Natural History

Alaska Bird Trails: Adventures of an Expedition by Dog Sled to the Delta of the Yukon River at Hooper Bay

$195.00
More Info

1st edition, published by the Bird Research Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, 1943. Illustrated w/paintings by Major Allan Brooks & Edward R. Kalmbach,  photos by Frank Dufresne, Olaus J. Murie, & author, pen sketches by C.G. Mitchell, J.R. Moodey, & L.B. Towle. Scientific and anecdotal results of the Hooper Bay Expedition to study "the richest breeding ground of noncolonial Arctic birds that has ever been discovered...This expedition appears to be the largest party of bird students to penetrate the Arctic. There were five ornithologists, who were assisted by 50 families of bird-minded Eskimos. Data were secured on more than 1500 noncolony nests, and the home habits of 60 different boreal birds..." (flap). 40 plates.

Dust jacket in protective mylar cover; price clipped; very little shelf wear to top edges & corners; brown boards stamped w/gilt decoration & lettering on cover & spine; front endpapers illustrated w/photo; rear endpapers w/map of expedition; binding tight; text clean & bright. VG+/VG+

All Creatures Great and Small

All Creatures Great and Small

$16.99
More Info

The classic multimillion copy bestseller

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

James Herriot's memoirs have sold 80 million copies worldwide, and continue to delight and entertain readers of all ages.

ALL CREATURES WEIRD AND DANGEROUS

ALL CREATURES WEIRD AND DANGEROUS

$17.95
More Info

An improbable journey through the world of strange and mysterious creatures.

All Creatures Weird and Dangerous describes the author's experiences as a veterinarian drawn by chance to care for a variety of cryptozoological creatures. As a practicing veterinarian, the author is called upon, as if by strange forces, to care for a Chupacabra, Sasquatch, Lake Erie's monster Bessie, mermaids and fairies in Newfoundland, and eventually a unicorn in the Highlands of Scotland. Drawing on his experiences as a wildlife rehabilitator and exotic-animal veterinarian, the author cares for these odd creatures, describing his work in accurate medical detail and touching on the importance of compassion and the need to respect all creatures on our planet. An homage to James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small, while touching on stories equally appropriate for an episode of the X-Files.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Things Bright and Beautiful

$16.99
More Info

The second volume in the multimillion copy bestselling series

Millions of readers have delighted in the wonderful storytelling and everyday miracles of James Herriot in the over thirty years since his delightful animal stories were first introduced to the world.

Now in a new edition for the first time in a decade, All Things Bright and Beautiful is the beloved sequel to Herriot's first collection, All Creatures Great and Small, and picks up as Herriot, now newly married, journeys among the remote hillside farms and valley towns of the Yorkshire Dales, caring for their inhabitants---both two- and four-legged. Throughout, Herriot's deep compassion, humor, and love of life shine out as we laugh, cry, and delight in his portraits of his many, varied animal patients and their equally varied owners.

Attracting Native Pollinators : The Xerces Society Guide Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies

Attracting Native Pollinators : The Xerces Society Guide Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies

$29.95
More Info
With the recent decline of the European honey bee, it is more important than ever to encourage the activity of other native pollinators to keep your flowers beautiful and your grains and produce plentiful. In Attracting Native Pollinators, you'll find ideas for building nesting structures and creating a welcoming habitat for an array of diverse pollinators that includes not only bees, but butterflies, moths, and more. Take action and protect North America's food supply for the future, while at the same time enjoying a happily bustling landscape.
Beasts in My Belfry

Beasts in My Belfry

$16.95
More Info

From the time they lived on the island of Corfu, Gerald Durrell's family hoped he'd outgrow his love of animals. Instead he became a zoologist and worldwide conservation hero.

In 1945, young zoologist, Gerald Durrell, finally came to work at his first actual zoo; Whipsnade Zoo--then a new concept in open-range animal exhibits--where Durrell joined in as a student keeper with Albert the lion, Babs the polar bear, and a baby deer among his first charges.

In this entertaining history, he recaptures all the passion that permeated those early years, while conveying his insight into and affection for four-footed creatures. The book is full of larger-than-life animal characters: the bear who sang operatic arias with one paw clasped to his breast, his bosom friend Billy the goat, playful zebras, and a host of equally endearing and memorable critters. This is Durrell at his best.

Fans of the PBS Masterpiece series, The Durrells in Corfu, know Gerald Durrell as a young boy with endless curiosity about animals. This is where that interest led. Durrell's great life work, the Wildlife Preservation Trust International, was still ahead in his future. Beasts in My Belfry is a wonderfully entertaining memoir for anyone who loves animals and a life lived with great purpose.

Bird Is the Word: An Historical Perspective on the Names of North American Birds

Bird Is the Word: An Historical Perspective on the Names of North American Birds

$25.00
More Info
More than 900 species of birds are known from North America, an avifauna made up of native year-round residents and seasonal migrants, modestly enhanced by introduced exotics and neighboring vagrants. Bird Is the Word is an unequalled compilation of the names of almost 800 of those birds and the record of how, when, where, and by whom those names were created and became parts of the history and science of North America's avifauna.

Some 900 species of birds are known from North America, an avifauna made up primarily of native year-round residents and seasonal migrants, modestly enhanced by introduced exotics and neighboring vagrants. Bird is the Word is an unequaled compilation of the names of almost 800 of those birds and the record of how, when, where, and by whom those names were created and drawn into the history and science of the continent's avifauna.

Bird is the Word is a rich and readily accessible collection of information about finding and naming the birds of North America. It is much more than a reference book; it is a journey of discovery that will enrich the reader s birding experience.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass

$20.00
More Info
A New York Times Bestseller
A Washington Post Bestseller
Named a Best Essay Collection of the Decade by Literary Hub

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings--asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass--offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Special Illustrated Edition)

BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Special Illustrated Edition)

$35.00
More Info
A New York Times Bestseller

A Washington Post Bestseller

A Los Angeles Times Bestseller

Named a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary Hub

A Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020"

A Food Tank Fall 2020 Reading Recommendation

Updated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages. Beautifully bound with a new cover featuring an engraving by Tony Drehfal, this edition includes a bookmark ribbon and five brilliantly colored illustrations by artist Nate Christopherson. In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book--gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred--and offer an edition that will inspire readers to gift it again and again, spreading the word about scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants.

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on "a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise" (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings--asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass--offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

Cannibalism : A Perfectly Natural History

Cannibalism : A Perfectly Natural History

$16.95
More Info
"Surprising. Impressive. Cannibalism restores my faith in humanity." --Sy Montgomery, The New York Times Book Review

For centuries scientists have written off cannibalism as a bizarre phenomenon with little biological significance. Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-life flesh-eaters. But the true nature of cannibalism--the role it plays in evolution as well as human history--is even more intriguing (and more normal) than the misconceptions we've come to accept as fact.

In Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism's role in biology, anthropology, and history in the most fascinating account yet written on this complex topic. Schutt takes readers from Arizona's Chiricahua Mountains, where he wades through ponds full of tadpoles devouring their siblings, to the Sierra Nevadas, where he joins researchers who are shedding new light on what happened to the Donner Party--the most infamous episode of cannibalism in American history. He even meets with an expert on the preparation and consumption of human placenta (and, yes, it goes well with Chianti).

Bringing together the latest cutting-edge science, Schutt answers questions such as why some amphibians consume their mother's skin; why certain insects bite the heads off their partners after sex; why, up until the end of the twentieth century, Europeans regularly ate human body parts as medical curatives; and how cannibalism might be linked to the extinction of the Neanderthals. He takes us into the future as well, investigating whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species--including our own.

Cannibalism places a perfectly natural occurrence into a vital new context and invites us to explore why it both enthralls and repels us.