And why? For the answers, Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer invites readers on an eye-opening journey into the secret world of bees, and the singular world of his fel...

Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer invites readers on an eye-opening journey into the secret world of bees, and the singular world of his fellow bee-keepers. There's the Badger, who introduces Frank to the world of bees; Rusty, a one-eyed septuagenarian bee sting therapist certain that honey will be the currency of the future after the governments fail; Scooby the "dude" who gets a meditative high off the awesome vibes of his psychedelia-painted hives; and the Berserker, a honeybee hitman who...

A wildlife expert explores what science tells us about animals as unique individuals and why animal personality matters for the human-animal bond and for adaptation in nature.Why are some cats cuddly and others standoffish? Why are some dogs adventuresome, others homebodies? As any pet owner can attest, we feel that the animals we’ve formed bonds with are unique, as particular (and peculiar) as any human friend or loved one.Recent years have brought an incr...

A new look at Thomas Morton, his controversial colonial philosophy, and his lengthy feud with the Puritans.Adding new depth to our understanding of early New England society, this riveting account of Thomas Morton explores the tensions that arose from competing colonial visions. A lawyer and fur trader, Thomas Morton dreamed of a society where Algonquian peoples and English colonists could coexist. Infamous for dancing around a maypole in defiance of his Pilgrim ne...

Bob Marley's life is the stuff of legend. Raised in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, Marley (1945–1981) wrote songs that inspired millions. So Much Things to Say tells Marley's life story like never before. Roger Steffens traveled with the Wailers, interviewed Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer extensively, and took iconic Marley photographs. Now, drawing on forty years of intimate interviews with band members, family, lovers, and confidants—many speaking publicly for the first time—Steff...

Pulling back the covers on the fascinating, yet often forgotten, history of the bedLouis XIV ruled France from his bedchamber. Winston Churchill governed Britain from his during World War II. Travelers routinely used to bed down with complete strangers, and whole families shared beds in many preindustrial households. Beds were expensive items—and often for show. Tutankhamun was buried on a golden bed, wealthy Greeks were sent to the afterlife on dining beds, and de...

“True originality consists not in a new manner, but in a new vision.”Grab a pen and hone your writing skills under the guidance one of the greatest teachers of the craft.Edith Wharton made her claim in the literary world as the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. She is famous for her works of fiction, which include The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome. Breaking from this tradition, The Writing of Fiction sets itself apart as a distinct...

This three-part biography of Leon Trotsky was hailed by Graham Greene as one of "the greatest . . . in the English language"—a must listen for those interested in the history of Soviet Russia and international communism.Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused such intensities of fierce admiration and reactionary fear as Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. His extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on the revolution...

An accessible and compelling story of a scientist's discovery of plant communication and how it influenced her research and changed her life.In this "phytobiography"--a collection of stories written in partnership with a plant--research scientist Monica Gagliano reveals the dynamic role plants play in genuine first-hand accounts from her research into plant communication and cognition. By transcending the view of plants as the objects of scientific materia...

What shapes our sense of place, our sense of time, and our memory? How is technology changing the way we make sense of the world and of ourselves?Our screens offer us connection, especially now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are certain depths of connection our screens can’t offer—to ourselves, to the natural world, and to each other. In this personal exploration of digital life’s impact on how we see the world, Howard Axelrod marshals science, phi...

A global account of pirates and their modus operandi from the middle ages to the present dayIn the twenty-first century piracy has regained a central place in Western culture, thanks to a surprising combination of Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as well as the dramatic rise of modern-day piracy around Somalia and the Horn of Africa.In this global history of the phenomenon, maritime terrorism and piracy expert Peter Lehr casts...

What altered states of consciousness―the dissolution of feelings of time and self―can tell us about the mystery of consciousness.During extraordinary moments of consciousness―shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication―our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent rese...