This "amazing and wonderful book" explores the evolutionary history of photosynthesis in a grand story of how the world became the verdant place we know ( Choice).On this blue planet, long before dinosaurs reigned, tiny green organisms populated the ancient oceans. Fossil and phylogenetic evidence suggests that chlorophyll, the green pigment responsible for coloring these organisms, has been in existence for some 85% of Earth's long history—that is, for ro...

"A terrific book . . . A thoughtful explanation of how the dramatic decline of insect species and numbers poses a dire threat to all life on earth." — Booklist, starred reviewDrawing on thirty years of research, award-winning entomologist and conservationist Dave Goulson has written an accessible, fascinating, and important book that examines the evidence of an alarming drop in insect numbers around the world. "If we lose the insects, then everything is go...

A root-and-branch rethinking of how history has shaped the science of genetics.In 1900, almost no one had heard of Gregor Mendel. Ten years later, he was famous as the father of a new science of heredity—genetics. Even today, Mendelian ideas serve as a standard point of entry for learning about genes. The message students receive is plain: the twenty-first century owes an enlightened understanding of how biological inheritance really works to the persistence of an i...

Discover why insects look and behave the way they do in this fully illustrated field guide to the world's most adaptable animals.Still going strong after five mass extinctions, insects may be the most successful land animals ever. They have evolved a spectacular array of real-life superpowers to help them thrive in virtually every environment on the planet. Filled with fascinating photography and in-depth information, this volume explains why insects are even more a...

A paleontologist shows what life was like on our planet long before the early humans emerged through words and illustrations.Paleontologist Dr. Mark P. Witton draws on the latest twenty-first century discoveries to re-create the appearances and lifestyles of extinct, fascinating species, the environments they inhabited, and the challenges they faced living on an ever-changing planet. A worthy successor to Charles Knight's beloved 1946 classic, Life through the ...

THE REALITY OF SPACE SETTLEMENT: An astrophysicist ponders the ethics of living in space for anyone interested in space exploration and the philosophy of science.Before we embark on Star Trek-type missions, we must first ask: Can we truly do better in space than we’ve done here on Earth?We’ve pinpointed the destination, refined the technology, designed the habitat, outfitted our space residents. Are we forgetting something...

A Fields medalist recounts his lifelong effort to uncover the geometric shape—the Calabi-Yau manifold—that may store the hidden dimensions of our universe.Harvard geometer Shing-Tung Yau has provided a mathematical foundation for string theory, offered new insights into black holes, and mathematically demonstrated the stability of our universe. In this autobiography, Yau reflects on his improbable journey to becoming one of the world's most distinguished mathematici...

"The rise and fall of transatlantic puritanism is told through political, theological, and personal conflict in this exceptional history." ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)Begun in the mid-sixteenth century by Protestant nonconformists keen to reform England's church and society while saving their own souls, the puritan movement was a major catalyst in the great cultural changes that transformed the early modern world. Providing a uniquely broad transatl...

Get a buzz out of science with a collection of fun facts and explanations of the world around us from the author of How Can You Tell if a Spider Is Dead?What can you learn about your world in just a moment? Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Or whether dogs can read our facial expressions? Don Glass and experts in their fields answer these questions and many more. Written for readers of all ages with no background in science required, How the ...

"Every page reveals so many novel hacks you'll be impressing people all over town with your wisdom and soon become noted as some kind of cooking genius." — FoodepediaTV-chef and food journalist Glynn Christian has been making cooks and chefs say Gosh! for over forty years as he shared how ingredients work, demonstrated better techniques and revealed culinary secrets. This handbook collects over 300 of Glynn's "gosh-factor" hacks, explaining how best to hand...

INSIDE THE MYSTERIES OF THE HEART: See your heart in a whole new way as a leading cardiac scientist reveals astonishing insights on heart function, heart health, and heart disease.“Our blood-pumping organ and its impressive tricks deserve all our cartoon-heart emoji." —The Boston GlobeYour heart is a miracle in motion, a marvel of construction unsurpassed by any human-made creation. It beats 100,000 times every day. If you were to ...

"A vivid & sensitive portrait of a small, tradition-bound community coming to terms with modernity under the most adverse of conditions." — Observer ReviewMany scholars have tried to assess Adolf Hitler's influence on the German people, usually focusing on university towns and industrial communities, most of them predominately Protestant or religiously mixed. This work by Walter Rinderle and Bernard Norling, however, deals with the impact of the Nazis on Ob...