2008 Orion Book AwardThe New York Times bestseller: a true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw—and the city's zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen "guests" hid inside the Zabinskis' villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare mo...

In war-torn Warsaw, a zookeeper and his wife refuse to surrender...Now a major motion picture starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl, Diane Ackerman's The Zookeeper's Wife is based on a remarkable true story of bravery and sanctuary during World War II. Perfect for fans of Lion and Hidden Figures.'I can't imagine a better story or storyteller. The Zookeeper's Wife will touch every ner...

**This lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth.“Delightful. . . . Gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in.” —The New York Times**A Natural History of the Senses is a vibrant celebration of our ability to smel...

The bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses now explores the allure of adultery, the appeal of aphrodisiacs, and the cult of the kiss. Enchantingly written and stunningly informed, this "audaciously brilliant romp through the world of romantic love" (Washington Post Book World) is the next best thing to love itself.

A vivid and groundbreaking tour of the senses, full of cutting-edge science and thrilling anecdotes, that reveals how they shape our lives and the way we experience the world around us—by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Natural History of the SensesA Feast in Every Sense is Diane Ackerman's luscious and tender journey into the mystery of our modern sensory lives, a grand tour that captures the heady feelings of being alive. ...

Aristotle said we have five senses. Neuroscientists now think the real number may be closer to thirty - from chronoception, our mysterious internal clock, to interoception, the conversation our organs are constantly having with our brains. Three decades on from her cult bestseller A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman returns to find that science has been quietly dismantling everything we thought we knew about perception.In A Feast in Every Sense, Ackerm...

From Marginalian Editions comes a gorgeous reissue of celebrated poet, essayist, and naturalist Diane Ackerman’s debut collection: a whimsical and wonderful ode to our solar system, planet to planet, blending science and imagination, astronomy and cosmology, as well as fantasy, satire, myth, confession, and bawdiness galore.First published in 1973, The Planets: A Cosmic Pastoral introduced not only a splendid new poet but a whole new adventure in poetry. W...

Finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeFinalist for the National Book Circle Critics Award"A testament to the power of creativity in language, life—and love." —Heller McAlpin, Washington PostNo other writer can blend the science of the brain with the love of language like Diane Ackerman. In this extraordinary memoir, she opens a window into the experience of wordlessness—the language paralysis called aphasia. In narrating the recovery of her husband, Paul West, from...

This spring 2019 edition of Bard College's literary journal explores the fascination and mystery of night through stories, poems, essays, and memoirs.Scheherazade famously spun stories for a thousand and one nights in order to sustain her life. In recognition of how vital it is to voice our own stories, the stellar works collected here—including entries by Sallie Tisdale, Rick Moody, Joyce Carol Oates, and many others—address our myriad experiences from dusk to dayb...

Exploring the myriad ways in which we go about preserving what might otherwise be forfeited.Whether trained specialists or lay people who care about something, preservationists come from every stratum of life. The archivist, the linguist, the local town historian. The paleontologist, the heirloom seed-saver, the family photographer, the Monuments Men. Old two-by-two Noah and taxonomist Linnaeus. The suburban girl who collects enough yard sale books to buil...

In a rare blend of scientific fact and poetic truth, the acclaimed author of A Natural History of the Senses explores the activities of whales, penguins, bats, and crocodilians, plunging headlong into nature and coming up with highly entertaining treasures.

A celebrated storyteller-poet-naturalist explores a year of dawns in her most personal book to date.In an eye-opening sequence of personal meditations through the cycle of seasons, Diane Ackerman awakens us to the world at dawn—drawing on sources as diverse as meteorology, world religion, etymology, art history, poetry, organic farming, and beekeeping. As a patient and learned observer of animal and human physiology and behavior, she introduces us to varieties of b...