Natural Science

Ten thousand years after humans figured out how to stop wandering and plant crops, veteran investigative journalist Mark Schapiro plunges into the struggle already underway for control of seeds, the ground-zero ingredient for our food. Three-quarters of the seed varieties on Earth in 1900 had become extinct by 2015. In Seeds of Resistance, Schapiro takes us onto the frontlines of a struggle over the seeds that remain, one that will determine the long-term security of our food supply in the face of unprecedented climate volatility. More than half of all commercially-traded seeds have fallen under the control of just three multinational agri-chemical companies....

Brought to you by Penguin. The trailblazing scientist returns with a book that centres nature’s cycles of renewal in the future vision of our forests When the forest breathes out, we breathe in. When the forest thrives, we thrive. The world-renowned forest ecologist Suzanne Simard has...

Of all the sports played across the globe, none has more curses, superstitions, or supernatural events like baseball, America's national pastime. While some of these can easily be explained, there are just as many that cannot. Field of Fantasies delves right into that superstition with short stories written by several key authors about baseball and the supernatural.

When Detective Domenica Kiernan solved the murder of a mayor’s aide—killed by a vampire—she never imagined she’d find herself at the vanguard of the NYPD’s latest special squad: the Supernatural Crimes Unit. Tasked with closing cases involving magic and monsters, the SCU has dealt with a shape-changing domovoy committing assault in Chelsea, the murder of a kappa on City Island, a thieving Taotie in Chinatown—and their latest: two murder victims whose corpses have been liquefied by a powerful spell.

Emily Dickinson and Charles Darwin were born at a time when the science of studying the natural world was known as natural philosophy, a pastime for poets, priests, and schoolgirls. The world began to change in the 1830s, while Darwin was exploring the Pacific aboard the Beagle and Dickinson was a student in Amherst, Massachusetts. Poetry and science started to grow apart, and modern thinkers challenged the old orthodoxies, offering thrilling new perspectives that suddenly felt radical—and too dangerous for women.

There are many amazing sights to be seen in the sky. In the daytime there may be unusual cloud formations, rainbows, and moonbows. At night you might see a comet, meteorites, or the Aurora Borealis. The Science Behind Wonders in the Sky looks at some of these phenomena, explaining how and why they occur.

Alec began his 18th birthday with the temple monks. By day's end, he discovers he possesses magical abilities. Except his magic is unique. He doesn't require grimoires and incantations to cast spells. Alec's magic is entirely natural. He can, somehow, absorb the elements from objects and manipulate them according to his will. This power is incredible, but difficult to master. If he's going to learn how to use his natural magic, it'll take the tutelage of Archmage Diamondspear, one of the most adept magic users in the kingdom.

Lycanthropy is a mysterious subject. Ancient belief in lycanthropy was widespread, and it still exists in parts of the world. Literatures all over the world have tales of men changing to animals. Werewolves are often related to demons, devils, blood, and the full moon. In this classic study, Sabine Baring-Gould, a historian, examines the literature about this matter from a serious perspective.

Over the years, color has dazzled, enhanced, and clarified the world we see. The experimental palettes of painting, the advent of the color photograph, Technicolor pictures, color printing, and so on have created a vivid and vibrant continuum. These ways of representing reality in “living color” echo our evolutionary reliance on and indeed privileging of color as a complex and vital form of consumption, classification, and creation. It’s everywhere we look, yet do we really know much of anything about it?

Madhav Gadgil was born in Pune in 1942, just as Salim Ali's superbly illustrated Book of Indian Birds was published. Influenced by his birdwatcher father, he learnt to recognize birds from their pictures even before he could read. He is an unusual combination of a person fascinated by the...

Get ready to put away your map and look up from your GPS with this glorious introduction to the art of finding your way using natural clues. Starting with a simple question - 'Which way am I looking?' - Tristan Gooley blends natural science, myth, folklore and the history of travel to introduce you to the rare and ancient art of finding your way using nature's own signposts, from the feel of a rock to the look of the moon. With Tristan's help, you'll learn why some trees grow the way they do and how they can help you find your way in the countryside.

The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the 19th century and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. Though, in fact, little read, most people know what it says—at least they think they do. The Origin of Species was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion.

When the well water on Louis Meeks’ ranch turned brown and oily, he suspected that the thousands of natural gas wells dotting the once-empty Wyoming landscape were somehow to blame. The hard part was proving it. Meeks’ struggle to get the energy companies to take responsibility, meticulously documented through three years of investigative reporting by ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten, coincide with a national uproar over the oil and gas drilling process called hydraulic fracturing – a technology that promises to open large new energy supplies, perhaps at the expense of the nation’s water.

This is complete collection of American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Christian humanism. Stephen King has called Lovecraft "the twentieth Century's greatest practitioner of the classic horror tale.

The world is changing at a relentless pace. How can we slow down and act from a place of respect for all living things? The Sacred Balance shows us how.

Eat your way to calm . . .If you're feeling anxious, stressed, or depressed, you're not alone. The world may be in turmoil-but inside, we can feel unwavering peace. We can support our mental and physical health by avoiding anxiety-inducing ingredients and choosing foods and supplements that...

Hair is not simply a biological feature; it's a canvas for expression. Yet, its significance extends beyond mere aesthetics. Hair can carry profound moral, spiritual, and cultural connotations, serving as a reflection of one's beliefs, heritage, and even political stance. In Natural, Chelsea Mary Elise Johnson delves into the complex world surrounding Black women's hair, and offers a firsthand look into the kitchens, beauty shops, conventions, and blogs that make up the twenty-first century natural hair movement, the latest evolution in Black beauty politics.

Bloomsbury presents Good Nature written and read by Kathy Willis. ‘Should be mandatory reading ... A superb book’ CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN ‘Fascinating, comprehensive and highly convincing’ OBSERVER ‘I defy anyone to read this book and not embrace a life with plants!’ ISABELLA TREE We know...

This book argues that it is possible for our study of the natural world to enhance our understanding of God and for our faith to inform and influence our study and application of science. Whether you are a student, someone employed in the sciences, or simply an interested layperson, Not Just...

This inspiring meditation on the intersection of science, nature, and spirit shows readers how to deepen their connection to the natural world. In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over millennia...