"A rich introduction to the snake world" filled with spectacular color photos and fascinating facts about six hundred different species ( The Wall Street Journal).For millennia, humans have regarded snakes with an exceptional combination of fascination and revulsion. Some people recoil in fear at the very suggestion of these creatures, while others happily keep them as pets. Snakes can convey both beauty and menace in a single tongue flick and have held a ...

Updated to reflect the most recent species classifications, a second edition of the beautifully illustrated and beloved guide to 600 members of the suborder Serpentes.For millennia, humans have regarded snakes with an exceptional combination of fascination and revulsion. Some people recoil in fear at the very suggestion of these creatures, while others happily keep them as pets. Snakes can convey both beauty and menace in a single tongue flick, and so these creatur...

A lavishly illustrated overview of the world’s lizardsLizards are one of nature’s great success stories: survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, they have taken advantage of almost every habitat on earth, from tropical rainforest to Arctic tundra and even our homes. From chameleons and skinks to geckos and iguanas, there are close to 7,000 species of lizards around the world. This expert guide explores their extraordinary diversity and adaptations.Liz...

A gorgeously illustrated guide to the incredible diversity of snakes around the worldSnakes are found on every continent except Antarctica and have evolved to occupy a vast range of habitats, from mountains to oceans and deserts to rain forests. Snakes of the World explores their extraordinary diversity, with an in-depth introduction covering anatomy, behavior, habitats, reproduction, conservation, and other essential topics. This expert guide also include...

A richly illustrated guide to the world’s frogs that includes species from every familyWith more than 7,600 known species, frogs exhibit an extraordinary range of forms and behaviors, from those that produce toxins so deadly that they could kill a human many times over to those that can survive being frozen in ice. Frogs of the World is an essential guide to this astonishingly diverse group of animals. An in-depth introduction covers everything from the or...

Explore the extraordinary natural history of lizards in this stunning fact-packed book. Here you will find out why lizards are more numerous and successful than any other group of reptiles and trace their evolution from dinosaurs, pterosaurs and ichthyosaurs to the rich diversity of species in existence today. On the way you will witness some amazing tactics for survival, such as how lizards bodies and watertight skins work so that they can live on minimal amounts of food and water. Meet t...

Books are our first and most lasting form of information technology. Books preserve ideas, yes, but they also provoke new ones— they are true tools for thinking. In The Idea Machine, Joel J. Miller shows that books are one of the most important but overlooked factors in the making of our contemporary world. And they still have lessons to teach us.Polls indicate reading is on the decline, but as we deal with concerns about artificial intelligence and social and political di...

An 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 invention of the smartphone, the ultimate storytelling device. Th...

**Just in time for the 75th anniversary, the first book-length investigation into one of the great unsolved mysteries from the early days of the Cold War, when an American cargo plane allegedly carrying an atomic bomb over the Atlantic Ocean disappeared, along with the US military and nuclear specialists on board.Pulitzer-Prize winning war reporter Tod Robberson examines this shocking true story from the early days of the Cold War and the origins of the ongoing, icy relationship be...

Meet the Gods of Sun and SacrificeStep into the dazzling world of ancient Mesoamerica with this engaging and accessible guide to Aztec mythology.#1 New Release in History of New Age & MythologyExplore the legends, gods, and cosmic cycles that defined one of the most powerful civilizations in the Americas. Far from a dry academic text, Myths, Gods, and Rituals of Aztec Mythology brings these...

"Combines accessible prose with solid science."— Wall Street Journal • " Demonstrates that whatever creature you are—from a giraffe to a Tasmanian devil—life is all about who you know."— New Scientist • "Fascinating. . . . Easily the most intriguing, thorough explanation of animal behavior ever produced."— Library Journal (starred review) • "This book makes a fitting companion to Ed Yong's An Immense World. An entertaining tour o...

**"A world-class intellectual. . . . [Colin Woodard’s] research can help Americans rediscover their common identity in spite of all the attempts to divide them." —Garry Kasparov"A powerful paradigm for understanding the defining hot button issues of contemporary America and the action we can take to bridge our cultural divisions and save the republic." —The Next Big Idea Club“A lucid exercise in political geography with tremendous—and disturbing—explanatory power.” —Kir...