Showing results for "mark derr"

This "informative account" of canine evolution will "appeal to dog lovers with a curiosity about the origins of their favorite companion." ( Publishers Weekly)Many have made the case that dogs have evolved from wolves but the evolutionary link between wolves and dogs remains a mystery. In How the Dog Became the Dog, Mark Derr posits that the dog's evolution from wolf was inevitable due to the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship between ...

"A consummate and loving tribute to canines as well as a comprehensive history, seamlessly blending facts, anecdotes, and ideas." — Kirkus ReviewsIn this revelatory book, Mark Derr looks at the ways in which we have used canines—as sled dogs and sheepdogs, hounds and Seeing Eye dogs, guard dogs, show dogs, and bomb-sniffing dogs—as he tracks changes in American culture and society. A Dog's History of America weaves a remarkable tapestry of heroism,...

That the dog evolved from the wolf is an accepted fact of evolution and history, but the question of how wolf became dog has remained a mystery, obscured by myth and legend. How the Dog Became the Dog posits that dog was an evolutionary inevitability in the nature of the wolf and its human soul mate.The natural temperament and social structure of humans and wolves are so similar that as soon as they met on the trail they recognized themselves in each other. Both are highly...

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...

Humans – who are we?Physically, Homo sapiens is unremarkable in the animal world – a hairless ape. But somehow, in combination, our characteristics make us remarkable. With our dexterity and brain power, we discovered ways of finding food and beating the elements not only in our home on the African savanna, but in every habitat from jungle to Arctic waste. Humans tells the story of our evolution with beautiful illustrations of our seemingly ordinary anatom...

Covering 13.8 billion years, a calculatedly concise, wryly intelligent history of everything, from the Big Bang to the advent of human civilizationWith wonder, wit, and flair—and in record time and space—geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to the origin of life and human civilization. Bercovici marries humor and legitimate scientific intrigue, rocketing ...

The untold story of the women who debunked the Warren Report—a “captivating and impressively researched” (The New Yorker) history of obsession, heartbreak, and the myth of the great American century“A ghostly past brought brimmingly, engrossingly to life . . . a social history of novelistic propulsion with fanatical documentation and a sympathetic understanding of what drives the driven.”—The New York Times“Kaitlyn...

Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind—think duct tape, not supercomputer—that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature.Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of ...

With Malcolm Gladwell–like clarity, Churn captures the most commonplace tensions of life in a multifaceted democracy and how to minimize their corrosive effects in everyday life.A pioneer of social psychology, Claude M. Steele is renowned for Whistling Vivaldi, a runaway bestseller that analyzed societal stereotypes—from beliefs about racial and gender test score gaps to the athletic prowess of Black men—and how t...

An "epic and joyous" (Adam Rutherford) history of our species, using recent scientific discoveries to explore humanity's domestication of the plants and animals that have allowed human civilization to thrive."An excellent point of entry for anyone who wants to understand the new deep human history and what it portends." —The GuardianDogs became our companions.Wheat fed booming populations.Cattl...

Uranium, a nondescript element when found in nature, in the past century has become more sought after than gold. Its nucleus is so heavy that it is highly unstable and radioactive. If broken apart, it unleashes the tremendous power within the atom—the most controversial type of energy ever discovered.Set against the darkening shadow of World War II, Amir D. Aczel's suspenseful account tells the story of the fierce competition among the day's top scientists to harness nuclear power....

1816 was a remarkable year—mostly for the fact that there was no summer. As a result of a volcanic eruption at Mount Tambora in Indonesia, weather patterns were disrupted worldwide for months, allowing for excessive rain, frost, and snowfall through much of the Northeastern US and Europe in the summer of 1816.In the US, the extraordinary weather produced food shortages, religious revivals, and extensive migration from New England to the Midwest. In Europe, the cold and wet summer l...