"Astonishing images bring every corner of the Universe, from Mars to the furthest galaxies, to the printed page. Cosmos is a visually captivating journey through the Universe, and is as expansive as the Cosmos itself. It covers everything from the asteroid...
"One of the least known, and subsequently least celebrated parts of Aotearoa's native wildlife surely are our lizards. The reason is simple - our geckos and skinks are shy, secretive creatures, rarely seen except by seasoned observers. They are remarkable...
"Featuring monthly sky maps, with details of the movement of the planets, stars and constellations, the 2025 Australasian Sky Guide is a must-have handbook to the year's most exciting celestial events. Opening with an essay by Gadigal woman Aunty Joanne Selfe...
"In The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl presents a literary devotional: fifty-two chapters that follow the creatures and plants in her backyard over the course of a year. As we move through the seasons -- from a crow spied on New Year's Day, its...
"What is space? What is time? Where did the universe come from? The answers to mankind's most enduring questions may lie in science's greatest enigma: black holes. A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can...
"In the second book of this already internationally acclaimed series, Sean Carroll, the most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts, digs deep into matter itself. What is the universe made of? In his quest to redefine the "popular" treatment of...
"From the Big Bang and the evolution of the genetic code to the birth of consciousness, this is the extraordinary story of the chain of events that led to human life on earth. Have you ever wondered why you exist? What had to happen for you to be alive and...
"A sweeping history of the Mississippi River -- and the centuries of human meddling that have transformed both it and America. The Mississippi River lies at the heart of America, an undeniable life force that is intertwined with the nation's culture and...
"How did we come to be? A complete, uncomplicated guide to the science of life, the universe and everything. How did everything start? And how did we come to exist? In this one book Oxford Professor Tim Coulson seeks to simply explain what science tells us...
"A longtime research associate in zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, Bill Schutt turns his expertise to teeth, taking readers on a fascinating and sometimes creepy journey through their natural, scientific, and cultural history, arguing that...
"Here is the story of the largest storms on earth and how those storms are growing bigger and stronger. The tale of extreme weather doesn't begin with floods, fires, or even the air that carries this change to our lives. It begins with the ocean. Oceans create...
"From the bestselling authors of Atlas Obscura and Gastro Obscura, comes Wild Life, an over-the-top, dazzling collection of the world's most fascinating, most unusual, and least-understood natural wonders. It's more than a field guide--it's an adventure. From...
"This helpful, humorous handbook for the mathematically challenged uses author Ben Orlin's empathy, humor, and "bad drawings" to unravel the secrets behind the world's most confounding language"--Publisher's description.
"Swoop Sing Perch Paddle brings together 132 screenprints by renowned wildlife artist Carry Akroyd, celebrating British birds in all their colour and charm. Originally created for The Oldie's Bird of the Month column, Carry's vibrant prints transport us...
"A compelling global exploration of nature and survival as seen via a dozen species of trees that represent the challenges facing our planet, and the ways that scientists are working urgently to save our forests and our future. The world today is undergoing...
"Bird flight is a mesmerizing spectacle, yet its intricacies remains largely shrouded in mystery for most. Even after over a century of study, certain aspects of bird flight continue to baffle the public and ornithologists alike. Peter Cavanagh, a dedicated...
"Herbs have changed our lives in countless ways both visible and invisible. How herbs healed the world tells the origin stories of these remarkable plants and their impact on our live: revealing how poisons such as deadly nightshade were deployed to dispatch...
"No matter where we live, 'we are all ocean people,' Helen Scales emphatically observes in her bracing yet hopeful exploration of the future of the ocean. Beginning with its fascinating deep history, Scales links past to present to show how the prehistoric...
"Every egg there has ever been, is an emblem of survival. Yet the evolution of the animal egg is the dramatic subplot missing in many accounts of how life on Earth came to be. Quite simply, without this universal biological phenomenon, animals as we know them,...
"This is the third book in Juliet Batten’s Seasons of Life trilogy. The first, The Pomegranate Journal, charts the challenge of how to live in an older body while staying open to the fullness of life. The second, The Persimmon Journal, explores the author’s...
"The Complete Language of Birds offers stunningly illustrated profiles of nearly 400 bird species, covering both their physical and mystical qualities. Expand your bird knowledge with this gorgeous encyclopedia of nearly 400 bird species around the world,...
"Comprehensive, accessible, and lavishly illustrated, this is an essential and timely guide to the world's key plant and fungus species. Written by specialist experts, Plants and Fungi is an illustrated exploration of the world's most fascinating species, many...
"In 1506 a comet appears above Augsburg. As the astronomer Johann Virdung explains, it heralds conflict, the destruction of crops and the death of kings. He concludes his theories with a poem. In 1680 Isaac Newton peers at a comet through a telescope for the...
"Throughout history, trees have determined the tools we use, the boats we build, the stories we tell about the world and ourselves, the songs we sing, and some of our most important rituals. As such, our lives are intertwined with those of the trees and...
"While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own...
"Frogs are remarkable creatures. They have mastered both land and water, and can breathe through their skins and their lungs. Some of them are so poisonous that just one tiny frog harbours enough toxins to kill ten people, while others hold the key to...
"How to Forage for Wild Foods without Dying is a book for anyone who likes to go on nature walks and would like to learn about the edible plants they're most likely to come across-no matter what region they're in. Author Ellen Zachos shares her considerable...
"Uncover the life of birds in this irresistible blend of beauty and science that informs and visually delights. Delve into the fascinating world of birds through astonishing photography and clear explanations, in this absorbing global guide. Birds are...
"A long-awaited accurate and user-friendly field guide to Australian orchids, written and illustrated by the world's leading expert on the subject. This comprehensive and portable guide includes concise written accounts and stunning colour photographs and line...
"Heart of Darkness describes the incredible saga of humankind's quest to unravel the deepest secrets of the universe. Over the past forty years, scientists have learned that two little-understood components - dark matter and dark energy—comprise most of the...
"On November 25th, 1915, Albert Einstein published his field equations of general relativity and reinvented gravity. Rather than being some mysterious unseen force pulling objects together, gravity, Einstein told the world, is a manifestation of the curvature...
"In Wild Chorus, award-winning author Brenda Peterson draws on her lifelong relationship with animals to explore the wisdom we humans can glean from them. Looking beyond the companionship we enjoy with domesticated animals, Peterson explores how wild animals...
"56 million years ago our planet experienced rapid, intense warming known as the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum, resulting in a global temperature increase of about 7°C. Runaway Climate explores the causes of this catastrophic event, its dramatic impact on...
"Over 500,000 years ago, a single gene mutated. It spread over time, becoming critical in the journey that transformed our earliest ancestors into fully modern humans, capable of navigating the entire planet and beyond. A few thousand years ago, humans started...
"Immense, strange and infinite, the world of modern physics often feels impenetrable to the undiscerning eye, a jumble of muons, gluons and quarks, impossible to explain without several degrees and a research position at CERN. But it doesn't have to be this...
"The story of one woman's remarkable work with a trio of charismatic, endangered bird species-and her discoveries about the devastating threats that imperil them. In Feather Trails, wildlife biologist and birder Sophie A. H. Osborn reveals how the harmful...
"In the early 1800s the world was a safe and cozy place. But then a twelve-year-old farm boy in Massachusetts stumbled on a row of fossilized three-toed footprints the size of dinner plates-the first dinosaur tracks ever found. Soon, in England, Victorians...
"Charles Darwin was driven to distraction by plant spirals, growing so exasperated that he once begged a friend to explain the mystery "if you wish to save me from a miserable death." The legendary naturalist was hardly alone in feeling tormented by these...
"Naturalist Kenn Kaufman examines the scientific discoveries of John James Audubon and his artistic and ornithologist peers to show how what they saw (and what they missed) reflects how we perceive and understand the natural world"--Publisher's description.
"Upon completing his historic work on the Human Genome Project in 2002, J. Craig Venter declared that he would sequence the genetic code of all life on earth. Thus began a fifteen-year quest to collect DNA from the world's oldest and most abundant form of...
"Honeybees deliberate democratically. Rats reflect on the past. Snakes have friends. In recent decades, our understanding of animal cognition has exploded, making it indisputably clear that the cities and landscapes around us are filled with thinking, feeling...
"Why Don't Things Fall Up? will gently remind you of everything you may have learnt once upon a time, but have somehow forgotten along the way. If you've ever changed the subject when a child has asked for homework help, or if you have the curiosity of a...
"The culture of the UK a place founded on wind-blown migration and the navigation of storm-whipped seas is undoubtedly weather-soaked. Yet our weather is too often deemed as simply good (sunny) or bad (anything else). Our discussions and, even more...
"An illuminating manifesto on ancient forests: how they adapt to climate change by passing their wisdom through generations, and why our future lies in protecting them. In his beloved book The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben revealed astonishing...
"After years of expeditions all over the world, adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year exploring the detailed local map around his home. Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, hold any surprises for the...
"Have you ever watched a cloud being born? Clouds come in all manner of shapes and sizes, from low-lying Stratus to high-flying Cirrus via roll clouds, banner clouds and tornados. This beautifully illustrated guide reveals the facts, secrets and stories of all...
"Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles, or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies; it’s time we paid them more attention. In Nursery Earth, researcher Danna Staaf invites readers to explore these tiny, secret lives, revealing some of nature’s...
"In this new collection of bite-size pop science essays, bestselling author, chemistry professor, and radio broadcaster Dr. Joe Schwarcz shows that you can find science virtually anywhere you look. And the closer you look, the more fascinating it becomes. In...
"The eagerly anticipated conclusion to Peter Godfrey-Smith's three-part exploration of the origins of intelligence on Earth, which began with the bestselling Other Minds in 2018 and continued with Metazoa in 2020. Peter Godfrey-Smith, the scuba-diving...
"Wild flowers, whether familiar or seemingly insignificant, are some of the most beautiful and distinctive features of our landscape, yet are easily overlooked. From dandelions to fritillaries, clovers to snowdrops, Christopher Stocks reveals interesting and...
"A cosmic perspective on carbon, its importance in the universe and our livesWhen we think of carbon, we might first think of a simple element near the top of the periodic table: symbol C, atomic number 6. Alternatively, we might think of something more...
"Compiled and written by Te Papa's foremost fern experts, this fully illustrated guide is for anyone wanting to understand, identify and distinguish 201 of the most commonly encountered species of ferns and lycophytes found across Aotearoa. Ferns and...
"The Osprey is a large, fish-eating bird of prey. Distinctively marked in deep brown and white, with a piercing yellow eye and powerful hooked bill, the Osprey snatches its prey in spectacular swoops above lakes and wetlands around the world – it is one of the...
"Rats inspire fear and fascination in equal measure, and though their lives are more closely entwined with humans than any other animal, they remain the most misunderstood of all species. No animal has sacrificed more in the pursuit of human health while being...
""Polymath and raconteur David Berlinski is at it again, challenging the shibboleths of contemporary science with his inimitable blend of deep learning, close reasoning, and rapier wit. In Science After Babel he reflects on everything from Newton, Einstein,...
"In this luminous narrative, the story of the Moon traverses time and space, rendering a range of human experiences--from the beliefs of ancient cultures to the science of Galileo's telescopic discoveries, from the obsessions of colorful 19th-century...
"Biocivilisations is a fascinating, original and important exploration into how complex civilisations existed on Earth long before humans. What is life? This is arguably the most important question in all of science. Many scientists believe life can be reduced...
"Mushrooms have existed for millennia, which can make it overwhelming to dip into mycology. Used throughout human history for food, medicine, and expanding the consciousness, fungi have shaped the planet and the past, appearing everywhere from fairy tales and...
"Mushrooms are one of our planet's most amazing and unusual organisms. Used for millennia as a source of food, medicine, and occasionally poison, mushrooms and toadstools have become part of our cultural histories: for example, a ring of mushrooms was believed...
"Hundreds of years ago, water wasn’t referred to as water, it was called ‘The Waters’. It was considered living and sacred. The term ‘Her waters broke’, is a distant memory of old knowledge trickling down through the ages, but ‘The Living Language of Water’...
"Soar through this unique guide to birdwatching, which celebrates 60 enchanting bird species and where to find them. Packed with expert insights, trip planning tips, beautiful photography, and a further 120 ideas for birding experiences that explore the simple...
"An intriguing new scientific theory that explains what life is and how it emerges. What is life? This is among the most difficult open problems in science, right up there with the nature of consciousness and the existence of matter. All the definitions we...
"The essays in this year's Best American Science and Nature Writing probe at the ordinary and urge us to think more deeply about our place in the world around us. From a hopeful portrait of a future for people with Alzheimer's disease, to a fascinating...
"One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2024. Exploring the most transformative breakthroughs in biology since the discovery of the double helix, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist unveils the RNA age. For over half a century, DNA has dominated science...
"Written by award-winning astronomy writer Govert Schililng, author of Constellations (BDL, 2018) and Deep Space (BDL, 2014), The Astronomy Handbook is the indispensible, go-to guide to everything you ever wanted or needed to know about the night sky, the...
"Flowers glow in otherworldly blues and teals. An array of brilliant colors emerges from their petals. By exploring the wonders of the ultraviolet spectrum using innovative imaging technology, we come one step closer to understanding the extraordinary lives of...
"A distinguished geologist and a popular science writer Charles Frankel turns his attention in his latest book to the mass extinctions on our planet, considering what the past can tell us about the future. Explaining Earth's past mass extinctions, Frankel...
"The astronomer who inadvertently triggered the "demotion" of Pluto in his effort to officially recognize the solar system's tenth planet describes the ensuing debates and public outcry while revealing the behind-the-scenes story of his discovery"--Publisher's...
"A scientist's journey from observation to discovery is anything but straightforward. It is littered with failure, unexpected diversions and joyous realizations. Science helps us to understand ourselves - but what we know about the world around us, what has...
"Ponds and pools are a common feature of our landscape – there are at least ten times as many ponds as lakes in the UK – and they are also important wildlife habitats. This book provides a comprehensive and detailed account of these freshwater habitats. The...
"A new and updated edition of this popular title covering the fishes, invertebrates and other marine life of the Mediterranean Sea. Almost entirely enclosed by land, the Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by many popular wildlife destinations, including Spain,...
"The received wisdom in quantum physics is that, at the deepest levels of reality, there are no actual causes for atomic events. This idea led to the outlandish belief that quantum objects--indeed, reality itself--aren't real unless shaped by human...
"Look at the green organism across the room or through the window: the potted plant, or the grass, or a tree. Think how a life spent constantly growing yet rooted in a single spot comes with tremendous challenges. To meet them, plants have come up with some of...
"In fourteen essays, Dispersals explores the entanglements of the plant and human worlds: from species considered invasive, like giant hogweed; to those vilified but intimate, like soy; and those like kelp, on which our futures depend. Each of the plants...
"A moving account of raising, then freeing, an orphaned screech owl, whose lasting friendship with the author illuminates humanity's relationship with the world. When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected...
"More than any other modern scientists, Stephen Jay Gould has opened up to millions the wonders of evolutionary biology. His genius as an essayist lies in his unmatched ability to use his knowledge of the world, including popular culture, to illuminate the...
"How does Google know what you want to type? How did humans first reach the moon? Could we ever have a supercomputer the size of a pinhead? In this thrilling numerical journey, Hugh Barker explores how mathematics has helped to build the technology of today,...
"Counting is an innovative, erudite, world-wrapping journey through humanity's marvellous ability to impose numbers on things. Acclaimed historian and mathematician Benjamin Wardhaugh draws on stories from the Stone Age to cyberspace in pursuit of the elusive,...
"Self-confessed bad birdwatcher Simon Barnes thought he knew nothing about plants. He didn't object to them: trees are interesting, because birds perch in them; plants are useful as they create habitats and birds live in habitats. But while admiring the...
"Master the biology ideas that shape our living world. In a series of 50 accessible essays, JV Chamary introduces and explains the fundamental processes, ideas and theories that are vital to life on Earth. From the mysteries of sex and sleep to mass extinction...
"Chemistry is at the cutting edge of our lives. How does a silicon chip work? How can we harness natural products to combat human disease? And is it possible to create artificial muscles? Providing answers to these questions and many more, 50 Chemistry Ideas...
"From shark attack survivor to the shark's biggest advocate, Paul de Gelder tells us just why these majestic diverse animals need our help as much as we need them. Something happens to you the first time you dive with sharks... We have a perennial fascination...
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