Animal Biology

You never know what is watching you! From butterflies and walking sticks to owls and lizards, the world is full animals that don't want to be seen. Using their abilities to camouflage, they blend in to survive.

New York Times bestselling author and acclaimed presidential historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles the rise of environmental activism during the Long Sixties (1960-1973), telling the story of an indomitable generation that saved the natural world under the leadership of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon...

The award-winning author of The Experience of Place delivers an "upbeat and engaging account of the remarkable progress being made to preserve vast wild spaces for animals to roam" (The Wall Street Journal)—and an urgent call to protect 50 percent of the earth's land by 2050—thereby saving...

Travel thirty miles north, south, or east of San Francisco city hall and you'll be engulfed in a landscape of thick traffic, fast enterprise, and six-dollar cappuccinos. Venture thirty miles due west, however, and you will find yourself on what is virtually another planet: a spooky cluster of...

From the author of the bestselling How Dogs Love Us, a fascinating glimpse into the cognitive and emotional lives of cows. "Hilarious, humble, and heartwarming—get ready for the best true story you will read this year." —Dr. Brian Hare, author of New York Times bestseller The Genius of...

How a mysterious, super-powerful—yet long-neglected—microbe rules our world and can rescue our health in the age of antibiotic resistance. At every moment, within our bodies and all around us, trillions of microscopic combatants are waging a war that shapes our health and life on Earth...

Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer reveal how scientists studying animal behavior have long projected human norms and values onto animals while seeking to understand them. When scientific studies conclude that these norms and values are natural in animals, it makes it easier to think of them as natural in humans too. And because scientists, historically and to this day, largely belong to elite, powerful segments of society, the norms and values embedded into animal behavior science match those of the already powerful.

In Once and Future Giants, science writer Sharon Levy digs through the evidence surrounding Pleistocene large animal ("megafauna") extinction events worldwide, showing that understanding this history - and our part in it - is crucial for protecting the elephants, polar bears, and other great creatures at risk today. These surviving relatives of the Ice Age beasts now face an intensified replay of that great die-off, as our species usurps the planet's last wild places while driving a warming trend more extreme than any in mammalian history.

In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on an expedition that, in his own words, determined my whole career. The Voyage of the Beagle chronicles his five-year journey around the world and especially the coastal waters of South America as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. While traveling through these...

Imagine raising an orphaned bear cub, carefully reintroducing her to the wild, then being welcomed back, almost daily, to observe her wild world for more than 17 years. Imagine visiting her in her feeding spots, watching her with her mates and her young, peering into her den, and, over time, observing the lives of all the other wild bears in her territory and surrounding ones. That is what happened to Ben Kilham.

“Read this book and discover sex again, but from a scientific perspective, and see why it evolved. It’s almost as much fun, and needs less energy.” — Peter Macinnis, author of 100 Discoveries: The Greatest Breakthroughs in History ""How Sex Works manages to inject science writing with...

An exploration of all the ways in which birds are social creatures—from breeding to nesting to babysitting In The Social Lives of Birds, evolutionary biologist and author of Slow Birding Joan Strassmann examines what it means for birds of a feather to flock together. Some birds sleep together...

Beyond the biology and behavior of these sea creatures, "Marine Biology for Kids" delves into the unique habitats that make up the marine ecosystem, from coral reefs to the open ocean, and the delicate ecological balances that sustain them. It doesn't shy away from the pressing issues of human and natural threats to these environments, fostering an early awareness and stewardship in young listeners. The book rounds off with an inspiring call to action, guiding aspiring young marine biologists on how they can start on their path and make a difference in the world of marine conservation.

From one of the finest naturalists and writers of our time, a fascinating investigation of Nature’s inspiring death-to-life cycle. How does the animal world deal with death? And what ecological and spiritual lessons can we learn from examining this? Bernd Heinrich has long been fascinated by...

Four influential women we thought we knew well—Jane Jacobs, Rachel Carson, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters—and how they spearheaded the modern progressive movement This is the story of four visionaries who profoundly shaped the world we live in today. Together, these women—linked not by...

Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History and a New York Times Editors Choice Pick "After reading Super Fly, you will never take a fly for granted again. Thank you, Jonathan Balcombe, for reminding us of the infinite marvels of everyday creatures." —Sy Montgomery...

Dive into this uniquely elegant exploration of the sea. An exploration of marine life and the ocean environment, this audiobook makes marine biology and oceanography accessible and enjoyable. Oceanology offers up riches from every corner of the ocean, from coral reefs and mangrove swamps to icy...

A wry look at what the astonishing world of animal penises can tell us about how we use our own. The fallacy sold to many of us is that the penis signals dominance and power. But this wry and penetrating audiobook reveals that in fact nature did not shape the penis--or the human attached to...

A New York Times Editor’s Pick ** People Best Books ** Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Books ** Chicago Tribune 28 Books You Need to Read Now ** “It blew my mind to discover that adolescent animals and humans are so similar…I loved this book!” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make...

In this remarkable groundbreaking book, a documentarian and conservationist, determined to dispel misplaced fear and correct common misconceptions, explores in-depth the secret lives of sharks—magnificent creatures who play an integral part in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans and...