The World treasury of physics, astronomy, and mathematics

Publishing Date: 1991

Classification: 500

Call Number: 500.2

From the Publisher: An astonishing cast of more than ninety renowned writers provides thoughtful and lucid reflections on some of the major scientific topics of our time-from black holes and galaxies to artificial intelligence and chaos theory. Featuring essays, articles, and poems penned by notables in the worlds of both science and literature, this unique book will delight the science enthusiast and the inquisitive general reader alike.

Bully for brontosaurus: reflections in natural history

By Gould, Stephen Jay

Publishing Date: [1991]

Classification: 500

Call Number: 508 GOU

Essays from the author's column This view of life, published in Natural history.

The flamingo's smile: reflections in natural history

By Gould, Stephen Jay

Publishing Date: [1985]

Classification: 500

Call Number: 508 GOU

Evolutionary theory in the theme that binds together these essays on such seemingly disparate topics as the feeding habits of flamingos, flowers and snails that change from male to female and sometimes back again, and the extinction from baseball of the .400 hitter.

Outdoor kids in an inside world: getting your family out of the house and radically engaged with nature

By Rinella, Steven

Publishing Date: [2022]

Classification: 500

Call Number: 508 RIN

"The average American spends ninety percent of their time indoors, and children are no exception. Today, kids can spend up to seven hours per day looking at screens. Not only does this phenomenon have consequences for our kids' physical and mental health, it calls into question their ability to understand and engage with anything beyond the built environment. We can talk about environmental stewardship, but until more people make meaningful contact with nature, the welfare of our planet is in jeopardy. Thankfully, with the right mindset, families can find beauty, meaning, and connection in a life lived outdoors. Now, outdoors expert Steven Rinella shares the parenting wisdom he has garnered as a father whose family has lived amid the biggest cities and wildest corners of America. Throughout, he offers practical advice for getting your kids radically engaged with nature in a muddy, thrilling, hands-on way, guided by black-and-white illustrations throughout-with the ultimate goal of helping them see their own place within the natural ecosystem. No matter their location-rural, suburban, or urban-caregivers and kids will bond over activities such as: Camping to conquer fears, build tolerance for dirt and discomfort, and savor the timeless pleasure of swapping stories around a campfire. Growing a vegetable garden to develop a capacity to nurture and an appreciation for hard work. Foraging for wild berries, nuts, and mushrooms as a way to experience the delight of discovery. Fishing local lakes and rivers to learn the value of patience while grappling with the possibility of failure. Cooking together with naturally sourced ingredients you procured. Hunting for sustainably managed wild game to face the realities of life, death, and what it really takes to obtain our food"--

NEW RELEASE

Our moon: how Earth's celestial companion transformed the planet, guided evolution, and made us who we are

By Boyle, Rebecca

Publishing Date: [2024]

Classification: 500

Call Number: 523.3 BOY

"Far from being a lifeless ornament in the sky, the Moon holds the answers to some of science's central questions. Silent, dry, and barren, Earth's 4.34-billion-year-old companion is essential to life on earth. Its gravity stabilized the Earth's orbit, and, as it once guided evolution, its tide stirring up nutrients that fostered complex life, it now influences everything from animal migrations and reproduction to the movements of plants' leaves. More than 30,000 years before humans invented writing, they used the Moon's waxing and waning to track the passage of time, and, in a tectonic shift for human consciousness, used it to plan for the future. Unsurprisingly, the Moon was a primary feature of the first religions, written language, and philosophy. But our relationship to the Moon became more concrete when Apollo landed on it in 1969 in a moment of scientific and political triumph. And both engineering and politics promise to shape our relationship with it in the near future. Scientists advocate for a return to the moon to do research; governments and billionaires want to return to turn a profit from its mineral resources. Who gets to decide how we use a celestial body that, Boyle argues, belongs to everyone and no one? How can we learn to protect this beautiful, spectral thing that we all share?"--

QED: the strange theory of light and matter

By Feynman, Richard P

Publishing Date: 2006

Classification: 500

Call Number: 539.756 FEY

"Celebrated for his brilliantly quirky insights into the physical world, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman also possessed an extraordinary talent for explaining difficult concepts to the general public. Here Feynman provides a classic and definitive introduction to QED (namely quantum electrodynamics), that part of quantum field theory describing the interactions of light with charged particles. Using everyday language, spatial concepts, visualizations, and his renowned "Feynman diagrams" instead of advanced mathematics, Feynman clearly and humorously communicates both the substance and spirit of QED to the layperson. A. Zee's new introduction places both Feynman's book and his seminal contribution to QED in historical context and further highlights Feynman's uniquely appealing and illuminating style."--Amazon.com

QED: the strange theory of light and matter

By Feynman, Richard P

Publishing Date: 1988

Classification: 500

Call Number: 539.756 FEY

Explains the principles of quantum electrodynamics in terms understandable to layman.

The avalanche handbook

By McClung, David

Publishing Date: 1993

Classification: 500

Call Number: 551.57 MCC

Classic and comprehensive reference on avalanches, their formation, and their effects.

The Huxleys: an intimate history of evolution

By Bashford, Alison

Publishing Date: 2022

Classification: 500

Call Number: 576.8 BAS

"This momentous biography tells the story of the Huxleys: the Victorian natural historian T. H. Huxley ("Darwin's Bulldog") and his grandson, the scientist, conservationist, and zoologist Julian Huxley. Between them, they communicated to the world the great modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In The Huxleys, celebrated historian Alison Bashford writes seamlessly about these omnivorous intellects together, almost as if they were a single man whose long, vital life bookended the colossal shifts in world history from the age of sail to the Space Age, and from colonial wars to world wars to the Cold War. The Huxleys' specialty was evolution in all its forms--at the grandest level of species, deep time, the Earth, and at the most personal and intimate. They illuminated the problems and wonders of the modern world and they fundamentally shaped how we see ourselves, as individuals and as a species. But perhaps their greatest subject was themselves. Bashford's engaging, brilliantly ambitious book interweaves the Huxleys' momentous public achievements with their private triumphs and tragedies. The result is the history of a family, but also a history of humanity grappling with its place in nature. This book shows how much we owe-- for better or worse-- to the unceasing curiosity, self-absorption, and enthusiasms of a small, strange group of men and women."--Book jacket.

Crossings: how road ecology is shaping the future of our planet

By Goldfarb, Ben

Publishing Date: [2023]

Classification: 500

Call Number: 577.27 GOL

"An eye-opening and witty account of the global ecological transformations wrought by roads, from an award-winning author. Some 40 million miles of roadways encircle the earth, but we tend to regard them only as infrastructure for human convenience. In Crossings, Ben Goldfarb delves into the new science of road ecology to explore how roads have transformed our world. Millions of animals are killed by cars each day in the US alone, and roads fragment wildlife populations into inbred clusters, disrupt migration for creatures from antelope to salmon, allow invasive plants to spread and even bend the arc of evolution itself. But road ecologists are also seeking innovative solutions: Goldfarb meets with conservationists building bridges for mountain lions and tunnels for toads, engineers deconstructing logging roads, and citizens working to undo the havoc highways have wreaked upon cities. A sweeping, spirited and timely investigation into how humans have altered the natural world, Crossings also shows us how to create a better future for all living beings" --

Flowers in the snow: the life of Isobel Wylie Hutchison

By Hoyle, Gwyneth

Publishing Date: 2005

Classification: 500

Call Number: 580.92 HOY

Over the course of a dozen years, Scottish plant collector Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889–1982) explored northern latitudes from the Lofoten Islands of Norway to the far reaches of the American Aleutians. To achieve her goals, she traveled by any means available, from rowboats in Greenland to trading schooners and coast-guard vessels in Alaska. When necessary, she journeyed by snowshoe or sled in pursuit of her botanical specimens, accompanied only by strangers who served as guides. In Flowers in the Snow, Gwyneth Hoyle paints a vivid portrait of a woman gloriously out of the step with the conventions of her time. - (Univ of Nebraska)

Bees, wasps, and ants: the indispensable role of Hymenoptera in gardens

By Grissell, Eric

Publishing Date: 2010

Classification: 500

Call Number: 595.79 GRI

"Examples of nearly every kind of bee, wasp, and ant can be found somewhere in a garden, but they work in mysterious and wondrous ways, largely unknown to those of us who tend the land we live on. This book is an exploration of the group, discussing its importance, its biology, and methods of encouraging (or discouraging) them in the garden. It is also an openly impassioned plea for acceptance of life forms that are vastly greater in importance than most humans would imagine and hugely necessary to the world in which we live"--Page 2 of cover.

Landscape with reptile: rattlesnakes in an urban world

By Palmer, Thomas

Publishing Date: 1992

Classification: 500

Call Number: 597.96 PAL

A most unusual book; a skillful blend of literature, natural science, ecology, humor, people, and woodsy New England history and folklore ligatured by and tendered with Palmer's emphasis on a disappearing population of timber rattlesnakes in the Blue Hills near Boston, Massachusetts. As Palmer says, this "is a love story" about Crotalus horridus, the rattlesnake addressed in the narrative simply as "Crotalus." In 17 chapters topics such as snake evolution, snakebite, ophidian legends, New England settlement, destruction of forests, days wandering in the woods, and "war" on rattlesnakes are imaginatively blended with characters and commentaries. The book ends with an appendix on snakebite in the Blue Hills, a notes-section providing chapter-by-chapter documentation, and an index. Palmer is a competent writer and has researched his subjects well. Although tendencies for anthropopathic expressions abound, scientific and historical statements are accurately rendered. Commentaries and themes range widely within most chapters but Palmer's strong feelings for environmental preservation are always evident. Every page is entertaining and anyone who can read will enjoy the book. Highly recommended. General through professional. E.D. Keiser; University of Mississippi--Choice Reviews.

The verb "to bird": sightings of an avid birder

By Cashwell, Peter

Publishing Date: 2003

Classification: 500

Call Number: 598 CAS

All around the world, birds are the subject of intense, even spiritual, fascination, but relatively few people see the word "bird" as a verb. The author is one who does, and with good reason: He birds (because he can't help it) and he teaches grammar (because he's paid to). An English teacher by profession and an avid birder by inner calling, Cashwell has written a whimsical and critical book about his many obsessions--birds, birders, language, literature, parenting, pop culture, and the human race.