"An astonishing, unconstrained exploration of the nature and practice of cetacean culture . . . a revolutionary book." —Philip Hoare, author of The WhaleIn the songs and bubble feeding of humpback whales; in young killer whales learning to knock a seal from an ice floe in the same way their mother does; and in the use of sea sponges by the dolphins of Shark Bay, Australia, to protect their beaks while foraging for fish, we find clear examples of the transmi...

"An outstanding contribution. . . . The glossary and illustrations are excellent and most helpful. This book will be the standard for years to come." —Robert M. Timm, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, and past president, American Society of MammalogistsDouglas A. Kelt and James L. Patton provide a long-overdue update to Timothy E. Lawlor's Handbook to the Orders and Families of Living Mammals in their new, wholly original w...

This critical study of the development of systematic economic ideas explores them in both historical and contemporary contexts.Many of the issues that faced economists in the past are still with us. The theories and methods of such men as Adam Smith, T. R. Malthus, David Ricardo, J.S. Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall, and J. M. Keynes are often relevant to us today. As the Great Recession taught us in the first decade of the twenty-first century, the history of econ...

The thinkers who built the Western mind—and still shape your own.This is the best book on philosophy I have ever read. —Philip van Heusen for Readers' FavoriteThree men. Three rival visions of reality. And together, the hidden framework behind how you think about truth, morality, happiness, and meaning.Much of Western philosophy can be traced back to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—figures whose ideas continue to shape not o...

A resource of information about the cultural, political and social conditions of urban life in the capital of medieval England during the 1300s.For the medieval period that was witness to a legion of political and natural disasters, the rise and fall of empires across the globe and one of the most devastating and greatest pandemics human kind has ever experienced, the fourteenth century was transformative.Peering through the looking-glass to focus on one of E...

"A dazzling tour of a most promising area of neuroscience—the interface between the immune system and the nervous system." —Elliot S. Gershon, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, The University of ChicagoSince ancient times humans have felt intuitively that emotions and health are linked, and recently there has been much popular speculation about this notion. But until now, without compelling evidence, it has been impossible to say for sure that such a connection really ex...

" With poignancy and audacity, Frame builds an unexpected bridge between mathematical beauty and human sorrow, illuminating both." —Francis Su, author of Mathematics for Human FlourishingWe all know the euphoria of intellectual epiphany—the thrill of sudden understanding. But coupled with that excitement is a sense of loss: a moment of epiphany can never be repeated. In Geometry of Grief *,*mathematician Michael Frame draws on a career's worth of ...

The military expert and author of Leadership presents "the most thoughtful analysis yet of America's recent conflicts—and future challenges" (Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal).Why have the major post-9/11 US military interventions turned into quagmires? Despite huge power imbalances in America's favor, capacity-building efforts, and tactical victories, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq turned intractable. The US government's fixation on zero-sum, decisive victory...

Winner of the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction * Finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction * Finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing AwardA “delving, haunted, and poetic debut” (The New York Times Book Review) about the awe-inspiring lives of whales, revealing what they can teach us about ourselves, our planet, and our relationship with other species.When writer Rebecca Giggs encount...

"An ambitious and exciting book about creativity . . . chart[s] new territory." — ScienceConsider Miles Davis, horn held high, sculpting a powerful musical statement full of tonal patterns, inside jokes, and thrilling climactic phrases—all on the fly. Or a comedy troupe riffing on cues from the audience until the whole room erupts with laughter; a team of software engineers brainstorming their way to the next Google; or the Einsteins of the world code-crack...

This sweeping history reveals how the use of chemicals has saved lives, destroyed species, and radically changed our planet: "Remarkable . . . highly recommended." — ChoiceIn The Chemical Age, ecologist Frank A. von Hippel explores humanity's long and uneasy coexistence with pests, and how the battles to exterminate them have shaped our modern world. He also tells the captivating story of the scientists who waged war on famine and disease with chem...

"As part of the rising concern for global biodiversity, Christopher Kemp makes clear the value of preserved specimens in basic research." —Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist and authorThe tiny, lungless Thorius salamander from southern Mexico, thinner than a match and smaller than a quarter. The lushly white-coated Saki, an arboreal monkey from the Brazilian rainforests. The olinguito, a native of the Andes, which looks part mongoose, part teddy bear...